Besant Beach

Ocean front living in Chennai India...
I took this picture and the next picture while standing in the same spot. Quite a contrast.

Monday through Wednesday were long long days at work. I decided Thursday morning that I needed a walk. So after finishing my morning e-mails I took off on the shortest route to the beach. This is Besant beach. It is an easy 40 minute walk from my flat.




In the middle of the beach was a small field of flowers. I don't know what they are, but I thought they were pretty.

Government Museum

In between shopping excursions last Saturday, Abdul and I visited Chennai's Government Museum. It was interesting. It had several rooms filled with stone carvings, mostly of Hindu gods. That's me with my new friend. I forgot to read his name on the plaque. None of my co-workers recognized him, so apparently he is not very popular.


This is the skeleton of a whale.
Admission to the museum was approx. $7. It cost another $5 to take my camera with me. Admission for Abdul was Rs 15, which is about 40 cents. Abdul complained. When he was young, the museum cost only a couple rupees.



There was an entire room dedicated to Hindu gods made out of brass.

Cold Showers

Yesterday started out as a good day. I had a warm shower. It was the second warm shower I've had in the three weeks that I've been here. I've developed a technique for taking cold showers. After the first few days, I realized I needed a strategy. I was warned not to open my mouth in the shower due to the water impurities. Keeping your mouth shut is difficult when you stick your head under frigid water and are forced to gasp for breath. Now I ease in and get my body accustom to the temperature before I stick my head in. All the time, I'm imagining myself on vacation jumping into Beaver Lake. When my family goes there in early June, it takes some time getting used to the water when you first jump in. After a few minutes, like the shower, the water is very refreshing.
I thought about posting a picture of me in the shower demonstrating my entry technique, but I didn't want to get the camera wet.

New Live Assemblies of God Church

The second floor of the New Life Assemblies of God church is where they hold the English services. They have three services each week. The service prior to this one was even more packed. So far, this church has been the closest to my experience at home. They even sang some songs that I knew. The theme for this month at the NLAG church is "The Lord will go before you".
North and South Indians speak different local languages. The regional language for this area is Tamil. The educated Indians also speak English. I think that is the reason why so many Indians attend the English services. At the new comers class after the service, all the other participants were from Northern India. It's also possible that they attend to improve their English skills.
My Muslim driver attends church with me. We've had small conversations afterwards.

This is the sanctuary where the Tamil speaking services are held. If you look closely, you can see the balcony on all four sides. If I would have taken a picture when I first arrived, you would have seen this place packed. People were overflowing at every door.