50 Facts about Our Life in Chennai

We’ve been living in Chennai for over two months now. Some of you reading this blog may not know very much what day to day like here is like, so we thought we would write up a list of interesting facts about where we are living and some of the things that are different here.

1. Chennai is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

2. It is also known as Madras.

3. It has a population of around 10 million (it was 8.24 million in a 2001 census).

4. That makes it only the 4^th largest metropolitan area in India (following Calcutta, Delhi, and Mumbai).

5. Different regions in India have different languages. Tamil is spoken in Tamil Nadu, while Hindi is spoken in the north.

6. English is spoken pretty much everywhere, but some people’s accents are very tough for us to understand.

7. The weather has been very consistent since we got here. Highs are in the mid-90s, and lows are in the upper-70s to low-80s.

8. There are no clothes dryers in Chennai. Everything hangs on lines.

9. Ovens are very rare, except in restaurants. Everything is cooked stove top.

10. Toaster ovens are in Celsius, not Fahrenheit (oops).

11. Kitchen sinks do not have hot water to wash dishes in.

12. Showers do not have hot water unless attached to an individual water heater.

13. Our showers are attached to individual water heaters.

14. Groceries are generally cheap. Vegetables are so cheap they are basically free.

15. The exception is American brand of items. A box of Cheerios or Honey Bunches of Oats will cost about $10 US.

16. Milk comes in a box that is not refrigerated in the store.

17. Butter comes in huge blocks like Tillamook cheese.

18. Traffic in Chennai can get pretty bad. Driving somewhere that should take 15 minutes during peak traffic time will take around 45 minutes.

19. People driving motorcycles are required to wear helmets, but passengers on motorcycles are not.

20. Most helmets are placed somewhere on the motorcycle rather than on the driver’s head.

21. There are also signs saying that no more than two people are allowed on one motorcycle.

22. We have seen as many as six people on one motorcycle.

23. We have also seen a motorcycle with two men and a goat.

24. A lot of people here are vegetarian. It is common enough that most menus are divided into sections of Veg and Non-Veg.

25. Dinner is very late in India. Some restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:00, and most people do not eat until around 9:00.

26. There are some very nice restaurants, but the service is very inconsistent. Sometimes it will take a half hour to get water, and sometimes we have a different person asking us if we need something every 10 minutes.

27. The main difference in restaurants is getting the check. If you do not ask for it, they will never bring it.

28. Hotels sometimes have bands playing, but apparently Indians have no concept of volume level. They are WAY too loud.

29. At one outdoor buffet, we had to make sure we ordered our meats while the band was in between songs.

30. Alcohol in Chennai can only be legally purchased in hotels where there is a tax of over 50%.

31. There is also a tax of over 100% for items like luxury cars.

32. Most toilets in India do not come with toilet paper. Instead, there is usually a spray nozzle you can use. In some cases there is only a bucket of water with a pitcher.

33. We usually carry toilet paper with us when we go places.

34. There are a lot of TV commercials for skin lightening cream. Apparently, it is considered more attractive to have lighter skin, which is strange when we are used to a country full of tanning salons and lotions.

35. There are many of the same American TV shows on here. They are usually just a season or two behind.

36. They also repeat the same episode over and over again.

37. Many American shows will have English subtitles even though they are in English. Sometimes the subtitles do not match exactly what the actors are saying.

38. Movie theaters in Chennai are very nice with large screens and comfortable seats.

39. The seats are not general admission. Instead, you buy specific seats the way you would for a concert or sporting event in the States.

40. Also, all movies have an intermission. The movie will abruptly stop about halfway through, sometimes right in the middle of a scene.

41. They love movies here. Usually when the movie begins there is a large round of applause. When popular actors first arrive on the screen people applaud again.

42. The best part: movies here cost about $2.50 US. Popcorn and other refreshments are also way cheaper than back home.

43. Everyone here owns a cell phone and is on it constantly.

44. You are not allowed to talk on your cell phone while driving. It looks like India was ahead of the curve on this one, since Washington State just recently made this a primary offense.

45. We use pre-paid phones, which are incredibly cheap. We put about $12 each on ours when we first got here and are nowhere near running out of minutes.

46. No one has voice mail. If you want to leave a message you just have to text.

47. It is not true that elephants roam wild through the streets.

48. There are some wild monkeys around some nearby temple ruins, but not in the city.

49. Wildlife in the city consists mostly of street dogs and cats as well as geckos and birds.

50. We are really enjoying our time here. While there are many things that are unusual or make us uncomfortable, we are loving the experience of it all.

