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The End

Tomorrow marks the end of our 14 week internship at AID India and it is a bittersweet ending. We are sad to leave Chennai and the hospitality of the AID India staff yet we are eager to begin our separate adventures and to be reunited with friends and family in Canada. We have really enjoyed this internship experience and are grateful for this wonderful opportunity. Thank you for reading our blog!

Sally's article about the "Arogyam" health internship at AID India

Hostel Happiness

This blog post probably should have been written months ago when we first arrived, but unfortunately, it's often the case that the things closest to you are the first to be neglected. With only about two weeks left in Chennai, here's a belated introduction to the city we called home for the last 3 months!

Mornings at the Catherine's Ladies Hostel in Nungambakkam start with a delicious breakfast of either idli or dosa with sambar and coconut chutney or puri with potato curry served to us with a smile by the ever radiant Rajeswari. After breakfast, sometimes we relax with the daily newspaper – either the Times of India or the Hindu, the two main English newspapers – and a cup of chai/coffee. Around 9:30 the two cleaning ladies – Venilla and Reunka – make their rounds and we are spoiled by their generous services and their playful teases in Tamil. Before leaving for work at 10:00, we collect our lunches from Raji – usually some sort of vegetable biryani – and struggle to stop her before she overflows our tupperware containers with rice.

We then bid farewell to Kani, the hostel warden, and make our way to the bus stop nearby and catch the ever-crowded 29C towards Royapettah. Although we are now used to the sight of the bus riding low due to the weight of too many passengers, the first few rides left us breathless and more than a little claustrophobic. At around 3:30 we leave the AID India office and cling on tightly as the bus honks and thrusts its way though the congested streets of Chennai.

Dinners at the hostel are exquisite beyond words or photographs and it's truly a blessing to have delicious south Indian food made for us each day. We express our appreciation by eating as many dosas and chappatis as we can before retreating to our air-conditioned room to digest.

We feel very thankful for the wonderful experience we've had at this hostel, with its dedicated staff, clean rooms, and the indescribably delicious food. As we settled into a comfortable routine in the hot and dusty city of Chennai, this hostel has truly felt like home to us!

#Mumbai/Goa

Goin' to Goa

After a surprisingly good sleep on the overnight Konkan Express to Goa, we were awoken by the sight of lush forests and vibrantly green hills stretching all the way along the coast. We got off the train near the town of Mapusa in north Goa to make our way towards the resort we had booked on Vagator Beach. I was still a bit sleepy and stupidly forgot my cellphone on the train – which was hurtling towards Margao in south Goa. Fortunately, Kally and Sonia called my phone and a very nice man named Angelo that we met on the ride heard it and promised to drop it off with the station superintendent in Margao.We reached our resort – which was super cheap and empty because it was the off-season for Goa – and quickly settled in for a few days of deep relaxation.

On our second day in Goa, Kally and I took a day trip to Margao to pick up my cellphone. Annoying as it was to go out of our way, it was a serendipitous opportunity for us to see other parts of this tiny state. And since Margao was in south Goa, we were able to see more of the greenery that is Goa in monsoon season. Kally and I were struck with how calm and peaceful Goan cities were compared to other parts of India that we have seen so far. The crumbling Portuguese-era villas and the small-town friendliness of the Goan locals were very endearing and the cellphone retrieval trip turned out to be quite a nice excursion.

Meanwhile, Sonia spent the day walking around Vagator and got the worst sunburn, which turned into a pretty mean shorts tan. She also made a friend and when we returned from Margao, we met Blanche – an Australian woman who now lives in Goa. She was quite the character and we spent the afternoon chatting about her life in Goa, what it's like during tourist season, where to visit in India, and her work in the international television business. The next couple of days can be summarized by great seafood, happy hour cocktails, joking around with Raj and Subhi – two wonderful guys that worked for the resort whom we befriended, and wishing we could go swimming (it's too dangerous to swim in the ocean near Vagator during monsoon season). On our second last day in Vagator, we ran into Adam, a Hungarian that Sonia randomly met on the streets of Mumabi, who was also staying at our resort. He was travelling around Goa before working for an NGO in Bangalore. For our last night at the Alcove Resort, Kally and I ordered Bebinka – a Goan dessert made with coconut served with vanilla ice cream – and watched Planet Earth in bed while Sonia and Adam explored the nearby town of Baga. Our stay in Vagator was relaxing to the max and our many walks around the deserted streets – except for the omnipresent herds of cows and stray dogs – were just what we needed after the hustle and bustle of Chennai and Mumbai. It was a bit hard to imagine this peaceful hamlet as having a wild party scene during the on-season.

