India, Here We Come!

Well, the day has nearly arrived! We fly to India tomorrow! Actually, the journey begins tomorrow. We won't actually get to Chennai until 15 minutes before July 1.

My bags are packed, the freezer has been loaded with a few of Brad's favorite meals, and I think I'm ready to go. I'm pretty anxious and excited. I don't usually do well on planes, but hopefully the last couple of weeks of flying to Florida and back will have me prepared for it. Plus I have my trusty pillow pet companion for added comfort. :)

Dr. Subbiah and his wife, Jenny, and Cathryn will all be flying through Roanoke to DC, where we will meet up with Jessica R, Janah, and Julia before heading overseas together. Our total travel time will be about 24 hours!

There isn't much more to report now, but I will post again as soon as I can once arriving in India! Here's to safe flying, good seats, no screaming children, and otherwise happy travels!

What to Expect in Chennai...

I found a site with a good synopsis of some things we may come across in Chennai. Above all, I think I'm probably most excited about the food! I have had Indian food a couple of times, but I'm sure the Americanized version will pale in comparison to the authentic!

Chennai Cuisine: 

A sampling of dishes from Chennai

Tamil Nadu is known for its hospitality and traditional food. People in the state are of the belief that serving food to others is a service to mankind. This fortifies the fact that your eating experience in the city will definitely be an unforgettable one. Specifically talking about the cuisine of Chennai, the city offers a wide variety in terms of different types of dishes. The delectable South Indian savories are truly a treat for the foodies. There is a plethora of items for both vegetarians as well as non vegetarians.


This can be made out from the number of restaurants and eating places in Madras. The staple diet of the people of Chennai is rice, which is served with other supplementary food items. The regular South Indian meal, which comprises of steamed rice along with a variety of vegetable dishes like sambar, dry curry, rasam and kootu, is served on a banana leaf. At times, it is also accompanied by crisp appalams. This is followed by a round of rice and curd or buttermilk or both. Finally, the meal concludes with a small banana and a few betel leaves and nuts.


For non vegetarians, the platter consists of rice, along with curries or dishes cooked with mutton, chicken or fish. The breakfast and evening snacks mainly include idli (steamed rice cakes), dosa (pancake made from batter of rice) and lentils crisp fried on a pan, vada (deep fried doughnuts made from a batter of lentils), pongal (rice and lentils boiled together, seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seed) and uppuma (cooked semolina seasoned in oil with mustard, pepper, cumin seed and dry lentils.).


All the above dishes are served with coconut chutney, sambar (seasoned lentil broth) and mulaga podi (powdered mix of several dried lentils eaten with oil). Apart from this, coffee is a must for all the South Indians. Nothing can match the rich taste and aroma of a Tamilian Filter coffee. The coffee beans are Arabic in origin, which are roasted and then powdered to achieve the right taste. A bit of chicory is also added to enhance the aroma. It is then put in a filter set, along with hot water, to prepare a dark liquid called decoction. A portion of this is mixed with milk and sugar to get the perfect coffee.

Idli

Chennai Shopping:

Chennai, being one of the metropolitan cities of India, has a lot to offer to the tourists who come here. It is one of the most important commercial destinations in South India. So, if you are a shopping buff, you don't need to worry. There is a lot in store for you in the lanes of the ethnic city. This can be made out from the glitzy shopping malls in Madras. The new plazas have carved a niche for themselves amongst the shoppers. The old market places have been renovated to attract customers.

The growing competition between the shop keepers and the mall owners has proved to be a boon for the buyers. This has given them more variety and options to choose from. They also have a price range and quality variation to decide from. The crux of the matter is that Chennai is emerging to be a popular shopping destination, nearly a paradise for the shoppers. Amongst the conventional shopping places, there are emporiums, which offer traditional art and craft items picked from all over the state.
You can find items like Pattamara mats, Leaf handicrafts from Tirunellveli, Bronze and Brass castings and traditional jewelry from Kumbakonam, Metal works from Tanjavur and stone carvings from Mamallapuram and Silks from Kanchipuram. Apart from this, there are Government emporiums which offer a wide variety at fixed prices. Moreover, there is SIPA'S Craft link at Kodambakkam, which is a fair price shop, supporting local craftsmen. Besides, items like handicrafts and papier-mâché items can also be bought at reasonable prices.

Chennai Culture:

Chennai is the known as the doorway to South India. This verifies the rich cultural heritage it boasts of. Having a cosmopolitan attribute, it is the mirror of all the diverse cultures, which are nourishing within its boundaries. But the beauty of it is that all the people reside in complete harmony with each other. During festival time, Chennai is swept by the waves of celebration and joy. People practice all the religious ceremonies and rites with utmost devotion. The glorious pat of the city shines by the means of monuments of the yore located here. Apart from this, Madras also preserves the traditional art forms of the past and still practices them in order to keep the tradition alive. This explains the spirit of Chennai, which by all means is a significant part of the Indian Heritage.

