Our Aquaintance With Chennai Drivers and Rising Star Outreach

Finally, we made it to India! The flight here was extremely long and eneventful. I spent the time trying to sleep and making faces at the cute little Indian boy a few rows in front of us. At long last, we arrived at the hotel at two in the morning, after 30 hours of flying. Sleep is a beautiful thing, especially when you're horizontal.

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, we began a 21/2 hour drive to the Rising Star Outreach, the school we will be volunteering at for the next week. If you want a description of what it's like to drive in Chennai, picture Provo. Except the drivers don't stay in their own lanes, and everyone tries to squeeze their vehicles into every possible space, even if it looks impossible to fit there. Then add motorcycles, rickshaw drivers, cows, and dogs to the image. Yes, you do have an occasional red stoplight, but as a driver told us, there are no cameras on the light, therefore no need to stop. Honking is also very prevalent. In America, honking is rude. Here, honking is the equivalent to turning your signal on. Needless to say, it was a very interesting drive, and I saw a lot of interesting things and people.

 

We arrived at the Outreach, and had a tour of the school and grounds. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people running it. Their motto for this year is "Together We Are More,"something taken from something Mother Theresa once said..."I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things." I noticed this idea as we were introduced to the teachers or workers at the school. Our coordinator while introducing someone to us would say, "Yeah, she makes this place work!" The teacher would respond, "We all do as a team." This happened more than once, which I thought was interesting.

After our orientation and lunch, it was time to play with the kids. Within seconds, Lydia was surrounded with inquisitive Indian children, who all wanted to hold her hand and ask, "What your name?" It was the cutest and funniest moment to see that little blonde head in the sea of dark ones.

 

It was great fun! A little exhausting if you can't tell from Lydia's face in the last picture. We finished the night by eating with the other volunteers, who are all really funny and kind. And that was our first day in India! We are so blessed to be here. :)

Kristen