Hello! We are all safe and well in India after a trip of approximately 10,000 miles. The delay in updating our blog stems from the sluggish nature of the equipment available thus far. (There are many images of the trip already, but I cannot post them right now. But stay tuned...)
Our first flight left late, which led to all of our flights being late. Upon arrival in London, they had everyone de-plane, and go through security, which was a very long line. Our thoughts of fish and chips vanished as we lugged everything back up the stairway to the plane and got situated back in the same seats we had left. Naturally, this caused this flight to also take off late. We arrived in Mumbai (yep, late) but we were finally in India! Security at this point was notably different due to the armed military doing the checks. Then onto a much smaller plane (do I need to mention they had to hold the plane for us?), a snack and time to catch a quick nap before arriving at our final destination, Chennai airport. We grabbed our baggage, which was miraculously all there, and went through customs. This consisted of filling our a simple form and handing our passport to the official. It was quick and seemed a bit anticlimactic. The airport was nearly empty. Until we walked outside to see huge crowds, autorickshaws, vans, motorcycles and many other types of vehicles. Joseph and his crew from MCC were waiting for us with 2 vans and a large truck for our luggage. (Remember to ask your traveler about the vans and the ride to MCC.) In our van we were competing for the first cow siting and it did not take long. Words fail me in trying to describe the traffic.
We received a warm welcome to MCC and began another aspect of the trip. Skipping ahead a few days and many activites, yesteday was a day full of lecturers on Indian music and Indian religions, our first cricket lesson, a shopping expedition and an overnight train trip. The sleeper bunks were interesing and the consensus has it that the mattresses were actually pretty comfortable. We were welcomed to the resort with flower garlands and lovely rooms with great showers. The pancakes and eggs made to order were a big hit at breakfast. We were priveledged to performances by a folk dance group, learned about the making of a veena (stringed instrument), heard a talk about folk music, and enjoyed a lovely lunch before traveling to a library and art museum in town. Back for tea, a quick trip to the music festival, back for dinner and a live performance of Indian folk music. I realize that was a long sentence. It has been a long and amazing day. Music festival tomorrow and another overnight train. We will be pros this time. Some folks might even pack some more toilet paper. Watch for updates, technology willing.
Lynn Hill
