Greetings from India!
After arriving in Chennai two days, the Global group has been adjusting to our new life in Chennai. We are staying at the ICSA Training Center, which we affectionately call "The Compound". We are well taken care of-- air conditioned rooms, friendly staff, three meals a day, and bottled water with every meal! After having some difficulty obtaining wifi, we now have access to slow internet, which we are all grateful for.
On Tuesday (October 18), we had a lecture on Ancient India in the morning. In the afternoon we visited the Theosophical Society, which is a place where many religions can practice in peace. A highlight from the Theosophical Society-- seeing the largest banyan tree in Asia! We never know what we are going to see each day on Global, and each day is really an adventure.
Wednesday (October 19) was also a full day. We visited the Satyanilayan Research Institute, where we had two lectures. We also were able to interact with some students. They were able to ask us questions about our culture, and we were able to ask them questions about Indian culture-- some things we were interested in included arranged marriages and the caste system. We also were given tea-- a highlight for many of us on Global. Almost every day in India, no matter what we are doing, time for tea is cut into the schedule. We value our tea time, and have hinted at asking the cage to offer tea and cookies in the afternoon ;). After our lectures, we visited Besant Nagar Beach, where we all touched the Indian Ocean for the first time. Next to the beach, we stopped at an idli restaurant and had jigarthanda-- a sweet Indian drink that we have only found at that particular restaurant. Having a sweet tooth myself I loved it, but it was too sweet for some Globies. After the beach visit, we headed back to the compound for dinner and bed.
Thursday was a quieter day. We slept in, then headed to Madras Christian College after lunch for two lectures on Islam and Jainism. After lecture, we headed back to the compound and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Friday we also got to sleep in, and had lunch at the compound. One thing that many people in our group have been adjusting to is the spice level in our food-- every meal, we inadvertently rank the "spiciness" levels of the dishes, warning each other if one particular dish is spicier than usual. If you bite in without consulting others, your mouth must be prepared for any spice level, and water should always be nearby. We have a few "spice masters" in the group, of which their max spice level has not been reached-- personally as a native Minnesotan, my max spice level has been reached many times in India. This particular lunch had a spicy dish, which caused a few mouths to burn.
After lunch we walked up St. Thomas Mount to see a view of the city. We got tea (yay!) and were able to learn about the church that operates up there. After the hike we took the bus to Phoenix Mall, an inexpensive mall that had a variety of Indian goods. After shopping, we headed back for dinner and bed.
Saturday (23rd) was an early morning. We were scheduled to leave the compound at 7 AM for a weekend trip to Tiruvannamalai, but operating on IST (Indian 'Stretchable' Time), we ended up leaving a little later than planned. After a 4-5 hour drive, we arrived in Tiruvannamalai and were welcomed at Quo Vadis, an interfaith dialogue center. We had a quick introduction to what Quo Vadis was, and then had lunch. In the afternoon we had an interfaith dialogue session, where we were able to self-reflect on our relationships with a higher power, or lack thereof. It was a nice session where we were able to learn more about each other and the values of Quo Vadis. After our dialogue session, we walked to a nearby temple before getting dinner back at Quo Vadis.
Sunday (24th) was an early morning for much of the group. We woke up at 5 AM to hike Arunachala, the Holy Mountain that sits right next to Tiruvannamalai. We left the hotel and 5:30 am, and began the trek up before the sun rose. Armed with a few bottles of water, some biscuits and our cameras, we began the trek with high hopes of a successful, easy, and quick climb up. However, as time passed, the hike proved to challenge the group physically and mentally and add a new dimension to group bonding. More than merely a nice stroll up the mountain, the trek challenged us to climb across boulders, pass banana-stealing monkeys, guard and protect our cameras while climbing over rocks, and forge new paths, and test the quality of our non-hiking shoes all while not sweating a bit ;). After many water breaks and encouraging words, the group made it to the top around 8AM. The view was beautiful, and just sitting at the top was a serene and peaceful moment. After taking it all in and getting our pictures (we didn't carry the cameras up the mountain for nothing!), we walked, crawled, and slipped our way back down the mountain.
After the hike we still had a full day ahead of us. We ate breakfast back at Quo
Vadis, then visited a school. It was fun to see the kids and their excitement at our visit, and we got to sing some English songs with them. When we returned back to Quo Vadis, we had an hour of free time. Some of us went shopping, and stopped at a restaurant for mango/banana lassis before heading back. When we got back, we had a 'Culture Night' which was a lot of fun. We learned a traditional Indian dance, learned to make chapati, got henna, learned how to wear saris/dhoti, and ate dinner. It was a lot of fun, and a great end to our busy day.
Best wishes to all our friends and family back home!
Sydney
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