Elephant Tales

Dear Daughter,

Papa went to Kerala this week for a school trip and he saw lots of things there.

While we were driving one night, guess what we saw? Elephants again, this time on the side of the road. There were three big elephants and they were carrying an entire palm tree in each of their trunks, can you believe that? For every elephant, there was a man riding on top and one walking with alongside to keep them off of the road.

But, what was really funny is that each one of the elephants had reflective tape on their tails so that the cars could see them. And, they all had huge ankle bracelets with bells on them so we could hear them too. So, even the elephants need help being seen even though they are so big.

I love you,

Papa

Blessed by an Elephant

Dear Daughter,

Last evening, Papa went to the Meenakshi Temple here in Madurai. It is a very large complex of hallways and buildings, filled with amazing statues, paintings, and even an elephant! There were many families there and lots of candles and incense burning as well as chanting and music. The elephant lives in the temple complex and was giving "blessings" to many of the people there. They would bow down and she would touch them on the forehead with her trunk to bless them. It was a wonderful experience.

I love you,

and Elephants!

Dear Daughter,
Hello from Madurai. Papa made it to the town where he will be teaching for two months, Madurai, which is in the very tip of India in a place called Tamil Nadu. It is almost on the equator, which is that big line that goes around the middle of the globe! When Papa was coming into town from the airport, he saw lots of cows, goats, monkeys, and even an elephant! There are heavy rains here called monsoons, so Papa will have to get used to being wet a lot. It is raining really hard outside right now too. But, don't worry, Papa brought his rain jacket.
I love you,
Papa