going to town

Today, some of the nuns and I ventured to the grocery store, Reliance Fresh. I was shocked (okay not really shocked... I guess it's to be expected) at the amount of bugs flying around that place... especially near the vegetables, which I was hoping to purchase. Unfortunately, there's not really any way to get around it, so I sucked it up, got in there and bought some red peppers, mushrooms and a cucumber (I figure I'll sanitize them before consuming them anyways). But the whole thing was a little nauseating. I guess it's just one of the many things I'll need to get used to... plus I am craving good vegetables, so you gotta do whatcha gotta do, right?! At the store, something veryyy exciting, we found plantains! And I told Romi and Natalia in my very VERY broken Espanol que "AHHH a mi me gusta platanos fritos!" Then they made a motion as if to smash the plantains first, then fry then and I got VERY excited... one of my mom's specialties AND my favorite thing at Sol Food. Needless to say, we bought a few. And garbanzos, too!

I've really started to bond with Natalia and Romi. They have only been here for four months, so they completely understand my situation and how hard it is to adjust. They are so reassuring and who'd of thought I'd be speaking more Spanish than English in India?! Nevertheless, I am thrilled for this opportunity to try and get back all of the Spanish I've lost since Madrid. We were joking today how we speak fluent Spanglish... I try to speak in Spanish and then they respond in English and then we correct each other, how perfect is that? Later in the day, though, I found out they will be gone the entire month of July :-(

For lunch, we had biryani, a type of rice with a bunch of really delicious spices and seasonings (although I'm not quite sure what kinds). Rested a little, then went and hung out with some of the nuns. They made the garbanzos we bought at the grocery store for a snack, boiled and seasoned them with a pepper and they were sooo good! They taught me that in Telagu (the native language in this state), garbanzos are called chanadrum. Good to know! I then discovered that it is in fact the "filtered" water that is making me feel so sick. I did a little experiment and only drank Coke for the morning and early afternoon. I was feeling great... until I had water with my snack. I think maybe I'll stick to bottled water for a while.

Then, we went to visit the kids, mainly the really young ones (some are as young as four but are so tiny they look much younger). Seriously, though, so in love. It's amazing how well-behaved they are. They all sit peacefully after class and do their homework with no problems or trouble at all. I do think they're a little confused, though, since they keep calling me "sister," to which I say "oh no no no, just Allie." I'm not sure they get it yet, but they will! And I can't even explain how unbelievably cute they are! I might be turning a little maternal on myself, which is kind of terrifying, but really, they are precious. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures soon and learn how to spell the names of the nuggets I've met so I can show everyone.

Exciting news of the day: I reworked my "AC" and I now no longer sweat while I'm sleeping! And to make things even better, I discovered a shower head in my bathroom! No buckets for me (except the spiders still like to hangout there and the water smells... those will be my next things to conquer)! Now, if only those mosquitos would find some new friends to bite, I'd be all set!

Quote of the day: "Where do you live?" (To which I respond, "California," since I've been there four years and will probably be there for many more years.) "Ohhh, California...the government is Schwarzenegger. His poor wife...what a pity." (Enough said.)

Fun fact of the day: Natalia told me that today that since I switched rooms and buildings, I'm actually living in a convent now. This makes me laugh. Apparently you can't live in a convent unless your a nun (duh) but they made a special exception for me. And my room's right next to the chapel. So now I feel slightly awkward/unholy watching movies like The Hangover before I go to sleep. Oh well!

the beginning

Friday night was my last night in Chennai. I wish I would've had more than one day to explore a little more, but it's only four hours away, I'm sure I will be back! Saturday morning, Rajkumar came to the hotel to bid me farewell and make sure I got off okay (I'm telling you, ABOVE AND BEYOND kindness!) and I ate more than I've been eating, thank goodness. The hotel food was pretty good and a little Americanized which made it a nice transition.

