Monday, July 2, 2012

First day. Check.

As jetlag continues to pull me to fall asleep, my first day in Chennai is ending at an early bedtime of 8pm (Well by the time I'm done it will probably be 9pm). The first day was... ok. There are definetely some cultural differences that I need to get used to and my cold seems to be finishing up, so hopefully I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

So here are some notes  have compiled about my first day. Keep in mind that these are merely opinions/observations and no one should take these notes to be a 100% reflection of India. Chennai is just one part of India and all of the states operate very differently from food and music, to different laws and languages.

  • The road frightens me a little. There is constant honking because nobody follows the driving laws so everyone goes whenever they please. The few rides I've had so far have been quite nauseating. 
  • Despite the humidity, bottled water is preferred by the locals at room temperature.
  • Everything is in Hindi... but everything is also written in English.
  • Nokia is a monopolizing phone company over here like no other. And things here are very cheap. Today we bought a phone for 1,500 rupees, or $20.
  • People stare. It's just what they do. Not just at us, but at everyone.
  • The water here is safe for every part of your body except the inside (aka no swallowing allowed)
  • Indian time is different, and I don't mean the timezone. If someone says 11am, that basically means 11am at the earliest, they may not arrive until 12:30pm. On that same note, there is no such thing as "5 minutes". It has no meaning because 5 minutes could be any length of time. I'm told that the companies we will attend will operate on the american time schedule system, but we'll see.
  • Indian students aren't all that different. When asked what they do for fun, they replied: Go to the multiplex, the beach, and shop at the mall". They are very hospitable as well.
  • The sunset is not anything special in the east, and today the sun set at 7pm.
  • The younger generations of Indians are much more americanized than the older. I saw two "Angry Birds" shirts today.
  • More clothing truly is more comfortable so long as it's thin cotton.
We are very tired and still a little sick, but are having a hard time relaying that to our coordinators. They don't understand why we aren't hungry and I think they're a bit offended. Even though we're speaking the same language, it is difficult to understand each other.

Oh and I almost forgot! As promised, here are some pictures of the room comparison (before, then after), as well as some other random ones. We weren't outside much today but hopefully can get more pictures tomorrow.






1 comment:

  1. Hey Brit,
    I just wanted to say how proud I am of you! I hope you feel better and get acclimated to India soon. You will have the time of your life and the experience will stay with you forever and make you a better and stronger person. Your adventure reminds me of when I was 18 years old and as a Marine I was sent to Japan by myself, talk about a culture shock for a naive kid from Lansing Michigan! I adapted as you will to I'm sure.

    Keep on blogging out loud as I can hardly anticipate your daily adventures.

    Love,

    Uncle Tony Garza

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