I'm still recovering (along with half the ship) from the flu that I picked up the last day of India, and with just 3 days of sailing between there and Malaysia, I'm going to throw this entry together before I get behind. While a number of people traveled in the country (Taj Mahal trips, etc.), I stayed in the port city of Chennai. The people were gentle and friendly, but it was an intense city to spend 5 days in, because of the sheers numbers (7 million people), heat, trash, smell, and poverty like I had never seen.
On our first day I led a trip to a Dalit Village school, where we were told we'd do some chores and mingle with the children. But the minute our bus arrived, we were met by a group of people in the village who placed fresh flower necklaces over our heads, and were then led by the group and a marching band to the school. Next, we were introduced to several school administrators, who gave speeches and arranged for an Indian singer to perform for us. We were told repeatedly how grateful they were for our service, even though we had done nothing up to this point. And as the "trip leader" I was given a special seat in the front, presented with an Indian shawl, and asked to give a speech! Soon after, we were given paint buckets and began our painting assignments for the next couple of hours. My task was to paint blackboards with black paint (??!). The children were so excited though, that they kept interrupting us to shake our hands and ask our names and for autographs. We were told that none of them had seen anyone outside their village before. As trip leader, I was also interviewed by The Hindu newspaper, and a number of pictures of our group were taken---it was published the next day, so my status on the ship was elevated to "the queen" for a day or two.
I also went (no leading) on a trip to the Bala Mandir orphanage, meeting children from age 6 months to 21. Most were female, since males are the preferred gender, and I was struck by the clean conditions and loving atmosphere. We met teachers as well as housemothers, and spent time in the classrooms and their living quarters. One group of girls asked a student and me to sing for them, so the only songs we both knew the words to were "Yesterday" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." They all danced and then played some of their music for us.
Our mode of transportation was the auto rickshaw, which was a 3-wheeled semi-open vehicle with a motor that sounded no bigger than a lawnmower's. But the drivers sped around and wove thru traffic (sometimes with goats and cows in the road) with the skill of a racedriver, and what seemed like sure death the first day soon became addictive. There were also bicycle rickshaw drivers that took us from the ship to the port entrance (a mile or so), peddaling up to 3-4 passengers barefoot. After seeing two rats in the port, I never walked this stretch at night, and was willing to pay anything to keep my feet above ground.
The food was a real highlight. I had several Indian meals out, which were spicier than what I've had at home, and ridiculously inexpensive....between $1 - $3 for an entire meal. I also had fabulous Thai food one night and one of the best chocolate desserts at a funky coffee shop called Mocha. I couldn't find a good cup of coffee, however. They put milk in their coffee and tea and my three efforts to get good black coffee failed.
A part of me was ready to leave Chennai, to return to the comforts of the ship, but another part of me wanted to stay and do anything to help. I would guess most of us were similarly affected, and we'll all figure out ways to not forget our Indian experience.
Pictures: People from the Dalit village watching our "parade" (pics 1 & 2), getting a lesson on how to paint a blackboard, me at the orphanage, Annamarie and me in a bicycle rickshaw on a foggy morning (notice no trademark UVA sweatshirt).
