My how things can change.

The alternative title to this post was going to be "A little bit stupid + A lot Lucky= Elizabeth Callahan"

So, I ditched out on the volunteer work. This statement in itself makes me sound like an outrageous flake, if not a horrible person, which is sort of how feel, but it wasn't without good reason, a lot of deliberation and an initial good effort.
Here's what happened:
I arrived to Kerala and got to the town where the group was to meet. The night I arrived I could NOT for the life of me find a hotel with rooms available. I was cursing my inability to get a cell phone in this country. I decided I would have to stay somewhere more expensive for just the night. I found this strange little place and crashed for the night. I was wakened by the owner of the hotel banging on my door. He stood there cheerily and asked about my visit. When did I arrive, what was I doing here, where was I from - the usual - except he lit up when I said I was from Canada. Apparently, his work in off shore catering during the Gulf War had earned him recognition from Canada and he had spent some time in Vancouver for a conference. So, we had a coffee and he drove me to the bus station to meet my volunteer group. As usual for most Indian's I have met, he wrote down all of his contact numbers, including mailing address and postal code.
Then I was off with the group. From Cannanore we took a 30 minute bus to a small town called Parisinikkadavu. Mostly the town consisted of a main road and small temple. It is otherwise well spread out and is largely populated by middle class people; there is an engineering university as well as an ayurvedic medical college in the town also. Then we were given the assignment. We were to work for one hour a day with a group of private school children. Of course, the private school was Catholic, so the kids would be on vacation as of the 14th, leaving us with no kids to work with... they asked us to paint and under the sea mural, and build a paper mache and styrofoam Taj Mahal for a presentation the kids were doing in January instead. This is when I thought to myself that perhaps this wasn't really all that much of a constructive project so much as it was a way to make money from tourists looking to do some good during their vacations in India. So, I thought, I should give this a few days with a hearty attitude and at least see how things go. So I did. And then I left. I returned to Cannonore with the intention of finding a bus back to Mysore where I could figure out my next steps. But the bus to Mysore wasn't for 7 hours. I didn't want to wait there, and I didn't know where to go, so I called up the Hotel guy, Munawar. He was there within 15 minutes. I told him the situation. And then I realized, he could help me. So, I asked for a favor: I need a cell phone. I am now alone. He said he could do this but it would take at least a day. If I did some work for him on his promotions web pages and helped at the hotel he would accomodate me for free. This was perfect.
So, I was off to work, updating photos on his websites, editing menus and so on while Muna found me a cell phone. He let me stay at his home, allowing me an entire floor to myself. He invited his Colonel friends over, and I have to say, I had one of the most interesting evenings chatting with the army over vodka, discussing, of all things, Hijras (those are boys who dress like girls here in India...).
I left this morning and am now back in Mysore. I'll likely stay a few days here until I figure out a plan. Maybe there is another project or NGO to work at, or maybe I need to just be by myself for some time. Either way, I had no idea this would happen, but it feels pretty good. It is exciting in the 'nervous-excited' kind of way too, but I think this will hone my intuition, thinking-for-myself and decision making in a whole new way.

So, until next time...

Oh, also, in case anyone feel like texting internationally... this is my cell number:919745189416