Everything is Possible

Hi all. I've landed in India. After a long flight from New York City to Brussels and then Brussels to Chennai I'm finally here. I got out of the plane at 1am Chennai time on Tuesday after about 10 hours in the air from Belgium. The door was open on the jetway and the densest air I have ever encountered came into my lungs. This city is like New Orleans on steroids. Lush vegetation everywhere. A treescape that covers everything. Their branches blocking out a sun that is intense in even this the "coolest" time of year.

The customs process was smooth. I followed some Dutch activists I met on the plane who had a connection in customs and entered through the expedited diplomat line. My new friend Ramu Manivannan picked me up at the airport and (Thanks to Mel Duncan for the introduction!) we drove through the dark city - with cars and people out even at 2:30 in the morning.

The setup of the city and traffic are amazing. Numerous dogs and cows some with giant horns snuffling around for food on the street. A million motorcycles and old buses and new Asian cars. Lots of foot traffic and bicycles. Food stalls and clothing stores and banks all crammed together. We rode the bus into the University where Ramu teaches this morning. The University is a bit of a respite from the surrounding anarchy of the city - only a block from the Bay of Bengal. As I write in Ramu's office, with pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Dalai Lama on the walls I can smell the sea (the windows are never closed in this city) and look out onto an old university building that looks like an elaborate Eastern Orthodox church.

I've already checked my tea goal off the list. We had tea in the morning with breakfast, tea at a stall on the walk from the bus to the university - served in glasses that are then washed out for the next customer - and then a man came into Ramu's office and just gave me a shot of tea unbidden- later Ramu says we will go out to grad some tea. Tea will not be a problem here. The food is fabulous as well. Had a delicious breakfast with lentils cooked by Shelia - Ramu's wife. We just returned from lunch at a neighborhood cafe with a standard meal of rice mixed with four different sauces all eaten with your hands - some like soup, some spicy, and then closing with a yogurt and then a shot of some sweet cardomom cashew drink.

In addition to being an incredibly warm human being and gracious host Ramu is a wealth of knowledge on social movements in India from a career as an activist from displaced Tamil's from Sri Lanka to Burmese and Tibetan activsts in exile. I've atteneded two of his classes at the University so far - one on Indian foreign policy and the other on the development of Indian environmental movements. Tomorrow we will go to his home village a couple hours outside of Chennai.

In response to an email I wrote him Ramu replied with the optimistic and somewhat mysterious line (caps are all his): EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. A good mantra for this trip and beyond.

Will update in a couple of days with some pictures.