We celebrated Sonia's 21st birthday in Baga with a delicious Indian meal before saying goodbye to Adam and heading for Palolem. Four bus rides and 5 hours later, we reached this little slice of paradise in the southern tip of Goa. The weather was cooperative – even sunny for a few hours at a time – and the tide was gentle enough at this beach that we could swim in the Arabian Sea! We found a hostel room for Rs. 300 total (so approx. $2 each/night!) which was normally Rs. 3000 ($70 total/night) during on-season and spent the next couple of days eating, swimming, sunbathing, and walking along the beach. In between eating and swimming, we were able to watch the local fishermen bring in their daily catch and we had our fill of fresh seafood. For lunch one day, I was accidentally brought two plates of prawns and ate roughly 40-50 prawns in one sitting, and at the ridiculously cheap price of $5. We also met a girl from Winnepeg/Banff named Jessica with whom Sonia and I split a small shark for dinner. It was the first time eating shark for all three of us and it was quite tasty despite our initial apprehension.

On our last day in Goa we awoke at 4:30am and took a 2 hour taxi ride to the Vasco de Gama airport where we flew back to Chennai on Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher is a major beer company in India and we were quite amused by the idea of flying on a plane owned by the beer brand we've been supporting all week.

Goa during the off-season was quite different than the typical party experience Goa is so famous for during the on-season. However, we relished the tranquillity of rainy streets and the chance to observe the slow-paced life of the Goan locals. And although the constant drizzle did put a bit of a damper (haha) on our dreams of sun and surf, we were definitely not complaining about the immensely cheaper prices for off-season room and board. We left this tiny state with our stomachs full of seafood, our pockets full of sand, and our bodies fully rested!

#Mumbai/Goa

The terrorist blasts in Mumbai yesterday (July 13th) hit a little too close for comfort as we were in Mumbai only 12 days before. Our hearts go out to the victims and the families of the attacks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/21-killed-130-injured-as-3-blasts-maim-Mumbai/articleshow/9217067.cms

#Mumbai/Goa

Aboard the Mumbai Express & Bollywood Dreams

There are many roads to Mumbai and we put this to the test as we began our west coast adventures by train and plane.

Kally and I spent our Canada Day aboard the Mumbai Express where we befriended a hilarious and talkative father/son duo who kept offering us food (“Have some banana chips! I just bought one kilo”) and a businessman from Chennai who was transferring to Mumbai for work. We watched the Indian countryside roll by through sepia-tinted windows that made the landscape look like a vintage film, or like it was going to rain at any moment. The most memorable part of the ride were the concession sellers that would walk through the compartments every 10 minutes screeching “Chai coffeeeeee!” in a sing-song voice. It was the soundtrack of our ride as we were rocked to sleep by the gentle rumbling of the train.

We reached Mumbai at 6am and met up with Sonia – who took a 2 hour plane ride in contrast to our 24 hour train ride – at the Sea Shore Hotel in the neighbourhood of Colaba, right next to the harbour. We had breakfast at a dosa joint nearby where I ordered a “paper dosa” thinking I can handle any dosa they throw at me since I have fallen under the spell of this delicious Indian staple. I met my culinary match when they presented me with a 3 foot long dosa, of which I was only able to each a third, and I'm sad to say that I was unable to finish my meal for the first time in India. Kally and Sonia ordered dosas of a much more manageable size and taunted me for my weak performance. Then we boarded a ferry to Elephanta Island – about 1 hour away from the city – to visit the monolithic cave temples built between 450 and 750 AD. After marvelling at the pillars and statues carved right into the rock, we grabbed a beer and a scrumptious corn-on-the-cob dipped in lime and spices. On our ferry ride back, the skies turned an angry shade of grey and our little boat was rocked by monsoon-inspired waves. We feared for the safety of our Birkenstocks but the boat reached shore safely and we were soon shopping happily along the Colaba Causeway. While we were browsing the wares, a Bollywood scout approached Sonia, asked her to be an extra in a Bollywood film the next day, and gave her his card.

