Day 1 in Chennai

So my friends and I succesfully arrived in Chennai around midnight last night, exhausted but excited to finally make it. We taxied to our guesthouse which is nothing fancy, but amazingly has a shower. Mostly I was happy to finally have a bed to rest in!

I awoke to loud noises from either birds or monkeys (I was hoping for the former given my previous scary interactions with the latter). Our group ate at a nice restaurant where dosas are the specialty- thin, crispy rice paper wrapped around curry and served with various chutneys. I was in heaven. Fresh chai tea rounded out the meal and we were ready to hit the town.

We took a rickshaw to another part of town in search of local clothing and discovered a huge market in T. Nagar- bustling streets, hundreds of tiny and large shops for everything you could possibly need or want, and a beautiful temple. We ventured into a shop with thousands of sari fabrics and a decent variety of other women's clothing- I was excited to buy a few nice outfits for my stay here.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people, animals, smells, sights and sounds. This was how I had pictured India, but it is so different to see it up close. Horns are honking constantly, motor bikes and rickshaws zooming past bicyclists and the occasional bull-drawn cart. Smells of fried and spicy foods intermingle with sewage and garbage. The heat and humidity are overwhelming, but a slight breeze kept me sane.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of my time here has to offer, and to start our orientation tomorrow- we'll get a better feel for the coursework we'll be embarking on upon our arrival in Thanjavur in a few days.