Last night, we arrived at the airport and found a modern, brightly light, air conditioned building. Women in saris checked our passports. The luggage was slow in arriving, but arrive it did and getting through customs was easy. Walking out of customs was like walking down a runway, one side bordered by the building and one side bordered by a teeming mass of people, many of whom had signs with the names of the passengers they were to pick up. We easily found the "Global Voluteers" sign held my our team leader, Stephen. After gathering another volunteer who was on our flight, Nita, he escorted us to the parking lot to await the mini van which was to take us to the guesthouse.
Stepping away from the airport, we found ourselves in a teeming mix of people, motorcyles and cars. The modern airport gave way to the India dust and crowds. I was a little worried that if I lost sight of Stephen who was escorting us through the multitude, we would be lost forever. However, Stephen kept careful watch on us and we made it to the parking lot without losing a one of us.
The van finally arrived and we crammed our luggage in its tiny interior. My large duffel bag wouldn't fit, however, and Stephen threw it on top of the van. The van's roof did have a luggage rack, but I did wonder if my bag would arrive at the guest house as the van started to speed through the streets and I knew that my bag was not tied down. My duffel bag did arrive without any untoward incident.
First impressions of Chennai: crowded, dirty, noisy.
After arriving at the guest house, we found two other volunteers who had arrived before us: Joella and Laura, both from Minnesota. We sat and talked for awhile and soon Stephen went to pick up another voluntter. He soon came back with Hamish (please excuse my spelling) and we continued to talk for a time more. Another volunteer was due to arrive at 4:30am and Stephen was going to meet her at the airport later, expecting to get no sleep this night. Eventually we all drifted to our rooms to try to sleep, knowing that breakfast was scheduled at 9:00am in the morning.
This morning, we woke up to the noisy street noises of Chennai after having slept for a few hours under the mosquito netting draping our beds. After taking a cold shower (no hot water), we went down to the common room and had a breakfast of eggs (made like a thin frittata) and noodles (similar to Ramen noodles). The coffee was delicious, reminding me of chai tea, but using coffee as the base rather than tea.
After more talking, the group (which now included Nicky, who was the 4:30 arrival) decided to walk around the neighborhood. Narrow dirt streets, open gutters, motorcycles honking their horns, auto "rickshaws", women in saris, men with turban-like headresses, Hindu temples, trash, and yes, cows roaming freely. Did I mention it's hot?
We made it safely back to the guesthouse, fortunately not getting lost. When we talked to Stephen at lunch, he told stories of other teams getting lost in the windy, narrow, crowded streets. He then gave us his card with his phone number so that we could call him in the event we do lose our way. We also met Joan, another team member who arrived while we were taking a walk.
Conversation and rest before lunch. Lunch consisted of crispy, fried, thin bread, a shredded cabbage side dish, a curry dish served over rice, and some fried vegetable dish. Stephen showed us the proper way to eat with your hands. Always use your right hand only. Don't touch your hand to your mouth, using your thumb to push it over your lips and in. He explained its much better to eat with your hands as you can mix the food together better and get a better flavor as a result. I need practice. I ended up with curry dribbled in my lap.
We are now resting through the heat of the day. Stephen suggested we don't go outside from 12pm - 2pm. At 3:30pm, Joella, who has made the trip to India with Global Volunteers two times before, is going to take us to SEAMS, Southeast Asian Mission, which is either or school or orphanage where Global Volunteers is involved.
More later, need a siesta...
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