First Day in Chennai, India-3/5/09

India...You quickly realize there is much more to life than the petty decisions you make, the most important things is the experiences you have and the differences you make.

We arrived in Chennai at 8 am, we had a diplomatic briefing by the American Consulate in Chennai.  I was on an SAS service that was a joint project with a local university  and didn't leave until 11:30 am.  We drove to the local university which was pretty close in distance but took about an hour to get there because of the ridiculous traffic.  On the way to the university we passed so much trash everywhere as well as polluted rivers and cows walking everywhere!  The cow is holy in India and is allowed to roam free wherever it pleases.  We finally arrived at the university and they couldn't possibly of been more welcoming.  As we walked in they gave us all roses as well as the "dot" on our heads.  There was also signs everywhere saying "SRM Engineering College Extends a Very Hearty Welcome to our American Friends on their visit for Semester at Sea Programme."   Obviously very broken English but we figured it was the thought that counted.  They took us to a meeting room and showered us with drinks and food and expressed their gratitude for us being there.  We conversed and mingled with some of the students at the college and talked about our interests and majors.  A few minutes later we got on the bus and headed to the "Ramapuram Government School" which guessing by the children's ages was an elementary school.  The kids were so excited to see us and we were quite the disruption to their school day.  The purpose of our visit was to help the college students "whitewash" the walls inside the school.  The college students had spent the morning painting and when we came we were able to accomplish what they had spent all morning doing in less than half the time…American efficiency for ya (one thing the Indians sure don't get).  They couldn’t believe how fast we were painting the school and we were conversing with them about a broad range of subjects.  After we finished painting all the kids came up to us and wanted our autographs and us to take pictures of them.  We also quickly learned that kids there love pens that "click."  I then exchanged email addresses with one of the guys so I could email him later regarding some interview questions I needed to take for class.  It was then time to head back to the university as the school wanted to talk to us and see how our experience was, and give us more food of course.  It was then time to head back to the ship and yet again face the traffic of Chennai. 

I got back to the ship around 5 pm and definitely needed a shower ASAP.  Phil, Lauren and myself had plans to meet up around 6 pm to get some dinner.  Phil had spent the day at the American Consulate for an SAS trip and he talked to some of the guys there and they said they usually go to "The Park Hotel" for dinner and drinks.  We met up and headed out for dinner, catching a rickshaw which is the main mode of transportation in India.  We were told that a taxi ride should be no more than 25-30 Rupees (50 cents) anywhere in the city but of course that fact was completely wrong, especially since the port was sealed off and taxis needed a special permit to enter.  All of the taxis were also not being competitive and were all setting their price at the same ridiculously high amount to try and rip off the American students.  The driver that we chose happened to lower his price for us since he had left his rickshaw outside the port, walked in and then we took a bike rickshaw out.  What is interesting/weird about the port is that it is highly regulated for motor traffic but they will let anyone in by foot (obvious problem with security).  Since our driver had walked in by foot he had to get off the bike taxi when we crossed through security and then took the 3 of us on his really tiny rickshaw.  We arrived at "The Park Hotel" and it was an incredible place and was decorated in a really modern fashion.  There was 3 restaurants in the hotel and the one we ate at was Thai, we were the only ones in there.  We had a really good meal, all for $18 and then went to the bar for a drink before heading back to the ship since we had to get up at 3 am for our 6 am flight.