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
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