The Religions of India

Today was a really great day - we saw so much of the city! But not really because this city is huge... Anyway, we began our day with breakfast at the hotel as usual. Then we returned to Loyola College for our last two lectures. First we heard from a female professor, Dr. Sandra, from the Sociology Dept about the status of women and children in India. To BRIEFLY summarize, women in India are both oppressed and liberated at the same time. This was a great lecture; disturbing, but great. Afterward during our tea break we meet the President of the college in his office along with several deans from the school. They were so happy to have us there. Our last lecture was given by a professor from the political science dept...I can't remember his name
:( ...it's so late here and I'm exhausted... He spoke about India's foreign policy. This lecture was absolutely amazing!!! It was so interesting and I was able to pay attention almost 100% the entire time. Mostly he compared India and China economically and socially. I found it so informative, so relevant, and so interesting. He was brillant and the best was definitely saved for last...today's lectures were fantastic.

After lunch we left to tour different religious sites in Chennai and we had our first exposure to the people on the streets. Our first stop was a Sikh temple. Sikhism is a major religion in India...look it up I don't have time to explain it to you. One interesting thing is that we have to remove our sandals before entering places, including Loyola College. Before entering the Sikh temple we removed our shoes, walked through a basin of water to cleanse our feet, and then we had to cover our heads with bright orange bandanas. Then we shared a "community meal" inside the temple where the holy book is kept. It was "sleeping" (was put away) when we were inside. The temple was simple yet intricate and very beautiful.

I had the most amazing moment after we left the temple - as we walked back to the bus we passed some Indian boys who were returning home from school. They LOVED us!!! They said hello, shook our hands, and were eager to have their picture taken. They were such little diplomats! One boy asked me my name, where I was from, my father's name, my mother's name, my sister's name (Liz they made a funny face when I said your name HAHAHAHAHA), my grandfather's name, my grandmother's name...they just kept wanting to talk to us!!! I loved every minute of it and I was sad I had to leave.

After we went to a Muslim mosque. It was simple, yet very beautiful. Then we went to a Hindu temple which was very intricately decorated with heads of Hindu gods and goddesses. I encountered more Indian children here - I love them! They are so friendly and they love having their pictures taken! Hannah was in her glory because there were baby (21 days old) cows here.

As we walked out of the temple Baskar bought us girls flowers to wear in our hair like the Indian women here do. They are so lovely and I've kept them in all day! :)

After that we visited a Jain temple (Dad, tell Anarog!). We had to wait for it to open so we had ALOT of time to people watch. I think that I must have heard over 1000 beeps of a horn during that time. People here a crazy when they drive. We waved to school children, they looked at us funny, whispered and waved back. Then I saw a little girl pee in the streets and realized that we had just probably walked through a bunch of that the whole day. It is a dirty city, but no one minds.

Finally the temple opened; it was so beautiful. It's made entirely of marble, and hand carved. There are lotus flowers on almost every surface. Pictures are necessary to understand the architectural beauty of the building. Luckily I snuck a few...they're not really allowed.


Finally we had the coolest experience of the day - we visted a Buddhist monk. Our one student leader, Justin, wants to become a Buddhist and he was in his glory. I was so happy for him! He is good friends (thank you facebook) with the head monk at the monastery, so we had a great experience. Bati gave us a New Year's Blessing and tied bracelets on our wrists. Then we had tea with him in his kitchen - who can say they've had tea with a Buddhist monk???!?! I CANNNN!

After dinner tonight I led reflection. I think it went really well because I asked everyone to offer encouraging words to each other. I believe it was a great bonding moment for the team, or so I was told. :)

Tomorrow we leave Chennai for Kanayulapanur...yeah that's not the name but I'll fix that later. We will spend 5 days here teaching English to Indian students and I CANT WAIT!

Goodnight! Love, Alicia