Taylor's Awesome Blog

Hey Guys, I'm probably going to hold off on updating this blog.... internet access the next week or so is going to be sketchy, if at all available. If you want to see more pictures and such, I'll mass-upload them when I get back (maybe we can do a slide show or something on the 20th or 21st).... Things are going pretty well, still. I'm realizing more and more how much I dislike Chennai, though. It's over-crowded, loud, everyone is trying to sell you something, trash is everywhere, and it smells really bad. It's been bearable, but I was glad to go to Pondicherry, Auroville, and Vellore recently - it smells nicer at those places. Even Indians who have lived elsewhere have talked about how crummy Chennai is compared to the rest of India. That being said, there are a few nice things about Chennai as well (cool places to eat, a nice staff at ICSA, etc.) So, Gilby and Kayli -- Don't give up hope on India during the first month. With a positive attitude, you ca...

Yah..... so, we went shopping for 'traditional' Indian clothing today. Irene (the woman who will guide the Bio in South India group around Chennai) took us to a huge clothing outlet. Imagine yourself in Target on the most crowded day that you've ever seen it. Now multiply the amount of people there by 10, and add five floors to Target. This is how busy and crowded this store was in the middle of a weekday. I purchased a Kurta. The first one that they dried to sell me was expensive and royal-looking (the white one below). I couldn't see myself ever wearing something like that, so I purchased something a bit more my color and style (the blue one). It was an interesting adventure, to say the least.

Hey Guys, Here's a youtube video I posted, detailing a small tour of ICSA. I'm planning on posting some pictures in the coming days, too, so be sure to look at old blog posts for those. -Tay

Today (Sunday) we attended St. Andrew's Church, which is the church that many ICSA workers attend. Our ride there was very interesting -- one rickshaw driver was convinced that 6 passengers can fit in one vehicle (meant to hold 3). I sat in the driver's seat with the driver, and my 5 travel-mates sat in back on each other's laps. It was an interesting journey, especially because the rickshaw driver, as it turns out, had no clue where St. Andrew's church was! We arrived at St. Andrew's eventually. The service was very lovely, and the people were very welcoming. The architecture at St. A's was very beautiful, and the sanctuary was in the shape of a circle (very weird, but interesting!). After the service we met with Sara's former India guide, Dr. something...... He was a delightful old man, just recently retired from a local college. He will probably be giving at least one lecture to Kayli and Gilby's group when they are being oriented at ICSA. We a...

Spencer and I have been working on our CS project over the course of the last two days, and we believe that we'll be able to finish the curriculum planning by the time we leave. The students are adorable, and it's been really fun talking with them. After work on Friday we took a tour of Adyar Poonga , an ecological restoration (garden) site that is being built about half a kilometer inland from the beach. Mr. Joss, who is from Oroville where Kayli is going to study, is an Australian man who has been commissioned to build this 60-acre garden spot. The plant-life that they are rebuilding is amazing. They've turned a barren wasteland that was full of garbage (as most of Chennai is) into a beautiful ecological sanctuary. On Saturday I finally got my video (above) set up and working [thank God!]. I'm not used to being the one with computer / camera troubles, so not being able to get a video from computer to camera for over a week was very frustrating. Oh, well.... it...