Made It!

We finally found good internet. I think I would have died if I had to use dial-up and write daily in a blog. So here's a brief summary of the past few days...(warning, did not edit or check spelling)

Thursday: In traditional Nicolette fashion I managed to leave all my packing to the night before I left. I don't think I could do it any other way. I still managed to get everything done. Left San Antonio a little later than planned by way of the wonderful rental car that was automatic but not. There was no clutch but I still had to sift gears which meant that I actally had to pay attention while driving in trafic. I'm sure many of you are very glad you weren't riding with me. I met Aurna and her Dad at IAH and then began out in total 20hr or so trip to Chennai.

Friday: Still flying. I finally managed to sleep on the second leg. I think only out of sheer exaustion since I hadn't really slept that much prior to leaving.

Saturday: We arrived in Chennai at 1am. As soon as you walked off the plane you could feel the humidity. It was awesome. I was very happy to be with Aurna and her Dad as they showed me where to go and what to do. All of my luggage made it, even my massive bag which was over the wt limit. Since I do everything last minute I was unable to get a room at the hotel Aurna and her Dad were staying at online. Since I wanted to make sure that I had a place to stay, with the help of Mary, I found a place that looked decent, Hotel Shelter. There was an extra room at Aurna's hotel but I thought they had already charged my card and so I opted to stay at the Hotel Shelter. Aruna's Dad helped me get a pre-paided taxi and then I went on my way.
It was interesting how much Chennai reminded me of Kenya. I got a little sentimental about my trip to Kenya two years ago and I realized how much I've missed traveling these passed two years. I'm not sure I can explain the feeling I get when I go overseas but I get the same feeling every time. The place maybe vastly different than any other place I've been before but a find a sense of familiarity.
Any way, I arrived at Hotel Shelter in the middle of some historic part of town. Of course they didn't have my reservation, which I figured would be the case, and kicked myself for not just staying at Aruna's hotel. I got to my room and it was definitely a native hotel. For some reason I was expecting something western, not sure why. It did have a realy toilet that I was greatful but after being on a plane for the past two days I was really looking forward to bathing. The shower was just another side of the bathroom with a "shower head" and that was it. The bedding was definitely a little more than suspect and so I opted to put one of their towels at the head of the bed and then got my pillow and only used the sheet to cover my legs. The phone in my room didn't work so when Aurna tried to call the receptionist guy had to come up and deliver me my message. So I was so excited to finally put my head down on a pillow but was nervous about not waking up becuase I didn't bring a travel alarm (or any way to tell time for that matter) and there was no clock in the room.
The second time I woke up it was light out so I called down to the lobby to find the time, 7:30. Went down for breakfast and had an omet and chippati. Then finally got my shower which was like a sanding under a garden hose, but I couldn't complain and the water did get warm at the end.
Aurna and her family (Dad, aunt, and uncle) came and picked me up with Eric and Bimpe and we headed out to Vellore which is 70km west of Chennai. We had lunch on the way and was reaquained with the squatting toilets!. I'm not sure about this loosing weight when you go to India. Although my stomache doesn't appreciate the food I think it's great. It took about 3hrs to get to Vellore. I was a pretty drive; lots of palm trees. Once again it really felt a lot like Kenya. We dropped Eric and Bimpe off at their hotel which is near the hospital and then went to find our hostel at the CMC (Christian Medical College) campus which was an extreamly complicated task. I lost count of how many times we had to stop and ask for directions to the hostel even when on the campus. I was reminded that in order to not be overwhelmed with frustration while in a forgein country you have to have to be very patient and really just go with the flow.
We met some of the other students staying in the hostel. There was a guy from Sweeden and two girls from Australia. Our room was a basic dorm like room, no a/c but there is a fan, a decent shower, and a western toilet and it's only $2/day. You can't beat that. So we went back in the city for dinner with everyone at the hotel and then took an autorickshaw (3 wheel motor bike thing with a bench seat in the back) back to the hostel with Aurna's dad and uncle. Of course when we got to the campus we couldn't find the hostel and it took a while to find someone who could point us in the right direction.


Sunday: Despite the no a/c and the amazing humidity it was actually not uncomfortable sleeping. We did have the fan on celling fan on as high as it could go and it works really great. There is a canteen right next door that we went to for breakfast. We had dosai (a huge crepe like thing that you dip in this kinda spice sause stuff or chutney) and tea (in india this means with a ton of milk and sugar that you pour back and forth b/w two containers to cool off before you drink it) all for less than 50 cents. We then took an autorickshaw back to the hotel and got Erica and Bimpe and went on a search for Indian clothes. There wasn't much open so we abandoned our search empty handed and decided to wait till monday. We did however accomplish our major goal of walking around the city and not getting hit by all the crazy drivers. There really are no such thing as sidewalks here and there really aren't lanes so much that people drive in. In addition, the don't wait for each other so cars/rickshaws are alway passing around each other and driver not pedestrians have the right of way.
Well for now that's all I can write right now. I've been typing way too long.