Packing up

Just finishing my last minute packing. Angel and Andrea brought me some goodies pictured here. A "WoW How To Guide", LOL!! After the battleground last night, I do need to read the manual. I get the hint. :)

My cousin who was born and raised in Kenya also recommended the water bottle with filter included. India water is still contaminated and likely to cause illness for someone like me, so I am hoping the bottle works!! We'll see. 

Unity Charitable Trust

I will be spending the majority of my time at Unity Charitable Trust in Virudhunagar. There I'll have an opportunity to meet with the women's groups, teach English and help with computer classes for young women.

I've already proposed a variety of projects to the head of the organization about using social media, training workshops, video story telling, photo documentation, etc., They may think I am a little forward, so I want to make sure I sit back and learn and observe and maybe there will be an opportunity for these kinds of projects after I get a feel for the organization. 

My India Travel Destinations

I fly in and out of the city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and is located in the south east of the country. I'll be in Chennai for 4 days. From Chennai I fly to Madurai, which is a short hour flight. I'll be met in Madurai and taken to the village of Virudhunagar where I'll spend the majority of my time. This is a rural village in southern India where the majority of people are in agriculture. The map above is from http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/india.htm.

Salwar Kameez, my new go to pieces!

I have my new Indian outfits (still going with pink!). The clothes are so colorful and bright with so many patterns, I have to get used to them. Hopefully I am wearing them correctly. :) Each one comes with a pant that is EXTREMELY tight around the calf and ankle, and then HUGE around the rear and stomach. I am not sure who could wear these as they come; a woman with tiny ankles and a large bottom I guess! Still getting used to how they feel and look.  

They also come with a shawl. I need more direction on how to wear that.        

Sit or Squat

According to Sit or Squat, there is only 1 public restroom in Chennai, India. This cannot be!!

Preparations

Today was a busy day running around and buying stuff usually I never think about (like body wipes and mosquito nets). I know from my trip to Kenya that I run out of Kleenex quickly so I also stocked up on that.

Will all the "stuff" I am trying to be safe, healthy, and bring a little bit comfort with me. Hopefully that will work!