1st Excursion- Malmallapuram!

7/14 - 7/15/2012

Mahabalipuram- otherwise known as Malmallapuram, Tamilnadu, India

1^st excursion out of Chennai!

Our first stop was Dakshina Chitra, located just south of Chennai’s city limits. Here we were able to get a look at both ancient and modern styles of architecture in South India. These houses are so neat, and so well-built. They all have the feel of being very open and welcome. Generally, the windows and doors are not shut, and there were still not many bugs to be seen!

My favorite place in any of these homes, is the courtyard. Situated either inside or outside of the home, it was (and still is in some cases) a place for the whole family to gather. It was typical to have several members of the same family living together, and the courtyard was a place to sit and talk, similar to a living room. If the courtyard is indoors like the one below, the top where the roof would usually be is open to the outside. This explains why there is a lower level, so that water can drain out during the wet months. This open top was to bring in both a source of light and to provide ventilation and circulation of air throughout the home.

It was interesting to me how styles varied, just between states and regions. In the west, Kerala area, their rooftop bricks were mostly flat and layed out. Here, in a typical Tamil Nadu home on the east coast, the bricks are curved and stacked one on top of the other, layering.

And of course, we had to stop by the small shops as we left. 15 minutes turned into a 45 minute extravaganza. Bangles galore!

Finally we made it to Malmallapuram (formerly known as Mahabalipuram). To the beach!

Here is the Bay of Bengal- what an experience! This was our first time getting to be "tourists" and found that we came to the right place. White people were everywhere!

and here's a look at lunch: 

Fried fish and chips! 

In the afternoon, we stopped for a look at the great stone carvings, some carved as far back as 7th Century B.C. 



Arjuna's Penance:        

  

       Five Rathas: 

           

            

Shore Temple:

And of course the next day, we headed back to Chennai, but not before we stopped at the Crocodile Bank!

What a great trip! We had plenty of time to get out and shop, eat great food- both Indian and American, see the ocean, swim in a pool, and meet other students from the US. Their study abroad trip happened to coincide with ours, and we were able to get to know them a little bit.

Robert William, our director for BCA India from the states, came to meet their group, and spent all day Saturday with us. It was really fun to actually get to meet him in person and talk with him about India. 

Other than that, this trip was a learning experience for me. We have been exposed to several gypsy communities and this place had their share of them. The sad part about these people, is that the caste system is so engrained in the society, that these gypsies don't really have a chance at making a living. Many people here (especially of higher castes), regard these people as little more than human, along the lines of Dalit (the proper name for what was previously known as "the Untouchables".) So, on several occasions, these gypsies would come next to us, in our faces, asking us to buy things from them- primarily jewelry that they had made. It was so hard turning them down, knowing that they have such a tough way of life. 

This is going to be an ongoing internal battle I will face, perhaps on a daily basis. It depends where you are, but there is poverty everywhere. I want to help, but this is such a systemic issue, that it will take some major work for people's rights to be realized. This is not my place, at least not yet, but I will continue to work at helping those I can. 

Thus, I enter field placement work.

Week of 7/8/2012- Ups and Downs

This past week has been a crazy roller coaster ride of emotion. The main thing is, that I think I’ve beat the “Delhi belly” at least for now. I am feeling much better!

This didn’t hurt much either… a little taste of home:

Yep, that’s a cold chicken salad sandwich (double decker!!) with French fries 

and vegetables. 

Add olives on top and we were set! :)

I got out of the room finally on Tuesday and made some friends. 

Wednesday, classes officially started. Correction; class for me, started. I had one class that first-years take which didn’t start until the following Monday, so that left one that I actually went to: Development Economics. My afternoon was free, and I got to sit around the room, as well as get out and talk to people and make new friends, you know... the life. What a day of school, class for one hour... 

And to top it off, it was the first Fresher's Night in the hall. This first night was Talent Show night, and we watched all the freshers get up and show off. We got some good exposure to Indian songs and nostalgic American songs sung by Indians, Indian dancing, poem reading, and even keyboard playing (the Titanic, of course). Two hours later, we were all ready to leave. Not so fast! The girl with the microphone found us and told the three of us that we needed to do something too, because we were also "freshers", or at least new to Martin Hall. 

Oh Boy... We had nothing planned. And we were next.

So, we did what any normal, clear-thinking group of female college students would think of. We pulled out our inner Spice Girls and sang- kind of. Remember, we had never practiced before. That was certainly clear. Basically, we had a general idea of how the song goes, but we were so flustered, that the "lead girl" Becca, forgot the right order for the lyrics, and I really didn't know them, so we were a mess. But, the girls loved it and hollered anyway.

Thursday came and went. 

Friday, Anu met us for lunch and brought our BCA director from Bridgewater, VA with her, Robert. He had to come over to help with another program and decided to meet with us while he stayed in Chennai. In the evening, the president of MCC invited us to dinner. There we met with a large group of students from the University of Florida who are on a traveling study abroad program around India. They were staying on campus as well, but in their own guest house.

Dinner was outside, where we were served from a buffet featuring both Indian and American dishes. Literally, dosa (a flat, crispy Indian pancake) and French fries were side by side.

However, we got chased out by the rain, which was much needed! 

Chennai and the surrounding areas were experiencing some extreme water level issues, and people were beginning to be concerned of having enough; so the rains came at a good time.

The next day was the first trip out- weekend at Malmallapuram!