A trip to Chennai

Friday night we boarded a train.

Our destination was the state capital, Chennai.



After bug bites, snoring men, and 7 hours, we made it.

The first day we went to an organization called Forward. Forward strives to empower women and give them the resources they need to survive in a male dominate culture. The ISP leaders know the woman who founded the organization from their previous trips to India. The woman is amazing. Her testimony was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. She was in an abusive relationship for ten years. Instead of letting her hurtful past hold her back, she followed God’s calling to help the oppressed women of India, many who are going through similar abuse experiences. She took us to a slum where many women and children were anticipating our arrival.

They gave us a traditional welcome. Jasmine necklaces, bangles, and face stuff that I do not know the name of.

They shared with us the different groups. Through small loans the women are able to become independent and support themselves and their children.
They also shared the different ways they worship.

Then, we went to St. Thomas Mount. St. Thomas is one of the twelve apostles. At the top of this hill is where they say he was murdered.

We stopped for a tea/coffee break.

Then went to the site where St. Thomas was buried.
St. Thomas Basilica




Our last stop for the night was the beach.


Sunday-
We went to Mahabalipuram

That evening we had free time to go shopping.
Then, once again, got back on a train where we laughed until we cried and tried our best to fall asleep.


I keep forgetting to post my mailing address, so here it is:

Brooklyn Walker
Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Sciences
India Studies Program
#129, Race Course
Coimbatore, INDIA 641 018


Also, here is the link for the India Studies Program: http://indiastudiesprogram.blogspot.com/

Check out the post about the culinary class! By far my favorite class!

Weekly Review

Saturday we went to this thing at school called Freshers. It was basically a talent show for freshman. Funny stuff! We also visited the mall. We got bored waiting for the rest of the group and modeled our purchases.

The aprons are for our cooking class!

Sunday we visited a Sikh temple. Kali and I covering our heads so we could enter the temple.









They taught us about their worship and fed us good food.

The school week was ok. School is school no matter what country you are in :)

Friday night we are taking an overnight train Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu. Shopping, Saint Thomas Church, and Mahabalipuram are some of the things we are doing/visiting!

A Servant's Heart

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:11-12

God calls us to be humble and serve others. One thing is for sure, Indians know how to serve.

Every day I am in awe of the kindness, respect and hospitality shown by the people here in Coimbatore. Their kindness is not dependent on race or religion. Their kindness is genuine and pure. It is something we can all learn from.
There are so many stories I could share about professors, students and everybody else going out of their way to make our groups feel welcome and comfortable.

I am doing an internship at a local school. I had two guides that went with me, Christy and Jennifer. They are both masters students at BACAS and missed a whole day of classes to help me on my first day. They were the best guides ever and I loved spending the day with them. At the end of the day I thanked them for coming with me. I could not have done it without them. Seriously, they held my hand as we crossed the busiest highway I have ever seen,they answered all my questions and even taught me some Tamil. They got mad at me for thanking them. They said it was “not necessary” because it was their duty. I wish I could remember exactly what they said because it gave me the chills. They basically told me that there was no other way for guests in their country to be treated and that they would do anything to make sure I was comfortable and safe. The most beautiful part was they truly meant it. They do not just ask questions and help to be polite. They truly care.

A few days after the internship I ran in to Christy and Jennifer in the mess. As we were talking she asked, "how are Sam and Taylor?" At first I was caught off guard. But, then I remembered hewr asking about my family the day we went to the internship. It is not like we spent a lot of time talking about my brother and sister. In fact, she spent more time telling me about her family and showed me pictures. I even met her brother as we were walking back to college. Do I remember any of her family members names? Nope. These two girls are a small example of the unselfish love and giving hearts of the Indian people.

Christianity may be a minority here in India, but Christ is clearly visible.

Just plain different

*I started this post on Wednesday, but just now had time to finish it. Sorry it is so long. There is just so much to share. :)

Today marks one whole week spent in India. It seems like I have been here A LOT longer than just a week. I have seen and experienced so much that I cannot comprehend that I have been here 7 days and have a little over three months to go. All that there is to take in and learn makes some days so overwhelming. The little things from taking a bucket shower to walking on the left side of the walking path makes daily life in India a constant challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I am still enjoying India. I think that I just got over the new and exciting stage and am now realizing that this is the place where I am living and have to get use to for the next few months. Here are just a few things that make adjusting to the Indian life tough at times.


Language: Many people here in Coimbatore speak English, but there are still quite a few that don’t. And even if they do speak English, the accent can be hard to understand. I remember the second day we were here and the principal gave us a welcoming speech. I could barely understand a word that she said. Thankfully with each day, the accent is getting easier and easier to understand. It takes a little more than usual concentration to understand professors when they are teaching, but it makes me pay extra special attention, so I guess that is good.
Another aspect of language that is different is not just the pronunciation of words, but the words themselves. Professors use the word “doubt” instead of “concern.” So they will say, “Class, be sure to let me know if you have any doubts.” Another example is majors here are called departments. Students will frequently ask, “what is your department?” In the US we ask, “what is your major?” Here they do not have all the majors we do. When I say I am studying elementary education, most students do not know what I am talking about.

