First Impressions

Darn it, I forgot my notes- I have been taking a lot of them since being here. SO, I will have to write from the top of my head...here goes.
We spent two days in Chennai (Madras), the city we flew into to recover from jet lag and get acclimated to our new environs, before heading to a smaller and much more relaxed town about two hours south. That is where we are now, for one more night....the town is called Mamallapuram. (long enough name for you?)
The first night we were in Mam. was also the first night I cried over the confusion that is India. It is difficult to explain what we saw those first few days in Chennai without sounding absolutely cliche-the white folks who flew in to "experience India" from our cosmopolitan lives...gross. But I need to explain it all anyway. So forgive me, in advance, for sounding whatever way I sound.
Let's just start by saying the disparity is intense. This argument could be made about most cultures, I suppose: even in the USA, there are homeless shelters next door to high-rise buildings, etc. But here? My goodness. In one walk around the block, we saw a mother sleeping on the sidewalk with her toddler playing on top pf her. A few steps later there was an open sewer, one of many we walked around or over on the sidewalks and streets. A few steps after that was a deluxe hotel with air conditioning, a palace-like entrance, and businessmen in suits dining on fine china. Later that day, Matt and I decided to take a ride to a part of the city where we were hoping to see an old fort and some silk trading. Instead- by some miscommunication with the rickshaw driver, most likely, (never too sure?), we ended up in a pretty interesting section of town. Again, the disparity was overwhelming. There were regular joes catching the bus, and a block down the road? Mothers and their babies sitting on the road amongst piles of trash- one toddler was defecating on a pile of trash where we walked by. And then, just as quickly as we got there, we went back, to our own air conditioned hotel room, overlooking a beautiful train station....
I am not sure if this is making sense. It has been a long, long day and I have all these ideas floating in my head. But that first night in Mam., Matt and I sat at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the full moon on the ocean, and mulled it all over. Decided, I think, to embrace whatever it is that got us here.
And today? After a few days of sightseeing- ancient Hindu temples, a bird sanctuary, the market...today, it seems peaceful. Something has shifted already and I feel like the chaos and the beauty are somehow meant to be together here. A lot of people have said that India is full of contradictions: love it, hate it, love it, hate it. I had no idea what that could possibly mean and maybe in the last few days I have only begun to understand. Either way - today: I love it.