Our First Full Day!

Today we had our first full day in the city of Chennai!
Last night our flight landed around 12:40am, and by the time we went through customs/immigration, found our luggage and found our tour guide Baskar, it was almost 2am. Travelling was great with only one delay in Germany- our flight from Frankfurt sat on the runway for an hour before we took off. Since I was passed out as soon as I found my seat, I didn't realize this until we arrived an hour late in India haha. It was no big deal, and I absolutely loved flying on the Lufthansa airline - it was great! After we found our luggage, I led our group outside to find Baskar! At first I was a little intimidated because approximately 1,000 people are waiting outside the airport to find people, but I had no trouble finding Baskar :)
It's an amazing feeling to see a familiar face amongst so many strangers in a foreign country. As we were not sure if Baskar would be back this year, I was very very happy to see him!

The ride from the airport to the hotel is about 20 min. so bed time last night was around 3am. I couldn't fall asleep to save my life since i had slept about 8 or 9 hours on the plane, so I probably only slept for 3 hours :( Today I, along with everyone else on the team, was very very tired. But we had a wonderful day.

We started out eating breakfast at the hotel complete with all our favorites from last year including eggs, spicy donuts, pancake looking things, various sauces, and chai tea :) Everyone was feeling well and excited for the day. Our first stop was a beautiful park right in the city. It was almost like an outdoor botanical garden because of all the different vegetation within it. Though we thought it would rain today, it was extremely warm (90ish) humid (probably 100%?) and a bit cloudy/hazy. There was a nice breeze which made it comfortable.

Afterward, we visited the Tomb of St. Thomas who was martyred in India way back in 52 AD (BCE? what are we using these days?). It's a beautiful shrine and I'm happy I was able to be there again. Last year there was a wedding; this year, no such luck. Next we ate an amazing lunch at a buffet - everyone loves Indian food! It's not making anyone sick either! (Yet.)

After lunch we visited an amazing site called the Theosophical Society - this is an International "Universal Brotherhood" between countries all over the world who have made a commitment to reconciling religions - basically it is a network free from discrimination of any kind that seeks to respect and understand religious differences throughout the world. Over 50 countries are part of this society, and at the site the flags of these countries are hung around the inside of the building to represent their solidarity. It was really a beautiful place. After this, we took a nice hike through the nature trails to see a Banyan tree - google this because they're really cool. There were again many beautiful flowers and vegetation in this park, but what fascinated me the most were the bats we saw hanging in the trees. There were at least 100, and unlike bats in America, these bats rival the wicked monkeys found in The Wizard of Oz - I kid you not these things were ENORMOUS! I'm convinced their wingspan was 5ft. Their poop on the ground we almost stepped in did not look like bat pellets but more like a large dog's poop. It was incredibly freaky but at the same time I couldn't stop staring. Between those and these creepy red bugs who are currently in mating season, our team will probably experience some malarone induced nightmares tonight. Or we'll be too tired for even that.

After this we visited the beach, another Church devoted to Mary, and then 2 Hindu temples. Everyone in India is amazingly friendly and hospitable, but witnessing the poverty here for a second time makes me miss home so much. I'm so lucky to have what I have, and we often take for granted how blessed and fortunate we are. To face beggars, homeless people on the streets, and rundown buildings again weighs pretty heavily on my heart. Strangely enough, there is something reassuring in the familiarity of everything we've encountered again. I feel like I can see more now that everything is not brand new to me.

We ended our day with dinner at Harrison's, an IndoChinese restaurant. Since I've convinced my self that the prawn shrimp I ate last year nearly killed me, I avoided all seafood and meat tonight. Hopefully the vegetables and white rice will sit well with my tummy :)

I'm exhausted and we have a long day at Loyola College tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. For many of you back home your day has just begun - have a great one!

Love, Alicia xoxo