Tuesday October 14th

Today we arrived in India! I got up around 7:30 to see us pull into port. As soon as I stepped outside you could smell the unique smells of India. To be honest, it smelled horrible. I watched the ship pull into its spot in the harbor, had breakfast and went to get ready for the day. The diplomatic briefing was at the normal time, 9am in the union. The two U.S. ambassadors that boarded the ship to talk to us were very helpful in giving us tips about Chennai. But overall, they got me excited to get off the ship because of all the good things they had to say about the people here in Chennai.

India was different in our disembarking process in the fact that we were not allowed to take our passports off the ship, instead we had a "shore pass" issued by the Indian government which basically served the same purpose. Ari, Steph and I had a service project at noon so we didn't get off the ship at all because the walk to get out of the port was about 1 km and wasn't worth it to get out in the city for a half hour and turn back.

We met out on the pier at 12 with the rest of our group. We were going to be going to a school and painting, though we didn't know that at this point. We were all wearing jeans because they told us that Indians are very conservative in their mindsets and dress, especially for girls. So shorts were discouraged and tank tops were out of the question. Needless to say, it was a steamy 90 degrees when we left and 90% humidity. The pier smelled horrible. Not like fish or anything, but more like garbage and waste.

Our group boarded the bus and we set off for the school. Overall, it was about a 45 minute drive and we got our first taste of the crazy, beeping, weaving Chennai traffic. We were going to a poorer section of town so there were a lot of make shift homes along the street, goats, dogs, garbage…basically a very run down and poorly maintained city. The sidewalks would go for about 15ft or so before they would stop because they were destroyed or a pile of rock and sand would be blocking the way. Nothing was maintained.

We got off the bus and had a grand welcome reception. A band was playing for us, we were blessed and received bindi's (the dot on the forehead) as we got off the bus. It was a half mile walk or so to the school but we didn't mind. Everyone looked at us like celebrities. The kids all wanted their picture taken. Finally our parade ended and we walked into the school yard. The school was set off the main road and the entrance was only a small alley. It looked like a jail because it was 4 stories high and there were no glass windows, just bars on the windows. There were three buildings that enclosed on each other to make a courtyard in the center. Here we sat and listened to a musical performance…basically the finale of our parade. "The Human Rights Education of India" sponsored our trip their and gave a presentation introducing us and what we were to be doing that day. We would all split up into small groups and paint different parts of the school. Some smaller kids were down in the courtyard with us, while the older kids stayed in their classrooms for all of this. Keep in mind the courtyard is dirt, not pretty grass…

Kathy the librarian on the ship, another student named Chris, and I were assigned to painting blackboards. The backboards are just black shiny paint put on the walls and they can write on it with chalk. We moved from class to class re-painting the boards in each. All of the kids were very excited to see us. Most of them sat on the concrete floors for class. They all jumped up and wanted to shake our hands and get our autographs whenever we entered a new classroom. We really felt like celebrities now. After a few hours of working we all gathered back in the courtyard and had a closing ceremony. More kids showed up this time because school was out. All wanted their pictures taken. We worked for about 3 hrs when it was all said and done and were back on the bus by 5:30pm.

Ari, Steph and I went back and took showers. Everyone managed to cover themselves in paint but I didn't have a drop on me. Thanks to my parents I have a very delicate stroke with the paintbrush and don't get paint all over the place. After getting showers and changing, we got a rickshaw and went for dinner. A rickshaw is a 3 wheeled, open door, yellow vehicle that is India's taxi. There are taxi cars but they are not common, rickshaws are everywhere. We went to a place recommended by the ambassadors in the diplomatic briefing, but it was not Indian food. They had the usual burgers and pizza. So we had a very western first meal in India. After dinner we got dessert at a French pastry shop. It was very good, and we decided that since we would be eating Indian food the rest of our visit in India because of our home stays, we could treat ourselves now.

Overall the first day in India was good. Lots of smells, good and bad. It was terribly hot today but it is the rainy season for them, so it is very cool. It will pour for 10 minutes or so and then clear up and get sunny again. Because of this, a lot of the streets had a lot of water on them, and with trash and all of the dirt, it made for a very dirty city. It is too hard to describe the looks of the city other than what I have already mentioned. It is interesting to see the divide of the different classes. India still operates on the cast system because the majority are Hindu. The school today was in a village of the lowest class. That is why the section around it was so bad, but the upper class still does not live close to the standards we live. Until you see a place where nobody has it as good as you do and see how many people are without clothing or shoes or whatever else, you cannot appreciate the life you live.