After about 30 hours of travel, my friend Sarah and I finally arrived in Chennai. We are staying at the Breeze hotel for the weekend until we head out to Vellore, where we will attend the Christian Medical College, mostly as 'observers.' I'm sure there will be so much to report about that once we get to Vellore.
Today was our first 'official' day in India. Today's goal: find a market area. It was actually for practical purposes. My bag was checked and never made it here-- I guess it got stuck in Houston. It is supposedly on its way and should arrive sometime before we head to Vellore on Sunday. Today, I had to make it my goal to find an additional shirt to add to the clothes on my back. Sarah & I headed into the city by way of Auto-rickshaw. These funny little yellow vehicles resemble a turtle on wheels. The yellow shell sits atop a single front wheel with two back wheels under the passenger bench. We sat comfortably in the passenger's bench as the rickshaw weaved its way through the busy streets of Chennai. Traffic here is like a dance. Everyone knows who has the right of way and very few people seem to get confused by the process. Other than the tourists, of course! We managed to arrive at our destination, even though our driver was convinced we should hire him for the day as our personal tour guide. Maybe tomorrow. Not ten minutes after our arrival, we had new tops. I think it will be impossible not to stand out here. Yes, I am now the proud owner of a purple tunic-dress. But I don't think the most elaborate sari would cover up how white and different I look from everyone here. The streets are teeming with people. There are a significant amount of street people and beggars. Most women wear beautiful saris. I did not realize how inexpensive the saris can be! And I had no idea how elaborate the process of wearing the Sari is! They range from $3 to 50+ and come as a 5 yard piece of material. There is a whole process of wrapping and tucking and draping. You can also choose fabric and have them make you an outfit. Crazy.
After the bustle of downtown, we decided to head to a more serene environment. We headed to the Theosophical society, located in a far more suburban neighborhood. There's a whole school of thought based on the idea of peace and tolerance amongst all people of all colors, creeds, religions, and backgrounds. I bought a couple of small books in the bookshop by some of their prominent thinkers. We walked on the campus and through the gardens. The main attraction is the gigantic Banyan tree-- supposedly the biggest in the world. It was nice to let my guard down for a stroll through the gardens after a crazy morning in the city center. We wrapped up day 1 of our Chennai tour at the beach. I would definitely call the Marina beach a 'city' beach. There were all types of people-- fishermen in colorful boats and handmade rafts, families, kids playing in the water, vendors, and schoolchildren. The sand has plenty of trash on it and the fisherman line up their sardines along the sand. The body of water is the Bay of Bengal. I dipped my toes in-- pretty warm! I think the highlight was during our walk through a memorial garden. Sarah and I were fascinated by a large group of people-- young and old-- dressed in red. They were a school group from Bangalore (a neighboring city) all dressed alike. Women and girls in red saris with yellow trim. Men in red shirts and red "manskirts" aka 'Lungis.' The colors were amazing. Well, just as we were enamored with them, the group was actually enamored with us. It turned into a big picture taking fest.
Digital photos are such a great way to communicate! We took pictures and showed the group. The next thing we knew, everyone was shaking our hands, saying thank you, asking us our names, giving us hugs, touching our skin. What an experience! Now I'm back in the hotel. My energy is waning quickly. My body is definitely confused. My fatigue has been outweighed by the excitement of a new place. So many sights, sounds, smells (!). I have eaten yummy food and so far, so good. South India has many vegetarians so there's a lot of creative uses of vegetables, cottage cheese (aka Paneer), tofu, and chickpeas. The dishes here are amazing! I don't know how I'll do with these flavors every day. But for now, its novel and delicious!
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