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Published: August 25th 2014
To start, we made it! The trip went as smoothly as possible, actually surprisingly so given that I was traveling with a 4 and 9 year old. There was no complaining and it was fairly easy to keep them entertained. The lengthy layover wasn’t such a big deal- they mostly spent it running back and forth on the airport walk way belt in UAE Dubai. They needed to burn off all of that extra energy and at 1 in the morning, they weren’t really in anyones way. (I was banking on empathy if they were.)
When we finally landed in Chennai, I was pleased with my decision to spend the night in Dubai and take a red eye to Chennai, as it was a tiny and old airport. We easily found our prearranged cab driver and were excited to begin the last 3 hour leg of the trip. The chaotic dance of Indian traffic fascinated the kids and I and reminded me of the many months I’d spent years ago in China. I could just picture my mother tossing herself back into her seat, face scrunched, foot pounding an imaginary break peddle during so many moments when you’re
just sure that someone is about to die, maybe you, but it always seems to work out. It seems so much trust is involved, as it is in life when you just keep moving forward during rough moments in spite of fear, doubt or hesitation. A lovely and thrilling metaphor to begin the trip with.
India is beautiful. The colors, the heat, the deep red of the soil, the lush green of the jungle, the coconuts, mangos, and unknown fruits hanging from the trees, the euphony of birds and insects, the cute little geckoes and super tiny frogs (pinky nail size), the wandering bramas, the smiles and warmth of the people and of course the food. As long as I keep the kids busy, they are both happy. Malek has on several occasions expressed his desire to return home. He is uncertain of his surroundings and is feeling insecure and has voiced that this is especially obvious when we are in our room with quiet time. So I rented a scooter to keep us moving and engaged. If I recall correctly, yesterday I heard him say that it was the most fun thing he’s ever done (also
Playground nearby
We have visited here a few times already, once we got to play here while watching Indian stick fighting match like this: http://www.kravmagaindia.in/programmes/indianlathithe scariest). Oh and, for at least that moment, he changed his mind about India and exclaimed that, "its great"! This energy keeps me filled with hope and gratitude. I still hear occasional complaints from him about bug bites, (I’m having a hard time warding off mosquitos) other small injuries and mostly homesickness, but for now we are here and he will adapt. I’ve opened myself to the possibility of shortening the trip down to 4-6 weeks. This was always an option, though I hope it won't be necessary- maybe it won’t be. We’ll continue to take it day by day and thus far their days have largely been filled with laughter, wonder, joy and togetherness.
Wifi has been down since we arrived and internet is very spotty, (as is electricity as it was last night when we had to sleep in a hot room without a fan), but its no problem. In fact, it’s welcomed - far fewer distractions means more time for each other; over coming perceived adversities shows us that we are adaptable, flexible and capable. Our current plan is to have the scooter for most of this week, then a few days to
Worlds cutest frog
Nyctibatrachus minimus ? explore on foot (which means a lot of walking as things are spread pretty far apart and apparently we also have to watch out for snakes and scorpions scorpions) and next week we’ll take a local bus into Pondicherry to do a little exploring and shopping, including clothing better suited for the weather. If you were wanting us to pick you up something, now would be a good time to let me know 😊
Until next time, be well and love to you!
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