Four pieces of toast and some chickpeas later, Amanda from National Instruments and her husband Brent came to pick me up in by far the nicest car I've been in so far (with blasting AC! What more could I have asked for). Amanda's company sent her to India to bring this computer game/education tool made by Lego to India. She and Brent had spent 10 days traveling India and going into the slums to teach this really great software to the children. The software, which I still have yet to really play with, is geared towards kids to teach them basic engineering skills. It's really cool because on the software, you learn how to build an alligator or a soccer goal out of the legos that are provided. Then, with a few sensors and a USB cord, the legos are synced with the computer game and through the computer game, you can instruct the creation to perform things. For example, when we build the alligator, through the computer we could tell the alligator to open and close its mouth, for how long and how many times etc etc. It's a pretty pricey software, but Amanda and her big heart are dedicated to trying to get more of these programs donated. I think the kids will really like this because it's hands on and not merely a lecture. Plus, I was quite the avid Lego fan as a kid (remember, Mom, all of those Star Wars sets?!) 

Anyways, the car ride was really great. Amanda and Brent are from Austin, Texas (LOVE all of the Texas connections) and they were pretty much the cutest couple ever. We bonded over being very confused when we saw an entire family (infant and all) riding on the back of a motorcycle through the busy streets of Chennai. I felt very attached to them even though I only met them for a few hours and definitely shed a few tears when they left later that afternoon.

Upon arrival to the orphanage, Lilly, the "head nun" was waiting for us outside of the gates. Immediately, I was shown to my room but currently, we are moving me into the main house where the nuns are. I felt bad because the last thing I want to be is high maintenance, but they offered and insisted, since its less isolated and this house has fans that work even when the power goes out (like how the power is out now, a very common happening in India!) But my new room is similar, just a little older. I'll take pictures soon. Then, we had lunch, which was very good! But unfortunately, I haven't been able to eat a lot between my fatigue, the heat and the overall adjusting. They also did an adorable welcoming ceremony where they all sang to us and presented us with beautiful silk scarves and even a manly one for Brent!

 

The school

Lunch was fun and then we toured the school and learned a little bit more about the orphanage. Apparently in India, the term orphan can mean that you have one parent. So a lot of the children have a parent and might go home for a night or a month when school is not in session (they also go to school on Saturday, ahh!) and on Sundays, many of the parents come visit the school/home. In addition, a lot of children from outside of the orphanage come to the school just during the day. Lilly also told me that many of the children come straight off the street and no matter what, she will never ever turn down a child. It's funny, just the few days I've been here, I feel so comfortable with the nuns and it seems like each of them reminds me of someone. Lilly reminds me of my host mom from Madrid, Concha, which is extremely comforting since I became so close with her and will be visiting her after this trip. Two of the nuns are from Colombia, and they are SO MUCH FUN. Natalia and Romi. Romi has the most contagious laugh ever, and they love that I [try] to speak Spanish to them and then they speak English back to me so we can practice. Romi almost looks like she could be part of my mom's side of the family! She has a lot of the same features as my grandfather and some of my aunts. Maybe a distant cousin or something, heehee. 

    

Me and some of the nuggets! 

Brent teaching the kids to pound it! BOOM!

All in all, there were no surprises coming here. If anything, I'm completely blown away by the hospitality and the constant, "you don't need to worry, Allie, this is your home, be free," comments that keep coming my way because I'm not going to lie, this is and will be a difficult adjustment. Like I've told many of my friends and family, I knew exactly what to expect and like I said before, nothing has come as a surprise to me. But there's really no real way to prepare for something like this and you don't actually know what it's like until you're living it. But truth be told, this is the best possible place I could be.

Although it is very very hot and the power is not consistent, the energy here is unbeatable and I can't imagine myself in any other place or job right now. The children, although so poor, are so amazingly happy, polite, eager to learn and interested in this new white person floating around their campus (crying a lot of the time, I don't know why the tears just keep coming!) You can almost feel their pulse and excitement which is exciting for me! It's truly incredible how peaceful and content they can be with little to no possessions and some, not even a family. I think that's an important lesson I will learn/am already learning. I knew that this journey would not be easy; that I'd struggle for at least a few days, but I know once I'm acclimated to the heat and am able to eat a little more and start teaching, things will start to fall into place. Today, like I said, the power went out, and they never know for how long. I'm thankful for the breeze that's blowing, though, which definitely makes the heat more manageable, and for the cute little boys who helped me trek my stuff across the campus. Goal for tomorrow: conquer the bucket bath... wish me luck! 

