Sunday:
Today was the farewell luncheon with the Madrass Christian College staff and students. We got there an hour early, so one of the professors kindly took us to his house and let us ride his scooters and professor Sam’s motorcycle! A couple of Global’s most reckless members chose to spending their first time riding a scooter racing. At the luncheon, after the mainy heartfelt thank yous from both groups, we ate and said goodbye for the last time. Since, our schedule had to be changed shortly before the trip began (due to a change in housing,) the MCC professors worked overtime to get us accommodations and a new schedule. We were very thankful for everything they had done for us. In the evening half the group worked on their upcoming presentation s and the other half watched a movie.
Monday:
At 10am we started the second and final round of presentations. In the afternoon the group went on an excursion to a 7 floor department store! Everything was very cheap, and fairly good quality. I don't think we realized how badly street vendors were cheating us out on money until we saw the fixed prices at this store! In the evening we watched another movie, lit some sparklers, and packed for the flight tomorrow.
Tuesday: Goodbye Chennai
Today we said goodbye to The Compound, our home for the past month. We had another thank you lunch for professor Vijay who could not make it to the Sunday lunch. Vijay went above and beyond for the group. He helped us get several wifi routers and took us on many excursions, and showed us the best coffee and Jigarthanda shop in town. Our flight to Hyderabad (which was probably the smoothest one yet!) left around 2:30pm. Everyone was very excited to be in a new city and a new place to stay. Hyderabad is much cooler than Chennai, and there is almost NO humidity! The evenings almost feel cold in comparison. We are staying at the Henry Martin Institute, which is an interfaith dialogue center. There is a gorgeous garden/green space here, and perks include working showers, fresh fruit and vegetables at meals, and coffee/tea whenever we want.
Wednesday: Election Day pt. 2
Because of the 11.5 difference between India and the U.S., we got election results Wednesday morning during a lecture on peace and tolerance. It was a hard and upsetting day for everyone.
In the afternoon our guide tried to take us to visit a palace and a mosque, however we could not get in because we didn't have the right cash. The government declared overnight with no warning that 1000, and 500 rupee bills are worthless. This was done in an effort to get counterfeits out of circulation, but none of the banks were open and the new bills have not been put into circulation yet. So instead, we walked around a market and went to a free Hindu temple made completely of white marble. This temple was on a hilltop overlooking the city, and if it had been bigger, it would have rivaled the Taj Mahal.
Thursday:
We had a morning lecture and then we went to a Hindu temple and learning center where we had lunch. After this, we visited a Buddhist temple and listened to a lecture given by two monks. It was culture night at HMI so we were able to see several classical dances and hear some classical songs mixed in with western ones. Pizza was order especially for us at dinner, because they were worried we couldn't handle the spivey food. We ended up eating both the pizza and the spivey food!
Friday:
We visited some muslim shrines in the morning. The group had a chance to be blessed during the visit. The process involved a prayer being recited and being hit on the head with peacock feathers. Surprisingly, when peacock feathers are bundled together, they become rather hard. We were given the rare opportunity to attend a Friday Muslim prayer service that afternoon. It was a very cool and interesting experience that we were thankful to have. Professor Olaf had the unique opportunity to participate in it.
Saturday:
We visited HMI Community Development Center.The aim at the Center is to build bridges between the Muslim and Hindu communities, while teaching those who attend with marketable skills. There is supplemental tutoring here for children, and classes on sewing, computers, mendhi, and writing for the adults/young adults.We were able to spend some time talking with Muslim and Hindi teenagers.In the afternoon we visited the remains of Golgada Fort, and in the evening we visited a large crafts and jewelry market.
Today was the farewell luncheon with the Madrass Christian College staff and students. We got there an hour early, so one of the professors kindly took us to his house and let us ride his scooters and professor Sam’s motorcycle! A couple of Global’s most reckless members chose to spending their first time riding a scooter racing. At the luncheon, after the mainy heartfelt thank yous from both groups, we ate and said goodbye for the last time. Since, our schedule had to be changed shortly before the trip began (due to a change in housing,) the MCC professors worked overtime to get us accommodations and a new schedule. We were very thankful for everything they had done for us. In the evening half the group worked on their upcoming presentation s and the other half watched a movie.
Monday:
At 10am we started the second and final round of presentations. In the afternoon the group went on an excursion to a 7 floor department store! Everything was very cheap, and fairly good quality. I don't think we realized how badly street vendors were cheating us out on money until we saw the fixed prices at this store! In the evening we watched another movie, lit some sparklers, and packed for the flight tomorrow.
Tuesday: Goodbye Chennai
Today we said goodbye to The Compound, our home for the past month. We had another thank you lunch for professor Vijay who could not make it to the Sunday lunch. Vijay went above and beyond for the group. He helped us get several wifi routers and took us on many excursions, and showed us the best coffee and Jigarthanda shop in town. Our flight to Hyderabad (which was probably the smoothest one yet!) left around 2:30pm. Everyone was very excited to be in a new city and a new place to stay. Hyderabad is much cooler than Chennai, and there is almost NO humidity! The evenings almost feel cold in comparison. We are staying at the Henry Martin Institute, which is an interfaith dialogue center. There is a gorgeous garden/green space here, and perks include working showers, fresh fruit and vegetables at meals, and coffee/tea whenever we want.
Wednesday: Election Day pt. 2
Because of the 11.5 difference between India and the U.S., we got election results Wednesday morning during a lecture on peace and tolerance. It was a hard and upsetting day for everyone.
In the afternoon our guide tried to take us to visit a palace and a mosque, however we could not get in because we didn't have the right cash. The government declared overnight with no warning that 1000, and 500 rupee bills are worthless. This was done in an effort to get counterfeits out of circulation, but none of the banks were open and the new bills have not been put into circulation yet. So instead, we walked around a market and went to a free Hindu temple made completely of white marble. This temple was on a hilltop overlooking the city, and if it had been bigger, it would have rivaled the Taj Mahal.
Thursday:
We had a morning lecture and then we went to a Hindu temple and learning center where we had lunch. After this, we visited a Buddhist temple and listened to a lecture given by two monks. It was culture night at HMI so we were able to see several classical dances and hear some classical songs mixed in with western ones. Pizza was order especially for us at dinner, because they were worried we couldn't handle the spivey food. We ended up eating both the pizza and the spivey food!
Friday:
We visited some muslim shrines in the morning. The group had a chance to be blessed during the visit. The process involved a prayer being recited and being hit on the head with peacock feathers. Surprisingly, when peacock feathers are bundled together, they become rather hard. We were given the rare opportunity to attend a Friday Muslim prayer service that afternoon. It was a very cool and interesting experience that we were thankful to have. Professor Olaf had the unique opportunity to participate in it.
Saturday:
We visited HMI Community Development Center.The aim at the Center is to build bridges between the Muslim and Hindu communities, while teaching those who attend with marketable skills. There is supplemental tutoring here for children, and classes on sewing, computers, mendhi, and writing for the adults/young adults.We were able to spend some time talking with Muslim and Hindi teenagers.In the afternoon we visited the remains of Golgada Fort, and in the evening we visited a large crafts and jewelry market.
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