A Home Away from Home

Homestays are the current fad in accomodation in Kerala, and because of my story assignment, I spent most of my time in the state sleeping and eating at a family home. After almost three months of waking up in uninspiring hotel rooms, it was nice to be in a home and around a family again, even if it was someone else's.

The family who owned last home I visited in Wayanad, Ente Veedu, really took me in as one of their own. Seetha, the woman of the house who manages the homestay, was really excited to dress me up in the traditional Kerala dress, which looks like a saree, but is actually two pieces of fabric instead of one. Once I put it on and accessorized with a bindi, I totally blended in with the family, as you can see in the above photo, right? Right... As a side note, in the last two weeks I've had one man tell me that I look Indian and another tell me that I look Chinese. Considering that I'm your typical American mutt (English-Irish-German), I don't know why no one in India ever thinks I'm American, and I really don't know how anybody could think that I look Asian.

Anyway, Seetha had a photographer friend who shot her daughter's wedding photos come over to take a few snaps of me in my new digs. I think this photo will replace the Diwali photo as my 2006 holiday card: