Settling in before moving on

Monday, July 18th, 2011

We had a quiet day today, resting late into the morning after our weekend adventures. Michael and the two of us adventured on our own for the first time without a more experienced guide, which was a satisfying experience-we are beginning to settle in to the different space.
In particular, we survived buying tickets for later in our trip, to both Hardwar in the mountains and from Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) to Delhi for our flight home. We'd waited, because we'd been told that those were easier to buy in person, and it was a fascinating experience, waiting with about a hundred other people looking to also travel from point A to point B in a little basically unmarked upstairs room. We ended up having to skip the train we would have preferred-an overnight train-for one leaving at 5:30 in the morning, because it was already booked, but all in all, an interesting experience with Indian bureaucracy.
Then we went to a tailors where we got some gifts for our friend Agasteen who we visit tomorrow, and a sharp new Indian shirt for me. On the way home, we stopped at a roadside stand, where I purchased my first roadside food, a delicious mango. I felt very triumphant, even if I got the westerner's price.
In the evening, we had a very different kind of adventure-we went to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. It was a fascinating mix of a taste of home and a cross cultural adventure. The movie theater had both Popcorn and Paneer, that familiar language of entertainment palace with a unique Indian twist. The movie was fun, and it played more like a melodrama-oohing and awing and clapping at appropriate points, (and one unexpected cheer when Voldermort appeared, ready to attack Hogwarts), with all the emotions that I'm used to expressing quietly shared with the collective room around us.
Tomorrow we journey on from Chennai to Rajamundry, and begin our time with Agastine and Lalitha. It should be an interesting journey, we're looking forward to the experience, and learning about a different part of India, and experiencing the Christian community we'll find.
I'm not sure if there will be internet access, if not, we'll check back in on the 26th or so while we're in Delhi with a massive blog post that only our parents will read.
Now, its time for bed, tomorrow will be a busy day.
Samuel and Rachel