Posting by Maja Northway, from July 25, 2009
It's 7:50 am and we're scrambling to pack and get on our bus at 8 (actually the bus just arrived). We are heading out to DakshinaChitra for a few days. Apparently it "is an exciting cross cultural living museum of art, architecture, lifestyles, crafts and performing arts of South India. You can explore 17 heritage houses, amble along recreated streetscapes, explore contextual exhibitions, interact with typical village artisans and witness folk performances set in an authentic ambience." Sounds a bit like Colonial Williamsburg done Indian style.
Ready for another fascinating fact? DakshinaChitra literally means – “a picture of the south.” We're all ready for a change of scenery at this point.

Posting By Hae Min Lee, from July 27, 2009
This past weekend our group traveled away from the Footprint Inn to learn more about the history and culture of South India. We learned several traditional crafts at DakshinaChitra, visited Krishna's Butterball at Mahabalipuram, saw the meditation chambers at Kanchipuram, and toured a lavish Hindu Temple. It was a packed weekend and though the sites we visited were beautiful and amazing, our accommodations away were not quite what we expected and everyone seems to be extremely happy to be back at the Footprint Inn. I did a quick survey of a few students upon our arrival back, and these are just a few of the things they are most grateful at this moment: 1) Reliable electricity to supply constant air conditioning that doesn't give you allergies and having less than 10-light switches per room. 2) Soft pillows you're not scared to put your head on and fuffly comforters and towels that don't resemble or feel like a table cloth. 3) Toilets that you can sit on and not have to turn two knobs or use a bucket to flush. 4) Showers with hot and cold water that don't have a rusty shower head or flow onto the toilet. 5) Bug-free living space where you don't have to push your bed from the walls and chase geckos out of your room with a Gatorade bottle. 6) The thoughtfulness of Viju and Radha who turned on the hot water heater ahead of time so we would all have hot water for our showers upon our return. Two more days in India! I'm sure the list of memories and things we'll miss will be much longer...