Recap of Saturday, January 29, 2011
Getting up at 4:00 this morning was quite rough. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I can't call it waking up really. My head was going 90 miles a minute just thinking about what all had happened over the past week in Salem. The kids faces would not leave my mind. All I wanted to do was scoop them up and take them home with me. I guess in a way I am taking 3 of them home, but I know I will miss hugging them and holding their sweet little hands.
We got to the train station in plenty of time, and though I was in a complete daze, I am very sad about boarding our train. The ride to Tamil Nadu was not so bad this time. We didn’t have all of the bags of shoes with us, so everyone was able to actually lay down in their sets that turn into beds. I was given the top bunk this time with no reluctance. There are three rows of beds in each section and I was on the very top. It really wasn’t that bad considering I am a whopping 5’1. Some of the taller volunteers on our trip didn’t think it was quite so comfortable… If you are a severe claustrophobic, it was a little uneasy being that close to the bunks below and above you. That would be why I slept a good portion of the 6-hour ride. After all, I hadn’t slept in over 24 hours. The rest of the group was pretty quite as well. It is now very apparent that we are absolutely EXHAUSTED!!! There isn’t quite the pep in our step that we had at the beginning of the trip.
Our Train Car
Aaron in his tight quarters haha!!
Sleepy Time on the Train!
We had an all day layover in Tamil Nadu and we knew he had a lot we wanted to see so after a quick check-in at the hotel, we headed up to a mountain where Disciple Thomas is buried. It was a surreal moment to think that someone from the Biblical times was buried right where I was standing. Now of course they wouldn’t let you see the actual tomb but there was a shrine a level above it where you could stop to pray and pay your respects. There were rows of pews were you could stop and pray and offering plates throughout to building. This was a place unlike any I had ever been. If you stop and think about where we were standing, it was breathtaking. Disciple Thomas is buried right below us!! A man who knew Jesus face to face! Now you see why I was a little overwhelmed.
Disciple Thomas is buried below this building.
Close up of the front of the building
Lookout from St. Thomas Mount in Chennai
Inside the chapel on the Altar
Plaque when you walk in the door to the chapel
Afterwards, we headed back down the mountain to hit the local mall for souvenirs to take back to the states with us. There were small vendor type shops filled with pashminas, jewelry, toys, wooden boxes, any and everything made in Honk Kong was in this authentic mall. Even if we had spent all day here, we still would have not been able to see it all. Of course I am coming home with my fair share of souvenirs! I mean why not.. I AM in India!! After a few hours of shopping for interesting odds and ends, we were ready to head back for a chance to sit down for a bit.
We headed back to the hotel to regroup for a minute and decide how we would spend the remaining hours of our last day in India. Although we were pretty tired, a few of us wanted to check out Tamil Nadu a little bit more. We hopped into a rickshaw (a small buggie type taxi that 4 people should NOT try to squeeze in, but we did it!) and headed to the Park Hotel. a local 5 star resort hotel, to grab a drink after our long journey. Along the way, we noticed it was pretty standard to squeeze as many people into a rickshaw as possible. There were times we saw 6 and 7 people crammed into one of these things. Not sure how they did it, as we only had 4 people and we were already on each other's laps!! On the way to the Park Hotel, we came across a young man using the street as a urinal and he thought it was pretty funny. So, being the photographer that I am, I took a picture of his cute smiling face : )
Our cute urinating friend :)
Our rickshaw driver
We spent this time away from the rest of the group discussing some amazing things that happened to us while we were in India. I feel so close to these people and I am not ready to leave them!!! Of course we had some similarities and differences in our experiences, but it was neat to try and understand the emotional impact it had on each of us. As our departure flight time was quickly approaching, we decided we better head back to the hotel and get ready for another leg of our trip home.
Cheers to new, amazing friends!!
We hopped back into the rickshaw and made our way to the hotel to meet back up with the rest of the group. Of course we had no time to sleep, so we were just ready to roll with what was ahead. The Chennai airport closes for a few hours in the morning, so we had to be there at 11:00 PM before it closed, even though our flight wasn’t until after 3:00 AM that morning. Needless to say, the majority of the team opted for a nap, myself included. We were finally boarded on our 6 hour flight to Honk Kong, which lucky for us was not that crowded. I found three empty seats in a row and immediately lay down and went to sleep! Ahhh finally some undisturbed rest!! As was I, most of the team was out cold before we even took of from Chennai. Of course I wasn't able to sleep the whole time, so I took advantage of me being awake, and chatted a little more with some of the volunteers. I know I keep saying this, but I am going to miss these people terribly! We are so different in our own ways, yet they accept me just the way I am inside and out. These people have seen me look the worse I possibly can. Sweat dripping down my face, without an ounce of makeup on. Bless them for accepting me this way! Thanks Team India!!
In Him,
Emily
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