And it Begins-Trevor

It’s now Sunday in India.  We’ve been in India since 3:00 am after flying into Chennai.  As soon as those airport doors opened we met with India’s heat and humidity, sometimes it feels like we have been sweating since the moment we got here but we are slowly starting to adjust and I never thought I would be so thankful for the breeze we sometimes get which keeps us much cooler.  Some of the school officials met us at the airport, which was extremely helpful.  With luggage strapped to the top of the car and the rest of it on our laps we began the drive to the school.   After only a few short miles we could tell that this was no America, driving on the left side of the road, any time is an opportunity to pass even if there is about 100 feet until an oncoming car, horns are used about every other second.  In Brooke’s words, “Man driving in America is boring.” 

After arriving at the school, and beginning to unpack lets just say we experienced the full joys of jet lag.  Early afternoon we could not keep our eyes open no matter how hard we tried.  It’s a twelve and a half hour difference from home.  We opted for a short nap, which ended up being two hours.  For some exercise we walked through the surrounding villages, the people either smile when they see us or stare in disbelief.  The children follow us through the village and yell good-bye over and over again until they can’t follow us any longer.  Later that night we made it to the extremely late hour of 7:00 before falling asleep but we were all ready to go and wide awake at 3:00 am.  We laid on the floor, stretched, did some pushups. 

We live beside a husband and wife and above another family.  They have already brought us numerous amounts of food, yes our mouths are often on fire for a few minutes but it’s worth it for the amazing food. Ramana the man next door loves tea and has discovered that Sid works at a coffee shop, inviting him over for tea numerous times a day.  The people, the food, the weather, yes they are all different but also amazing.  Sunita, the headmaster’s wife who lives below us has told us to come down anytime and eat whatever we want.  She says that we are going to sample every curry she makes and then let her now which one we like the best.  That’s the type of hospitality we are being shown.  I, and I think I speak for all of us, miss home, my friends, and my family, but I am excited for this incredible experience.

-T