Middle of the term numbness

Sometimes my head feels numb, I don't think its ever done only read and write and think.....cooking, laundry, room cleaning, are all, once a week. Eating, bathing and sleeping are daily....Its a very limited life this, some call it a luxury, I am still not sure...
Went upto the music auditorium and sat through an hour and a half of a concert by a student. Pieces were composed as part of his final exam. The next week went for a Japanese concert - Gagaku - ancient music and dance form. Yet another day watched the students of theatre perfom ' Waiting for Godot' - Beckett.
Made a presentation at the Wednesday evening seminar at the East West Center on wetlands, the panel was on water. Enjoyed working with students from Pakistan,Nepal, Pacific islands.
This blog is looking pretty boring, its a reflection of my life?? Its been very study focussed and these performances are the only spaces I give myself out of this.
Last weekend was the International Potluck of the East West Center students. Spent a short while helping my friend from Peru make some elaborate dishes. The chillies were yellow pepper and they were hot. There was food from 16 countries for sampling. I can't even remember what I ate. I only know I slept like a log in the middle of the day, first time in Hawaii!
Before I forget my hands are blistered from weeding the little garden plot I have taken over from Vandana. The plot has a curry leaf tree and a banana clump. Have planted some chillies, beans, basil, thyme and tomatoes. Will plant some mint tomorrow. I decided to keep my feet free of mud and wore the boots and now my feet are all blistered, a little mud would have hurt less!!
This was my break from the term paper that I am composing on Coevolution...Just finished the NTFP paper and 2 proposals ( 2 page ones).

Now back to student life in Hawaii

I also realise that my blog is titled student life and most of it is about the Big island which was like 3 days. But yes its going to be one of the good memories that will keep me going here.
I have been writing to people that 2 things I missed most in Kotagiri was not being able to read enough and to watch cultural performances. Reading I would like to do more than I do now. But performances I saw some beautiful ones. The percussion team from Malaysia called the Hands percussion team. Over the past weekend the student at the East West Center put up performances from their countries, easily some 15 countries and nations were portrayed. 2 days ago got to watch a Kathakali performance by artistes from Kerala!! To think I had never seen a performance before!!
The week rushes by and so does the weekend.
The rains are coming and its grey and breezy, feeling absolutely at home now.
Now I feel like I can update from the present... on another day though.

Finally at the Volcanoes national Park

The lava reclaimed the road...And now there is no road.

Start the visit by a very nice explanation by a park ranger.

Getting ready to go 15 feet under the earth into a 30mile long tunnel which may lead to the sea - The Thurston lava tube

Roof of the tube meets the floor of the tube. Pitch dark. A complete darkness, a complete silence. No life except for the crickets that are voiceless and live on the penetrating roots of the trees above.

Leaving the tunnel, into the light..

After the volcanic ash plants start to colonise.

The rest of the tree was probably buried under the volcanic ash, but the tree survives and lives to tell the tale - Ohia.

Dodonaea looking so glorious

A very tourist picture of the lava falling into the ocean. The coast is amazing, the waves angrily thrash against the rock. One can sense tremendous energy in this place.

Thaar she glows in the evening.. The crater at night view from the Jaggar museum

Rainforests

Ceiling of the lava tubes - the little protrusions are called nipples, the edges are titanium coated!! Plumbers and geologists have much in common.

View of the caldera

Another view

Smoke from the sulphur springs

Sulfur banks by dusk

Home stay at the Volcanoes National Park

The little cottage we stay at has such warmth. The photos will speak. I really missed Kotagiri at that point. It was hard to get out early the next day, it was grey, cold and raining and we had a warm bed extra heated with electric blankets. We made sure we switched it off before we went under the blankets!! Wasn't taking any chances!! The people out here had taken good care to keep the ferns, the ohias and we were very much inside the rainforest. My window overlooked Ohia canopies.

