India Welcomes You

On August 1 I left Boston bound for India. The previous week (July 24 - July 30), I'd had my niece and nephew visiting Boston, which was great. However, between playing tour guide and finishing up some DVDs of pictures for the youth that I'd been working with, I was forced to pull a few all-nighters and was pretty exhausted when I left for the airport at 4 am (after staying up all night again).

The Delta flight from Boston to New York was uneventful. I got a little nervous when none of the New York airport workers seemed to recognize the name of the airline I was to be flying on (Etihad -official airline of the United Arab Emirates). The 13 hour flight from New York to Abu Dhabi wasn't bad. The airplane was nice and there were over 50 movies to choose from.The 7 hour layover in Abu Dhabi was tedious and definitely the worst part of the trip. The airport is nice, but small, and there is nothing to do. I unsuccessfully tried to stay awake to get on the new time schedule more quickly.They mysteriously upgraded me to business class for the 4 hour flight from Abu Dhabi to Chennai. It was nice!I met a bunch of Italians in the Chennai airport and was able to practice the language as we waited to get through passport control and customs. A driver was waiting with a placard. He took forever to go get his car while I waited just outside the airport doors, constantly fending off other taxi drivers who were seeking a high-priced tourist fare. The hour ride through the city was pretty precarious (perhaps even worse than driving on African roads), but without incident. The city is just what I expected it to be--crowded, extremely loud, and dirty.The hotel was nice and even had Internet. They didn't have my room type available so they upgraded me, informing me that they would later downgrade me.

I found the local branch of my church on Sunday. It was good to have a familiar atmosphere and meet friendly people who share common core values. There are two branches in Chennai; one has a number of ex-pats and the other one is completely Indian. I was the only white guy other than American missionaries which reminded me a bit of some of my African experiences.

Monday I ventured into the office with a co-worker who just started at IFMR and who is also staying at the Crescent Park until he can find a place. I briefly met a bunch of people whose names I retained for less than two seconds and signed my name a million times to open a bank account. Everyone was busy preparing for the retreat which would begin that afternoon, so I spent much of the day sitting around. I did meet briefly with my boss (who is from Turkey) and found out that I would be staying in Chennai and working on a channel finance project. I did venture out to get passport photos (the 10 or so passport photos that I brought from the U.S. were apparently the wrong size).

Monday afternoon we left for Mahabalipuram (known for stone carving and a ninth century temple on the beach) which is about an hour or so south of Chennai. Sendhil Mullainathan (Harvard) and Antoinette Schoar (MIT) flew in all the people who are working on their projects for the training. There were about 35 people including support staff. Some had come from Uganda, others from Latin America, and one from Cambodia, but the majority were based in India. Most were American except for those based in India who were mostly Indian. Of those in my group (small and medium enterprises) based in Chennai, I think I'm the only American.

I was a little disappointed to find out that the "resort" we were staying at wasn't as nice as the hotel where I had been staying in Chennai. It was great to meet everyone and the trainings were interesting, although I had trouble staying awake through most of them. My inability to keep my eyes open was a bit embarrassing (a negative by-product of lack of sleep and not drinking coffee). Strangely enough, I again ran into the Italians who I'd met at the airport. They had come to Mahabalipuram for a few days and were staying in the same hotel.

The food here is awesome and India is paradise for vegetarians. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn't completely agree and I've had some issues the past few days. Everything is so good that it is hard not to eat too much.

We returned Friday night and I spent most of the day Saturday looking for an apartment and trying to get my cell phone set up. It is nice to be back at the Crescent Park Hotel and to begin to get to know a bit of Chennai. If anyone has connections or leads on cheap housing in Chennai, please send them my way. So far, it looks like I might end up paying as much for an apartment here as I did in Cambridge ($350). Granted my apartment in Cambridge was really cheap and the apartment here would be a bit nicer and fully furnished, but it is hard for me to justify such a huge expense when my income has been cut to a fourth of what it was.

I'll try to add some pictures later.