Hash'n In Chennai

Today was the Hash. This is one of our favorite pastimes since arrival here in India. The Hash is a group or “club” of eccentric expats and Indian socialites that get together to follow “clues" we would find in rice powder on the ground to find the particular trails we were supposed to follow. About 20 people -30 people show up every other week. There are various “Hairs” that help you along the way if you get lost. It is basically a scavenger hunt/race. A large circle in rice powder on the ground means look around to find the next clue to follow, or an “F” = a “Falsie” or a False trail. A blob of powder means you are on the path and the right trail. Every time to come see this blob you have to yell “ON_ON” meaning you found the trail and everyone behind you can follow you. The trails are tough sometimes. We actually scaled an actual mountain a few weeks ago. It was crazy tough…and then had to go down the face of the cliffs on other side. It was madness but we made it. The hash has taken us on trails along the coast, in marshes with poisonous snakes (although we did not know it at the time) and through the busy streets of downtown. We have been through little villages and the people within them must have thought we were absolutely crazy. It was so funny. We did get lots of smiles and waves from the local kids who thought white people were amazing. (very funny) We had to laugh at all the wooops and stares. The kids were beautiful and it was all I could do not to take pictures of their homes and the way they lived. You would have found it astonishingly heartbreaking. We are talking intense poverty here. I just felt it would be rude to start snapping pictures. Besides, we were on a race.

The people on the Hash and the Hares are very funny and ridiculous and most of the time have 7^th grade boy, but that is part of what “hashing” is about. This past week we got our Hash names at circle time. While sitting on blocks of painfully cold ice they ask us a series of ridiculous questions to help the fellow Hashers “name us”. Usually silly names. They asked us what we did for our employment here. Electronic Bible software books gave Miles the name “Hyperlink”- nice. I told them I followed Miles here because I was his wife and because they knew we worked for the same company creating Bible software they named me SpareRib (as the rib was taken out of Adam to create Eve.) I thought that was incredibly clever. I was thankful they did not give me any names that were inappropriate or just plain dumb. We are now known as:

Miles= Hyperlink.
Jenny= SpareRib.

Although the maturity level is a little low and the silliness is just plain silly, we can live with that part. It is great exercise, a great way to meet other Expats and local important high class society, and businessmen, as well as see parts of our city we otherwise might not see. All good things. We get to enjoy a meal and refreshments after the Hash which is always welcomed. A time of networking with new/old friends we have met and the food we share is usually traditional Southern Indian and so good! It is also such a great way to experience different parts of the city of Chennai and the surrounding area, such crazy beautiful places that we otherwise would never ever ever see.

A Toast To Joshua & Tami

It is days like this that make living here in India so difficult. The days that really BIG things are going on at home and surrounding people I love.

I am thinking of family today. Specifically Joshua and Tami as they are getting married. This is a very special day for the Bell family. I am unfortunately not able to attend this blessed event as the cost to get home is astronomical. Although not being there to witness this special event is excruciatingly painful I am sending good wishes their way.

So in honor of this day, I sent my congratulations to you both and your children on this very special day!

We will just have to celebrate when I get home.

Since I cannot be there we will have to write out my (short) toast to you:

I raise my glass to you both. Tami, Cameron, Carter, welcome to the family. I am so excited for the fact that you are a part of our lives. I am thrilled for the memories we will share together in the years to come. I imagine summer camping trips and Sat family movie nights and BBQ’s. The joy you have brought to Joshua’s life is overwhelming and such a sweet thing to see and witness. It brings tears to my eyes as I think of You being his “dream come true.” Welcome to the Bell family and thank you for the happiness you have brought to his life, and thus ours. We are praying for you and your family as you build your lives now together.

May it be full of happiness, and joy, blessings and love.

Love you.

Cheers!

Cheers! -For No Reason At All

All us girls like to get dressed up once in a while, don’t we? I hope I am not alone in thinking this. Miles probably would not admit it, but I think, secretly, he does too. He gets his suit out so un-regularly, it has to be somewhat fun to wear once in a while. And as smashingly handsome as that guy looks in it he really should break it out for no reason at all more often.

Us girls however make a ritual out of it. We dust off the good jewelry (although darn it, I left the pearls at home) we do our hair, pick our favorite lip stick, and put on something a little more fancy than every day that of course includes a pair of nice high heels…yes I did bring one pair from home for just this sort of occasion…that is really no occasion at all except to wear them. I even broke out the good perfume. Why? It was a night out on the town, Baby, and sometimes we don’t need a reason to celebrate….we just... do!

