bargaining at bazaars

Last night, we visited pondy bazaar, a fairly popular shopping district which is about twenty or thirty minutes from home. It's basically just a street set up with booths of vendors selling clothing (kurtas, saris), jewelry, flowers, or just about anything else. You can bargain with the shop owners, so we devised an amazing plan to prevent me (the obviously non-native) from getting ripped off. I would go with either Hannah of Christina and look to see what we liked, and then I would leave the booth, laying all the items over the right side of the piles. Then Jesintha, the bargaining guru would come behind us, not acting like she knew us and drive a hard bargain :). It was very fun, and I got many clothes and gifts. Around eight, it started raining, or rather flooding, haha. It was raining so hard that the shops started closing and we had to stop in a local store to wait for it to lighten up. I was enjoying just being cool, but it was hilarious to see people walking around with plastic bags on their heads to try to keep from getting wet. Because the rain created such an uproar, it took forever to finally find an auto taxi to get home, and the traffic was absolutely ridiculous. It is hard to explain the driving here because it is so chaotic and so different from the lines and red lights of America. From what I've observed, most taxi and car drivers maintain the mentality that they will drive, and everyone else must move out of the way. The scooters and motorcycles then just go everywhere in between. It is quite a sight and an experience on the roads of India. 

Today, Hannah visited some of the colleges in the area that she may be attending to get a better idea of the different schools. Christina and I walked around town, visited a local book store, and got a free ride from a very kind auto driver. We got in, and some of the people said in Tamil that "she wants to sit in front so she can see the city" haha, so then kicked into tour guide mode and asked Christina where I was from and how I was liking India. It was great seeing such hospitality. The scooter has been broken the last two days, so we just walked, which was actually great. But now the scooter is fixed after being in repair, so I believe me and Hannah will be going for a ride before dinner. Hope everyone's summer is splendid, I hear it's pretty hot in Georgia too! :)

A typical street in Chennai

happy birthday carly!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLY!!

I love you, amiga! I know you're probably clubbin' or somethin :) I'll bring you a present when I come home!

We went around the city and took pictures, so truly the entire city of Chennai wishes you Happy Birthday!

Have an amazing day!!! 

இனிய பிறந்த நாள் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் !!!

Biryani, Halwa, and Idyappam, oh my!

Things have been great the last few days, yesterday Hannah and I went for a walk to the grocery store and ended up just walking around the neighborhood a bit. I got some great photos, and although it was really hot, it was interesting to see Chennai on foot. We were passing by this man cleaning shoes on the street and he tried to get our attention. There are many beggars around this area so usually you just try to keep walking, but the man wanted us to take a picture of him so that he could see it on the screen on my camera. So we took his picture, and he was so happy to see it. He called over other people on the street just so he could show them, and even though he didn't really speak English, he kept saying "super, super". Hannah and I actually went home and printed the picture out on their printer and took it back to him. He was very happy, and I'm sure he hung it up in his stand so that everyone could see it. 

Last night, we went to the wedding, which was a very interesting cultural experience. We didn't make it in time for the ceremony, but we made it for the reception. They have many people speak, including the father of both the bride and groom and various pastors. At one point, they cut the cake and after long speeches, all of a sudden this loud, enthusiastic song starts playing saying "CONGRATULATION AND CELEBRATIONS...", please just imagine that to the loudest game show tune you can imagine. It was hilarious. I met TONS of Hannah and Christina's "aunties" and uncles, both actual relatives and random other people (you call all adults in India auntie and uncle), so at this point I'm a little confused as to who they are actually related. I was also included in the wedding video apparently, so it should be very intriguing for the bride and groom to see that a tall white girl was present for their special day. After the speeches and exciting music, they serve dinner. I tried everything given to me (aren't you proud?), it was actually very good but they give you tons of food. You use your hands (actually just your right hand- don't make the mistake of using the left) to eat and the food is served on a banana leaf, so it took me a little longer to eat. However, there is a dilemma of finishing all the food on your leaf, so that you aren't rude, and eating quickly because there are several waves of the dinner crowd. We ate mutton biryani (which was pretty spicy, but now too bad) with idyappam, egg gravy, vegetable gravy, and bread halwa. They also serve icecream, but they give it to you in the middle of the meal so it was completely melted by the time I ate it, but it tasted like cake icing. Anyway, that's enough detail, but I was so full afterwards and Christina made me try pann, a lleaf that was supposed to help with digestion, but it was really strong so I spit it out. 