After Pteroglyphs...Still on the big island story

This is turning out to be an art film, the eternal wait for the next episode! Old Malayalam joke... I just lost a bunch of stuff I typed but not to be defeated, I plod on.
Stayed on the Kona coast in a hotel that had character, the Manago. Picture of a sign from the front desk.Rent out Kayaks to go out to the Cooks monument. While my fellow travellers snorkel I wade along the shore and snorkel in shallow waters. The colors, the diversity were unbelievable. Some of the reef fish especially the Lion fish, angel fishes of many colors, butterfly fish were also staring at me. Sorry no pictures didn't risk taking the camera in the Kayak.

Manago hotel

Bison - the real Boltu - along the roadside to get people to stop and visit the farm, there was also a zebra!

Also visited the historic monument park, which tells the story of the native people with interesting displays.

The traditional architecture of the native people-boat house.

A temple site, we saw many offerings were left there.

Black sandy beach also a turtle nesting site

Head out to the National Park a good two hour drive through some beautiful landscapes of coffee, macadamia farms, and Ohia forests. On the way stop for a while at the black sand beach. At night we reach our little home stay - Volcanoe Guest House.

Post Mauna Kea - Day 1 on the Big Island

Interesting signs about invisible cows!

Theres a sign for everything in this country and I am learning to read between them!

A view of Mauna Lea the active volcano from Mauna kea. The dark patches are not shadows of clouds but lava flows, cooled off ones of course!

Pteroglyph site

Watched over by the volcanoes

Coral lined beach

We were guessing this was a turtle

I am in a land where everything is a sign or a posted note, don't need to ask anyone anything, if only I could read, see.. Sorry cdn't get the first image to rotate.
I was always pronouncing it Teroglyphs till I hear the american way which is to say Pteroglyphs! Still can't pronounce the P though.
We drove for more than an hour from Mauna Kea to get to the West coast of the 'big island' as Hawaii is called. The landscape was barren or overgrown with fodder grass at some places, where ranches had come up. The army has a lot of land here too.
At Puuokohola a little away from the beach, a white coral lined beach (where needless to say we shed our travel clothes and waded in the water, is a trail through Prosopis that leads to the most silence that I have encountered on land (actually when I was in the lava tube I did encounter more silence but that story is for tomorrow).
All around us was the holy mountains of the Hawaiian people and somewhere in the middle this ancient sketches on rock. I think it was also the time of day that made it special, towards dusk. Read more about the Pteroglyphs at http://www.hale-hoola.com/Hawaii-Petroglyphs.htm 

Mauna Kea - Day 1 on the Big Island

Mauricio, Alesandre, Isabel and Anita at Mauna Kea

Above the clouds.

Hawaiian Rainforest-Enroute to Mauna Kea

Hawaiian silversword just as we ascend the mountain

Road going upto Mauna Kea-The biker didn't make it all the way up.

Don't ask me read all about it..

Keystone Foundation at 14000ft! Cinder cone backdrop

Stands at 14000ft above sea level. Cold desert, no plants, no animals and very few human beings. Unless they were all inside the Observatories. The Hawaiian silversword, felt like it was made of silver foils read all about them at this link http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/asm.htm
All the small hills are cinder cones made from the deposit of lava spurting out of the volcano.
More on this journey later..

The highlight of this past month..

I guess its every ecologist's dream to visit the Volcanoes National Park and I feel thrilled that I made it! Isabel and Alesandre were planning a trip out to the Big island since Alesandre's brother Mauricio was visiting. They asked me if I would like to go, I didnot even think about it and just said yes. For the records, I asked my advisor before I said yes!!
Will post a more photogenic message about the trip soon. So watch out! Coming soon 3 days on Big Island...

Hikes

Went on a hike with Ganesan, Tamara, Lisa, Isabel, Alesandre and Mashuri to Hawai Kai. An amazingly steep hike, thankful for ropes and eroded steps that helped a lot. Walked through slopes of invasive strawberry guava and after a while they left us alone. To forests with native plants. The view from the top was worth all the effort. I know should have some pictures to upload. Will look for some..

Maybe this will be a monthly...

