Today was Straya day back in Aus so most of the day was spent relaxing by the pool and streaming Triple j's hottest 100. This was really the best way to finish our EWB trip. Everyone just enjoying each others company. I really feel so blessed to have spent these 3 weeks with such incredible people.
We wrote into Triple J hopeing they would call us. Here's what we wrote:
"For our straya day, like most Aussies, we are partying by the beach, the difference being we've been "taken away to the dark side" and are 8,000km away in Mahabalapuram, an Indian city "that you won't see on tv". "But don't your woooorrry", we are Aussie humanitarian engineers in India to find our "resolution". "We're at square one" and have been "up all night to get lucky". We've commandeered the propaganda speakers in the hotel to broadcast the hottest 100 along with a pet turkey and three geese! But guess what turkey, "you're on your own"! Gobble, gobble... Gobble, gobble."






 


 Goodbyes were sad but it really has not sunk in that I probably wont see any of them again. At the airport Kate and I walked through security only to see Will and Dave get turned back and sent to another terminal. The only goodbye then was a wave. Worst goodbye ever.
I think it helped having a group of people that were all interested in similar goals. You wouldn't come on this trip in the first place if you didn't like participating in a group  Id encourage anyone who is interested in Sustainable design, humanitarian engineering, community development or even just experiencing India in a different light to participate in this trip.  It was the most amazing thing I have ever done and I loved every second of it.
We had our closing ceremony today. The group sat on the floor in a circle lit with candles and talked about all the positives of the trip. It wasn't until then that it started to really sink in that this was the last day. I really will miss all these amazing people who are probably some of the funnest people I will ever meet. We all wrote letters to all the other group members and shared them at the end. Some of the messages for me were very funny, a lot focusing on my laugh which I never knew was that funny. Some really made me smile and then it hit me that I may not hear from them again which is always a sad realization.

The rest of the day was spent in each others company, in the pool playing games, drinking, playing cards, dinner and chatting into the late night.







One thing that really sunk in today was the discussion of change. Change in ourselves, so that when we go home something is different. I would like to change some aspects if my life but it worries me that some relationships may change because of the experiences I have had and others not being able to relate.
Our final few hours in Auroville were spent exploring the city center and the meditation ball.  I enjoyed my time in Auroville.  Even though I did find it strange, its history and its ideas are extremely interesting.






Traveling from Auroville to Mahabs was not fun. Even when we arrived at the hotel at lunch i felt car sick till dinner. Our free day was spent exploring the area of mahabs which included the beach, seaside shops and some famous restaurants.  Mahabs is famous for its seafood so i have been eating a lot of fresh calamari, fish and prawns.I'm not sure how safe the seafood is but a little bit wont matter.







The beach was pretty average. As a woman I would have had to have swam fully clothed in the water. Not ideal when the current is very strong.




 



 

The beach stalls sold mostly the same kinds of things. I had my first rip off experience, paying way too much for a pair of shoes (still only $10 Australian). After a while i got better at bargaining and bought all this marble as gifts. Great idea Jess, lets buy all this heavy marble and have to carry it around for the rear if the trip. Smart.

After hearing the speakers in the morning my view of Auroville has changed. I realise that there are a lot of intelligent people hear that do most of the work. I am still very skeptical of the people who move here. Most of them move to Auroville if they don't fit in in their own society and want to try something new.  And I definitely do not believe that this community should be viewed as outside of India, because it is inside India and the resident need to remember that and respect the locals culture.





One Speaker said something and to me, he is bang on.
"Unconsciously Wrong - Consciously Wrong - Consciously  Right - Unconsciously Right "
The people I've seen in India, although they are doing the wrong thing by littering, violence etc. they don't know any better. With education through young generations, kids will grow up knowing the right thing to do.  They will teach their kids and parents the right thing and therefore the next generation won't know any different, hence, unconsciously right.  It's all about getting it into their heads that this is the right thing to do until they don't think about it anymore, they just do it.

Our team split up into groups.  My group visited the Auroville Botanical gardens and a biomass stove company.  The gardens we very beautiful and had a large variety of native and non-native plants.  Some of which I didn't think were a great choice i.e. the eucalyptus tree. Non the less, they had managed to grow beautiful gardens in less then 20years from nothing which is impressive.








The Biomass stove would probably be one of the highlights of the trip. Not only does it incorporate engineering work with sustainability it provides something that people in rural areas really need and will help them.  These stoves use 30% less fuel and produce hardly any smoke. This means that woman in rural communities will have to spend less time looking for fire materials and wont be exposed to as much smoke.  We met the industrial designers who all love working and living in Auroville.  They say that most people that visit Auroville want to work and live there for over a year.  It's an interesting thought, thinking what it would be like to actually live and work in this strange community.

We met with Jose today.  He is one of the 'leaders' in Auroville.  He showed us around the amazing forest that the community had planted.  They grew the forest up from pretty much desert.  However, to do this they had to dig into the groundwater source.  Now they are worried about water supply and sea water intrusion.  I think maybe they should have realised the consequences of planting such water draining plants such as eucalyptus trees in the first place.

 







I was extremely skeptical of what Jose had to say because I'm still trying to make sense of this place but after talking in the car with him for a little while I started to see his point of few.

One of the profit making schemes was the production of Spirulina, an algae that grows on top of a pond that is considered a super food. It is rich in protein and also gross in flavor. I think ill be staying away from that...
We had lunch with a Woman's group that make herbal medicines. They made this medicine as a group but sell individually.  The profits all go to group and it is a team effort.

I finally got a good coffee! But why am i surprised.  In my experiance, whereever there are hippies there is good coffee.

 

 
Jess Charlesworth. Powered by Blogger.

About me


23, Foodie, Traveler, Civil Engineer. I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.

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