I suppose if we HAD to have a reason this week marks our 2^nd month (anniversary so to speak) of being here in Chennai. In so many ways it seems like much longer than that. Strange, but in any case we decided to head out and have our driver take us to one of the 5 star hotels near our place called the RainTree for dinner. The resaurant is called Above Sea Level and is on the roof of the hotel that overlooks the lights of the city. There are lots of restaurants to choose from, many even with better food, but this place is a rooftop restaurant. We ate there several times our first week here as our boss from Logos, Jason, stayed at this hotel and we often met up with him for dinner. I always eat the same thing as it is one of the few places that serves steak! Yes you heard me right, STEAK! It is excellent, I might add. I never thought this would be possible in India. I am happily surprised.

O who am I kidding ? I am ecstatic, I mean I broke out the good perfume, didn't I?

I order the Filet Mignon cooked to perfection (2 out of the 3 times it is served—ok maybe 1 out of the 3 times as this is India, you know) and it is joined with perfect grilled veggies and au gratin potatoes. Miles is usually more adventurous than I am when it comes to food and is often encouraged to eat fish and other sea creatures when we eat out (something Chennai is famous for) as I am not a fan and hardly ever cook it for him. He often orders different things off the menu each time he visits while I order what I have tried and know to be truly good. At the Raintree, however Miles orders the grilled seer fish. I am not sure what a seer fish is but I am told it is absolutely delicious as he has ordered it several times—Very unusal for my Miles.

These are wonderful meals when we are craving the tastes of home or just NOT any more Indian food. The view is spectacular as well I might add.

Well, Happy—No-Particular Reason to Celebrate-Except to Celebrate...

To our sumptuous evening out on the town.
Cheers!

Heavy Rains

Well, the monsoon rains have hit. This is rain like I have never seen before. Absolutely pelting, drenching, instantly soaking rain. And with this rain and 100% humidity you simply do NOT DRY OFF EVER EVER OR EVER. YAY...voice literally dripping with sarcasm. Did you catch that? Well, bear with me as I *check my heart* and have an attitude adjustment and tun on the Pollyanna. *ahem* Ok, we are good. We are thankful for our car. Seriously we are very thankful especially on days like today. The lightening storm that hit before we left for our outing was incredible! It was right over our heads and on our balcony you can see black sky with flashes every couple seconds and then every once in a while an intense jagged line of electricity would spear through the clouds right in front of us and we would jump as the immediate thunder boomed around us. Super cool storms here in Chennai.

On our trek through town while being thankful for our car we took several pictures of the less fortunate souls who did not have cars. Many people in Chennai use motorcycles to get around as they are fast and economical and can wind through traffic easier than a car. Those on these looked absolutely miserable. It was awful to watch and yet we still took pictures. In Chennai when it rains the streets quickly become flooded and sidewalks and thin passageways between pedestrians and cars are eliminated. The pedestrians have to walk in the streets closer to cars which means directly in the splash zones. Women in beautiful silk saris, men walking to work, and kids riding bicycles are are completely drenched with the muddy filthy water that the tires explode their direction. I felt so bad for all the people attempting to run for cover and getting caught in the cross fire of water between them. I thought our tiny, little car was bad, you should have seen it when the buses went by. Oh sadness.

The rain is incredible here. It is as warm as bathwater and like I said before the drops are huge and incredibly drenching. I love the sight of them on the pavement though. They are so big that they ricochet off of the pavement and bounce back. It is really pretty. See, we can find beauty even in the rain. It's is all around us. Sometimes it is just difficult to see when you are feeling wet...(very wet)...but it is there.

Free India Is Born!

India is a nation with a very rich and historic background. Independence Day (Hindi: Swatrantrata Divas) is celebrated on August 15 th. Today marks the 63 rd anniversary of India's Independence from British rule over this land and this year is no different as the entire country celebrates its freedom with much enthusiasm.

The British, had initially come for trade but gradually took over the total administration of the country. However,at the strike of midnight of the August 15, 1947, India shook off the shackles of British Rule and became free. It was a night of celebration all over the country.

Independence Day is celebrated with flag hoisting ceremonies kite flying, and cultural programmes all over the country. The main program is held at the Red Fort where the Prime Minster unfurls the National Flag and it is saluted by Guns.

Politicians hoist the Indian flag on all the government buildings, schools and colleges hoist the national flag too. Children carry the flag in their hands and it can be seen on literally everything today (streets, cars, telephone poles, electric wires) as surely no one forgets to give the Indian flag the respect it deserves on this very special day.
Streams of women and girls were out yesterday tapping on our windows asking us to purchase flags from them. We had no idea why at the time. Usually when we are stopped at a light or something we are not bombarded with kids and elderly women to buy things from them...not in our city anyway. They were all carrying flags and we had no idea. I feel badly now as we should have purchased one. Well, we did purchase a paper. Today's headline was the same headline and picture from 63 years ago, entitled FREE INDIA IS BORN! Huge, colorful fireworks lit up the sky last night until late into the night. All coule be seen from our living room balcony and it was quite an impressive show.

