Thursday, February 24, 2005
How is Chennai?
Your Captain is now almost as dark as all the other Indians here. Bad bad news. Anyway, your Captain decided to take out the plane again to fly over the exotic land of India again.
It's a total of one week since I landed in this God-forsaken place and it has been a pretty eye-opening week. Picking up from where I left off in my last post, I'll start by telling you briefly what I did everyday till today.
Saturday, DAY 2.
We headed out to the Soup Kitchen. According to the books I read, what I imagined the Soup Kitchen to be is something like a buffet thingy, where the ppl line up and we serve them food behind the counter.
Instead, it was a close knitted thing, where the ppl sit together on mats in one terribly small room and just talk and sing before lunch is served. We, the three girls helped to prepare lunch, Yeepei going YeePy over this cutter thing, trying to use it (will post the picture up). We listen to these old ppl tell their stories and their cases are pretty damn sad. Husband died, sons left her alone, the usual sad case thingy. Very sad, not to mention a little depressing when you hear it over and over again.
I got bored half way through and ran out to take pictures. Was mobbed by kids trying to get their photos, so I was thinking, What the hell, lets just humor them. In return, they took me around the slums, chasing kites and somehow managed to stray very very far away.
When I returned (of course I did not get lost, who do you think I am? Richard?), I found everyone in distress mode, thinking that I was in trouble or something. Apologies to them, but it was so hilarious, seeing all of them so worried.
Downside, I am not allowed to stray anymore.
Sunday DAY 3.
Church. BORING!! It was in Tamil, so what do you expect? Furthermore it was a Bethren Church. BETHREN = A LOT of STANDING up and sitting down. Haha, no offence to the Bethrens, but it is the Gospel truth.
We also attended the Sunday School, and we acted out the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Then Jesus told them this parable:
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninetynine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep."
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninetynine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
I am the Shepherd. YeeP is the Sheep and Grace the narrator. Quite interesting. And we taught them a song. I tell you, their mimicry is superb. They can repeat the exact words with the correct sound. Like a perfect parrot.
Sidenote: YeeP is studying, on a VACATION!!!
Monday DAY 4
Went to the Tsunami Relief camp today. A bloody 3 hour journey from Chennai. Back hurt like shit after that. But the sceneries were interesting, not to mention the camp itself. But the day is just so hot that all we wanted was to sit under the shade and doze off.
They set up a temporary clinic that day and the shack used is in so sad a condition. IMHO, this tsunami may be a blessing in disguise to this village. It helped to bring forth these villages that needed severe help. If there was no this tsunami, these villages could have been dying for a long long time.
After that, when we returned to CMCT, three of us were eager to be off shopping alone. So we begged to be let off early, using exhaustion as an excuse. Once we dropped off at YWCA, we went off to shop.
YAY!! Finally got my Kamasutra. My list of books bought:
1. The Myst Reader. KenRhee wanted this.
2. Wheel of Time 2. Prem do not have this book, so decided to buy for her.
3. Live and Let Die. Thinking to start my James Bond collection.
4. Moonraker. Same cover, same publisher, but the price of the books differed by RM20.
5. The Silence of the Lamb.
6. Sherlock Holmes, complete novel and short stories. For only RM20.
7. Roald Dahl, complete short stories. For only RM25.
8. The Perfumed Garden.
9. The Kamasutra.
I'm a happy girl.
Plus, I finally get to eat CHICKEN!!! Good, hot, fatty, oily meat.
Tuesday DAY 5
Went to the slums again. This is getting boring, not to mention depressing. Same story, same cases. But there is something that was pointed out that is so true.
A woman can survive without a husband. She has the will to work and bring up her children properly.
A man is a piece of shit after his wife dies.
That is why you see a lot of ladies fighting for survival down here, while you don't see any man at all. They just squander away their money drinking and dying.
Went for the Anglo-Indian Ladies night. Taught them a Malay Christian Song. Quite fun. Put on the Lost Sheep skit again. More successful this time. I make a better sheep than Yeep.
The speaker spoke of the coming of the End and my, listen to all his subtle attacks at the Roman Catholic Church. If Sheena was here, hell will break loose and the End times would have begin there and then. Bur still, it got YeePei all riled up.
Me? No comments.
Side note: I got hooked unto Cryptic Puzzles. Damn the puzzle, damn the Grass.
Question of the day: Sight of a naked Grace compared to 2 Cikus. Is being served 2 Cikus worth the sight of a wet naked Grace prancing around?
Wednesday DAY 6
Went shopping again. Bought a blue color thingy that I will never wear again. I was forced into buying it. Serious.
Anyway, will post up a picture of Grace in the thing she bought. She looks good in it, but somehow, when I took the picture of her, she came out looking like a post-natal lady. Big breasts, flat tummy, and add on that dress. Haha.
And it finally entered my damn dumb mind that I suck at playing Ginrummy. Got trashed each time.
Thursday DAY 7
Went to Medical Camp somewhere far far away. We put on another play again for the villagers. The Good Samaritan, only this time, there were more ppl involved.
In reply Jesus said:
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
Luke 10 : 30 - 35
I was the poor Jew traveller who got robbed. Grace the Innkeeper, and YeeP the Good Samaritan.
ANd we finally get to help out!!! YAY!!! It took three of us to get the BP and Weight of one patient. Sheesh.
The cases are pretty normal. Diabetes, hypertension, dehydration. Saw a physiotherapist at work. Wont mind if he does his wonders on me. I'm in desperate need of some full body massage.
Hanged around, pretending to be doing things, without doing anything. The day just fritters away. And I'm here now blogging to you guys.
So today is DAY 7, 7 more days to go. And do I think of this elective so far?
Surprisingly tiring, but tiring in a good and content way. Life is good. No worries, just living for the moment. But the downside is the depression we see along the way.
The oppressed stay oppressed, and what can we do? In this God-forsaken place, where the rich do not care of the poor... what can we do? The rich ignores the poor, the rich oppresses the poor... what can we do?
Hmmm...
Miluda: Who do you think we are? We're not your animals! We're human, just like you! Have you ever been hungry? With only soup to eat for months? Why do we suffer? Because you nobles deprive us of our rights to live!
Algus: Human? Humph, Ridiculous! From the minute you were born you had to obey us. From the second you were born you were our animals.
Miluda: That's nonsense! Who decided all this! That's ridiculous!
Algus: It is the will of Heaven!
Miluda: In Heaven? God would never allow such a thing. All are equal in His eyes! He'd never let this happen! Never!
Algus: Animals have no God!
- Final Fantasy Tactics
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