Journal - Getting there, First Day in Chennai

12/8 - Charles DeGaulle Airport

It seems like the sun might never come up here - 8am in Paris and it is still dark, the airport wreathed in a thick fog. Air France is great! We have gotten so used to flying on national flights where you're lucky if they offer you a free bag of peanuts. On this trip our meals were introduced with real menus, champagne aperitifs, and wine. When we arrived in Paris we must have taken the long way to our gate, because we ended up walking through a maze of concrete and lime-green painted hallways, up and down endless staircases, and finally to a deserted airport bus which seemed to drive forever through an empty cargo world. We got off the bus and found ourselves in a line waiting with many of our fellow passengers from the previous flight. Another security check? After some minutes a man pushed to the front of the line and went down the hallway, coming back and urging us all forwards. Apparently, we were all waiting yards away from the head of the line and the security guards were up ahead wondering what had happened to us! The terminal is very peaceful - by far the most pleasant airport I've been in. I love the architecture - marble and concrete, simple lines with lots of space and light. And quiet! No beeping carts or loud announcements...but then it is early, still.

I forgot to mention our first adventure of the trip. Just after we passed through security in Boston Larry's shoe completely fell apart! We borrowed some tape from the security guards but it didn't seem like that would last very long. Luckily, there was a "Runway Fashion" store nearby, so Larry walked in and bought the one pair of shoes they had in his size. They look nice but aren't very comfortable, especially after the first flight and our long trek through the airport.

We still have about 90 minutes before boarding and are so far the only Caucasians in the gate area.

12/9 - Chennai

Last night we arrived in Chennai at 2 in the morning. Immigration and customs were quick, but it took nearly an hour for our bags to come. I have never seen so many suitcases come off a plane before!! I kept thinking that the belt would stop and we'd be left luggageless for a few days, but finally they came rolling off. Larry's was marked all over with the letter "B" in chalk, which was probably a customs mark, although I don't know what they would have found of security concern in our luggage. We went outside into an aisle thronged with people and found with relief a driver holding a cardboard sign reading "Notorious". It was warm and muggy and drizzling and I felt happily at home in the Houston-like conditions. We piled into the car and he drove us through the city. It was surprisingly quiet at 3am. Driving was exciting, though! It was mostly accomplished by a good deal of honking and flashing of brights, and the red lights seemed to be optional, although we stopped or at least slowed at most of them. It took a while to locate the correct address but we finally found it. The driver rattled the gates and someone came running out to open them and carry our bags up for us. We felt awful arriving so late - the doorman rang the bell several times before the door was opened by a maid. She let us in and another woman appeared, dressed in a beautiful green saree. This was our host, Sai's, mother-in-law. She got us settled in and explained that Sai was in bed with a fever. They offered us water in a jug, but we persisted in asking for bottled water, even though they said it was filtered...we felt bad being troublesome, especially at 3 in the morning! Finally, we went to our room but I had a hard time sleeping due to the fact that my passport had disappeared. I finally dozed off just as the sun began to come up.

We woke up early, and I went out to the living room where Sai's mom and his mother-in-law were making breakfast. Sai's father-in-law greeted me along with another man, Majish, who was a good friend of Sai's. They explained again that Sai was sick, but then he came downstairs and joined us. We ate a kind of pancake (dosas) with potatoes inside, and coconut chutney - yum! They also served us some very strong and sweet coffee, saying that South India is famous for the coffee and North India for tea.

After breakfast we went upstairs with Sai and Majish and talked for a while. Apparently, Sai's parents used to live on the same site in a big house, but they finally decided to tear it down and build the current modern complex in it's place. So Sai and his wife Lakshmi (who was in the US while we were in town) and Sai's mom live in one two-story condo, Lakshmi's parents live downstairs in another one, Majish has an apartment somewhere in the building, etc. We didn't see any of the other apartments, but Sai's is lovely. It opens into a marble entryway that has a guest room (our room) off to one side, the kitchen on the other, and a long wooden dining room that is shut off from the rest of the house with glass doors and walls. There might have been some other rooms downstairs as well, but we didn't see them. A spiral staircase leads up to the second floor, where there is another open space with a small piano, a laundry room, and some other bedrooms. Every room has lots of windows, and most open onto outdoor terraces, so there is lots of light and air flowing through the house. From the rooftop terrace one can see the ocean in the distance, and buildings everywhere, peeking through a canopy of trees. This city is so green! There are big crows and green parrots flying around, and colorful patches stand out where laundry is out on lines to dry. Every so often a man comes by on a bicycle, chanting something like a peddler selling wares - Sai says he is collecting paper for recycling.



Sai called the car company that had sent the driver for us the night before, (luckily it was one they use often), and the driver found my passport in his car. What a relief! I knew I would do one dumb thing on this trip, so hopefully that's it!

At noon Lavanya and her co-worker Rohan picked us up and took us to lunch, where we ate really good North Indian food, similar to what we often eat at Indian restaurants at home but much better! I mentioned wanting to find some Indian clothes for the wedding, so they ended up taking us to a mall - not what we expected, but it worked out just fine. When we got there we met up with Nalini, (Lavanya's mom and the main organizing force behind our concerts). They all went back to the office, instructing us to go downstairs to the garage when we were done where their driver, Gopal, would be waiting for us.

We wandered around for a while and I found a couple of really pretty salwar kameez, a type of dress that comes to about the knees with long pants that you wear underneath. One of them needed to be altered a bit, so I decided to pick it up the next day. Larry also bought some new shoes - his airport shoes were way too tight!

In the basement we successfully found Gopal, who was waiting for us near the elevator. He navigated the sea of cars with care and we popped out onto the busy streets again. I sat up front with him and he asked me if this was our first trip to Chennai, and where we were from. I told him that we were Americans and asked if he has ever been there. "No," he laughed, "I am only in Chennai." I noticed that he wasn't wearing shoes and wondered if that was by choice or necessity.

As we drove he pointed out a few things, like the big movie theatre. I was trying to take in everything - cows and dogs wandered through traffic, the cows aimlessly, the dogs with their tails between their legs; women wearing bright sarees carried things on their heads; children in school uniforms waited in droves for buses; three-wheeled yellow cars and bicycles darted in and out of traffic on both sides of the road; trees grew out of the sidewalks and hung into the street. And everywhere was the sound of construction and traffic and incessent honking. It was a lot to absorb!

Now we are back at the house, relaxing before the big shindig tonight. Larry is asleep but I am restless - too much to think about! It will be fun to meet everyone.