Chennai!

Laurel is the guest author of today's post!

Chennai , a coastal city of 8 million located on the Indian Ocean, is famous for textiles (notably silk) and information technology.  It is a beautiful, vibrant, fun city.

Dr. Singh, Ian and I arrived in the early afternoon of January 19 and were greeted by Tamil Nadu state association leaders.  We were welcomed with huge, fragrant, and very wet leis of pink roses and treated to a special lunch of South Indian food.

The afternoon and evening were spent shopping in the fabric and jewelry stores.  Thank you to Ian and the treasurer of the state teachers’ association (our guide and interpreter) for helping to find blue/red silk and for carrying the bags!

Silk and fabric as far as the eye can see!!

A woman on a mission - and yes, we lost her a few times!!

An uneventful trip to the ATM on Sunday turned into a day of great fun and sight-seeing.  As we walked into the gas station/ATM site, we were politely followed by a tuk-tuk (auto ricksaw) driver who welcomed us to Chennai and asked where we were from.  Suresh became our guide for the day and new-best-friend.  Tucked in his “Ferrari” and promised that “anything is possible”, we motored off to the fish market and beach-side area being rebuilt after the tsunami, the 12 kilometre long Marina Beach where we dipped our toes in the Bay of Bengal, and the historic sites of Chennai – Fort St. George, St. Mary’s Churchy, Shrine of St. Thomas, two Hindu Temples and the Church of Our Lady of Light built in 1516 by the Portugese.    A trumpet with man in full uniform caught Ian’s eye and we followed the man to the front of the Church of St. Thomas.  A band played as a flower-decked car pulled up and a bride and full bridal party emerged.  As the band played the bride entered the church, was blessed by two priests, and as family and friends watched surrounded by a bunch of sweaty tourists taking pictures, she began her procession down the aisle.  As we were leaving we noticed the next flower-decked SUV pull up.  It is wedding season in India!

On the left are the new apartments being built by the government  to replace the ones damaged by the tsunami, which are on the right.  We think people are still living in the ones on the right.

In Suresh's Ferrari!!

Tomorrow, we will spend the day visiting two schools and preparing to meet the teachers on Tuesday.