Shopping:

Last Saturday professors and students from BACAS took us girls shopping for Indian clothing. It was something I had been looking forward to since I found out about the shopping trip. Little did I know, shopping in India is NOT like shopping in America. First of all the stores we went to had at least 5 floors filled with fabric, saris, salwars, men’s clothing, and so much more. Not only was the store extremely crowded by customers, but there are a bunch of workers waiting around to follow you around the whole store with intentions of helping you. Really, if you spend more than 2 seconds looking at something on the rack they will say either, ”you like” or something else in Tamil which I never understood, and point towards the dressing room. You would think after the dressing room you would be free, but nope, they wait outside asking if you like it and follow you around once again. It is all in good intentions, but it was extremely overwhelming. One mistake I made at the first store was asking if they had a different color of a salwar that I liked. The man behind the counter pulled out every single one that was the same color or had even close to the same design (which was a lot!). This all happened at the first store, so I thought at the second and last store I would be a pro and find some outfits that I liked and not be stressed out by all the people.

I was so happy when I found three outfits at the second store! They recommended we get five but I thought three was a solid start and by this time I just wanted to go home. Because most of the workers in the store only speak Tamil, some BACAS students helped me and a few other girls out with the checkout process. The process of buying clothes is so complicated! I still don’t understand it, but all that I know is that you pay for your clothes and get a “bill” in India terms. Then your clothes are waiting for you on a different floor for you to pick up. After pick up you can take it to the tailor for free alterations. After paying for my clothes I was so relieved that I was done shopping and the stressful day had finally come to an end. We went downstairs to pick up the order. It was there we were informed that someone else went home with all the things I had bought. It was such a long day and the last thing I wanted to hear was that all that stress and craziness was for nothing. Luckly, this week I have been able to borrow clothes from one of my roommates until some students can take me shopping again.

My roommates Erin and Becky on our first dat of school. What we are wearing is called a Salwar. It is basically a long top, loose pants or leggings, and a scarf.


Food: Ok so overall I think the food is something I could eventually get used to, but I never know what I am eating. Lunch at school always consists of rice and some sort of mushy, spicy stuff. Having the same thing everyday gets old, but it is better than nothing. Also, I have had some really good southern India food in some restaurants.

The real problem is when we have to cook meals ourselves. It is not like American stores where you have all kinds of food you could ever dream of. All the stuff available at the supermarket none of us know what to do with it. All the stuff we do know how to make is usually imported and expensive. On Friday I start a culinary class, so hopefully that will help. Oh and I thought eating with your hands would be fun, but I feel like my hands are never clean and it is tricky to eat with only my right hand.


Attention: Everywhere we go we get stared at. I knew that was going to happen, but sometimes I just want to be normal and blend in. Today I had an internship at a school. I was stared at all day. It is different when we are in a big group, but when I am by myself I notice it way more. They are only curious, and always very friendly, I just am not use to all the attention. I would just simply walk by a classroom window and disrupt class. I asked the two mentors I was with what people were saying and she said they called me a “foreigner” and mostly just curious. A lot of cute little kids would come up to me and ask my name, where I was from, and shake my hand. They were so proper and polite, it was adorable!


Inequality: Girls are not treated as equal. For example in the hostels girls have to be back in their hostel by a certain time (I don’t remember the exact time but it’s early), Like 5 or 6. It makes it hard for us to hang out with the BACAS girls. They get free time for a few hours on Saturday and that is it. One reason for all these rules is it can be dangerous for women to be alone, but this is just one example of how women are suppressed here in India.


Bathrooms: Most of the bathrooms here are what we call “Squattie pottie” and have no toilet paper. Thankfully the bathrooms in our apartments and some at school are regular western style. Another difference in the bathrooms is the shower. We have shower heads in our arpartment but the water pressure is not that great so I take a bucket shower. It is kinda fun! However, I usually do not feel clean after a shower and I think my feet are permanently dirty.

I wanted to be challenged. So here we go. I am being challenged in more ways than I could write about. Getting accustom to this Indian life takes time. I am praying for patience and understanding. I keep having to remind myself that I have only been here a week and over time things will become easier.

Welcome to Coimbatore!

Hi everyone! After A LOT of flying we made it here safely. We got into the Coimbatore airport about noon on Wednesday.

Beautiful Germany sunrise.




Made it to Delhi!

 There is so much to share but not a lot of time. Internet is limited, but we are suppose to be able to have internet access every other week or so in the office at school. There are also a few cafes close by that have computers we can use for pretty cheap. So far I love it here! It is very different and a lot to take in, but I am so glad I am here! The group is amazing and I cannot wait to get to know each one of them even more throughout our trip.
We are in really nice apartments according to India standards.

I will be going to school at the Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Sciences, BACAS for short.
The people of BACAS are amazingly friendly and welcoming. They kept telling us over and over again how excited they were that we had finally arrived. I cannot express enough how awesome their hospitality was. These are just a few of the MANY things they did for our arrival.

Thank you all for your prayers!
Love you all!
Brooklyn