Cost Benefit Analysis

We seem to be doing a lot of cost benefit analysis here lately, my econ professor would be so proud. Here are a few examples.

Scene: Monday night in Mallapurum, hot hot hot room. No air, no circulation because windows are closed due to mosquitos and malaria. The only english tv channel is the Disney channel, and we just finished watching Lizzie Maquire and were very excited about it, my how quickly life changes. Its 1030pm and lights are out. I have taken 3 showers already.
Ashley: "It's hot"
Sarah: "It's really really hot"
Ashley: "Should we open the windows?"
Sarah: "Well, lets do a cost benefit analysis...Is it worth the risk of getting malaria to enjoy a good nights sleep? Pause. I kindda think so...."

Followed by lots of laughing, with the end decision being that the benefit of a good nights sleep does not in fact outwiegh the cost of getting malaria.

Scene: 8 hour train ride to Madurai, no ac. Breakfast consisted of a few biscuit cookies and chai from the train station, nothing else is safe...or as our leader said "You should not eat from there." Time 1pm. Very hungry. Men constantly walk down the aisles selling things, most of which are not at all appetizing, and again, based on our leaders advice, should not be trusted. But then comes along the veggie cutlet guy. From my last experience in India I remember having veggie cutluts and not having any problems. Cost benefit analysis: Is eating something to stop the growling tummy and dizziness worth the cost of risking stomach bug? Sarah's answer: Yes. Ashley and Scottish girls: No. Winner: Me, I ate it and it was delicious and it made the remaining 4 hours much more managable, plus 24 hours has passed and I am in the clear.
As you can see, traveling in India is definitely about weighing risks ;)

Anyway...we spent last night and today in Madurai. Most famous for being the place where Ghandi started wearing just his loin cloth and for a very sacred Hindu temple. We visited the temple this morning and it was so beautiful. The temple architecture of the south is much different than the north, very colorful. I will post pictures soon because I really can't accurately describe it. We were lucky because today is an "auspicious day" for hindus so there were a bunch of people there getting married. This is the temple where Lord Shiva married his wife so its all about marriage and fertility. They have a sacred fertiliy area with cobra statues (represents fertility) and couples bring mini wooden baby carriages and hang them on the trees and then take them down when they get pregnant. There are a lot of different symbols and the walls are red/white stripped (red=female, white=male --I'm guessing most can figure that one out). Most of these marriages are arranged and the man is clearly older than the woman by a good 15 years. They have 3 months to get pregnant before the mother-in-law goes out and finds a new wife for her son (the mother-in-law also inspects the wedding night bedsheet to make sure certain deeds took place). Quite fascinating.
We also went to the Ghandi museum here, very interesting as it traced back the entire history of India from British rule to Independance day. Madurai is a little hectic and polluted so I'm not terribly upset to be heading out tonight. We leave at 1030pm tonight to catch an 11:15pm overnight train, non ac. My main hope is that my bed does not 1) already have an indian family sleeping in it and 2) does not have a cockroach nest (as somone in my group experienced a few weeks ago...). Fingers crossed.

Luckily the reward is two days at the beach in Verkala!! Very exciting. We can't wait to have 2 nights in one place but also to get to Kerela, the state we will be traveling in for the next 5 days, it is supposed to one of the most beautiful places in India. In Verkala we will be hanging at the beach and getting some auryvedic massages...can't wait!

I'll keep you posted.