Was out to school yet again. However, the CD-key did not seem to be for the retail version either so Im kind of baffled. On the way back, we ran into a traffic jam. Tom insisted we make a U-turn but swami was reluctant to follow his advice. In the end, hejust jumped out of the riksha and said he would meet us at his place. Well, me, having a desktop computer in my lap, could not really follow him so just let swami continue his driving.. and he actually found a quick route around the jam, so we could have made it home before Tom (but didn't since I had to stop by two places).
In the afternoon I took the scooter onto the bigger streets for the first time.. during rush hour, as I understand. It was scary, but not nearly as bad as I had feared. Both me and the scooter are ok, in case anyone is wondering. Although, by the Estonian standards I would be considered a traffic hooligan by now for some of the things I have done.
In the evening, I took a look at Sandhyas computer. It seemed to be in exactly as bad of a shape as the school computer was so I hope to reformat it tomorrow. I also installed a DVD reader into Pats computer, which took longer than expected as I also had to install VLC and a few other things.
Last day in Hyderabad tomorrow.
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
India - Day 22
Spent the better half of today trying to fix the virus ridden computer at the school.
Some problems I encountered:
The machine did not have a CD-drive
Internet connection seemed broken so one piece of software I badly needed could not be downloaded
Installing windows XP to the hard disk in another machine does not work.
The CD drive of its neighbour was horribly slow and failed to eject the tray on numerous occasions
The machine was reluctant to boot from the CD drive of its neighbour (but finally agreed)
The CD drive of its neighbour was also faulty (made read errors)
The CD drive of the other neighbour was also somewhat buggy
Just when I finally managed to boot the CD, the power went out for an hour.
Oh yes, and I had an OEM cd but the cd key seemed to be for a retail version - so I could not reinstall the operating system.
I then had to walk 2-3 km back to the road in the afternoon sun (thankfully, today I did put some sunscreen on, but I still had burns from yesterday) and I had also left my headscarf at home.
And now Im trying to fix my own laptop which refuses to see any wireless networks under Ubuntu.
FML
Some problems I encountered:
The machine did not have a CD-drive
Internet connection seemed broken so one piece of software I badly needed could not be downloaded
Installing windows XP to the hard disk in another machine does not work.
The CD drive of its neighbour was horribly slow and failed to eject the tray on numerous occasions
The machine was reluctant to boot from the CD drive of its neighbour (but finally agreed)
The CD drive of its neighbour was also faulty (made read errors)
The CD drive of the other neighbour was also somewhat buggy
Just when I finally managed to boot the CD, the power went out for an hour.
Oh yes, and I had an OEM cd but the cd key seemed to be for a retail version - so I could not reinstall the operating system.
I then had to walk 2-3 km back to the road in the afternoon sun (thankfully, today I did put some sunscreen on, but I still had burns from yesterday) and I had also left my headscarf at home.
And now Im trying to fix my own laptop which refuses to see any wireless networks under Ubuntu.
FML
Monday, March 8, 2010
India - Day 21 - Always wear sunscreen
I went to see one of the (few) sights of Hyderabad, the Golconda fort. I decided I was going to walk there. Managed to get lost on the way due to inaccuracies in the map - paved road went over to dirt road half the width of the original, but it was still marked the exact same way on the map.. also, Im quite amazed at what passes for a road worth marking on the map here. