Movies, Movies, Movies

Friday after work, Abdul took me to the bazaar. About every fourth booth at this particular bazaar sold DVDs. I purchased several. They sold for Rs 20 (50 cents), so I'm not sure if they are authorized copies. The first movie I watched had subtitles. I couldn't find a way to turn them off. A few minutes into the movie, I decided the subtitles were just as much fun as the movie. They were obviously done by someone who did not speak the language well and was not familiar with American culture. Ex. one scene in the movie mentioned a nativity scene. It was subtitled as an "activity scene".
The next movie I put in the DVD player wouldn't play at all. Another movie was the result of someone videotaping at a theater. I could hear the other people at the theatre caughing and laughing. At one point, someone stood up and walked in front of the camera.
The shops sold DVDs with three, four, or sometimes 11 movies per disk for the same low price. I bought singles, expecting to get higher quality.
I watched Ocean's Thirteen on Sunday. It was a quality reproduction.

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.

Spenser Mall

I did quite a bit of shopping on Saturday and Sunday. I've never been a good shopper and this day wasn't any different. I went looking for gifts for my wife and kids. I didn't find anything that I thought they would enjoy, but it was a good culture experience for me. The first three pictures are the inside of Spencer's mall. It may be the only mall in Chennai and probably the closest thing to shopping in the U.S.









The further away you get from the center of the mall, the isle ways become narrower.







This is where the locals shop.
It is in the T Nagear district.

A Night at the Movies

Friday night, I went to see the movie 10,000 BC with Vijay and Aman. The movie was better then the title or poster would indicate. It wasn't our first choice, but it was the only English movie playing the late showing, following our meetings at work. We ordered tickets on-line earlier in the week. Vijay drove and dropped Amon and I off at the door. It took him 20 minutes to park. Due to space shortage, all the cars are lined up bumper to bumper. Once you park the car, you can't leave until the movie is over and the cars in front of you clear out. We sat in the Balcony of the theatre. The outside and lobby of the theatre were nothing to speak of, however, inside was the largest, nicest theatre that I'd ever been in. The seating was assigned, not first come first serve like in America. We were sitting in leather recliners. It reminded me of first class air travel. Not that I've ever traveled first class, but I've walked past that type of seating plenty of times. We sipped our drinks and enjoyed that seating for about five minutes before another group showed up and claimed our seats. When we examined out tickets, we determined that we had purchased the tickets for the previous night. Luckily, there were still a few seats open, so we purchased new tickets for the fourth row. These seats were not first class, but similar to most theatres in the U.S. They were right in front of the 'cheap seats'. I've never used that phrase before in regards to a movie theatre. In this theatre, there were three rows of wooden benches at the front. The ticket price for those seats is approx. 1/4 the price for my fourth row seat. Tickets were only $3, so I'm not complaining. It was a fun evening.

The attendant at my apartment has gotten accustom to leaving the gate open until I arrive. However, since my car was already at the apartment and it was later then usual, the gate was locked. I couldn't raise him, so I had to jump the fence to get to my room. The attendant was sleeping peacefully on his mat when I went past.