It was a memorable experience for sure, another chapter of my month here in India. We are looking forward to going to the beach and visiting various relatives in the next couple of weeks, so that should be exciting. 

Christina and I at the wedding

Our new friend to whom we gave the picture

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Riding in the rain

Yesterday Christina  and I had quite an experience going for a ride in a Chennai rain storm. It felt wonderful, a great escape from the normal heat of the day. We have been just riding around quite a bit, touring the city and seeing the sights from the moped. Yesterday, we visited some of her friends from school. Yesterday night, we also tried KFC, which was actually good, but very different from KFC in the States. All the employees apparently found me very interesting (as do many of the people here...I'm almost used to all the staring), and they all crowded in the kitchen and pointed when we came in. We were soaking wet from the rain so the cashier kindly gave us two paper napkins..haha. 

This morning, we woke up very early (as a result of some lingering jet lag or just confusion on a sleeping schedule) and we went out to tower park after breakfast. It is a local park that many people exercise in, and there was actually a roller skating class for children going on, which was adorable. We visited some more friends today, and then we did some shopping. I needed a nice churidhar or salwar (fancy Indian formal wear/pant suit) for a wedding reception that we will be going to tomorrow. Shopping here is VERY different...you cannot just browse to look for what you want. They take you through the store and take everything out of bags and off racks that they think you might like. I felt so bad, because I didn't want them to unfold every single piece of clothing, but it's just how shopping works. It was also difficult explaining what I wanted considering that all the people helping me only spoke Tamil, so I just kept nodding until after what seemed like an eternity I found one that I liked and that fit..so I'll hopefully be putting some pictures up tomorrow after the reception of my awesome new outfit :) It was a very tense shopping trip, but it was definitely a new experience.

Anyway, things are great, just getting to know Chennai and enjoying India. Hope you all are good! 

Christina let me take the scooter for a spin :) 

Does this bus go to...?

Yesterday was my first full day in Chennai, and I got to experience almost all methods of transportation- walking, auto (which is like a motorcycle/taxi sort of deal), scooter, and bus. The bus was by far the most interesting, especially since Hannah got really bad directions and got us completely lost. The buses here are typically completely packed with people- very, very different than american public transit. We had this fun idea of getting Hannah's video camera and giving a full Indian bus riding experience, so I'll try to upload that at some point so you all can experience the thrill :) I am almost used to the staring..let's just say there aren't many other 5'11, blue-eyed white girls walking around here..haha.Hopefully today we'll do some shopping so I can at least blend in a little more easily, plus the clothes here are so beautiful! Tip to any future Indian traveler: Don't bother bringing too many clothes, you'll already stand out enough and your awesome American clothing will only draw more attention. Also, ask where the bus is going BEFORE you get on..that will prevent you ending up in a random corner of the city.

It's 6:13 AM...a little early, but Christina here has a crazy sleep pattern and apparently doesn't eat so this should be a fun month. haha. I caught her reading Crazy Love this morning..she was up around 2:30. Also, I am in the midst of reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It is incredible so far, and I think you all should read it :).

Well anyway, that's all for now. Christina will be making a guest blog posting appearance soon..so get ready :)

First Day in India

So, I FINALLY arrived after the grueling 9.5 hour flight from Brussels to Chennai.The first 7 hour flight from New Jersey to Brussels was actually great, I watched lots of movies and enjoyed an airplane breakfast while flying over Dublin listening to James Taylor :). Plane food is definitely an experience, and it got progressively worse the closer I got to my destination..let me just say I don't recommended serving keish on an airplane. But I have arrived safely, and am so glad to see Hannah, Christina, and Jesintha. I haven't really dealt with any jet lag..I mean I think after literally 24 hours of travelling my body doesn't know when it is supposed to sleep anymore. I had my first adventure today, buying eggs from a corner store and riding with Hannah on the scooter to the grocery store. I had a soda called Limca, which is like an interesting type of Sprite. It is very hot, but it's bearable and I am so excited to see more of Chennai later this afternoon. We will be going to different parks and just riding around the city on the scooter (which is interesting considering there are no traffic rules haha), so it should make for a great day, it just feels great to be out of an airplane. Hope everything is great back in the states! 

I'm leavin on a jet plane...

On the plane heading to New Jersey, then it's off to Brussels and finally Chennai. Everything went great at the airport, now I'm looking forward to the next 16 or so of flying :). Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Thanks for all the sweet messages, I'll try to keep you updated.

Until next time,
Abbey