Share in the Experience...

India

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Some Final Thoughts...

Now that I've been back in Canada for a week, I've had a bit of time to reflect on my experiences while in India.  What I've realized is that being part of the Habitat for Humanity Global Village Program has been one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences of my life.  I've learned more than I could have imagined about Indian culture, made lifelong friends and developed a new found appreciation for my life in Canada.  The Global Village Program has reignited my desire to give back and instilled a new desire to do what I can to improve the lives of others...I foresee another GV trip in my future!!!   

A few things that are noticeably different since returning home:

• the lack of chaotic traffic, horns honking and cattle on the road
• no extreme heat or humidity...just lots of rain!
• much blander food...I'll have to work on my cooking skills to spice things up
• no one carrying bricks, sticks, pots or bags on their head
• clothing is much less colourful and complicated...it takes talent to put on a sari everyday
• no coconut trees to climb when you need a little something to drink
• less people wanting their picture taken
• drinking much less than 5L of water a day
• and yes...the toilets!!!!

Heading back to Canada

 I made my way to the airport in Chennai without incident....it's always so weird to be driving at night when there is no traffic or horns honking.  My check-in at the airport went well and I was sitting waiting for my flight with two hours to spare.  I decided to pick up some duty free...lugging alcohol for 30 + hours is not so fun, but the price was so good it was hard to pass up.  By 4:10am  we started to board the plane...I'm traveling to Doha, Qatar...4.5 hour flight...on my first leg of my journey home.

The flight was non eventful and I was exhausted, so I spent a large portion of the trip sleeping.  I only had 1 hour and 15 minutes to switch planes in Doha, so when I finally made it to the Doha terminal, I was a bit concerned when I saw the hundreds of people pushing their way through the crowd to get to the security screening point.  I thought there would be no way I would ever make my flight, but surprisingly so, the crowd moved along quickly and I made it through the security check point within 30 minutes.  Since this was a US flight...I'm flying from Doha to New York City...14 hour flight...I had to stand in another line upstairs to go through another security check...gotta love flying through the US!!!!

I made it through this security check by 8am...this is what time my flight was to leave...and made it to my plane by 8:20am.   Needless to say my flight did not leave on time.  When I finally made it onto the plane, the captain told us we would be delayed due to a technical problem...the A/C was not working and needed to be fixed.  This took about two hours, so we all sat on the plane for an additional 2.5 hours before we even took off...not what you want to do when you have a 14 hour flight ahead of you.  On top of this, I asked for a window seat and got a middle seat....yuck!!!!

By 10:30am we were on our way to NYC.  The flight was packed and I had lots of young kids sitting all around me.   Lots of screaming and crying....this was certainly going to be a long flight...so I put on my headphones and watched 5 movies, listened to lots of music, slept and ate three meals.  Not that bad after all, but glad when we finally touched down in NYC.

In NYC, I had to go through customs and immigration...when I entered the immigration area I actually saw two large billboards advertising Habitat for Humanity...how cool is that!!!!  As I was standing in line in immigration along with hundreds of other people, I noticed on the big screen TV's that Osama Bin Laden had been killed and that the USA was on high alert for potential retaliation.  Just my luck to be in NYC when this would happen...I will be glad when I'm back on Canadian soil.  It's a bit strange that this all happened while I was traveling home, since I left on a year backpacking trip two weeks after 9/11 and the war on terrorism broke out while I was in Sweden....it all comes in full circle I guess.

When I rechecked my luggage in NYC I found out it weighed 20kg...only 7kg more than when I left...not too bad!!!  Once again I had to go through security as I had to change terminals.  To my complete surprise I was not allowed to bring my duty free purchase...1L of Bailey's Irish Cream...onto my plane!!!!  Apparently I needed to put it in my checked baggage before I rechecked it at the other terminal since I was not on a direct flight...so glad someone thought it might be important to let me know this before I checked my luggage!!!  Needless to say I was NOT impressed to leave my liquor in the garbage in NYC...they guys behind me in line said they would help me consume it before we boarded if I wanted...how kind of them!!!!!

