This morning at 6:00 the group rented jeeps and went for a ride in the Western Ghat Mountains. At one point the drivers turned off the motors and everyone just listened to all the early-morning sounds of nature while coasting down a windy mountain road.
Brigitte and Donni
A tight squeeze on a tight curve!
We had a five hour bus ride to Madurai - the city of Nectar. We are staying at Lady Doak College as Doris' friend, Roopa, is a sociology professor here. Upon arriving we didn't know where to go and ended up with our big bus circling around the running track next to an open-air classroom where there were many students writing exams. Let's just say they were 'slightly' distracted! Later while walking around the campus, we met a group of girls who were graduating from Computer Science; they were the fast track class and had completed the program in three rather than four years. Here's the future of India!!
We then went to an leper orphanage that Roopa is associated with. The girls at this orphanage have parents with either leprosy or HIV/AIDS. There are 17 girls at the orphanage and they were so happy to entertain us. We had fun chatting, with Roopa as a translator, although some of the girls did speak English. Nancy gave them letters from her kids at school and they were excited to read them. Every morning the girls have to get up at 5:30 am and part of that is because they have to walk and carry back ALL their water and drinking water and is only available every second day. We all pitched in and gave them a donation so that they could buy bottled water until they get their water problem sorted out.
Later, Roopa entertained us in her house where we enjoyed another fantastic meal! Thanks for your warm and kind hospitality Roopa.
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