I look at my blog and think Sept 6th was the last!!!  September went by in a haze and I find October is doing the same.... I have no hold on time in Hawaii. What made it so fast, classes, a mid term exam, assignments, unkept paper deadlines to folks in India. I wish it was because I was surfing or learning Tahitian dance.. No it wasn't any of those just me running to keep in place..
Interim committee - 3 professors from my department sat with me and went over my past educational experiences. They gave me a clean chit, which means I have no more classes to take and then I decided to take the comprehensive exams in January, which is like a qualifying exam. People do that after a year of being in the department under normal circumstances.
Went for a percussion concert, performed by an extraordinary group from Malaysia visit www.hands.com.my
Got a room change to Hale Kuahine, I found it quieter and more green. Lugged all my stuff because of the fridge (small) became a task to carry 4 floors up. Chinh my floor mate at Hale Manoa volunteered to help and so I made it.

Not all studies...

Of course all these classes are 3 days a week and for 50 mins each and it helps to keep my week moving fast. The weekends come quickly and go away quickly too.

Weekends are usual parties, potlucks, outings...

The Prof who takes Plant Evolution also teaches a class on native Hawaiian plants. I didn't sign up for the class but asked his permission to go on the field trips. He agreed very graciously and as a result went for a good hike on Saturday. Went to Aiea ridge and walked for a good 4 hours one way. It was like walking through the sholas. A wet forest, invaded with all the invasives one could possible imagine, even a few Lantanas smiling at me. Exotics all of them, the Eucalyptus's were waving like they do over at Wilson's plantation off Gudalur. But as we moved higher Sandalwood, Ebony (Diopsyros), Elaeocarpus, Psychotrias, Syzygiums all natives of the island. Needless to say I felt totally at home. It is something to be able to recognise the plants many thousands of miles away. I kind of understand why the British wanted to plant some of the plants they remembered from home... No cycads and canarium.....
The only signs of animal life when we were on the hike, 2 butterflies!! The bird calls one or two were from the plantations below. It was a strange feeling to walk through forests that belong only to plants.

Today drove out to North Shore, where the international surfing championships are held. The ocean was too choppy for me to go deep into the water. I stayed close to the shore all the time. It was beautiful. The first wildlife I saw - Sea turtles, swimming in the water with the tourists and snorkellers.

More about classes

Tamara does a very interesting lab. She gives us each a book which we then have to read, present and choose two chapters to circulate amongst the group. I have Sacred Ecology by Firket Berkes. When I am done will post a few words on the book.
The Plant  Evolution class that i  take makes me a bit drowsy, i think its the powerpoint which is killing the spirit of the class.  Again  the Prof is a genius kind and is very enthusiastic about the topic. Brings in lot of good stuff and readings. Needed caffeine to keep me awake. The class is 10 mins apart from my Biometry class and I guess its not my fault, one can't stay awake between stats and genes..

Body piercing and Biometry

The Biometry class is taught by a very calm and solid kind of a teacher.Thankfully he doesn't use power points and has interesting discussion classes. The last discussion class was with data that the Prof had gleaned over the years from his students. Age, height, department and number of body piercings they had. I just noticed that the class came so alive in the discussions and wandered off many times into the art of body piercing to wanting to know the name of the female student who had nine piercings, but also applied all the lessons in the previous class to the data. It made box plots and histograms and probability curves more desirable. I too qualify as a student with two body piercings and most Indian women atleast 3 - earrings and nose ring..

Mind dump

Want to see if I would blog ever................ Well I have created a blog and will try to be faithful to it. So why do I want to blog? Well I am in Hawaii! 
All my life I believed only a certain kind of people made it to Hawaii and I wasn't aspiring to be on that list and I am not here because I made it to that list. 
Not only am I in Hawaii but I am also a student in a University, after 15years. 
So heres my reason for blogging I need to see if this is really me!! 
Ok promise no more philosophy only actual record of some of the things I am experiencing each day. More than 20 days since I have been here. I may do some retro writing also.
Stood on Ala Moana beach and took a pan view of the Hawaii that is on brochures. Tall buildings of glass, standing in between my view of the mountains, craters and valleys. Good part was it was not a large stretch. 
The ocean is calm and a lot of families out on the beach. Picnics! 
Also went to a farmers market close to the University. Enjoyed staring at and buying the vegetables and felt happy for them, they were the fortunate ones to be outside of refrigerators!! Atleast for sometime.