Pondicherry

Saturday was field trip to for the volunteers. We were all excited for a day in a cute little beach town full of shopping, good company and non-Indian food. They had a cute little bakery and an Italian restaurant. We were all loaded in the vans by 7:30 and ready for our two our bus ride! Which as mentioned previously is kinda exciting in and of itself. Chenelle, Krissy and I were on a mission to find Genie pants to purchase in Pondicherry. Krissy had been going through the Closet to pick out her Indian outfit for the day and she found a pair of Genie pants; that lead to a search by myself and Chen to find ourselves a pair. We knew that we had to buy some to wear back home!




Look at our cute genie pants! So comfy! I'm in love with them!




We are copying a billboard we saw in Chennai! Gotta love the cheesy billboards!




Our drivers dropped us off at where we would all meet up later that day! The huge statue of Gandhi! So we wouldn't get lost trying to find our way back at the end of the day! When we stepped out of the bus we were instantly bombarded with street vendors wanting us to buy anything and everything. The first thing that caught my eye was a beautiful peacock feathered fan! We thought we got a great deal purchasing it for two hundred rupees instead of four when we realized that some vendors starting price was 100 rupees. But hey two dollars in American money isn't bad!
I was so excited to go into the cute little French bakery! Kris, Chen and I wanted anything that wasn't Indian food! We ordered French fries, Pepsi and shakes! Fries never tasted so good!








While we were eating this cute little Indian family sat next to us. They were snapping photos and asked if we could take pictures with their daughter. It happened to be her first birthday! She was so cute!




Look who we ran into! Our sweet bus drivers Annand and Val! We were so excited to see them. We all split up and Chen, Kris and I had to go exchange money and when we were finished we were all alone. When we ran into these two we asked if they knew where the French bakery was! Of,course they knew and took us directly there! After we ordered the said they would come back for us in twenty min. We thought it was so nice of them to spend the day with us and be our personal tour guides!
Plus they really made us feel safe. As I was eating I looked out the window and saw them standing across the street waiting for us. I went and yelled for them to join us! We bought them a Pepsi and we all had a good time! We have become very good friends with these two. They are always taking such good care of us!




Have you ever heard of an elephant blessing? Ya me neither! You can bet that it was the most exciting part of my trip To Pondicherry. How many people can say they have been blessed by an elephant? I can! So amazing!




Luctsmi the elephant. She is beautiful! You put a rupee in her snout and she blesses you!




Bensen getting blessed by Luctsmi. What a great pic!




We told Anand we had to find some genie pants. He knew exactly where to take us. Hanging above the door of this clothing store hung three pairs of genie pants! We rushed over and starting pulling every pair we could find off the rack! We went crazy! I feel so rich here! I also feel as though I'm playing with monopoly money. Every bill is so high and yet 500 rupees is about 9 American dollars. When everything was only 375 rupees at most we almost bought the entire store. The employees were pulling everything out to show us and it was all so beautiful! As we thought we purchased every genie pant in the store I looked at the ones hanging and asked if I could get them. When they asked which one all three of us Girls at the same time said "all of them"! We really love the Indian clothing we have had to wear; and want to bring it all home with us! When I was all finished being rung up and I saw the bill I almost had a heart attack. 3,200 rupees! I've never spent 3,000 of anything at one time before! After I did the math I realized I had only spent $61.00. It's going to be hard coming home and having the number 100 be so much more than it is here!









Next it was time to get the famous henna! I have been dying to get henna since I arrived! This man is amazing! He showered us a picture book of his art, we chose and he did it perfectly! Here it is Monday and it hasn't even started to fade!












We had so much fun walking the streets and seeing all that India has to offer! Everything here is so interesting and I'm adapting quite well! I miss my family and Todd so much! I wish they were here with me but I wish I could stay here all summer! I know I won't want to go home when the time comes!








As we were making our way to the Gandhi statue we happened to find the best thing in the entire world; DIET COKE!!! We bought every diet coke they had o
In their stand! Which only amounted to six, but nothing could have made us happier in that moment!




We made our final purchase in Pondicherry Diet Coke and Popsicles and headed for our vans! What an amazing day! Full of life, love and laughter! I couldn't have shared this experience with anyone else! I love these girls and am excited to share many more fun filled Indian days!




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