Chennai, India

Chennai, India

India… so everyone says that India is the turning point for the voyage. What does this mean? Well… I guess India is a sobering and eye opening port for all the people on the voyage including the staff. We prepared by doing a variety of presentations (remember preports?)… and informing students of everything they need to know about traveling in India. I have to admit… India is an amazing place, in particular Chennai. It is sensory overload and there is a lot going on all the time and the people and car traffic blows New York out of the water… including the abundance of auto-rickshaws…. The scene is intense and can be overwhelming but I took it all in and was in awe of the culture, the pace, the smells, and the energy. The first day we set into port the Indian customs wanted to do face to face passport clearance with all the members of the shipboard community, so a part of our job is to organize the line, pull passports, and push everyone through… since we did this twice already it was an easy breezy process. Once everyone was cleared we had to get a few more tidbits of information. The port of Chennai is a import/export port so rather than entering a port with cultural dancers and port agents, we were greeted by a fleet of cars… these really small compact Hyundai hatchbacks. It was kinda funny… check out my pics to see what it looked like. Anyway… so the port is a bit complicated. We are not allowed to walk on the port terminal areas because of the safety issues and because it’s just desolate…. So they got a 24 hour shuttle that would transport people to the main entry way for the port and drops students and staff off… but theres another security measure… once we get dropped off we have to report to the gate agent and provide them with our passports so they can check us off…. This is also because India is on High Alert for terrorism and travel policies… so there are a lot of measures even before seeing the city. Anyway… it is what it is and its not as complicated or time consuming as it may sound… So, the first day I was leading the City Tour and Orientation… it was great because we got to see the majority of the city, some cool landmarks, and really get our bearings… 90 people went, which was generally unusual because the city orientations are not well attended, but again, it was India… so I am sure everyone was a bit concerned about jumping into the city without a proper orientation. After the orientation trip I came back and washed up – it is pretty hot… no actually it is really hot here and dusty… so got cleaned up and then hit the town again for dinner where we met a really nice cab driver named, Raja…. He took us to a nice restaurant with South Indian Cuisine… where I pigged out and then we got some Ice Cream at a local ice cream shop called Arun and even though they have told us not to eat ice cream I figured I would try it, I have a lot of Pepto and some antibiotics… and not that having drugs justifies me to be risky but still… I have seen so many students eat ice cream elsewhere I figure why not… right? Right.

The next day we were ready to set out to Egmore where they have a hotel, the Ambassador Pallava, where they also have an office that sells the Japan Rail passes… we have to get the passes before we enter Japan because they don’t sell the 7-day unlimited rail passes so we put that on our agenda in Chennai… turns out that there are too many pieces of red tape to get it in India so I am going to just wait until we get to Singapore or Hong Kong (I am adding this post-tsunami/earthquake in Japan and writing this initial blog entry... but maybe it was a sign and a good thing we didn't get a pass because of what happened... but Japan is not out of our itinerary and will be closely monitored). No worries though… we ended up hitting up the Governors Museum which was interesting, to say the least, and then had an amazing lunch that was outta control… and then made it back home to rest a bit before going shopping at a place called Spencer’s Plaza, which resembled a mall/swap meet with some interesting stores… from your everyday electronics… oh by the way, I saw a 16GB flash drive for $20… why didn’t I just get a whole bunch here to sell on e-bay? Lol… anyway… yeah… so I bought a few things from a traditional outfit (but its more casual so nothing fancy) and then some trinkets and souvenirs including postcards… oh, I do have to say, that I am pretty good with postcards and post offices abroad. Hahahha… but yeah… so ran those touristy errands and then headed back for some dinner on the ship – which is hard to eat when you eat such good food off of the ship, especially here in India.

After an easy night of port duty I woke up to head out with Faith, Mark, and Wei Man to Mamallapuram, a city that is known for its ancient temples and structures that were all created and carved in the 7th century. It was awesome and breath-taking, especially the Shore Temple. That took the whole day but decided to rally and go our for another dinner and I was totally jones-ing for a Dosa so that is what we got… when you look at pictures all the stuff I am talking about will make sense or you will have an image to what I am talking about… so check out my Picasa Web Album.

After another night of light duty – although I did get called a few times… I jumped on a service trip to a special needs school called Sankalp . We learned a lot about how learning disabilities and the differently abled children are provided services and how they negotiate the school system and exams in India. It was quite fascinating and it was interesting to talk to the teachers and students about their experience. The highlight was when a student asked us where were from and when I said New York, he completely lit up and was excited to meet someone from NYC since he was recently there (for some tests)… It is amazing how much these students get so excited to meet people from the United States and it really puts things into perspective about the position of the U.S., people’s perceptions, and the privilege we have as American citizens… I have to say… the idea of being “happy” and/or satisfied… I am not really sure exactly what I mean but just an idea I am mulling through… concepts such as values, needs, and what it means to be content and happy. Not too deep but deep enough for me to ponder throughout the day.

Also, after the service trip I chilled a bit and then finished writing postcards and then headed out to dinner… Indian food is so good. I mostly ate South Indian food and spent almost as much money on food as I did on transportation and sightseeing. After dinner I headed back for a chill night on the ship and got ready for the next morning.

The next service trip was to an orphanage and special needs school called Sankalp. It was an intense experience that really tested my ability to adjust to different environments as well as lead a group. We did a series of activities and cleaned the facilities. I am still processing the experience and reflecting on the many elements of the trip. After the service trip I met up with a few ship staff to go out and hit the town. We went to an area called Pondi Bazaar which is like an outdoor market and row of shops. It was fun to take pictures of the sights as well as to see what goods were being sold. I bought a lot of snacks and a few souvenirs. The best part of the trip was packing into a taxi with 5 people and just hitting the town. After some sightseeing, shopping, and dinner I was back on duty which was quiet. One interesting and fun thing to watch around the ship was that a lot of people returned from their overnight trips to Delhi and Agra and all the students wearing the different items they purchased. Many students had the casual traditional clothing from India but other students, in particular the women, went all out and bought sarees in a multitude of colors and patterns… it was like a fashion show of students with their gear from around the world.

On my last day I went out to see some last minute shopping areas and just to hang with Faith, Mark, Sunny, Bill, little Alex and Wei Man. We looked around for a local chain store called Fabindia which had a variety of locally made goods - since it was a chain retail store there was no bargaining and haggling instead the people just leave you alone and you shop like you would back in the States. But before finding Fabindia we went into Pondys which is a huge fabric and clothing department store. It had fabrics on all the walls and clothing broken into men’s, women’s, and children’s floors. It was pretty neat to see and the way the shopping works is interesting… each section within the floor has its own cashier and check out process and in order to purchase something you have to ask a clerk to help you, get a receipt for the item and then bring the receipt to the register.

India has been a great port and I saw and learned a lot just being in Chennai… I would definitely come back and hit up other places like Agra, Delhi, and Varanasi… so the Taj Mahal can wait. Next it’s Singapore with thoughts of Japan on my mind... truth be told, the possibility of not going to Japan will be a massive disappointment, HOWEVER... I really do not care about being able to go as much as how people are managing the crisis over there. They are broadcasting the Aljazeera News channel for us to see updates (as well as other world news, such as the issues in Libya, etc.) but... to see the footage and think about all those who have been impacted by the tsunami makes me hope for only the best and to send good thoughts toward Japan... I am also hoping (and it appears to be coming true) that the sentiment is not about us and the trip as much as it is about sending positive energy to Japan and hoping they will recover soon. But if you do want to know the update for the voyage... it has not impacted us in any major way... we are still headed toward Singapore and then Vietnam...