Happy New Year!!

It's 2013 here and let's just say it will be a New Year's Eve I will never forget! Today was a day for learning. We had three lectures today all one after the other. Our first lecture was on the history of Madras Christian College, the college in which we are staying. This way very interesting, the one thing I found to be the most striking were the notable alumni. One was the second president of India, another is the CEO of PepsiCo.

After this lecture, we had tea. As India was colonized by the British they take on many of the mannerisms of them, one of the more popular ones was tea. Then we continued with our second lecture of Hinduism. This was an interesting topic but it was just the start for our learning about this religion. Due to our time limit we could not fully comprehend the totality of the religion but just got the basics for their religion.

The people we are staying with are very helpful and some of the nicest people as they are trying to make sure we are satisfied with everything we have. Therefore today was the day we got our first rupees! It took us roughly two or three hours to go through this process as the system is all done by hand. After that we were late for our third lecture so we had to rush back. This was the first of many lectures and instruction on Indian music.

The lecture was on Indian classical music. It was very interesting but very different. It was hard to follow the songs or raagas they were singing as it is in their native tongue and Had a religious meaning. After the lecture we had the lecturers give us a performance and it was very wonderful. I should note that the lectures that are given to us are not done by our professors that have traveled with us rather by people the college has brought in for us, most of whom are highly regarded in India. So to say the least we are very fortunate!

Now onto the festivities! We have now passed into the new year and it was a joyous one to say the least. We went to the house of the housekeeper for the college for dinner. Their family was very welcoming and they even brought guests from the college to come enjoy it will us! The meal was wonderful as is every meal we've eaten. However, most of our host would beg to differ. After talking with them about the meal they said it was rather bland as they are used to the spices but I a very glad they have toned it down for us. Today I had an experience with the spice as during lunch we have cucumber salads and today there was to me a pea looking thing, in which I thought it just looked different because of the differing crops they have. Man was I wrong! After a big bite I was almost in tears as I quickly found out this pea looking vegetable was a really hot pepper!

Indian fact of the day: Indians aware never on time! They always say everything is 20 minutes away or it will be 20 minutes. It never is!!

Have a good new year in the states!

P.S. Happy birthday Abby!!!!

The first of many!

So today's journeys have been, to say it simply, a taste of India. We began our day by exploring the campus which nice becasue our campus is in a forested area. The Indian outlook on life is holistic. Therefore we are surrounded by many wildlife and animals. Some animals I have seen today include, dogs, boar, cows, spotted deer, a lizard(in our shower), chipmunks, etc you know typical American... I mean Indian animals! Unlike the United States however these animals are all wild. So the dogs are not seen as pets and are found wandering the streets, railways basically everywhere. When we were walking around we saw cows on the streets just lying down like it was normal. 

After touring the campus for a little while our guide, Suri, took us across the street to experience India for what it is. First off the traffic scene is a little different here as they do not really use traffic signals and as our professor says Indians are color blind. Lets just say it is very noisy around the streets. We went around a market for a while and got many stares from  the locals. It is really hard to explain in words the feel over here besides the fact that it is different. In a sense the culture is stuck in the fifties as things are still developing. The streets were very crowded as we passed over the train stop you could tell that some of those people are hanging on for the ride. Everythings a little more crowded here and just alot more commotion. This is just the start of day one. Later tonight we will be eating dinner with the President and then off to more adventures later on! 

Indian Fact of the Day: Use your car horn a lot. Never take your hand off of the horn!

This is the view from our balcony, a view of the balcony showing the rooms and a picture of the stairway.

Namaste India!

Hello all!
After roughly 24 hours of travel and about an hour and a half time spent waiting for our bags we have made it to our destination in Chennai! Although it was a long day of travel and test of patience it was well worth it and I'm so glad to be here. In my group there are twelve students and two professors so its been nice having a small group to get around with! So when finally leaving the airport in Chennai my first experience is WOW! There is honestly nothing like it! The weather here is very humid so it was a bit of adjustment from the snow back in Minnesota and Iowa. Thankfully the room we are in is nice and cold with the ac. The bed and pillows are nice a firm which will happen but I can live with it. As I am posting this at 3 am our time I will be waking up for our first day in Chennai, India tomorrow!! I better go get some sleep but expect pictures sometime soon!
For now though goodnight!
Kelsie

Goodbye America!

So today I started my journey to India. My parents and I arrived at the airport and I was shortly on my way. First, we flew to Chicago. This trip was short and just a brief display of what was going to happen over the next 24 hours. When we landed in Chicago we had a 2 hour layover, so the 11 of us that traveled from Minneapolis looked for a place to eat. Of course the only spot we could find was then table top spot at chillis overlooking the main drag to the airport. This is where we sat and people watched where we spotted one of our professors. She was excited to finally meet us and get us on our way. Shortly after, we boarded are plane to Frankfurt. That is where I am currently writing from probably flying over the Atlantic. The plane ride is going smoothly so far. We are aboard a German aircraft so it's a different experience having the flight attendents not speaking English. Once we land in Frankfurt we will wait another plane to Chennai. As my professor instructed we will arrive there around midnight and get on a bus for an hour to the place we will first be staying. After this we will sleep for a little bit (much needed rest), then wake up and start our adventures! So as for now it's been good, still traveling but it will all be worth it!!:) 

Kelsie.