The First Few Days: An Impression

 The City of Chennai from St. Thomas's Mount

The window of a colonial era church in Chennai

India has fulfilled my every expectation that it would smell, look, taste and be different from everything I have experienced up until this point.  These first couple of days have been exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  I thought I would share a few of my observations and adjustments.

So many new desserts to try!

Observations: 

1. As Westerners in a city with very few other Westerners, seventeen 19-21 year olds attract plenty of attention.  The good thing is that the staring is simply curiousity on the part of the locals and has not been malicious.
2. In my day-to-day life in the United States, I find myself a part of the social and racial majority.  In Chennai I am a minority, a sweating, glaringly white minority.
3. Despite my every expectation I have yet to experience debilitating culture shock.  I have adjusted fairly well to new foods, the oppressive heat, and daily life in the global south.
4. Our guide at MCC, a Chennai local, lived in Ohio for 6 months a few years ago.  What are the chances of that?  When he found out it was my home state, the first thing he said to me was "Go Bucks!" 
5. I feel like I'm living in a wildlife sanctuary.  Since arriving on MCC's campus I have seen lizards, spotted deer, bats, a few of MCC's 100 varieties of birds, monkeys, stray dogs, and copious amounts of insects.

The sign to our guest house at MCC

A typical scene at MCC

Things to which I've had to adjust:

1. Not using my left hand (more importantly becoming conscious of when I use my left hand, which is all the time).  In India, the left hand is considered dirty, so I have to accept money, hand out gifts, and even pass food with my right hand.  I always considered myself left-handed only when I wrote .  Since coming to India, I have realized the sheer number of actions I automatically and subconsciously perform with my left hand.  Just imagine lots of awkward, last-minute fumbling arounds and you have my behavior in a shop when I go to hand my money to the cashier with my left hand.
2. Eating with my hands, actually just my right hand again (of course).  It makes every meal feel vaguely like a messy, but entertaining and enjoyable art project
3. Spicy food for breakfast: America is the reigning champion of bland breakfast foods and, my personal favorite, dessert barely concealed as breakfast food (think cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip pancakes, and scones).  By contrast, here my taste buds are assaulted early in the morning by flavor and spice.  I particularly liked a chewy rice cake called "idli" we used to sop up our spicy lentil stew Monday morning. (Think soft, moist dough with a faint hint of sourdough flavor shaped into patties and you have igli
4. Early wake ups: I woke up naturally at 5 am this morning with plenty of time for 6 am yoga!

What would this post be without a holy cow?

Until next time!