After I got over my unexpected security incident....thankfully I wasn't too cranky after being awake for 48 hours...I found my gate and boarded my flight to Halifax at 7pm.  My flight was once again non eventful...but very cold...and I arrived in Halifax at 10:30pm.  I made it through customs and immigration without incident, picked up my luggage and found my pre-arranged taxi without incident....lord it's COLD here...30 degrees cooler than India!!!!

On my way home I realized the federal election results were just coming in...a majority Conservative government with an NDL opposition...interesting results.  While chatting with my taxi driver about my travels in India I think I peaked his interested in the Habitat for Humanity Global Village experience...he even asked me how to apply!!!

I am absolutely exhausted and ready to sleep in my own bed.  It seems a bit strange to arrive home with no one to greet me...not even my dog...but nice to have a "normal" toilet...with toilet paper!!!!   I expect after a good night's sleep it will all hit me that I am back home and I will begin to relive some of the life changing experiences I have had while visiting such an interesting and memorable country as India.

Until then....

Time in Chennai...last day in India

Today is my last day in India....aside from me, all that's left of my Habitat for Humanity team in Chennai is Bob, Robbin and Jennifer. Lisa, my roommate, left for the airport at 2:30am and I've been awake ever since...just my luck!!!  With nothing else to do, I decided to repack my backpack...God it's heavy...it weighed 13 kg when I left, it will be interesting to see what it weighs now.

After breakfast at the hotel, I met up with the rest of the team and we headed to Spencer Mall to check email an do some very last minute shopping.  We took a tuk tuk for the 10 minutes ride...it can be a challenge to fit four Canadians in one of these things...glad we didn't loose anyone along the way!!!  Once back at the hotel, Jennifer, Robbin and I headed down to the hotel restaurant for a bit of lunch and masala tea...delicious!!!  Jennifer and I decided to take a walk around the area..not a whole lot around our hotel and many places were closed as it was the middle of the afternoon.

For dinner we all decided to go to Dakshin's at the Park Sheraton Hotel and Towers.  Jennifer and Robbin went here when they first arrived in India and said it was a great experience.  This is a celebrated restaurant that features the rich flavors of South Indian cuisine, with live Indian instrumental music.  We decided to take a taxi to the hotel and when we arrived, the lobby was full of people and security.  Being oblivious to what was actually going on, we walked into the lobby right into the middle of everything.  It turns out this hotel is the home of the Chennai Super Kings...the cricket team...who were playing the Deccan Chargers that evening and the players where just exiting the hotel.  Apparently I was talking to one of the players when we were trying to move through the crowd...kind of funny to find this out after the fact....a bit like running into some NHL players at a hotel in Canada!!

When we made out way to the restaurant we realized it wasn't open for another 45 minutes.  We hung out at the hotel...very beautiful by the way...I finally got a postage stamp I've been looking for and I was even offered a free ticket to the cricket match happening that evening...too bad I wasn't here one more day or I would have loved to have gone....Indian people are crazy over cricket!!  When the restaurant finally opened, we had the most spectacular service...we told them we had to leave by 8:30pm to catch our flights and they made sure that happened.  We had some great traditional Indian cuisine, good wine and listened to some light Indian music.  A great way to finish off a fantastic three weeks in India.

By 8:30pm we were on our way back to the hotel where Jennifer, Bob and Robbin caught their cab to the airport.  My flight doesn't leave until 4:45am, so I have another four hours at the hotel....last to depart.  I said my goodbyes...kind of surreal that this experience is coming to an end...and headed back to my room to try and catch some rest.  Unfortunately sleep was not in the playing cards, so it looks like I will be heading to the airport after being up for almost 24 hours.

At 1am I got a call that my taxi was ready to take me to the airport...goodbye Chennai and Indian!!!

Until tomorrow...