to the field once more

I'll be on the road again for about a month. I leave for Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary on Sunday, and I stay there until the end of June. Then, on July 1st, I move to Thirupudaimaruthur Bird Sanctuary for five days. Then, I check out Vednathangal Bird Sanctuary from July 6-10. After that, I'm back to SACON lab to process my samples.

That being said, I probably won't have internet for the next month, but I'll return with lots of pictures.

wild boars!

The other night I heard a rustling behind my hostel. I creeped out to see the bushes behind my little porch shaking. Then I heard little piggy noises.

Wild boars!

drop me a line

If you want to know my address:

Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON)
Analkatty P.O., Coimbatore - 641108
India

painted stork

Somehow, I've acquired the nickname Painted Stork. I'm not sure whether or not to be embarrassed or flattered, but it's nice to be nicknamed.

celebrations and training

I've experienced my first Indian birthday party. Today is Jayakumar's birthday. There are several key differences from a Western birthday. The first thing that struck me was that, traditionally, the birthday boy/girl is expected to give out sweets on his/her birthday instead of getting and getting and getting. It was a pretty neat concept. However, India has westernized a bit, and there is some gift giving.

All of the other labmates met secretly before midnight to plan our attack. We got some cake, sweets, and mango juice ready in a room downstairs before storming Jayakumar's room. We woke him up with a raucous (and the same version you are familiar with only with a lot more clapping involved) "Happy Birthday." Then, he was presented with a bouquet on a palm frond.

At the party proper, Jayakumar was asked to sing for us and to dance for us. He tried to make me do these things instead. After a beautiful Tamil song, we turned on, of all things, YouTube, for some Tamil music. Some people started dancing, and soon, I was pulled on to the dancefloor by my friends. I strutted my stuff, and everyone was surprised that a little white girl could dance. My friend Nikhil and I have decided to exchange dance moves tonight. I'm super excited.

In other news, I started my analytical chemistry training course today. I was a little nervous about not knowing the material, but most of it is a review of my organic chemistry business. So, no sweat. The inauguration of the training course was fraught with ceremony. I witnessed my first Indian prayer--it was so beautiful and song-like. Then, there were several speeches made by the important somebodies. We then lit a lamp to symbolize the training course beginning. The chief guest, the director, and the co-ordinator started the lighting, and I was honored when I was one of the students selected to light part of the lamp. How nice!

birds that eat fishies

I love my summer job. In short, I go birdwatching every day when I'm in the field. Technically, I'm doing habitat studies, population counts, and whatnot. I get to bum around a supercool Indian village, looking for birds to count.

In this particular village, some of the painted storks actually nest in the village itself, while most of the other water birds will take up roost outside of the village in the sanctuary proper. It's really fascinating to see these big water birds hanging out on the roofs.

Enough biology talk, let me introduce you to my friends:

(The village, Jayakumar, my friends, and myself)

(Hard at work)

(Little Egret, Red-wattled Lapwing, Black Drongo)

(Peacock, Indian Pond Heron, Common Mynah)

(Black Ibis, Spot-Billed Pelican, Purple Sunbird)

(Painted Storks)

cricket!

Some of the village boys taught me to play cricket. I'm still getting a handle on some of the rules, and I've struck out (or whatever the cricket equivalent is) a few times. Eventually, I got the handle of the game, and I even made a pretty big score for my team, a "boundary."

I've been a fielder, batter, and bowler and can hold my own.

The next few days, the village boys would come by our hostel everyday to ask us to play a game. It's so adorable. I'm in love with India.

enhance your beauty

I just returned from a small Indian village in the Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary. I was blown away. At first, all I could notice is how different a rural Indian village is from my cushy American life. And then I fell in love with it.

My first night at dinner, the wife of the hotel owner put flowers in my hair. (Culture note: hotel is a restaurant, not a place with beds and mints on pillows). The "pun" or jasmine flowers are worn by many Indian women to dress up their hair. The scientist that I am working with, Jayakumar, was surprised. He told me that usually people don't usually share their flowers with others--that she views me as a daughter. What a wonderful thing for me, halfway across the world--to have a surrogate mother. She then went to her back room and pulled out a bindi for me (the forehead dot). The bindi are used by women to enhance the beauty of the forehead.

One thing I've noticed about Indian women is that they really know how to decorate. Every day while I was in Koonthankulum Bird Sanctuary, the woman at the hotel (restaurant) would ask me if I wanted some bangles or toe rings. There are so many ways to "enhance one's beauty" on Indian terms.

On my last night in the village, Jayakumar bought me some henna, and the daughter of the hotel owner decorated my hands and feet with henna tattoos. Before I leave for home, I'm going to get some more tattoos done, since they last for a few weeks. I'll bring back some henna to share. (Look at the top of the post for some sari pics)