Chennai, finally!

Well folks, here you have it-the first post from Chennai, India. We finally arrived in this bustling city around 2 A.M. Saturday, January 10. After sleeping for almost three hours, we went to work at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Our first day in India included a visit to the poor areas of the city and interacting with the people there, as well as lunch with the Vincent Peters' family. This city is fascinating. It is so BUSY here. People are EVERYWHERE. The streets are packed with people, cars, bikers and buses. Even at four in the morning as we flew freely through the streets, people were everywhere. In fact, our group was welcomed to India with hundreds of people standing outside of the airport, waiting for family members to arrive. The city of Chennai is strikingly dirty. As we drove down the streets, we could see piles of trash everywhere. We asked questions about why there is so much trash everywhere and why it is not collected. While Chennai is dirty, the people here are so beautiful. It amazes me that the people here desire to look like us Americans when they are so beautiful. Thick black hair and beautiful skin surround us. Chennai is also so colorful. The houses and buildings have many different colors, very diverse in shape and form. I also have found that dozens of people would die if I were to attempt to drive here. There are no traffic laws. People drive, bike, or walk where ever they would like. Lanes on the road don't really exsist. Wild, wild. At night, the traffic lights are ignored.
Saturday was an interesting day. Despite being weary, our visit to the "slums" was incredible. The poverty was unreal, but I found it difficult to be sad because the people living there are so happy. The children were fascinated by the cameras and giggled wildly when we showed them their own picture we had taken. The people residing in the slums wanted all of us to see everything they had. They were so proud of the tiny little they possessed. Vincent Peters' family was so welcoming and generous. The food was delicious and they blessed us each with a gift of a sari or a shirt for the men.
Today was also a good day. We broke off into different groups and attended church with different Indian students who reside here. After church we had the opportunity to spend the day with the students. My mind was overflowing with questions. The students all know English, being taught it in school.
It is so interesting to finally see a different culture for my own eyes. India looks like the textbooks and movies. It's hard to understand that we are actually here, halfway across the globe! This city has a pluthera to teach us.