I'm in India!

---

I am in India. That’s the phrase I’ve had to repeat to myself over and over today because I just don’t believe it. Being that we only had 6 days on the boat and that for most of that time I was in bed sick, I haven’t had a lot of time to get excited and prepared for India.

I realized I was in India as soon as I stepped off the boat. Some local people had a surprise greeting for us with traditional music, flower necklaces (like a lei) and orange and red paint for our foreheads. It was pretty amazing that they prepared this for 200 people!

Our first task of the day was to buy clothes. We have to dress very conservatively here and any clothes I have that are pants or long sleeves are made for winter. Given that it’s about 90 degrees, I do not want jeans and sweaters. We found a man in a rickshaw and he told us that for 200 rupees (about 5 USD), he’d take us around to find clothes. Oh man did he take us around…we must have gone to 8 stores and 2 markets to find exactly what we were looking for. I made out with a black shirt, a white tunic and a black and white patterned wrap skirt which are all perfect for my AFP (we have to dress business casual). We then went to a fabulous restaurant for my first authentic Indian meal. I will have heart burn for weeks to come after this trip, but oh how I love Indian food. Our rickshaw driver, Johnny, was amazing. In three days after our AFP, we are going to go eat dinner that his wife prepares for us at his house. He told us all of the secrets of navigating the city and gave us tips on how to get things cheap.

Chennai is a lot to take in. There is a beautiful beach running down the coast. There are cows roaming the streets. Women wear beautiful saris. Motorbikes drive like maniacs. And then there is the poor areas with shacks that can’t be considered housing by anyone’s standards. There are naked babies laying on the sidewalks. People are walking bare foot in sewage covered streets…

We got our schedule for our AFP today. Tomorrow we are going to a local university and then on a city tour. We will also visit a newspaper and the US Embassy in the days to follow. Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect because the AFP in Shanghai was less than great and the AFP in Thailand (which I didn’t attend) was amazing. After the AFP I still don’t have plans. I think I’ll try to find a place to volunteer, because that’s the only useful thing I can think to do with my time. I saw a Red Cross in Chennai so maybe they will need some help? We’ll see what I can come up with.

I’m on the boat now for the night because I have to be up early tomorrow for our AFP. I will try to find internet soon to upload pictures!

---

Comments

[Will]

Wow
What a lovely blog - i can just imagine it, and it makes me jealous! Makes France seem positively pedestrian :-) xx