sa+day+10

My flight for Madurai, India leaves at 3:00 PM on 6/22. I'm excited to visit yet another place that Spencer Wells found the genetic marker tracing us all back to our African ancestors. My excitment decreases when I have to pay $3,564 dollars for one leg of the journey.... but I'm really hoping it will be worth it! The people of India are part of such an amazing culture. I'll spend a week here learning about their culture. Spencer Wells spent his time in India gathering DNA samples and testing them to find the genetic marker belonging to the group that had left Africa. Once he found this it proved that the Africans had traveled through India to get to Australia and some of them had simply stayed behind beginning the populating of Asia. My plane out of India leaves on the 28th. I'm determined to make sure this leg of the journey is worth the cost.

To the left is a picture of the temple Kallazhagar. Karuppannaswamy, a god who protects, is worshipped at the shrine located at the front doors of this temple. The doors are opened only once a year.

To the right is a picture of the Koodal Azhagar temple. this temple is located in Madurai. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Azhagar is the Tamil word for beautiful one.

I've learned so much during my time here. One of the most important parts of the people's culture in Madurai are the many temples that can be found. Koodal Azhagar, Kallazhagar, and Tirupparamkunram are just a few examples of the temples in Muradai. The religions in India include: Hinduism, Buddahism and Sikhism. Another important part of the Indian culture is family. In almost all homes, one can find extended family and multiple generations of the same family living together. The elder male makes all decisions and rules and other family members must follow them. Arranged marriages are common and expected but are not taken lightly. Many factors play into the decision of an arranged marriage. It has been so exciting to spend a week here learning about the culture in India but I must leave for the next part of my journey. Following Spencer Wells path, I'm headed to Kazakhstan.