10.29-31.11 - Fossils, fish, and flowers

 In my element...

          We got off to an early start this morning. As it turned out, we needed it; it took us much longer than expected to locate the limestone quarrt of Tamil Nadu Cement Company. Thankfully, this stop was worth the wait. In addition to viewing some of the main rock types of Southern India, our group got the chance to roam the mine in search of our own Cretaceous period fossils. It was like an Easter egg hunt for geologists. I collected so many samples that my pants nearly fell off as we got back on the bus!
          As we were driving back to our resort, it was interesting to see the political advertisements in the small towns. Political candidates have devised an ingenious system to garner votes in which they associate themselves with a specific symbol. These symbols, which included a ladder, a padlock, and a sunrise, were painted in bold colors on the white walls of the villages. Apparently, this technique ensures that political candidates receive votes from both the literate and illiterate populations.

Catch of the day

A youthful admirer watches as Serena receives flowers

          After an interesting tour of the the Tanjore library and museum, we had the afternoon off. Several of us chose to utilize our down time by walking from our resort to the nearby town. We were treated with many wildlife sitings along the way including peacocks, kingfishers, and snakes. It was approaching dinner time when we finally arrived at the village and it was fun to see the people bustling about in preparation for the evening meal. The villagers were seen purchasing fish from the riverside fish market and rice from the massive pile deposited near the end of the main street. Since I have been in India, I have seen many interesting things transported on mopeds including giant water jugs and entire car doors. However, this small village was where I saw the most bizarre and creative use of moped transportation. The occupants of the two-wheeled vehicle were positioned sequentially as follows: goat-man-goat-man-goat. That's right, two guys and three goats were spotted cruising on a moped down the main drag of the village. There may or may not have been a couple of chickens dangling from the side mirror.
          We spent the 31st on the bus traveling back to MCC. On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant that had a playground outside. Not surprisingly, several of our students enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs after lunch by swinging and teeter-tottering. Recess was cut short by one of the parking lot attendants, who came running onto the playground blowing his whistle and wildly gesticulating. It was comical to see the confused expression on this man's face when Suresh attempted to explain that we were just kids trying to have some fun. He didn't buy it. We celebrated Halloween by munching on treats from the Pick-'n'-pack as we watched The Social Network on the projector screen in the MCC guesthouse.