Two more days in Chennai

Monday, 8 May

Madras is urban and not urban. Brand new flats on one street, fancy billboards all over the place, but then there are piles of debris on nice streets (broken bricks and garbage), and stalls (selling various products) made of sticks all over.

Rasika's house is very nice. Three floors with different parts of her extended family on each floor, and each floor has its own kitchen and living areas. So each family has their own space, but they can hang out pretty easily.

Everything is a bit less modern than I expected, but I guess we all make that mistake from watching movies. We don't live like they do in American movies, and they don't live like the people in the Bollywood movies.Almost no one stares at me - it's less noticable than it was in Italy. Might be because I'm always with lots of locals. But I am the only white person that I've seen.

I think that this all would have shocked me more when I was 18, but at this age, it doesn't seem all that strange.We've mostly been hanging out with Rasika's family so far. They have been extremely nice to me.

I feel bad that I have put out her sister - Rasika and her sister and cousin have been sleeping in the living room while I sleep in their bedroom with her grandma. I'm looking forward to getting out to see more things soon.

Tuesday, 9 May

The technology is all pretty western. Everyone seems to have a flat screen tv much nicer than my used tv/vcr. The new national news channel has borrowed heavily from the bbc in the cut ins & teasers. I think alot of the furniture has to be different because of the climate. No one wants a big, overstuffed couch or matress with this much humidity. It would never dry, and neither would the people sitting on it. The beds I've seen are basically raised boards with a thick pad. I'm so tired that I have no trouble sleeping. I wake up ackey, but the pain faids really fast.

They are feeding me Indian food. Lentils, curries, rice, dosas, chutney, all that stuff. Which I like. In fact, there is too much to eat. I was allowed to go to a family ceremony where they spend the whole day cooking, then eat on the floor on top of banana leaves. Rasika insisted that I use a plate and sit at the table, but I would have liked to sit on the floor like everyone else. All the food was sooo good, and they kept putting more and more on my plate. I could barely eat at dinnertime.

I finally bumped into some food that I didn't want to eat. It was a thin pancake with spices and (big) onions mixed in. I got one down, but I had to admit that I didn't like it to avoid eating another. Too bad - I've been pleased with my ability to eat everything put in front of me so far. Aparently, a lot of Indians who return from the states 1) complain constantly about the heat (thankyou Greenfield Village - a summer spent in a sealed room with a hot stove means that I can stand it) 2) refuse to eat with their hands (I'm not ready to leave silverware behind, but it's fine, as long as I wash first) and 3) insist on eating western food (I'm in India - shouldn't I eat Indian food?)

I still haven't seen much. I feel really dependent on my hosts, who have been busy observing the one year anniversary of the passing of a family member. Usually, travelling makes me feel super independent and self sufficient. I'm not sure if it's because of the signs of poverty, the fact that I'm a lone woman, or the result of arriving on a plane and going straight to Rasika's house (no chance to orient myself) but I don't feel comfortable venturing out on my own. I should talk to Rasika to find out if she thinks I can manage.

We'll be spending 5 days in Coorg next week. It's a hill station, so it should be cooler out, and we can go for walks in the coffee plantions and woods. I'm looking forward to it. We'll also be going to Pondicherry to see the old French fort and the religious sites, as well as Mallampuran for the Tamil Nadu version of Greenfield Village (Indian homes from all over the state) and the ancient stone carvings. I'm hoping that we will make it to Bangalore as well.