Took me a long time this morning to figure out what shower meant here. It meant water out of a bucket. There was water being boiled out of a boiler with chopped wood old fashion style. I was so happy and grateful for the bucket of hot water. But I was so looking forward to a shower that I had to somehow come through with it for me. So, I prolonged the little buck of water experience by drizzling the water over my head so I can imagine I was in a real shower.
Breakfast this morning was amazing, it wasn’t just crackers two pieces of crackers. People really went out of their way and dug deep into their pockets to offer us samosas, dahl, and chai. It was delicious, chai was perfectly made.
Today I was suppose to go to the slums to drop off blankets with Sunil but I ended up going into town to TCI travel agency to book a ticket to Pondicherry. Afterwards Linda and I went to track down a McDonalds for a veggie burger. It wasn’t that great. I think she misses western food, culture and I think she misses home. The best thing about McDonalds for her was the toilet. She exclaimed with enthusiam, “you have to check out the toilet, it’s a proper toilet you can sit on and it flushes, finally!”
Then we went to the Bazar Mall next door and I bought some scarf for myself. We then went to Gallop Mall and Linda ran out of Rupees. Linda wanted some time to wander on her own and so we parted. I got onto a rickshaw alone and managed to not freak out. Fortunately my driver was an honest man and charged me honestly and also drove me to where I asked him to.
I went back to the travel agency to pay and pick up my air ticket to Chennai then a train ticket to Pondicherry. However the connection required a 10 hour lay over etc... it all got very complicated and mixed up. Then when it came down to closing time, all of a sudden there were no more tickets available now. I don’t know what happened and how it all happened but okay that is how it all stands. There sure was a lot of confusion on both ends some how but I have learned that everything happens for a reason and it doesn’t necessarily happen the way I planned because a better cheaper wiser plan is available but I can’t see it because I’m too stuck on to my plan. So I need to get unstuck so I can see the better plan.
In the evening we went to the annual Cultural Folk Dance Festival. It was outdoors and we were under dressed. We were not prepared for the chilly wind. There was a bon fire pit for people to stay warm. But really, it didn’t do the job, people were all cold. The dancing itself was not my cup of tea and like performances especially dance. I found myself more interested in the costumes and accessories than anything else.
We had delicious food there. Jayesh wanted all of us to try the food there and insisted that it was important for all of us to stay healthy and that volunteers need to eat. I was asked what my volunteer plans were and what projects I would take on. I told him honestly the best thing for me with me week here is to just get to know what other people are doing and that is a lot already.
The guys were also cold and left early but their car was full. The had on t-shirts even more underdressed than us. I kept warm by going back for the food. The spices in the food could keep me warm for about an hour and half. We finally left before the program ended for the night. Finally, because I ran out of stomach room long ago and I kept getting cold.
At the end of the day, I decided I would go ahead and fly to Pondicherry via Chennai and then from there figure out how to take the bus or hire a taxi for 6 hours and get to Pondicherry. I’m not going to freak out. It’ll be a part of my India Travel adventure, adding more for the memories and the stories to tell later.
