Morning in Chennai

It was still dark when we landed. The hallway from plane to building smelled of mold and mildew, and nothing sparkled as it did in Qatar. The airport was quiet except for us newly arrived, clamoring to get through the public health desk (swine flu precautions) and customs. As we walked out into the night, we were greeted by hundreds of people waiting for their family members. A speedy taxi trip landed us safely at Footprint B & B, everything, including luggage intact.
We had a refreshing breakfast of papaya with lime, corn flakes (??) and idlies—soft, round lentil flour “biscuits” with two spicy and wonderful sauces. Our walk around the neighborhood afterwards showed us that blocks aren’t square, you take your life in your hands when crossing the street, and car horns are a language of the road where there are few signs, no demarcation lines, or stop signs, and no crosswalks. One road sign did stand out: “Accident prone area. Drive slow.”
We also found delicately beautiful bougainvillea vines, mango trees and funny little striped squirrels that make high pitched bird chirps when agitated by cats; school children heading to school barefooted, some accompanied by their mothers in vividly colored saris; and Ganesha shrines.

Qatar

So first to make a correction: Doha is in Qatar, not Oman. Which is where we are now! Lots of burqas and Arab men in traditional dress; very exotic to me. I can’t believe I’m this far from home, and in an area that’s in our news constantly, and that I’ve read about in adventure stories. Speaking of stories, I watched Inkheart on the plane. Cool movie about reading aloud and having the characters and events come alive! Our story is alive and about to get really interesting, I’m sure. –Lisa

It is great to finally land back in an atmosphere I am familiar with (having grown up in the Middle East). I have been trying to view it through my students eyes to determine what might seem different or confusing or exciting. I hope that they are able to take it all in and explore. We head for Chennai in about 2 hours and there will be another 8 hour flight (this is a large world!) We are expecting great culture shock as everyone I have spoken to says, “You can’t prepare for it! It is overwhelming to your senses!” We are looking forward to getting settled and prepared for the students to arrive on the 11th.
--Heidi

Taking off!

Heidi, Sangeeta and I leave tonight from Dulles Airport. We’re flying to Doha, Oman and from there to Chennai. The students leave on Thursday. We should have a chance to get settled, start getting over jetlag, and begin to get our bearings. I feel strangely calm, until I realize that soon I’ll be on the plane and this will all be real. Then my heart jumps and I have to take a deep breath! That haunting question, “What if…?” is important to ask and think about, in order to be somewhat prepared, but it can weigh heavy. The Dalai Lama has the answer: essentially, why worry? If you can do something about it, do it. Then it’s taken care of and there’s nothing to worry about. If there’s nothing you can do about it, then why worry? It’s not in your control, so it makes no sense to worry.

Packing

Thoughts overflow as I think about packing for India. Michael, a seasoned traveller, suggested that I bring ear plugs. As a musician, he would think of that, while I imagine what it will be like visually, forgetting to imagine sounds...or smells. I do, however, imagine the heat. I've set my homepage to show Chennai's time and temperature; as I write this at 9:40 EST, it's 6:55am in Chennai. The temperatures are 102, 102, 100, 102 for the next 4 days! Humidity is 66% and the lows average 81 degrees. I don't do so well with heat and humidity, but I'm sure that eating certain foods will help cool me down, which makes me imagine tastes. Can't wait to taste South Indian foods, with all their aromatic herbs and spices! As you can see, I get distracted easily, and that's how it's been with packing so far...