I don't even know where to start or what to say. I have reached the turning point of my trip, the point that I was warned about, when I will begin to re-evaluate everything. I am not sure how to process all that I am thinking and feeling. But I will save the super heavy stuff for my journal. Instead, I will share with you all random bits of the past few days...

There are little tiny geckos all over the place here, even in the house! They like to hang out on the walls and eat mosquitoes (which I appreciate!). These geckos are super skiddish and run away at even the slightest movement. There is one that has been hiding out in my room for a week now. He is under/behind my nightstand. Every time he pokes his head out to see if the coast is clear, he spots me and runs back under the nightstand. I feel bad for the little guy, being stuck in my room under the nightstand. I wish I could help him be free but he is too scared to come out :( On a positive note, my room has been free of mosquitoes thanks to my little roommate.

The weekend excursion to Kanchipuram, Pondicherry, and Mahabalipuram was so much fun! Laura and I hired our Global Volunteer driver to take us on our weekend trip, which was great because he is familiar with the areas, is someone we already knew and trusted, and is fluent in Tamil (which came in handy many times!). Kanchipuram is known for its temples and silks. Lucky for me, I got to experience both. The second temple we visited (no idea what it is called) was ridiculously amazing! We got to walk through the entire temple complex except for the inner section, where only Hindus can go. It was so cool to be able to see the gods in all their glory in this magnificent old temple. Very peaceful and mysterious in there. (Note: if any of you reading this blog are planning a trip to India to see some temples, BRING SOCKS! All footwear must be left outside the temple and the ground is pretty nasty. Thankfully Laura had an extra pair of socks for me, saved the day!) Anyhoo, the silk store was fun to visit. I got to see a sari being made on a traditional loom, which was interesting. The salesmen at this store are very good at what they do. I ended up leaving with about 8 silk scarves. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas! haha

Pondicherry was a cute little seaside town, very clean and quiet compared to Chennai. Laura and I stayed at a fab new hotel called Atithi (highly recommend it!). We woke up early and took a stroll down Mahatma Gandhi Blvd to see the little shops and stalls. We purchased several saris and some Tamil music CDs. While in Pondicherry we visited an ashram, which is something I have always wanted to do. I really liked the garden/courtyard area and felt that it was somewhere I would really like to spend time meditating and being at peace with my thoughts. However, once I entered the building I was met with creepy pictures of the "Mother" who founded the ashram. She is very creepy and is, according to the sign in the lobby, "every where and is watching your every move." What creeped me out most is the fact that Mother has been dead for quite some time and is currently in the courtyard. 

After the ashram we headed over to Auroville, a hippy commune in the middle of nowhere. The visitors' center was very nice and played a video about the hippy commune. As I sat there watching the video I found myself thinking that Auroville seemed like a pretty cool place after all. And then She appeared. Mother. Yep, creepy ashram-founding dead Mother. The sign was correct, she is everywhere and is watching my every move! haha! Laura and I quickly packed up our stuff and left before the video was over. No hippy commune/creepy cults for us!

Before I say good night it is time for another top 10 list.

Top 10 things I do not think I will ever understand about India:
10) Cows in the street (if they are sacred, why are they allowed to roam and eat garbage?)
9) Parents who do not discipline their children... but who rush to discipline every one else's children (discipline here = getting hit with sticks/canes/plastic cricket bats)
8) How the traffic works (and it does work!) More on this subject in a later blog...
7) How so many foods can have the same exact ingredients, but taste totally different
6) How no one sweats in this crazy heat (I swear I am the only one who sweats here!)
5) How no one else is covered in bug bites
4) How Hindus can keep all the facts about Hinduism straight
3) How it is the birthplace of yoga when it is too loud and chaotic to even relax, much less do yoga (maybe this is why Indians do not practice yoga at all, according to what I heard here...)
2) The kindness and generosity of people who have nothing (nothing material that is)
1) Cows in the street (yep, I really don't get it!)

That's enough rambling for now. Goodnight!
Meg

Fat American

 So apparently I am a super fat American. I went to a neighorhood store today that sells bangles but could not fit any on display. The owner of the shop had to pull out some bangles in the back corner of the store for me to try. Apparently these were the bangles for the big chicks. I bought two sets and was pretty excited about them, ignoring the fact that I had to get plus sized bangles. When I got back to the guest house I unwrapped a set to wear tonight. The glass bangle promptly broke as I was attempting to put it on, and it cut me on the palm of my hand. Great. Now I have an open wound on my hand, the same hand that 50 kids like to hold every day. Good thing I brought neosporin and Hello Kitty band-aids...

Hello everyone! It is Thursday night here in Chennai and I find myself with a few moments to write a new post. The trip is going well so far, I am having a great time! I cannot even begin to describe India and all that I am experiencing. Working with the children here is both challenging and rewarding. I spend my mornings at Assisi Illam, a daycare/orphange for children ages 2-5. I am working mostly with 3 year olds, helping them with their alphabets, numbers, animals, etc. Adorable does not even come close to describing how cute these kids are! They are each so special, with very unique personalities. I will take pictures on my last day and will post them here for you all to see.

My afternoons are spent at Grace School teaching English to 4th and 5th graders. These students are so much fun and make teaching very enjoyable for me. There is one little girl in 4th grade, Deepika, who writes me a note every day telling me how much she loves me being their teacher and how sad she will be when I go home to America. I don't even want to think about saying my goodbyes to the children...

