The Weekend

Hello. So this weekend we headed out of Vellore (it is a pretty small town with not a lot going on) and caught a train to Chennai (about 3hrs away). The train was an interesting experience. We were in general seating which means that it is a free for all and you cram as many people on a bench as possible. I sat next to a nice Indian man who works in Bangalore during the week and lives in Chennai on the weekends and had my oh so nice classmate Reid on the aisle to protect me from other random men who may have wanted to sit next to the blond white girl. There is no air conditioning in the car we were in but there are lots of portable fans (the kind you used to talk into as a kid cause it made your voice sound funny) none of which were on but luckily it was night time so it was cool without the sun and a nice breeze coming through the open window. I had an interesting conversation with the man next to me about astrology and general ideas on religion and how to live a good life. I tried explaining that astrology isn't really that prevalent (at least not to the extent it is here) in the US so I couldn't really say that I believed in it and lived my life accordingly but he did really understand that so I finally just gave in and said, 'Yes, of course I follow astrology'. I happened to be reading the book Eat, Pray, Love (picked it up in the airport last weekend) and was on the section where the author was studying in an Indian Ashram so I guess that is why my train friend decided to strike up this conversation with me. For those of you who have seen Slumdog Millionaire the train was pretty much just like you see in the movie. All these little kids were walking up and down the aisles trying to sell flowers and necklaces and basically everything. I have been shocked by how true the movie was proved to be during my travels through India.

Once in Chennai we headed to our hotel and basically stuffed ourselves with a buffet and passed out so we could get up in the morning and head to Mahabalipuram. This is known for being a lovely beach town and a big tourist destination. I can honestly say that I saw more white people walking around this town than I have during my entire stay in India. We first went to the Shore Temple, a beautiful temple dedicated to the god Shiva (the destroyer) on the beach. It amazingly is carved out of 1 massive rock (I feel that mountain is a better term for this). There are no joints at all, it is literally all one piece. Stunning. From there we went to the Five Rajas which are more massive carvings that are meant to look like chariots and a large elephant. It was amazing to see such incredible artwork. I have no idea how someone can approach such an enormous hunk of rock and have the vision to see what it can become.

After visiting these sights we headed back to our car to head to the beach. On the way to the car I was forced to see yet again how terrible poverty is here. There are beggars everywhere. I hate to say it but I have become somewhat immune to it and don't notice it so much anymore, however, some of them you cannot help but notice. There was a small girl (probably 7yrs old) that followed us around for a good 5-10minutes asking for money. Her arm had been broken into an inhumane shape so that her hand was essentially always in a begging position. What I mean by this is that while her shoulder was at rest at her side her elbow and wrist were broken so that her palm was facing up (for money to be placed in) and was about even with her shoulder. Absolutely terrible. I have also seen some blinded children as well as people with their legs broken into a permanent sitting position. It creates such a horrible predicament, I mean what do you do? You feel so terrible for these people and want to give them money but you know that the money you give them is going to go straight to their boss who will see that the gimmick worked and will then break another child's arm or blind another boy. Gowri informed us that this is a huge business in India. That these men who exploit the children (make them beg) also run drug cartels and have immense power in the country. Its so sad.

After the sightseeing we went to enjoy a lovely lunch on the beach. We all realized that we have really acclimated to India when we scoffed at the specialty dish being 400 rupees (about $8 US). It was a nice feeling to realize that you aren't a complete tourist anymore. Although, just when we were feeling so great about fitting in we were ripped off on buying gifts. We found these excellent gifts which we bargained and purchased on our own (meaning without a local person haggling the price for us) only to be told later by Gowri that they had charged us nearly 2-3x what they are worth if an Indian buys them. Darn. So we returned the goods and hit the road. On the way home we made a few stops. First we stopped at a crocodile and snake farm. I am not really sure why but Gowri said we must go and I am glad she did. The number of crocodiles they had in this place was sick, they were literally lying all over each other. Apparently they are going extinct so this is a farm to ensure that they do not do so. We also were able to learn about how snake anti-venom is made. Gowri informed us that snake bites used to be a huge killer in this part of India. Over the years this farm has developed several anti-venoms for different snakes and now supplies immense amounts of anti-venom all over India and other countries making death from snake bite much less common. Also, along the way back to Chennai we stopped at an artists village. It is a huge commune where artists from all over the world gather to study. They had some amazing pieces of art.

The rest of the weekend in Chennai was spent shopping and eating. We collected the last of the gifts we wanted to bring home to people (get excited everyone) and continued to explore Indian cuisine. Gowri has made it her personal mission to be sure that we have tried all the dishes that belong to the different states and communities in India. She also took us to a grocery store so we could buy some of the flours and spices to make some of our favorite dishes when we return home.

I cannot believe that my time here is almost over. There is so much in India that I have not gotten to do and there are so many areas of the hospital that I would have loved to see. I am working in Pediatrics this week but I am hoping that one day I can head out to the Leprosy hospital for a bit. There is so much more to tell you all about daily life here in India and the functioning of the hospital. I am hoping that I will be able to have time and write so more blogs this week before I forget everything.

I hope that everyone is doing well back at home and I cannot wait to get back and share all my pictures and stories with you!