Yesterday, my Ayurveda class went on our second field trip of the semester, this time to the Andhra Pradesh Forestry Academy. Its was an incredible and exhausting day. We could not have asked for nicer weather-- bright blue skies, fluffy clouds, and the ever-scorching sun. I definitely got my week's worth of Vitamin D. We were led to believe that we would be touring a garden, so the class dressed according. Of course, we arrived and ended up forest trekking all morning! I wore rubber flip flops, but luckily, there was a pretty clear path. We wandered past all types of plants labeled with their common, scientific, and sanskrit names. Our teacher teamed up with a forest tour guide to explain how each plant is transformed into a medicine and what conditions it treats. We listened closely and took lots of pictures. For convenience sake, I only brought my little camera, but I really missed the big guy when it came to the close up flower shots. The whole class gave up on taking notes pretty early on.. too many sanskrit words, not enough coordination to write while hiking. Our trek brought us to some really amazing boulders.. and these ones had steps built up the side, so we didn't have to scale them this time around! After a morning full of hiking, our lunch break finally came around 1:30. We were all wiped, but there was a whole afternoon ahead! Next, we hit the herbal garden and then the aboritorium. Throughout the day, I tasted all sorts of bark, grass, fruits, and leaves. Some tasted better than others, but I'm hoping they were all good for me! I also saw a sickening amount of creepy crawlers, from the staple 6 inch centipedes to swarming hornet nests. I swear, these fieldtrips are like the desensitization therapy I never signed up for.
In general, it has been a very good week. Of course, the first day or two was spent recovering from the weekend of travel. I could sleep in a little, because my sociology class is having oral presentations.. we only have to attend on the day that we present, so no early morning classes for a while! I spent one of my mornings off at the mall, where I splurged on pants I will need for my upcoming trip to the Himalayas next week. Buying Western clothes is such an indulgence. Things around the house have been a little quieter and more fragmented this week because Uncle (father of my home stay fam) is traveling for work. He really is the glue that holds this family together, and his absence is powerful. But without his evening prayer to work around, we have been eating dinner before 8pm, which we Americans really appreciate. As always, I am thankful for Friday. This weekend will bring a little homework and a lot of planning for our trip to Darjeeling (leaving on Wednesday). Hopefully, I will mix in some volunteering and a meal out to get my occasional carnivorous fix!
Anyways, here are some pictures from the Ayurveda field trip!
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