In the evenings we go to SEAMs (South East Asian Missions) to play with/teach the children. Most of these children only have one parent and live at this orphange because the parent cannot afford to keep them. The parents visit the children only once a month. These children have nothing but each other and the clothes on their backs, yet they are some of the happiest and kindest children I have ever met! They are so excited to spend time with us, playing games and practicing the English they learn in school. I found out last night that if Global Volunteers was not in India, these children at SEAMs would be sent back to their families to be put to work. I cannot imagine these little ones working in factories as child labor! It makes me even more grateful for the opportunity to be here with them.

In addition to all of the teaching I have had the opportunity to get out and experience some of Chennai. Yesterday Laura (my team mate) and I went to downtown Chennai to shop. Tomorrow we will be visiting the largest market in all of India. Our weekend will be spent traveling south to see temples, ashrams, a sea-side town called Pondicherry, and some other popular sights. I'm looking forward to seeing more of India on our drive! Next week's activities will include: classical dancing, bollywood film, another market, and dinner with our program host's parents.

Good night!
Meg

First Day in India

Yay! I finally made it to Chennai. It looked for a minute like I was not going to make it here on time. When I landed in Mumbai (at the international airport) I was told that my connecting flight to Chennai was leaving from the domestic airport. So, I hopped on the shuttle bus and headed over to the domestic airport only to find out that my flight was actually back at the international airport after all. To make matters worse, it was about an hour until my flight left. I had to take a pre-paid taxi all the way through Mumbai at midnight to get back to the same airport I had started at. This meant that I had to go through customs/security all over again. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. It was interesting though to go through security in Mumbai because they have segregated security stations, one for men and one for women. Don't ask me how I felt about that :)

Anyhoo, taking a taxi alone in Mumbai at night was very adventurous and somewhat scary, at least to me. I was so nervous about being alone in Mumbai and missing my flight. To make matters worse, my cell phone does not work in India like the rep at Verizon promised it would. I felt very alone and pretty scared. I pissed off the driver apparently because I did not give him his receipt right away, so I really had no idea if he was really taking me to the airport or to some back ally where he would leave me and take my bags. I did a whole lotta praying in the back of that taxi! But Mr. Taxi Driver came through and delivered me right to my gate. I was able to take a last minute shuttle to my plane and boarded right before they closed the doors. I have never felt so relieved in my whole life!

I was met at the Chennai airport by Stephen Raja, the program manager for Global Volunteers in Chennai. He was so kind to pick me up at 3:00 am! I was so happy to see him waiting for me with the Global Volunteers sign, I almost cried. What a relief that 24 hours after leaving Columbus, I finally made it to Chennai and found my contact here! Stephen took me immediately to the volunteer guest house so I could get settled in my room. My room is much bigger than I expected and is very nice. Lucky me, I get the room all to myself even though it is a double. There was another volunteer already here at the guest house. His name is Dustin and he is an old pro by now, having been here for three weeks. I met him at breakfast and was able to ask him lots and lots of questions about what to expect. Later on in the day Laura joined our group. She will be my volunteer partner for the remainder of the trip (Dustin leaves on Monday, so it will just be me and Laura for the next two weeks).

Having Dustin around has been very fun and helpful. He took Laura and I on a walk around our neighborhood, showing us where to find groceries, school supplies for the kids, ATMs, hamburgers (yep, beef!), and other stores we may need during our stay. Dustin also took us to some sort of market place. I couldn't tell if it was inside or underground... but it was pretty cool to walk through. They had everything from saris to marigolds to spices to scary fly-covered meat (let's just say I may be coming home a full-blown vegetarian!).

Speaking of food, our cook is AMAZING!!! So far, all three meals have been ridiculously delicicious. I am looking forward to having her cooking every day while I am here. Too bad I can't take her home with me...

Alright, it's time to say goodbye for now. I have not slept much since Wednesday night and I am crazy tired. Tomorrow I go to meet the kids, which will kick-off the start of a busy trip. I will try to update you all with more info every few days. We have a little laptop here at the guest house with wi-fi, thanks to the kindness of a volunteer who donated it. I am so grateful to have access to e-mail, especially since my phone does not work.

Good night everyone and sweet dreams!
Meg

According to my nifty online countdown clock, it is only two days until my flight leaves. Woot woot! My bags are (80%) packed and my to-do list is (95%) finished. Being the over-planner that I am, I scoped out Continental's website last night to check out details about my flight. Apparently I am going to have my own 9in screen and access to a couple thousand on-demand movies, shows, games, and music channels. Plus I get wine and ice cream (but not together, cause that would be gross). This 16 hour flight is starting to not seem so bad! :)

It is finally hitting me that I am going to be in India next week. Me... in India! It's almost hard to believe that it is really happening. I have dreamed of world travel since I was a little girl and have wanted to go to India for as long as I can remember. When I think about the upcoming trip I am filled with a variety of emotions. I am nervous, excited, humbled, afraid, eager, and anxious. More than anything else I am grateful. I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I get to go on this grand adventure to the other side of the globe and make a difference in the lives of these children. So awesome!

Top 10 things I am looking forward to doing in India:

(ok, maybe not the top 10... just the first 10 things that came to mind)

10) eating naan every day

9) experiencing another culture

8) making a difference in the lives of others

7) visiting temples

6) watching bollywood films

5) shopping in bazaars

4) cows in the street

3) avoiding rickshaws at all costs

2) spending time with the kids

1) eating naan every day (yes, I'm that excited about it!)