I suspected it would be too much for me.  So many have explained to me what India is, what their experience had been.  This country is described as a place with many highs and extreme lows.  A place with so many people.  Extreme poverty.  Colors everywhere.  Caste systems are in place.  Dramatic differences between social levels. People know their spots.  The levels they are born into are the levels they will be expected to remain at for their lifetime.  A clear social position that will remain unchanged. There is no way around the social order.  (Or, they have since converted to Christianity to better their position.)

I was intimidated by the stories from other travelers.  After over 60 days of travel, I was unwilling to put ourselves close to the action.  I did not want see all the extremes.  I wanted to do it my way, from behind windows, gates, and boundaries.  I wanted to control the information and sights.  I can admit to being a bit cowardly.  Some of it was going to be left unknown to my family.  A censored view of the country we were being allowed to visit.

We landed in the state of Kerala.  This area is suggested to be one of the wealthiest states in India.  One of the most progressive.  We knew this going into the country.  We did not choose to travel north to see the Taj.  We decided we would stick closer to the port.  Scott insisted that we wanted to get out of the city of Kochi.  “Let’s look at what the more rural areas look like.”  We decided upon a homestay on a rubber plantation.  Head to the hills!  We went to a rubber tree plantation 4 hours southeast of Kochi by bus.   Up we went.  (And, he was right.  His intuition was correct.  Our skewed view of “India” was raw enough for our family of voyagers.)  We learned more than we anticipated, but did not see the whole story.   We can admit to this.

We were rewarded by a quieter place with vista and visions.   Less people.  More green.  India was by far the hottest place I have ever been on this planet. It was over 100 degrees with humidity over 85%.  Even I was hot, and I simply do not “mind” heat.  This was the type of heat you do not escape from.  The country has very little AC available.  It was hot all day, and every night.  Shade was only a little more tolerable than the sun.

While staying with a local family, we learned about the rubber tree production.  We learned the soles of our shoes may come from this families’ livelihood.  (Yes, they sell their highest quality product directly to Adidas.  Our host did mention that they are currently struggling to keep up with their neighbor, Thailand, who can sell this high quality pale rubber crepe for less.  We also learned from an older traveler that when sneakers were first produced and marketed, the words “rubber crepe” were used to promote the product.)   How amazing is it that the soles of my next shoes could be coming from this exact spot on earth?  Another small world experience to add to the many this type of trip will produce.

Our view from the top of the hill, from our homestay, was gorgeous.  Our tree house was spectacular.  The homemade meals were authentic Southern Indian cuisine.  The family who was hosting us wanted our stay to be perfect.  The boys learned to “shower” with buckets and scoops.  We all slept in a familial bed.  We were invited guests into their lives.  We ate tapioca (it is a root vegetable which is boiled and sliced.  It tastes like a potato.  Who knew those little balls of tapioca we have are potato-like?) It was the way to peel back the layers and look inside of this community.

During our tour of the rubber plantations, we were afforded a visit with a “middle class colony”.  (What?  What could a middle-class colony be?  I had not a clue.)   We were invited into a village by an 18-year-old girl, who spoke flawless English.  Our visit with a small hillside middle class colony of “untouchables” was eye-opening.  Affirmative action has been strictly enforced.  The “untouchables” are indigenous groups that are the focus of governmental  betterment. Our tour guide suggested that they are now so protected that you cannot even say their original name.

We spent a few hours with an 18-year-old female, who speaks perfect English and plans to become a professor of English.  Her father has secured a spot on the local government as affirmative action has cleared a path for him to be afforded a voice.  We were warned that their caste level may not allow them to achieve what they desired, as the other levels would be sure to push them down to where they should be, unless they were crafty with the way they maneuvered themselves.  It is a dance.  Sounds like politics to me.

We visited with a school that is run by a church.  This school is for those children that has families in the lower levels of the caste system.  Do you remember your parents explaining to you that you should consider eating all the food you had on your plate?  That discussion about the starving children in Ethiopia?  Well….this is the chance for our well-fed children to “see”.   They see these groups of kids that do not have what they have.  They see the conditions of their schools.  They see the poverty and some of their struggle.  The see that these children find the same things funny.  They play similar games.  They laugh when we take their photos and show them the image immediately.  It is magic to these kids who live their lives without access to screens.  These kids are just like our kids.  Except.  They are making it together, as a tribe, with so very little.  This impact could not be created anywhere else.  It inspires us to do more.  And, to acknowledge our privilege.  Impact.  It cannot be ignored.

I enjoyed looking at the aspects of India that are changing.  The progress was what I wanted to see.  The rest, will be saved for another time when I feel more brave.  I saw the delightful colors, the trees, and the rising of an 18-year-old girl who was being told she could be educated.    I know that what I describe is selective learning.  I accept this, and own it.  It was exactly what I was up for.  And, gave me great hope in all things that may come to be in India.

Upon returning to the ship, hearing the stories, and knowing our friends were processing things they had seen…..we quietly acknowledged that our view into the wealthiest and most progressive state (Kerala) was the only one we were going to carry with us.   From others aboard the ship that had traveled further than we did, we learned of extreme poverty.  Of children being used to ask for donations, only to be taken from them by their “pimps and gang leaders”.  People who spoke of learning that females were not valued as males were.  Of men believing they could touch or look at females if they wished. (I had been warned that shoulders were to be covered always.  Knees should not be shown.) We learned of struggling people, and voyagers that were trying to make sense of all of it.

We loved the space we saw.  We enjoyed our introduction into the culture.  A better understanding of how some of our friends back home had grown up.  How difficult it would be to change the status of a family, let alone to move an entire population of people forward to a more equitable system?  Girls to be allowed education and to be valued.  Those without enough to be given help.  To see more of the population, believe that betterment of lives is good for the whole society.  Food to be accessible to more.  Water quality to be enough to drink fresh water.  The list is long.

From many of those that we could have an honest conversation with, there is much energy being pressed into making changes in the way things have been done.  To improve.  And, to be in a stronger position as a nation when their millions of youth come to age in the next few years.  They know things are changing and that opportunities are beginning to present themselves.  Those we spent time with commented on our “openness” to discuss problems as a group, both US type of problems and problems in India.   We asked questions to understand more.  And, our hosts noted the willingness of our travelers to jump in and want to help the school that did not have the resources we were accustomed to seeing.

We learned so very, very much.  And, imprinted a vision of hills and greenery upon our minds.  The vistas were incredible.  Our host family made sure we were comfortable and welcome.

The India we saw, the one we experienced, was controlled.  It was planned.  We kept our view “short sighted”.   I guess sometimes, this is all the energy you have. But, if you acknowledge what you are doing, the way you controlled the view, you are being honest.  Knowing you do not know enough about a particular country, or what you have just seen, is a good place to start.