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.