History
Chennai, formerly called Madras, has been present since times immemorial. Whatever is known about the capital city of Tamil Nadu, presently serves as the history of the modern city. Originally Chennai was a cluster of villages, perched amidst paddy fields, bordered by palm trees.
People 
Chennai is a metropolitan city in the southern region of India. Due to the fast paced development taking place in the urban area, it has become the hub of all the major activities. This has attracted a huge influx of the people to Chennai for various purposes, such as employment, business, education etc.
Religions
Being a metropolitan city, Chennai houses a number of people from different religion and cultures. There is such a wide variety present here that it can be called one of the best examples of unity in diversity, in India. The most admirable feature of the city of Madras is that all the people live in perfect harmony.






(The above, images and text, has been borrowed from http://www.chennai.org.uk)

We leave in 20 days!!

Great Expectations in Tiny Packages....

I spent 3 hours in Wal Mart yesterday (aaaah!!) raiding the travel section and the clearance shirts, and got everything I needed for one low price! (I say this with a hint of sarcasm. Who knew free trips were so expensive?!) So I spent the rest of the evening trying to pack everything. Space is not the issue. Everything I have will fit easily into my suitcase, but the problem is weight restriction. 

After checking the airline rules, I learned that we are limited to one checked bag of a maximum of 50 lbs, plus carry on. The task of fitting 7 weeks worth of stuff into 50 lbs is very daunting, and last night seemed impossible. But I think I managed to do it!

Yep, 7 weeks worth of shampoo, conditioner, soap, clothing, coveralls, clinician's jackets, scrubs, etc etc etc etc have all managed to make it into the bag. My carry on is full of snack foods, plus all the electronics, a change of clothes, and few books. It's heavy, and I'm sure I'll want to unload it all, potentially cramming my face full of granola and candies by the time we get to Frankfurt in an effort to lighten the load. 

In other news, I spent the morning helping Brad add some pictures to his classroom walls. He had a lot of bare space to fill, so he printed hundreds of pictures from all things world history, and we spent the morning with poster putty and wall mounting tape. 

He had the really cool idea to get a world map and surround it with flags of the countries from which he has had students (plus a few countries that just have cool flags). It turned out really great! I'll have him take photos for your viewing pleasure. 

We leave for India in 21 days!!

A Beginning...

Thanks to the generosity of VMRCVM and TANUVAS schools of vet med, I have the opportunity to spend 6 weeks in Chennai, India with 5 of my colleagues and two professors!

Hopefully my family and friends will enjoy learning about what we discover as we spend time in the veterinary school there, and in other places around the state of Tamil Nadu. 

Since I found out about the trip I've been googling the names of all the places we've been told about, trying to learn all I can before we get there. Here is some of what I have learned:

We will be spending most of our time at Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), staying in a house they provide with all the amenities of home, and three catered meals a day. We'll spend mornings in surgery and afternoons in various departments within the vet school, seeing cases. I think we will see all species, from cats and dogs, to sheep and cattle, and even some water buffalo! 

After a few weeks in Chennai, we will travel to one of their charter schools in the smaller town of Namakkal, where there is little to do except to focus on vet med. Then we're off to take a cultural tour thru several places, and then to Wooti. 

We will also spend a day or so on a tiger/elephant reserve, I think in Mudumalai. 

Following the end of our formal 6 week program, we will have a couple of days free, which we plan to use to fly to Agra for a visit to the Taj Mahal. It's a plane ride away from Chennai, but closer than it is from home for sure!

Chennai is located in Tamil Nadu, one of the largest and most literate states of India. It has a rich history that makes me glad for my Classics minor in undergrad and history buff husband.

 Tamil Nadu's state animal is the Nilgiri Tahr, a goat like creature.

The bird is an emerald dove.

And the state flower is the beautiful gloriosa lily. 

Right now this whole adventure seems surreal and out of reach, full of things I have never experienced. I am excited to learn about another culture and see how they practice veterinary medicine. Right now my head is full of strange factoids that will solidify into something real soon; things like "don't drink tap water. If you have no bottled water, find a tender coconut and drink its juice." " Traffic rules don't apply, so don't get hit by a bus." "The antimalarial meds may make you sick, but malaria won't kill you unless you get the encephalitis form." 

While I'm sure some of this is joking, it adds to the excitement and trepidation that I feel. 

For now, I am all vaccinated up, malaria meds are purchased, visa and passport are up to date and ready to go, and I'm doing some final shopping and other such things tomorrow. 

The adventure begins on June 29th!