We separated on our second day in Mumbai where Sonia went with the Bollywood agent at 7:30am and Kally and I ventured to find breakfast. We went to a wonderful restaurant called Moshes and after browsing the newspaper over some damn good lattes, we hopped on a bus to Chowpatty Beach. The beach was a bit of a disappointment as it was probably the saddest beach we've ever seen. There was litter everywhere and the tides were churning waves of garbage yet the beach was still packed with families, young couples, and boys playing soccer. It was a painful reminder of the plastic waste and pollution crisis that is gripping both India and the world. After the depressing sight of Chowpatty Beach, Kally and I found solace in the rejuvenating fruit smoothies at Mochas Cafe, right next to Marine Drive. To cap off our long day of walking, we visited the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. The museum contained exhibits of Indian art, archaeology, and natural history and is housed in a stunning structure built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. We met up with Sonia for dinner (went back to Moshes again because it was just that good!) and she recounted her Bollywood adventures over a delicious meal. Bollywood filmmakers have a tendency to cast foreigners as extras because it's trendy so she was cast in a Punjab film. Since she was the only blonde girl on set she was in every scene and met many other foreign travellers who were also extras on the film. After dinner, we had a beer with some guys from Mexico that Sonia met on the set before we hailed a cab to catch our 11pm train to Goa.

Mumbai had charmed us with its glamourous yet laid-back style and we fell deeply in love with this city! It was a truly cosmopolitan hub where the nightlife was thriving yet you can still unwind in one of the many cafes and restaurants. It was hard to leave this delightful capital... but good thing we did because Goa had a few charms up its sleeve as well!

#Mumbai/Goa

#Auroville

An Afternoon in Auroville

On a bright Sunday in June, Kally and I decided to take a day trip to Auroville – an independent and universal settlement just outside Pondicherry – to assuage our mounting curiosity about this alternative community.

A brief note on Auroville: the idea of an ideal township was proposed in 1960s by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram which is based in Pondicherry and gained the support of both the Indian government and UNESCO. Auroville's vision is to be "a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity." There are about 2100 residents - of all ages and nationalities - that live in this community and they all contribute to the functioning of the place. They are very environmentally conscious and have solar powered water filters, electricity generators, etc. The township is divided into six sections: the Green Belt, the Cultural Zone, the International Zone, the Industrial Zone, the Peace Area, and the Residential Zone. For more information, check out their website: www.auroville.org.

After getting off the Pondicherry bound bus early, we met 4 guys from north India who were also taking a day trip to Auroville. They were working for a biogenetics company in Chennai and we decided to split an autorickshaw ride with them into the part of Auroville that is open to tourists. Crammed into the small auto, the six of us whizzed past Aurovillians and tourists on bicycles and mopeds before quickly getting to the tourist office. It turns out that our auto driver was charging us for both the ride there and the ride back to the highway and was only willing to wait 2 hours for us to walk around the place. In our short time span, we were only able to walk to the Matrimandir and snap some photos and goofed around this huge banyan tree nearby. They were really funny and we had some good laughs. We had a delicious lunch of gorgonzola and vegan pizzas before being ushered to the auto by the annoying and impatient auto driver. Kally and I vowed to come back to Auroville another weekend and stay for much longer so we can see more. We bid farewell to the boys when we got to the ECR highway and caught a bus back to Chennai. We'll be back, Auroville!

#Auroville

Catchin' up with Sonia

I spent last week with a wonderful group of volunteers from the Arizona AID chapter. They were all so passionate and energetic: they were able to raise enough money to sponsor a few centres and were eager to do more. The kids in the group were so mature and asked questioned I would not have thought of at that age. Sitara and I really had a great time.

We spent most of the week traveling around northern Tamil Nadu. We visited a wide variety of the after school programs and one of the two Eureka Schools. The school runs in a similar format to the after school programs in that for a small fee of about one dollar a month, a child can attend the school, get three sets of the uniforms, a backpack, and a nutritious snack. The beauty of the program is that the fee actually is not meant for profit, it is design to increase the commitment of the teachers, parents, and students. Every time we walked into one of the Eureka centres, you could just tell everyone was so happy to be there: the teachers, the students, and the volunteers. The volunteers from the US seemed to be really happy with the work we were doing and were happy to give us their ideas for the future of AID India. I came back from the trip with the biggest smile on my face.

