First week in Chennai!

I arrived in India about a week ago. I am slowly settling in. I know where the local stores are. Jet lag has gone away. When I first arrived in New Delhi, I didn't really notice the difference since it was around midnight. The only difference was that there are Indians everywhere. Also the airport was very modern, so nothing seemed to be too different from the US. However when I got off the plane in Chennai, everything changed. I had to get a taxi since nobody came up to pick me up and arranged a ride. I thought Indians spoke English, but their ability to speak English was very limited. Also, I left my luggage in New Delhi because of American Airlines.. Anyhow, It was very difficult. Chennai is a big city, and there were people everywhere. The airport was packed. I could barely move through the crowd. I had to follow a guy since I had no idea where and how to get a taxi.

I got a warning from Shari about the traffic, but I couldn't believe it when I first got to experience it. There seems to be no law and everybody is just driving around like a maniac, but that is not true. People don't drive as fast as they do in the US, and people use their horn as turn signal and everything else. It is definitely something else.

The work is a little slow, now since I haven't really settled in. I think I would like to do field work. Walk around and see and meet the people. I think it would be way more exciting.

People are very nice. I have noticed lots of people frowning but I am guessing it's because of the heat and dirty city air. I have been frowning just walking down the streets. Also, I have been getting ripped off a bit. Since they know I am a foreigner and do not know much about the prices. It is not a great feeling to be cheated on, but I guess it's not too bad since everything is way cheaper here.

There are 5 or 6 orphans at MCCSS. I have played soccer with them so far. They are very nice and bright. I hope to do more stuff with them.