Happy Independence Day, India. Thank you for letting us watch you commemorate this fabulous day of celebration with you.

Cooking In Chennai

So lately I have had the itch to bake. This is made difficult by the fact that ingredients to recipes are in a foreign language (Tamil) I could not understand let alone read on the labels. Another major hiccup in accomplishing a baking success is the fact that in Southern India, we do not have ovens. I do however have a toaster oven and thought it would be interesting to attempt to satisfy my deepest craving since my arrival: The Custis Sister’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Anything chocolate sounded good to me but these cookies sounded especially homey and as I was feeling rather homesick I knew these cookies would be just the thing I needed. Andrea and Krista have perfected this recipe and Miles and I both can attest to its wonders. And while mine will never be as good as theirs, it is still my favorite chocolate chip recipe. It’s the only one I have used since I got married. Plus I just wanted to bake. It has been a couple months of being here and I wanted- no, needed to bake something.

So Miles and I went to the local grocery store within walking distance of our house. There we struggled for a good hour to find flour that was not rice flour or corn flour or whatever the heck flour that was on the shelves that was NOT regular baking flour. Sugar was easy and plentiful; however brown sugar is nonexistent in India. Four stores later all I could find was the Indian cane sugar called Jaggery. It was brown in color and looked like the right consistency so we put it in our little basket. It was going to have to work, because it was all the country had. The vanilla I found that was in a tiny bottle (half used somehow- not exactly sure) but the chocolate chips, and baking soda were not to be found. I finally found some baking powder and chopped up candy bars from the local market instead of chocolate chips. Oh my. I was very nervous about making these cookies. The ingredients were less than ideal for my cookies and after all I had never baked in a toaster oven before. I was not sure this was actually going to work.

Well when we got home I started to put it all together. I was just at the point of my mixing where the wet ingredients were to be added when I realized I was out of eggs. AHHHHHH! It happened to me all the time at home, how it is also happening here in INDIA? Well, my cookie dough was going to have to be put off for another day until we could get some eggs. Tomorrow….

Tomorrow came and Miles graciously brought me home some eggs after work. That evening I finished up the dough and plopped little mounds of chocolaty goodness onto the toaster oven tray. I had even preheated the mini oven but only to 220 as that is as high as the oven went to. Waiting anxiously in anticipation for those cookies to rise and fill my tummy with delight I took a break from the kitchen and happily landed on the couch next to Miles to watch a show. Just a few minutes later I noticed a slight smell lighty waffed through the air that was growing in intensity. BURNING! OH NO! My cookies were burning! I raced into the kitchen and sure enough they were black all around underneath, and edges while the middles were puddles of uncooked dough. FAIL! I turned the temp on the oven down a bit and tried the next batch (which was like 6 cookies on the tiny tray) dumping all the previous blackened disasters directly into the trash. Well, the second attempt was no better. Still burnt. Oh me Oh my. Miles graciously ate a few of the second and third batch of very-eeeewy-and-not-at-all-gooooey disappointments I still plated. I tried a few myself and they were difficult to eat as they were hardly edible. But every once in a while you would get a bite that would just slightly give a hint of a reminder that this could have been a real cookie. Oh dear. As huge of a disappointment as it was I figured it was just the lack of solid and good quality ingredients and an unpredictable unevenly heated toaster oven, or course. My hopes were dashed and my craving was left unsatisfied. As for the itch to bake- OVER!

My story gets worse if you can believe it. It was the moment of sheer embarrassment when I realized what I had done. A truly “stupid expat” moment as it were. It is difficult to even bring myself to admit this as my head is still hanging from shame. I had cooked the bejeebers out those darn cookies at about 420 degrees (F). You see, my toaster oven is in Celsius. Not Fahrenheit. THIS IS INDIA! You know, Dummy, the other side of the world? I needed 350 F which is about 177 C, not 220 C. Oh my stars! Yes, I feel very dumb and No, to those of you who are reading this, the blonde highlights were artificial and disappeared long, long ago… I simply forgot that I live in a foreign country. I have much to help remind myself of this fact –DAILY- and yet, I still forgot. I have learned my lesson.

Upon discovering this fact I have picked my head up confidently and I have high hopes for my next baking adventure. SCONES! I might try and master those cookies first though. They are sounding awfully good and I would desperately like the chance to redeem my epic failure.

And so the adventure continues.