Our last day :(

So this morning we were allowed to sleep in! We've been getting up around 7am or earlier for the last week or so, and today we won't meet until 11am! Baskar plans to take us shopping around Chennai for a couple of hours, and I'm hoping to see some activity for the Pongal celebration!

Yesterday afternoon we stopped at Mahabalipuram, which is a group of temples carved out of stone from the ground. This is one incredible giant archeological site in South India! Just wait until you see our pictures!!! This place was so amazing; basically we went mountain climbing yesterday! (We were all wearing flip flops...) We were allowed to walk all over the temples and walk inside parts of them too. It was a little tiring but well worth the effort :)

Afterward we continued our bus ride to Chennai and stopped at a Pongal celebration! We saw a balancing artist, a dancer with a machete, and Indian drummers with really vibrant costumes! We only stayed for a few minutes, but it was so fun to watch! I wish we could have stayed longer. Once we got to Chennai we ate a really cool restaurant. It's theme was movies, so each of us at a seat had a different movie star! Mine was Rachel Weisz from the mummy. The food was great!

Tonight after dinner we will pack up and head out to the airport. Our flight leaves at 4am, and then we are homeward-bound! I think that everyone would still like to be back at the school with the kids because we miss them terribly. I know I do. But I am also really happy to be going home where I can drink the tap water and jump in a snow bank. We all have a new found appreciation for the simplest things, and last night at reflection we all discussed ways we can use our new-found motivation to make changes in our own communities. Buffalo will be happy to have us back!

See you soon!
Love, Alicia xoxo