On Saturday, our main objective was to hit the beach but we made some other stops along the way. First, we drove to St. Thomas Basilica, where St. Thomas himself is buried. A lot of us have been very surprised at the prominence of Christianity here, and this site was especially beautiful and significant to see. We then headed to Marina Beach, the second longest beach in the world! While we couldn't wear bathing suits or swim, many of us dipped our toes in and the beach was the perfect backdrop for many photos taken by us and our MCC student guides. After grabbing ice cream, we headed to another religious site, a Hindu temple. After taking our shoes off, we were allowed to enter the temple and got to see all the beautiful designs on the shrines (each one held the statue of a god or goddess) and observe men, women, and children worshipping. It was also very interesting to notice that the temple seemed to serve as a gathering space for large groups and families, which further exemplified the communal aspect of the culture here in India. By this time, we were all very hungry and had a delicious dinner of savory Indian crepes called dosas with a variety of sauches and fillings.
It's been incredible experiencing many unique aspects of Chennai, and today we took a bus to Pondicherry which we know will be an awesome new adventure!