Update on Sonia’s life beyond AID India:

I got blessed by a Hijra on the train to Thiruttani (a Hirja has a very unique and historic place in Indian society, you can use Google to learn more)

I had my first fresh sugar cane juice, my first street samosa, and my first real fresh lime juice

I learned about the consequences of eating so many new and exotic things

The 9PM curfew at our hostel has nurtured our love of movie-watching (highly suggested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vupEpNjCuY)

#AID India

Thefts, Finance, XC, and Ice Cream - by Kally

In the past couple weeks, we have witnessed a theft, made progress on our projects, and said our goodbyes to a dear friend. Xiao Chen (our beloved co-intern/friend from Malaysia/Singapore) had her wallet stolen right out of her arm bag on the bus home from work. Being the tough woman that she is, she refused to give up even after we searched her bag multiple times. Xiao Chen marched the suspected woman into the closest store to search her body. The woman, who was obviously an accomplished and successful thief, slyly dropped the wallet under a jeans rack. But Xiao Chen was not fooled, oh no! She found the wallet and ran after the woman as she tried to escape from the store. The woman hopped into an auto rickshaw but Xiao Chen called after her “Stop that woman! She stole my wallet!” and the auto driver stayed put. At this point we had amassed quite the crowd. Many kind bystanders helped us translate, called the police, and detained the woman. The woman was forced into an auto with Sally and XC, and Sonia and I followed in an auto behind them. After an eventful ride to the police station (the lady jumped out of the moving auto, ran away without her shoes, and when we finally caught up with her, she was rolling on the ground in hysterics, begging us to let her go) XC gave her statement at the police station . The police found gold jewellery and large sums of cash in the thief's bag and we were told that the thief would be put in jail for 15 days.

Last weekend, XC and I went on another village trip to Latchivakkam. Xiao Chen has been working on a financial literacy program and I went to help her with a trial run of the curriculum. I also had to test out a math curriculum for first and second standard students. The trip got off to a rocky start when four men came on the bus and beat up Suresh, the project manager. It was terrifying, watching him get hit in the head over and over again and not being able to understanding what was going on at all. It turns out that there’s some bad blood between the aggressors and Suresh. Suresh was okay and the incident didn’t stop him from working all day as our translator and project facilitator. What a champ.

We spent the night at Suresh’s house with his absolutely wonderful family. They treated us with immense kindness, inviting us to act as if we were in our homes. Yet again, we feasted like queens on fish, chicken, rice, sambar, chutneys, omelets, and pineapple. Heaven. In the morning we drank coffee (ie. Sweet cream with a coffee favour) as we sat outside by the green sea of rice fields eating coconut and mango and getting our hair braided by Suresh’s sister. I think we both would have like to extend our stay but we had a full day ahead of us in Latchivakkam finishing up our projects. Our bus ride home (or should I say our six bus rides home) were much calmer. We returned tired, filthy, dehydrated but safe.

Much to our dismay, Xiao Chen returned to Malaysia on Monday. We’ve all grown so attached to this crazy and energetic girl - it’s so quiet here without her! On her last night we went to the Copper Chimney (a posh North Indian restaurant) with her roommate Shalini where we ate salivating dishes of fish, lamb, paneer (cottage cheese) and beans accompanied by warm and buttery garlic naan bread and mango lassies. Gluttony at it’s best. It is safe to say that we all had difficulty being even remotely mobile after such an exquisite feast. Speaking of gluttony and feasting, we have discovered the best ice cream shop on earth. As a Bowser, I feel that it would be a sin to leave something as life-altering as the opening of “Fudge and Cream” out of our blog. This ice cream shop, which has the same idea as a Cold Stone, allows you pick your ice cream flavors and add in toppings. It’s mixed together and placed in a fresh waffle cone or bowl. My mouth aches just thinking about it. It’s going to be difficult not to become a regular.

At the end of next week, the three of us are taking a mini-vacation and heading to Mumbai and Goa from July 1st – July 10th. We're pretty excited for the glitz and glamour of Mumbai, lounging on the beach, maybe a few dips in the Arabian Ocean, and tasting the Portuguese flavours of Goa.

#AID India

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