Thanks for reading!

PS: HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD! MISS AND LOVE YOU!

 

opening my eyes to chennai

After a refreshing one hour nap/sleep, I woke up at 6 a.m., ready to begin my day. A colleague of my dad's who lives in Chennai and is coincidentally moving to Los Colina, Texas (just 15 minutes from Colleyville, where I grew up) in two weeks, his name is Rajkumar, offered to give me the grand tour of the city of Chennai. First of all, thank god, because I'm not sure how keen I was on taking another cab alone. And second, how incredibly kind, seeing as how neither my father nor I had ever met the guy. But because we had 'mutual friends,' there were no questions asked, I would be given the tour of a lifetime! We started the morning early and headed 40 minutes outside of Chennai to a town called Mamallapuram, famous for its ancient rock cut caves and shrines/temples in the making. On the way, we stopped on the side of the road for some coconut water. It's funny because those little juice boxes of coconut water are sold at Whole Foods and are not only expensive but seem to be almost trendy these days. But this was more than authentic. The woman merely took a coconut, right off the tree, hacked off the top and put a straw in for me. Talk about fresh! When I was finished, she took the coconut from me and carved out some of the coconut meat, snack time! Rajkumar explained to me that the coconut water would help me with the heat and the bumpy drive we were in the middle of.

        

 

When we got to Mamallapuram, we went on a small rock climbing adventure in order to view some of the temples. The temples, which are now ruins, were created and detailed by hand out of a single, gigantic rock using only water and wood. The carvings told stories about the Hindi gods and depicted some of the famous conflicts that had occurred. After seeing about six temples, we headed to the beach, the Bay of Bengal. Although an overcast day, the water looked warm and the natives seemed to be enjoying its vistas (fun to see the beach, but don't worry it has nothing on San Diego).

 

In front of Dharmaraja Ratha (one of the structures), posing with King Narasimha, the patron of the entire area. The name of the town, Mamallapuram, is named for his title, Mamalla.


Next we departed to Dakshina Chitra, a non-profit service project dedicated to preserving the cultures of the people in India. There, I was able to see some of the traditional crafts (FAVE!) and learn a little about the different states and topography in India, Tamil Nadu (the state I'm in) in particular. There, I got mehndi (henna) on one of my hands, obviously the first step in trying to fit in India and one of my all-time favorite things.

 

Now, it's almost a dark brown color! How detailed is that? If you look carefully on my wrist, you can see a peacock that the woman drew within the other swirls and such. Peacocks seem to be a popular thing around here since it's one of the national birds of the country.


After this, we went to the home of another one of my dad's coworkers where I got to meet one of the most precious children ever (I'm not quite sure how to spell their names, and I'm definitely not going to guess, so I'll update that later). From there, I had my first real Indian meal! Although still brutally jet-lagged and definitely too tired to function, I have to say I enjoyed the samba the best (it's spicy, kind of like masala, I think?) The coconut milk dish was my least favorite and picture below with some "Indian donuts."

Not my fave, but I had to document the FIRST supper.

At the end of the meal, everyone is given a little dish of saunf, which are the Indian version of mints, but more like a little herb coated in a mint-like substance. This is to help with digestion and to cleanse the palate.

 

Saunf

(Yes, people were looking at my funny when I was taking pictures of the food. But they were looking at me funny since the moment I stepped off the plane, so I didn't really have a lot to lose! Indians in Chennai seem to be fascinated with me, as an American. And it's strange, even though I was only here for 48 hours, I probably only saw two other Westerners the entire time!!)

Also, as a side note, I really like how, so far, it seems that everything in India has a purpose, or a job. Like the saunf, to help with digestion, the henna, to cool the body and the coconut water, to cool the body as well and help with nausea and jet-lag. I like knowing the meaning and history behind all of these traditions so it was really fun to have such great tour guides who were not only natives but so passionate and proud of their hometown and could perfectly explain everything to me.

 

After the long day filled with history and fun, Rajkumar took me home in an auto rickshaw, which are all over the city and basically nugget cars that can more easily weave through traffic, scare the crap out of you and get you to your destination quicker. I LOVED IT!


