Chennai

We got to India on Thursday, and the first half of the day I went around with Neha and her grandmom and a group of us.  We went to lunch where we had simosas (a fried pastry filled with potatoes, peas and it’s a little spicy), garlic naan (which is like a bread) and pashmeer  (?) I forget what its called but we had a bunch of different kinds.  We had spinach, potatoes and peas, and I don’t know what the red one was.  I just ate everything and tried everything and my mouth was on fire a little but it was really good.  It was so funny because the place we went to go eat didn’t have any simosas so Neha’s grandmom had someone run to another restaurant and get them for us!  Neha said that’s just what you have to do in India.  After that, we drove around Chennai and stopped at 2 shops and went shopping, where her gradmom got us discounts everywhere.  Her grandmom is awesome.  And she is like pretty legit.  She is a top social worker and has an orphanage and women’s college in Hyderabad and was actually given a reward from Mother Theresa.  So she is pretty legit.  At around 3 they dropped us off at the boat because they had to catch a flight to Hyderabad and that is where Neha is now actually. 
After we got dropped off, we rented a car and driver until 10 pm (it was only like 10 dollars… the field office set it up for us) to take us to a bunch of places.  We went to a Hindu temple and it had 10,000 figures on it!  And they are so bright and colorful.  Funny story, after the temple, I was standing at our car and we were waiting for a bus that was blocking us in to move, and these little school kids walked past me and said hi and this one little boy goes, “whats your name?”  so I told him and he told me his and then he goes… “10 ruppees?”  and I laughed at him and the girls he was with laughed and just shook their heads and drug him away because they knew he wasn’t a beggar and I wasn’t going to give him anything anyway.  After the temple, we went to Spencer’s plaza, which is a mall there with a bunch of different shops and vendors.  After Spencer’s we went to Mocha which is a Hookah bar but we went to just get dinner and dessert… which was amazing.  After that, we just went back to the ship because a lot of people I was with had trips the next morning at like 3 am.
On Friday, I lucked out and got a free field trip ticket from Patty for a vegetarian cooking demonstration.  That wasn’t until 4 though, so I went around with Allison C and Steph (not the Steph I am usually with, a different one) and we went to an outdoor bazaar.  We encountered beggars there too, but the beggars here are women and they hold their kids with them, which we learned during diplomatic debriefing that the women sedate their kids so it looks like their worse than they are.  It got to the point that we would just go into random stores to get away from them.  We got lunch at this place and I had dosa, which is like a crepe, I had it plain and I just dipped it in the different types of chutney…my favorite one was the green chutney.  By the time we were done at lunch and shopping it was about 1:30ish, and we decided to go back to the ship to shower and get ready for the trip.  Our trip was awesome.  We basically met India’s version of Rachel Ray  and she cooked for us and taught us how to make everything and then we ate with her.  The food was amazing.  Indian food has so much flavor in it it’s ridiculous.  If I were to become a vegetarian, I would move to India.  After that, we just came back to the ship because on time ship time was 8. 
I didn’t do any independent traveling in India to the Taj or anything because I have an FDP the first day in Cochin (tomorrow) to the Khatakali Dance Drama and that is at 7:45 am.  The past 2 days at sea though were AWESOME!  A lot of people aren’t here because they are on trips.  It felt like a real cruise the past 2 days.  I laid out all day both days and did some reading.  And for dinners we have sit down dinners where they serve us.  Last night they played Benjamin Buttons in the union and I went to go watch that.  Today I just worked out and laid out all day and it was magnificent.  I wasn’t too upset about missing the Taj though.  Neha’s grandmom when we left her told us to come to Hyderabad and I told her that I’ll come back to India soon and call her up and visit her.  India isn’t that bad of a country.  It’s definitely different.  It’s also the first port I’ve been too and not know how to get around within a couple hours.  The other ports you could distinguish landmarks and walk places and somewhat know where your going, but in Chennai, I had no idea.  Each time I went out it just looked different.  It’s hot, dirty, smelly but it is a pretty country (from what I’ve seen so far).  The temples here are beautiful and not something you see any where else.  I’m excited to get to Cochin, I’m doing the dance drama and the 2nd day I’m doing a service visit to the Children’s village. 
Well I have to go get ready for dinner!