CHENNAI, INDIA

Just finished my 6-day stay in Chennai India. I had prepared myself for the worst, and was actually very pleasantly surprised with the whole trip. I was very nervous about the smell, cleanliness, and crowdedness of the city. Although all of these were apparent in some aspects, it was not nearly as bad as I expected.

The first day in Chennai was a little bit chaotic. We were interested in seeing the city but no one really had any idea where exactly we wanted to start. Within seconds of leaving the port we were shoved into a cab. We soon realized that our lack of plans would not be a problem because after a few minutes it was clear that our taxi driver had his own agenda. We asked to go to the market, but our first stop ( and second and third) was no market. He would say lets just make a quick stop here, just look. We would get out and go into a store that was very clean and nicely set up. The only other customers in there were other students from the ship. It was soon obvious that we would be taken to all of these overpriced, touristy shops no matter what we had to say about it. Finally we were taken to the market, which was a much different atmosphere. We had to stay very close to the side of the road as the cars and rickshaws zoomed past. Each booth was unique and authentic. We found some traditional Indian clothing and some colorful bangle bracelets.

The second day I got the chance to visit Mammallapuram, an ancient port city about an hour from Chennai. It holds some of the best specimens of South Indian temple architecture and is home to temples that are thousands of years old and carved in stone. A University student showed us around this tourist attraction and took some group pictures for us! He did not want money but we did check out his stone carving shop =)

While my first few days in India were nice I was ready for some real plans. I signed up for a home stay at a home stay which would occupy most of my time in India. The stay was in Erode, a village, hours from Chennai in the more rural part of India.  The trip to Erode was tied with the trip to Axim in Ghana for scariest experiences so far on SAS.  We left the ship at 9pm on Monday night headed towards to train station to get on board our “sleeper train” which would take us to our stop in Erode at around 5 the next morning.  Our group of fifteen wandered frantically around the train station which was muggy, smelly, dim, and super crowded. We certainly stood out. After about ten minutes of up and down and left and right our guide informed us that we were at the wrong train station. Next thing I know we are being shoved into rickshaws, little golfcart like taxis, that zoom in and out of traffic. Although I had ridden in one in the daytime this was much different. We had a couple very close calls and one of the rickshaws even got in a little fender bender on the way to strain station number 2.  When we finally reached the train car two quickly noticed had some occupied beds, and we had to scramble find an open seat among them.  Lets just say even though I did not leave my train “bed” at all night, I got very little sleep.

When we finally arrived at the home I felt a lot better. It was a farm house that reminded me a lot of my Grandma and Papas farm house in the Catskills. It was pretty big and had a gorgeous open area in the middle that connected each section. We met the couple that lives there full time along with their son who was there with his wife and two girls, and the daughter who had traveled with us from Chennai. We were greeted with some of the best coffee I have EVER had and at that point I knew it would be okay.

That day the family showed us around the community which was pretty much sustained by through the exchange from local farms. We took a walk through their farm which had been in the family for 300 years! Then we went to see a small community where they made sugar and another that made hay from coconut shells.  We also visited a small public school in the area. The children here seemed a little disheveled and barely spoke English, They were super cute though and sang songs for us. Later in the day we saw a market where everyone brought their vegetables, spices, and breads to sell to the local people.  That night we enjoyed some traditional South Indian food served on a large metal plate and no utensils. After dinner we went to the swimming hole which was really just a big well. We got to ride in a tractor there like a hayride, but with no hay. It was a lot of fun. 

The next day we spent most of our day at a school. There was about 5000 students in total spread between 3 schools. It is very common for kids to board at school starting at age 8. It was a private school where most of the students were middle class. We got to see a Morning Prayer assembly and it was amazing how well behaved and disciplined all the children were and they sat in perfect rows on the floor and sang the prayers in unison. Mid-day we got to see a hand-weaving factory where they make bed sheets and linens.  The workers would stand at the handloom for 8-hour days weaving for barely minimum wage =(. Next we went to see some temples. We had to go barefoot and the it was super sunny so our feet were burning as we walked up to the top. We were the only tourists there so it was interesting to be exposed to the prayers and rituals of the individuals who worshiped there. We jumped right into it and were all given the paste and ash to put on our forehead in each temple.

 When we got back to the school the children performed a traditional Indian dance for us! It was great, and then they asked for us to show them something. We did not have anything planned but we did have a girl who sang with us and she got up and sang  “Lean on Me” and we all joined in. Then my friend Patrick, Brittany, and I got up and showed some African dance we had learned. It was very spontaneous but I think they liked it! After this we were taken to visit a school for the disabled. The students here all had physical disabilities and came from families who didn’t know how to, or did not enough money to help. The facilities were not good and it was very dirty. I felt bad for these children but I was happy that I got the chance to spend time with them and hopefully brighten their day.  At the end of this long day we returned to the school for a meditation session! I found it interesting that this meditation/yoga was a part of the school day for all students. It was very relaxing and I thought it was super cool to practice yoga in its homeland.

We arrived back at the ship around 5 am after another long night on the sleeper train. Everyone was relieved to be back and to be able to shower! After a little nap and some phone calls home we were back into the city. That night my friends and I went to a dance club called Pasha which was a lot of fun but not the most cultural experience as it was mostly semester at sea students.  Overall, my time in India was great. Although I did not make it to the Taj Mahal of Delhi this time, I am happy that I got to see an inside look into rural India and really get to know some of the locals.  It was a really great experience and I would definitely go back.