God's Own Country

Hello everyone!

I initially had no intention of starting a blog, but because Yahoo thought I was up to suspicious activity for sending an email to a large number of people, I decided to forgo my email idea and start a blog instead.

I will try to update every week, but depending on whether I have internet connection, that may change, so please be patient!

June 10-June 15 2013.

I arrived to Cochin International Airport on June 12^th 2013. The car ride back home to my grandmother’s house was quite the experience. I passed by a few free-roaming cows, rice paddies, and two men riding on top of an elephant, but I also passed by India’s largest supermall called the "Lulu", a KFC, and a Harley-Davidson dealership (I guess Wisconsin does have something it can contribute to the world).

Though India still has those “Indian” elements that I think of, the country has progressed greatly and has slowly adopted more elements of the Western culture. I keep telling myself that I came to India to experience India and not America, but times have changed and my perception of “India” can be seen as somewhat outdated and inaccurate for the year 2013.

For my first couple of days in India, it was decided that I not immediately go straight to the seminary from the airport, but that I should take a few days to rest up and adjust to the time change. During these few days, I got to spend well needed time with my grandmother, aunts and uncles, cousins, and cousins’ children. Most of them spoke very little English, so I had no other option but to speak Malayalalayalam. Luckily, I have this handy little book to help me out.

Being in an atmosphere where I had to speak Malayalam and had no other “translator” with me was a unique experience. I’ve been hearing the language from my parents my entire life, so most of the words I needed to use in conversation were somewhere locked up in my head; I just needed to somehow search for those words while conversing with people. It was messy, but for the most part, I was able to survive and avoid being excommunicated by the Archbishop of Changanacherry for unknowingly speaking blasphemy.

With my confidence in speaking Malayalam slowly increasing, I felt adventurous and so I decided to speak with a random people in public. I first went to St. Joseph Veroor Church (where my parents got married) to meet the assistant priest there. He wasn't in his room, so walked around the church asking construction workers and people praying the rosary inside the church where he was. Unfortunately he wasn't there so I decided to walk back home. My hair had grown pretty long and I wanted to get a haircut, so I decided that rather than ask my uncle to take me to a barbershop he knew of, I decided to be adventurous find one on my own. I walked into the barbershop and the barber immediately knew I was out of town, so he began speaking to me in non-stop Hindi. After about a half hour, I left the barbershop managing to get a haircut and shave all for the price of 70 rupees (less than $2 USD). He did a really nice job, and a haircut plus shave would have cost me around $30 in America, so I gave him 200 rupees (less than $5). I felt like a BO$$.  I told my aunt this and she nearly kicked me out of the house, saying how stupid I am for wasting that much money. I stopped feeling like a boss after that…

My favorite moment of adventurous public Malayalam speaking was with an auto rickshaw driver. He immediately knew that I wasn’t from Kerala (just like every other person there) and so he asked me where I was from. I said New York and after some conversation, he dropped me to my destination and said to me in Malayalam, “I’ve never had the privilege of driving of New Yorker before. You are the first New Yorker to ride in my auto rickshaw”.

Wow.

On June 14^th, my uncle Abraham Puthenkalam took me around to different religious places where he felt I would greatly gain from. These places were:

-The birthplace of Saint Alphonsa (India’s first canonized Saint), Kodamallor, Kerala

-Navajeevan (an institution that cares for over two-hundred mentally challenged adults and feeds over 5000 people daily at the three surrounding hospitals), Kottayam, Kerala

-Tomb of Blessed Chavara Kuriakose, Mannanam, Kerala

-Tomb of Blessed Kunjachan, Ramapuram, Kerala

-Motherhouse of Daughters of St. Thomas sisters (Three DST sisters, Sr. Alphonse, Sr. Christy, and Sr. Giss Maria, lived in Chicago for the past year, so it was nice seeing them in their natural HABIT[at] ), Bharananganam, Kerala

-Tomb of Saint Alphonsa, Bharananganam, Kerala

-Novitiate House for 3^rd year seminarians for the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (my cousin, Br. Johns Puthenkalam MCBS is an 8^th year seminarian and he’s spending a year helping out at this seminary for his regency assignment. The 3^rd year seminarians here are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world: no phone, no internet, and no newspapers for one full year. I was not even allowed to speak to them while I was there. Their days are spent in prayer, work, and recreation. They lost power for about four days, so I experienced Qurbana without any artificial light for the first time. I had a really blessed and memorable time here), Kanjirappally, Kerala

Out of all these places, the place that impacted me the most was the Tomb of Blessed Kunjachan. I’ve heard his name for years, alongside a litany of other holy men and women from Kerala, but I never really cared much to discover why this really short priest (under 5 feet) was beatified in the Catholic Church. But when I read his biography, I was so moved to want to become a priest like him because of his love and care for the marginalized of Kerala --the Dalits, also know as the untouchables

More to come about my new found love for Blessed Kunjachan. . .

Next week ahead: Vadavathoor Major Seminary, Kottayam, Kerala.

Famous Alumni: Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath, Fr. Vinod Madathiparambil, Fr. Joji Kaniampadickal (Garland, TX), Fr. Kurian Neduvelichalunkal (San Francisco), Fr. Johnsty Thachara (Coppel TX)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.