Oh man guys. I'm not sure where to start.
Three weeks into India round two, and I've finally made it back to where I was in June, Aranmula. But first, a quick run down of where I've been:

Chennai - skippable city.

Mamallapuram - take all the attention you get for being a woman traveling alone in India, plus all the attention you get at a seedy beach town, and you get Mamallapuram. I left pretty quickly after spending an evening with a kid in the Bob Marley Cafe having homosexuality and murder explained to me in terms of sin and cos.

Auroville - Auroville. What the hell. This is a crazytown people. It is LOST meets Carrboro in India. It's a "universal city in the making," started by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, a famous philospher and poet from Tamil Nadu. I spent a week there just trying to figure out what was going on, and in the process met some of the most amazing people I've ever met. ONE OF WHOM, was a french guy in his sixties who was, I kid you not John Locke. He even used is pocket knife at meal time. Also they drive around cars that look like the Dharma Initiative cars that say "The Auroville Project" Anyawy, I think it's a really special place doing some very important research for humanity, and not somewhere I can be yet. Someday perhaps.

Trichy and Maudrai - saw some big beautiful inspiring temples.

Kodaikanal - got out of big cities to see some MOUNTAINS. had the most exquisite view from my hostel. Went on a nine hour hike down the mountains and couldn't really move the next day. Oh and I was COLD for four days for the first time in SO LONG.


AND 20 hours and six buses later....Aranmula!
I think I've told most of you about what I am doing, but just in case: I am living with a family that runs an alternative boarding school out of their home. Trying to democratize learning and the family structure, they have set up a really amazing place where these kids are becoming responsible, kind and articulate people. They have two campuses: One is on their farm a few hours east of here, where they are teaching and learning through experiments in organic farming and reforestation. They other campus is here in Aranmula, where the kids are able to take arts classes with the teachers from VKV. There are ten kids between 8 and 21, the parents, and Gauthum and Anu, their first son and his wife who are in their mid twenties. So there are 15 of us in this big ole house and there is constant music and laughter and cooking. Yesterday we spent about 22 hours traveling to a city where the kids have a regular radio program. Tomorrow we are trekking into the woods to learn about butterflies and dragonflies. The father is in the process of adapting their most recent radio drama (which they wrote) into a street performance. Am I in heaven?

Ok, all for now. Love you all.