In just an hour, I will be heading four hours outside of Chennai to my new home. I'm so so SOOO excited to see my new home and meet everyone! I'll write again soon!

(almost) great success!

HELLO EVERYONE! I have made it to India! And what an adventure it's been already. I got to Delhi around 5:30 p.m. and was surprised to find the airport absolutely spotless, modern and not the least bit hectic. After picking up my bag, rechecking it, confusingly finding my way through security and to the gate, I got on my second flight to Chennai, where for the first time I was able to nap a little. At this point in my journey, everything had been very low stress, low key and my nerves were calm, not bad for over 20 hours of travel. Unfortunately, when I reached Chennai to head for the hotel, things changed. The car from the hotel neglected to pick me up (almost midnight, India time, at this point), so I waited around to see if they'd show, sweating profusely in the meantime, but no luck! I opted for a cab, run by the government, and one that you pay ahead of time (seemingly safe, right?!) and found myself in a bug-esque, black and yellow (black and yellow) car with a Tamil-speaking native. I showed him my hotel's information and he muttered something I didn't understand and we were off! Although past midnight at this point, the roads were still terrifying, weaving in and out of traffic, cutting off large trucks and driving on the wrong side of the road (which would technically be the side of the road we're used to) towards oncoming traffic. All of this was tolerable, but then the driver realized he had no idea where he was going. This led to an hour of driving around, through the slums and pulling over almost 10 times to ask for directions. At this point, I was hungry and tired and getting a little bit scared, though I tried to tell myself everything was fine, which of course it was. But between the language barrier (with him trying to talk to me in Tamil and me not understanding a word) and my realization that I WAS IN INDIA!!!!!!! (alone...), led to a few tears, a few more stops for directions and FINALLY, to our final destination: the hotel, where I IMMEDIATELY showered and checked out the room service/internet situation.

Although I didn't see much of India tonight, I have a lot of thoughts and first impressions running through my mind. I can't wait to explore a little more tomorrow and hopefully be able to paint a better picture of Chennai and my experience in general. I'm REALLY looking forward to Saturday, where I will finally get to meet all of my little nuggets and the nuns I'll be living with for the next six months. So much to look forward to! More thoughts and hopefully photos later; thanks for all of the emails and messages, keep 'em coming!

"how does she feel about it and what is she thinking about how she feels?"

(A quote from probably one of the best YouTube videos of all time: Boys Will Be Girls, which has little to do with my current state of emotion but is guaranteed to make you laugh!)

Welp! The day has finally come. TOMORROW I leave for India. I've been waiting for this for literally years and I honestly cannot believe it's here. For the past year, I've been researching programs, non-profits and jobs in India. I've been let down more than a few times, gotten my hopes up and almost given up. But alas! It was not a hopeless cause because in the end, even though it was hard and tedious work, I found the perfect non-profit that has already given me more than I could have asked for (and I haven't even arrived in India yet) and I have a sneaky feeling I'll be able to return the favor to them.

For those of you who haven't heard the logistics of my journey, I'll give you a brief summary. I will be teaching English and a computer course to about 94 children in an orphanage in the south of India (in order to protect the children's identities and safety, I can't publicly disclose my specific whereabouts... but I'll tell you one thing, it's going to be HOT). I will be living with nuns in the orphanage and I will likely be the only American in the entire town. This sounds scary on paper but to be honest, I'm most nervous about the 14 hour plane ride (EEK!!)

This venture is something I'm extremely passionate about and something I've dreamed of doing my entire life. To everyone who has donated to my campaign, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This trip also would not have been possible without you. Also a big thank you to my beautiful friends and family for being supportive, not thinking I'm a crazy person and constantly telling me "you'll be fine" (those words strangely comfort me a lot). Without that mental support, I may not have had the courage to take this trip and volunteer opportunity.

I wish money wasn't so important, but unfortunately it is! If you're interested in making a donation, click here to donate to my cause and also help support the Miracle Foundation, a small non-profit in Austin, Texas that believes in giving children that stereotypically have no chance for success, the opportunity for education and higher standards of living and who are sending me to India to help make this happen.

NAMASTE TUMBLR WORLD! Stay tuned for lots and lots of updates!

And India, I shall see you soon!