3/4 - 3/7 India

India was amazing and I’ve decided rather than do a play-by-play blog, from here on out I’m just going to write a short version with more of my impressions, the things I’ve learned and some of the highlights because I did and saw so much that trying to write everything would take forever.

 

So the faculty and staff try their best before every port to scare us; they give us worst case scenarios and our pre-port lectures are usually based on what not to do and further emphasis on the negative. So of course, each student leaves the ship expecting the absolute worst but my 5 days in Chennai really weren’t bad. Apparently, because of what I did and where I was, I had a skewed experience compared to a lot of people but I still learned a lot.

 

So here’s the shortened version of what I did:

Day 1: My friends and I took off for City Center which ended up being a fancy mall and not much else. We came back early, played on deck 7 until we realized how dirty we were from the coal residue and then got ready for the welcome reception I had signed up for. The reception was amazing; they did henna for us, performed traditional Indian dances, and had the most delicious food for us to try. I also bought a skirt with elephants on it from vendors that they had brought to the event.

 

Day 2: I woke up late and had breakfast and finished getting ready for my homestay. We met in the Union and were transported to a meeting spot; I was placed with a girl named Laurin and we met our host family, the Bhatts. We walked to their PR firm; we were staying with Arul, his wife (whom I never could say her name) and their oldest daughter Priyanka. After a homemade, vegetarian lunch (deliciously spicy and eaten with your right hand) Priyanka took us to Spencer plaza to do a little shopping; it’s like a mall but it’s more crowded with a greater variety of stores. We had a snack (also really yummy) and shopped but there really wasn’t anything my size so Priyanka took me to a Saree boutique and somehow I ended up buying 2 sarees; don’t ask because in all honesty I’m not sure how it happened but they’re both beautiful. Side note: a saree is basically 6 yards of pretty material that Indian women wrap around themselves as a dress; they usually wear a half shirt and a petticoat underneath but the place we went to didn’t have any of those things my size. After shopping we went back to the office to meet the Bhatts college interns and talk with them and then we went to their apartment to get ready for the Rotary Club reception we had been invited to. On the way, we stopped at a store because apparently Priyanka thought that I needed to buy one of the half shirts and petticoat to wear with my saree; I had been planning on wearing pants and a tank top. So we found something that fit relatively quickly, got to their apartment (which is beautiful) got ready and took off for the Rotary Club. We got there late but nobody seemed to mind. Listened to a few speakers, got gifts from the Rotarians and ate food while we mingled. Then back to get some sleep because the Rotarians had arranged a full day for us.

 

Day 3: Woke up early and had homemade breakfast (of Ramen-like noodles) and were dropped off at the bus; again we were late but no one said anything. We drove for about an hour and a half, picking up students that were staying further out of the city. The Rotarians had a full day for us; we went to a few monuments and an ancient temple called Mamallamaporam and then we spent a few hours relaxing at one of the Rotarian’s weekend house in the country before going to Crocodile Bank. It was 7:30 before we got back; we went back to the house to change and then Priyanka and her mom took us out to dinner. We came back, watched a movie and went to bed.

 

Day 4: We slept in a little and had the first non-spicy food I’d eaten in 4 days. We lazied around a little and packed our stuff up. Priyanka took us to get stamps and some snacks for the ship. Then we came back and picked up her mom and went to meet one of the other families at the Cricket Club where we had lunch. After lunch we went to the City Center shopping plaza, walked around a bit, had ice cream and then we eventually got back to the ship after a little bit of trouble with transportation. After that my friends and I just hung out and did some homework; I had to get up early the next morning.

 

Day 5: I spent my entire morning at a school for a service visit except I didn’t actually end up doing anything of service; we spent the entire time playing with kids and being entertained. The kids were all so cute and completely excited to be at school. The girls that danced for us were amazing; you wouldn’t think that little kids can move their bodies the way that some of them did. So after a few hours of talking to students and teachers, we went back to the ship for lunch. I spent the rest of the day napping and getting ready for school again. India was exhausting.

 

Here’s a list of the things I’ve learned/ saw while in India.

 

*Getting anywhere here takes at least a half hour and no one really cares if you’re late.

*Cricket is a HUGE sport here.

*Colleges here have curfews; the girls I met had a 6pm curfew at all times.

*I visited a monument that defies the laws of physics – it’s a rounded rock that stands on a tip on the side of a hill and will not move no matter how many elephants try to move it. I also saw an ancient temple dug into a single rock formation and a temple that was once under water.

*Indian people are incredibly nice and hospitable.

*Yes it’s disgustingly dirty here because of pollution but you get used to it.

*Everything you eat is spicy, even breakfast. But it’s delicious.

*I’ll never again complain about traffic in the U.S.; people here don’t use the road lines at all and most of the time they honk their horns instead of using their blinkers. And they weave in and out of traffic even if there’s no room to do so.

*Everyone eats with their right hand, no utensils needed.

*Most people in Chennai are vegetarian and I don’t think I’ve ever had such good vegetarian food. And they eat all the time.

*Indians love Americans, especially school age kids! They all wave and smile and try to talk to you in English and ask you to take pictures of them.

*There are bright colors everywhere; they even have a festival called Holi where they splash people with colors.

*Chennai is huge!

*It’s disgustingly hot and humid here; I think it hit 100 degrees one day.

*Everything is incredibly cheap; it costs less than 3 US dollars for a full meal.

 

I’m sure there’s more but today is the day before we get to Thailand so some of it has evaded me. I’m really excited for Thailand but the next 3 weeks or so are going to be ridiculously busy…we only have 6 days of classes during the next 3.5 weeks and during those 6 classes I have a portfolio review and art journal due for art class and another test for Global Studies as well as 2 papers due. It’s going to be crazy; the professors have all warned us that this is the time in the voyage that most students fall behind and ultimately fail so we’re all pretty spooked but I’ve made it so that I can spend the last day in every country doing homework. We’ll see how that works. Wish me luck. I miss you all so much and believe it not but I’m starting to get really excited to get home. All my love