Hello again!
As we speak, we are transitioning living quarters from the International Guest House to a room in the Center for International Social Work. It's a bigger room, the bathroom's cleaner, and we even have a little kitchenette. Indian cuisine preparation, here we come! The one downside is that we are without air conditioning, which won't be great to move in, but supposedly that's temporary.
This week we've been running around to different agencies that the SW department works with. Madras Christian Counsel of Social Service (not affiliated with Madras Christian College) is an excellent agency that we visited on Wednesday. We got lost on the way - the driver pulled over every five minutes to ask directions - but the little city was so confusing, no one seemed to know where to go. That didn't stop them from giving directions, however. When we finally got there, our hosts had prepared a traditional Hindu greeting for us. We were given bindis, flowers for our hair, and sandalwood paste markings on our cheeks to ward away the evil eye.
MCCSS is doing lots of good work, but the most memorable was the short stay and protection homes for women and children with family problems or who have been rescued from human trafficking work. We visited them, and they performed traditional dances for us. We were even invited to join them, and they seemed thrilled with our attempts.
This weekend we'll go to a pride parade on Marina Beach and a few other LGBT events. Being in the city will also be nice as we adjust to our new digs.
That's all for now.
P.S. For any of you that ever take Doxycycline for malaria prophylaxis, avoid dairy! Masters students though we are, it took both of us throwing up to figure out what we were doing wrong!
As we speak, we are transitioning living quarters from the International Guest House to a room in the Center for International Social Work. It's a bigger room, the bathroom's cleaner, and we even have a little kitchenette. Indian cuisine preparation, here we come! The one downside is that we are without air conditioning, which won't be great to move in, but supposedly that's temporary.
This week we've been running around to different agencies that the SW department works with. Madras Christian Counsel of Social Service (not affiliated with Madras Christian College) is an excellent agency that we visited on Wednesday. We got lost on the way - the driver pulled over every five minutes to ask directions - but the little city was so confusing, no one seemed to know where to go. That didn't stop them from giving directions, however. When we finally got there, our hosts had prepared a traditional Hindu greeting for us. We were given bindis, flowers for our hair, and sandalwood paste markings on our cheeks to ward away the evil eye.
MCCSS is doing lots of good work, but the most memorable was the short stay and protection homes for women and children with family problems or who have been rescued from human trafficking work. We visited them, and they performed traditional dances for us. We were even invited to join them, and they seemed thrilled with our attempts.
This weekend we'll go to a pride parade on Marina Beach and a few other LGBT events. Being in the city will also be nice as we adjust to our new digs.
That's all for now.
P.S. For any of you that ever take Doxycycline for malaria prophylaxis, avoid dairy! Masters students though we are, it took both of us throwing up to figure out what we were doing wrong!
Will you do a post about the interactions between Christian and Hindu tradition you see? I thought it was interesting that MCCSS gave you a traditional Hindu greeting. How do they negotiate that cultural balance? Also, the medical nerd in me feels compelled to tell you to make sure to be careful in the sun, too, on doxy! You can get some terrible sunburns because it increases sun sensitivity.
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