1. Weekend in South India

August 27, 2016 shortly after 07:00 am, we arrive tired and exhausted in Tharangambadi, a small village in South India. Jasmin's apartment is located next to the Danish fortress with a direct view of the sea. However, I can't enjoy the view yet, as I am just tired after being on my feet for 21 hours without sleep. After a bowl of cereal and a short tour of the apartment, there isn't much time left for Jasmin either, as she has to go on a tour with a travel group from Basel at 08:30 am. Well, that's not a big deal, at 09:00 am I finally fall into bed and can catch up on some sleep. 3 hours later, I am woken up by the extremely high humidity, but Jasmin is still out until 8:00 pm, so I can recover from the jet lag for the rest of the day and have time to read in peace. We end the evening with a cozy dinner that we cooked together.

August 28, 2016. It's Sunday - time to sleep in, but the New Jerusalem Church across the street starts playing loud music for the service from 07:00 am. Well, just because I can't sleep anymore doesn't mean I have to leave the bed. The decision to get up at 11:00 am was much easier and shortly after we went to the Ziegenbalg House.

The Ziegenbalg House is the reason why Jasmin ended up in South India. On July 9, 1706, the Lutheran missionaries Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau landed in Tharangambadi on the east coast of South India. They brought printing to India, among other things, and introduced school education for girls and boys for the first time. The aim of the Francke Foundations Halle and the Mission Society Hermannsburg, in cooperation with a local Lutheran church, is to restore the over 300-year-old house according to historical preservation standards and to create a modern museum as a reminder of our shared history.

If you want to find out more about the project, you can sign up for the newsletter at the link below with your email address. It's definitely worth it. (End of product placement ;))

Link: http://elm.news-e.de/f/105455-179798/

We spend the evening by the sea and take a walk in the emerging twilight. Of course, with our luck, there are also a few big waves, so our pants get all wet.

Monday, August 29, 2016, Jasmin has to get up early because she wants to go to the exhibition of her moped driver's license. Meanwhile, I try to use the time to write on the blog, when half an hour later the doorbell rings. Jasmin's housemaid is standing at the door. No problem, she knows what to do. But since she only speaks Tamil, communication is a bit difficult and even fails when I offer her coffee. Okay, that's our bad luck, so we each go about our own business. When shortly after that, a gentleman shows me a few chairs at the door, the same problem arises, he understands and only speaks Tamil. Well, in our media society today, a WhatsApp call is enough to connect Jasmin and the gentleman. He is here to repair the chairs, so we got that sorted out. So, can I finally continue writing now? No.... 10 minutes later, the doorbell rings for the third time and there is another gentleman asking about Jasmin. After 2 sentences, it becomes clear that he speaks German very well, so we talk for a while about India, Germany, family, and the church. It's very pleasant to finally speak German with someone again. Shortly before Jasmin comes home, the gentleman, whom I thought was an ordinary pastor.... well, he is the bishop of the Lutheran Church. Wow. At least it was a very heartfelt conversation.

Jasmin is back and we decide to go to the nearby hotel for dinner. We had barely taken our seats when a group of 7 people (men and women) approached our table. A man rudely asks us if we can take a photo with them and also doesn't let the hotel staff deter him. Well, we do them the favor and after many expressions of thanks, we finally have peace again. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn't serve Indian food, or at least not what we wanted. Well, then we have a plaice fillet and briefly fried chicken in mustard marinade. (The plaice was a swordfish [Note from the editor]). As a side dish, we got rice, but crazily enough, they served French fries as the vegetable. For drinks, we were each given a bottle of soda, along with a small glass of sugar water and a glass of lemon syrup, so we could mix it to our liking. BRILLIANT!!

After dinner, it's already 1:30 pm, so we decide to visit the Danish fortress. How foolish do you have to be to visit the outdoor area with little shade in the afternoon sun at 38 degrees? The fortress is very impressive. The Fort Dansborg was built in 1620 and now houses an archaeological museum.

That's it for today. In the next blog, you will find out a lot about our meeting with the Chancellor of Tamil University in Thanjavur. It was a crazy and exciting experience, and about our visit to the Royal Palace in Thanjavur.

P.S.: On Sunday, we went to a neighboring village to buy vegetables. No, not by taxi. We rode the moped. Well, it's fun in and of itself, but not as a passenger in India. I can tell you my legs were shaking quite a bit.