A lot of everything...

So I made it to India (after almost missing my connection in London) and have to say the whole trip from Houston to Vellore went rather smoothly. Upon arriving to Chennai, we were greeted by fairly long lines at Customs, a "security check" at the baggage claim where no one actually watched the monitor, and our luggage! We exchanged some money into Rupees, where we were asked "who was more popular in the States: Michael Jackson or Eminem?" to which we replied neither. We didn't meet up with Chris as he missed his connection due to layover issues and proceeded on to the mob of people and cab drivers outside the airport.

And this is where I realized that in India, there is a lot of everything! People are everywhere, cars are everywhere, trash is everywhere, cows, dogs, bicycles...the list goes on. But it seems to be a very make it work environment. Let me explain. After waiting at the airport for a while to ensure our drive Chris in fact was not coming, we started our drive to Vellore. Now if you think the drivers in San Antonio are bad... There seem to be absolutely no laws on the roads in this country. The middle line is merely a suggestion and you can feel free to cross at anytime, especially if you just think you might want to pass the car/motorbike/bicycle/pedestrian/animal in front of you. Needless to say, I have never wished for a working seat belt more in my life. Once we made it out of Chennai to the highway, more of the same continued, just at faster speeds as we were now on a highway. But rest assured, communication with others took place as our driver laid on his horn upon seeing anyone else on the road. Amazing experience.

As for the environment, I was so impressed with how many people really are everywhere and how resourceful everyone is. Whatever they have, they make it work. For example, if you have a motorbike and need to take plastic chairs, your wife, and some groceries down the street, you pile them on the motorbike and you take them. If you need a ride but have no vehicle, you stand where you are and wait for someone to pick you up. If you need to go to the bathroom and are on the highway where there are no washrooms, you stop and you...well, I think you understand.

In Vellore, we checked into the Aavana Hotel and are staying in a pretty nice room. The shower is interesting as it involves a bucket and pourer... But the hotel room was perfect as yesterday we slept off the jetlag. As most things are closed on Sunday, we fell asleep at 10AM and made ourselves go to dinner at 7:30PM...

As for today, we have officially registered at the CMC. There is a group of roughly 30 students here from Singapore registering (as students and not observers...) as well; after talking to them about their country, which is roughly the population of Houston, it sounds rather intrituing--when do I have time for a trip to Singapore... They let us know about an international party or something this afternoon, so we will see who else is here. Tomorrow I start the CHAD rotation (a rural medicine rotation). I will explain more when I figure out the details. For now, that is enough...