some more pictures

after a mud bath.  we used special dirt from a termite mound

study trip and back to chennai

after finishing my first three weeks of politics class in chennai at women's christian college the whole group had a week long study trip that took us around tamil nadu.  we first went to a school called garden of peace near vellore.  it was very nice to be in the country and to be camping out in thatched roof tents.  it was also nice to meet the school children.

we ended up in pondicherry and on the way we stopped at ginjee fort of which i'll show some pictures.

my humble abode at garden of peace

walking bus walking.....

so i think i've started to master how to get around this city pretty well.  buses can get you in the general area of wherever you want to get in the city for no more than rs. 10 (which is about 20 cents).  from there you can minimize the cost of an auto or share auto...or....my favorite is walking when i have the time.  that way you have much more time to notice things and to put the city on my mental map.  the roads are not so straight here, much more hap hazard.  however, i think i'm starting to get a sense of direction.

my house is a 20 min walk from the beach and is in a section of chennai called mandivelli.  it used to be a market village but, as for most villages that surrounded madras, just became a part of chennai.

as well, i went to see my first tamil movie.  it was called inidhu inidhu, translated as "unforgettable days."  basically about indian guys going to college and falling in love with girls there, plus how they handle the school experience, especially the relationship between lower and upper classmen.  what i found intriguing was how love is portrayed in indian cinema.  first of all, no lip locking what so ever.  in fact the crowed went wild over a girl kissing the guy she liked on the forehead.  meanwhile alec and i were eating up this image of love.  to us it was quite strange and funny.  as well, tamil cinema, and indian cinema as a whole, has less of what i would generally call a cinematic sound track and instead is more like a musical.  there are scenes without music split up by big group singing and dancing numbers.  its a sight to behold.

i guess should go finish my politics paper but some pictures first...

alec's rap about me:

My name is Chris im from Pennsylvania.
I walk the streets of chennai tuh make sense of the mania,
ride the bus er'y day like they is no dangah,
eat idli wen mah stomachs in a seizah.

megg, alec, and i have a serious conversation over lunch....kidding

one of my finer moments....

alec johnny and i jammin to the blues at alec's house

a position in which i find myself much of the time

attending what i would call a pentecostal ballet revival at women's christian college