Today was filled with an action packed day. After beginning our day with a trip to the grocery store for Indian spices we headed to Fort St. George, the old British fort on the coast of Chennai. The fort is enormous and used to engulf the state secretariat until they moved to a new building a few years ago. Inside the Fort was a museum full o f coins, porcine and pictures from the 17 and 1800's. The fort demonstrated Britain's business with the real East India Trading Company and the battle of the local people of madras ( as Chennai was formally known) and the British.
At the fort museum.
At the fort museum.
The museum also had enormous pictures of old British war heros, Kings and Queens, as well as the Generals of the fort. In this grand hall full of painted pictures, Sarah and I discovered only three out of 20 were of Indian men, and one out of those three had a white man in it as well. We talked about how many of the people living here probably never set foot outside of the fort walls and the most local interaction they would have received was through the merchants whom trade things into the fort. This discussion led us onto a larger one of how there is still, just as then, so much wealth surrounded by so much poverty. Its very hard to convey, even in pictures and with words. Quite literally, the Sari shop we went in yesterday, filled with cloth over $300 US dollars, a styling amount of rupees, with have a slum style house on their side walk. Sidewalks are not functional, and Vidya told us this the first day, which normally has to do with the congestion of traffic because people walk on the streets. Shacks will be built on the streets and sidewalks, what were once parks are now slums, and even bridge over passes serve as a proper home, just as it does for some in the US. Kelsey and I began to discuss how the poverty got so bad and why we don't see it as much in the US. I believe in 2-3 reasons. 1. the population is Seattle is about 300,000..... in Chennai, its 300 million, therefore there is less space per person. and 2/3 is the pull out of a developed nation for funding and security such as England leaves harmful expects not anticipated by Indian government. Thats one thing I learned this year is the devastation colonization can lead to when its given independence. Hence why many of Africa is in the disarray it is. India has been doing a phenomenal job, and offers government services, its police force simply doesn't have the respect and repercussions like ours.
There is no one to say you can place ahouseon the sidewalk, at least no one anyone would listen to. 
Inside the rest of the fort was a small chapel that was the burial place of a man whom Yale University was named after. This church led into a courtyard full of water damaged buildings and lush vegetation, giving you the feeling of your very own secret garden.
(the armenian church)From here we drove to an armenian church. As we rounded the block, there was street vendors everywhere and no sign of a church. Learning from my lesson yesterday about the sari shop, I knew this church had to be somewhere around here. Sure enough, under and arch, it opened up to a large bell tower and separate chapel that over looked the town. The church was gorgeous and white, as most of the chapels here.
After climbing the bell tower to get phenomenal views and pictures, I swayed in the sunlight for a while until everyone else had a chance to climb the tower. If there is one thing I have learned from India, its to expect the unexpected and never judge a book by its cover. Both the sari shop, kurta shop, and church were prime examples of this beauty that lies beyond the appearance of the eye.
We returned for a small break back at Niketana and I join Hannah and Sarah on the roof for some sun basking and reading.
After an hour or so we got ready to head to the beach. As we pulled up Vidya explained everything that was being projected on the loud speaker; a constant description of what you can and cannot do at the beach along with what you shouldn't do, such as buy from the vendors because their products are probably unclean. At the beaches here, there is no swimming for women, no bikinis and even wearing a sari or kurta can been seen as scandalous if it gets wet due to it clinging tight to the body. The beach is one of the largest beach in the world, it feels larger than Miami Beach without a doubt. Vendors everywhere along the sand set up shop, and like usual we were the main attraction. None of us mind, in fact we joke about not getting the same attention when we get back home that we have so accustomed to here. People stare, pretend to not take pictures when they really are and simply come up to sk and say hi or even for an autograph.
My personal favorite was this couple that had a camera and looked as if the were posed for a picture together across from us. But as I looked closer, instead of the shutter facing them and the display screen facing us, the screen was facing them and the shutter was pointed directly at us, they were just faking taking a picture to try and fool our professor Vidya whose a fireball when it comes to people taking pictures of us and beggars not leaving us along.
We just our feet in the ocean, and I was anticipating only getting my calfs wet, but a large wave changed that and I was soaked from the waist down. We took pictures, laughed and soaked in the beauty of the kids playing, the blue sky, the sun, and the warm company of each other. As we took jumping pictures in the air, others on the beach took them of us too. As we were soaking wet, we walked the board walk to see a central statue of Ghandi and the Chennai lighthouse that stood at the other end where the slums are.
The main slums of Chennai are on the opposite side of the beach, shacks all pieced together. Something we discussed today was that the media only portrays the poverty of India. So by me telling you only of the slums, it feeds into what is already known. India has poverty, yes, and lots of it, but the government is doing an incredible job for competing with the USA in many regards, a 200 year old country, while itself only being a 70 year old country. They have a multitude of programs for single mothers, employment options, promoting the impoverished class to working class and programs for medical help as well. I can now see outsourcing as something that is helping India that it could have helped the USA. Its hard to be selfish towards one's own country when coming to a place like this, all I feel is pride towards India and their accomplishments and ability to use trail and error methods of Western traits, culture and custom to help play catch up to the main players of the world. They pick what worked for them and continues on. Aside from the appearance of cultural restrictions, India thrives on flexibility.
This can been see in Hinduism, a religion that has been around for centuries pre-Greco-roman and still seems to be applicable to people today. Today I learned that Hinduism and Buddhism are one in the same to the people of India. To them, Buddha was Vishnu, one of Hinduism's trinity, reincarnated, therefore Buddha was a Hindu. The flexibility and freedom of diversity is what makes this country so united and acceptable in areas.
As we walked outside of this grand church, we had a discussion on how the cathedral looked glorious. Simple glorious. At 4:45 in the afternoon, with the warm sun setting and glowing against this white building full of detail, literally made it look glorious. As we watched the light dance down the cathedral, the bells rang from the towers. The moment couldn't have been any more perfect. Warm weather, cool breeze, setting sun, rays across the sky, an incredible building and the simple moment of realization that I was in India. It made my heart pound.
We hopped in the car and ate dinner in Niketana, Sarah and I spliting some Aloo Masala and hot coco to watch a movie and fall asleep.
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