MOVIE STARS

Today was comprised of much hustle and bustle in the afternoon as we raced across the city competing against our classmates on a photo scavenger hunt across all of Chennai. As we struggled to find meanings and to make sense of the clues given to us, laughter was abundant and I certainly felt alive. Jumping in and out of our cars, buying flowers for our hair, juggling mangoes in the street, begging our driver to help us by giving us clues, convincing an autorickshaw driver that we were not going to steal his vehicle as we sat in the driver's seat and he sat in the back; we joined the life and movement of a town that only seems to stop for moments of prayer.

Among the constant movment it's still apparent how different we are than the culture around us. While leaving the mall during our hunt, a group of school-aged children ran up to us, showing off their English skills. Smiles were plentiful as they repeatedly shook my hand, taking turns using their English phrases from "Hello" to "How are you?" to other phrases that were probably taught in an elementary English class. I felt like a movie star, with all the attention they were giving. Chennai is certainly a city with constant movement and how wonderful it is to be a part of it.