I made it

I am in Tiru, but first a little about my travels.

BWI to JFK went without a hitch, if you ignore all the electrical problems and the very bumpy ride. JFK to Dubai was long (close to thirteen hours) but the plane and the food were very good. I got stopped at Dubai security, and was yelled at by several security guards in Arabic, but they let me go when they realized that I had no idea what was happening. I was proud of myself for how calm I was able to stay.

Dubai was a little disappointing, I was in the airport for seven hours, and it was like being in a mall in the US, with everything in English and Arabic. I slept there for a couple hours, and wandered around for the rest of the time.

I was one of two westerners traveling to Chennai, the other was from France and spoke Hindi, so she doesn't really count. The airport in Chennai was more like a warehouse, and was frankly a little scary and hard to navigate. I asked this one family about the immigration papers. They didn't speak English and laughed at my fruitless efforts. They stopped me to go through my bags, I was the only person they did this to, I wonder why (please note the sarcasm). Leaving the airport there was this small fence with hundreds of people yelling and stretching their arms out. Amongst that crowd of people I needed to find Kumari. Luckily she found me first (it probably was not that hard) and pulled me towards her and her daughter, Priya.

They had hired a driver, and we got in. Driving in India is also scary. There are no lanes, and seem to be no speed limits. People use their horns heavily, and every horn sounds different. I tried to put my seatbelt on, and quickly learned that there was nothing to click it into. The drive took us through Chennai, and from looking at this 'city' I quickly learned just how under developed India really is. We stopped to get drinks, and I got a lot of stares.

Kumari, her 19 year old daughter Priya, her husband Xavier, and 4 1/2 year old son Prince are all very nice and welcoming. We got to Tiru a little after 1 am last night, and I slept until noon, which they understood after my 35 hour travel with little sleep. The home is even worse off than I realized. While driving up to it Kumari pointed out what looked like a parking lot and explained that it is where the children play; that is when they are not burning bodies in the building next to it because the pollution is too bad. When I enter Wide Childrens Home, I had to carefully navigate the floor which was littered with thirty six children sleeping on the floor. They set a small room aside for me, and I felt bad when I saw that all of Kumari's family was sleeping in a small room the same size as mine. The house is very open, made of cement, and is colorful. The street it is on is very narrow and crowded.

The children had already gone to school when I had gotten up, but I am very excited to see them when they come home a little after four. I am going to go and eat now. Kumari just hired a chef named James, who is apparently a little off in the head. In all, the home is very welcoming, and the people very kind, loving, and curious. I will post pictures when I get some.

Peace,
Robby