1st Impressions

The trip started at 7:30 AM on Thursday when we met on campus to head to the Greenville airport.  I was nervous that I had forgotten something important but felt so accomplished that I fit everything for 9 weeks into one suitcase, a carry-on, and a backpack.  Well apparently it wasn't an accomplishment.  I cannot believe how little everyone's suitcases were.  It is unbelievable, yet they made fun of me not believing it was possible to pack so much.  I still have no clue how they did it.  My checked bag was 16 lbs overweight and my professor ended up putting the extra weight in his bag.  How embarrassing!  Then my carry-on got checked because it was too large.  I was a little worried that my trip was not off to a good start and afraid that everyone was going to think I was so high maintenance and caused so much trouble.

Thankfully, the trip was fairly smooth after the baggage issues and all of my baggage made it to India.  The traveling was exhausting though and I only slept about 3 hours of the total 36 1/2 hours we were traveling.  We were supposed to arrive in Chennai about midnight Friday (India time) but our last flight got delayed leaving and then landing.  We were approaching landing when the pilot found out there was a broken down airplane on the runway so we ended up circling above the airport for about 40 minutes.  We started running out of fuel so we had to fly to Bangalore and refuel at that airport.  We waited at the airport a couple hours until the Chennai runway was clear and finally flew back and landed in Chennai.  We didn't end up arriving to Madras Christian College (MCC) where we are staying until about 5 AM.   Our professors wanted us to stay up during the day so that we would adjust to Indian time.  After sleeping so little on the plane, making it through Saturday felt like a marathon. 

This is Joe, Eric's and my friend who sat beside us on the plane.  He even invited me to the park by his house in Michigan!  Bocca Beezeus! (thats his favorite expression)

Upon leaving the airport we were immediately immersed into the Indian culture.  I had seen movies and heard that roads were crazy but I did not think at 5 AM it would be so bad, and I was not prepared for such immediate immersion.  As we walked out of the airport, the heat and humdity hit us and tons of Indians stood outside of the gate, and they all stared as we walked to our van.  It smelled pretty awful (like really bad body odor).  Cars were honking like crazy and we saw people, motorbikes, cows, buses, all on the same busy road.   

I had heard that we would be stared at but I thought there would be other tourists.  It turns out we are pretty much the only white people in Tambaram (town that we are staying in where Madras Christian College is near Chennai).  Everywhere we go people take pictures of us or stare, wave, or blow kisses. 

The heat and humidity here are pretty rough.  I'm not complaining that I get to miss two months of cold weather, but it's definitely even hotter than I expected.  Just walking outside I pretty much get drenched in sweat.  We are lucky to get our laundry done, but our clothes are hung to dry. It really wears on my clothes.  I've pretty much accepted that I'm going to be looking rough everyday, and that my clothes will be ruined by the time I leave.

I had joked that the food would be too spicy for me and that food was my biggest fear about India.  I didn't realize how accurate this was.  The food is killing me.  EVERYTHING is spicy.  Even at breakfast!  And, it makes it a million times worse that everyone in my class loves the food.  I pretty much live off of rice, naan, peanut butter, and cookies.   

MCC, where we are staying for the first five weeks is a college campus in Tambaram near Chennai.  The campus is wooded and so relaxing and peaceful.  It is crazy that it is in the middle of the fourth largest city in India.  While on campus, it is like a refuge from the hectic chaos and nastiness of the city.  One travel book described it as one of the dirtiest places to live.  But MCC is an exception.  While sitting on the porch of our guest house, we can see deer wandering the campus.  The campus also provides a great place for running and ultimate frisbee with the class which is really nice.  I was so overwhelmed when we first got off the plane that I didn't know if I could handle nine weeks here.  I started panicking a little but as soon as we arrived on campus, I was immediately at ease.  I literally feel like we "enter India" when we walk out the gates and leave India when back on campus.  As soon as you leave the gate, you reach a busy road where cars are blaring horns, and the pollution hits you.   

Our home at MCC

Bucket bath at MCC

The first day after no sleep for 40 some hours, a few of decided to explore around the campus by ourselves.  One of the guys decided it would be fun to cross the street but we had had no instruction from our professors about how to go about it.  It was so scary.  Cars, motorbikes, and buses were flying by from both directions, and there are no crosswalks.  After chickening out a few times, we finally sprinted across, barely making it.  Then we felt ridiculous as we watched an old Indian woman stroll casually across right in front of traffic like it was no big deal.

Crossing the street

After two weeks, I have already gotten used to the craziness of the roads and even have ventured out with only my friend Amanda.  We just causally walk out "into India" to go to the market or store like its an everyday occurence for two American girls to stroll the streets of India. 

Since then we have also seen the opposite extreme of India while staying at some nice resorts, which I will talk about in my next blog.