We got up this morning a little later for breakfast (8a) since we were going sight seeing instead of going to the clinic. Breakfast was toast with butter and fried egg. They told us they go a little easier with us on weekend breakfasts so our stomachs wouldn't get too homesick. Then we went out sight seeing. We saw beautiful Christian cathedrals around Chennai and watched out the window as the bus carried us through the city. Most of the cathedrals were dedicated to St. Thomas. We went to the Tomb of St. Thomas and St. Thomas Mount. As we traveled we saw free roaming dogs and cats, as well as goats and cows. We also stopped for tea while out (too hot for me to consider it) but the way they mix and pour the tea is unique, as he pours from a foot or two up.
We returned for lunch (rice, pork curry (really its gross-- I posted a pic below). pomegranate, tortilla). Then we relaxed for a bit and started getting ready for the wedding reception. I think its funny how we used vet techniques to better fix our outfits. I pinned Heidi's dress a little tighter with a couple sutures and Kelly and I made our plain sandals more fashionable by attaching extra fabric from our dresses onto our shoes using bandaging techniques. Heidi fixed my hair and made it beautiful.
As we drove up to the wedding we immediately saw we were over dressed. But I would rather be over dressed rather than underdressed. We aren't sure if someone set us up or if they were unsure how fancy it would be. Oh well. We looked pretty. The reception was a little odd. We came in, they sprinkled us with water and gave us a flower and a bindi (the dot on the forehead). Then we stood in line for around 30 min to take a picture with the bride and the groom. After that we went into a separate room to eat. We each had large banana leaf to eat off of. Then workers came by and scooped food onto our leaf. We were only able to eat with our right hand. which is awkward. That's like eating grits with your hand. and tearing tortillas with one hand. It definitely takes some getting used to. The videographer took lots of videos of us looking completely out of place. Then they decided to bring us spoons because I guess they felt sorry for us, but some of us (including myself) continued to eat traditionally.
It was a really neat experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity. Pictures have to be uploaded in batches here so it may take a bit of time for the post to be fully up. Bandwidth is at a premium here. Enjoy!
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