Have you laughed today?

On Valentine's some friends and I went to a local Spanish tapas hangout for a drink and tapas, of course! Excellent calamari by the way. At the end of the night, the manager bought our table free shots and asked a photographer to take our picture. We thought it was the restaurant photographer taking a picture for their photo bulletin board. Little did we know it was for the trashy tabloid section of the paper. Hahaha...I can't stop laughing. I'm a 'Cocktail Queen'. It's so scandalous, I love it!

A Tribute to One of the Greatest Adventures

I haven't been doing much blogging lately. I've thought about it, I've wanted to do it, but I just haven't had the time. I realized the reason I was able to blog so much in Japan was because I worked at a job that actually required very little of me. When I wasn't planning lessons or grading papers I sat there studying for my MA or handwriting blog posts. That kind of leisure time no longer exists. But in the last few months I was able to piece together this little Tribute to one of the Best Adventures of my life--trekking around the Annapurnas. Enjoy!




If it doesn't fit your screen, you can view it on youtube.com

Would you believe....

It has taken 6 months, but I've finally discovered more to Chennai than dosai, filter coffee, temples and street-side jasmine stalls. Would you believe...

...that I had delicious kimchee and bulgogi this week at a Korean owned restaurant.
...that I ate amazing calamari and prawns at a Spanish Tapa's bar.
...that the Thai green curry is almost as good here as it was on Ko Samui.
...that a club in Chennai was charging $65 per couple to get on Valentine's. And that three friends and I got in and didn't pay but that's another story.
...that there are house parties with expats wearing stilettos, tuxedos and fake mustaches and drinking old monk.
...that there are crazy Italians, Portuguese, and Spanish people residing here.
...that the carrot cake at my favorite outdoor cafe is passable as real carrot cake.
...that there was a full marathon through Chennai this weekend.
...that pictures of Obama are becoming part of the natural landscape.

But let us now forget there is also...
...the guy who works at the auto-parts store down the street was concerned that I was walking around after dark.
...the aunty that live downstairs who wants to know why she hears us coming home late some nights.
...the bus drivers that yell at me for standing in the door well because its too dangerous for women, but men can hang out the bus door.
...the auto drivers that try to charge my twice the going rate because I'm a foreigner.
...the sketchy men that gawk on the side of the street or yell obsenitites as they ride by on their motorcycles.

I mention all these things because when you 'see' Chennai you would not believe that there is much more to it what meets the eye, which can be really overwhelming and quite honestly, not that impressive. There are no real tourist sites or places of interest in Chennai, but if you stick it out, and can put up with the bus drivers, aunties, curious neighbors and sketchy men, there is an interesting blending of cultures under the surface. I don't need and don't want to be part of the expat scene all the time, but it is nice to find and experience the blend occasionally.

Competing for Public Space

Everyday all over Chennai's walls, gates, doors, trees, telephone poles, buses, and autos people paint or paste advertisements. The majority of them are for the latest Tamil movies. These posters are usually larger than life images of heroes saving the day--dramatic, but they haven't inspired me to see any Tamil movies of late.



The next popular city-wide advertisement is for English schools. My favorite by far is for the "Speak Easy" School of English. Apparently they didn't think to google it before they named their school that. Then again, cultural context means everything! Wouldn't it be great if it really was a speakeasy, pretending to be an English school. Could be an entirely new methodology there, probably a fairly effective one. Alcohol is only available in five star hotels, not far from the laws of prohibition.



OH, and let's not forget all the signs with interesting translations, not to mention content.



But what I find ironic is that the last two, are by far the most visible signs in Chennai. The 'Speak Easy' English school and sex specialist, Dr. Biswas have the most signs posted of any I have seen. So much so that they are constantly competing for signage space. Every day one has replaced the other, until they become one in the same, asking the question...Does Dr. Biswas have a proper English translator on hand? Apparently not.



Draw your own conclusions...the streets of Chennai are plastered with 'Speak Easy' and cures for impotency, among other sexual dysfunctions.

For more fun signage, check out my Signs in Chennai set on flickr.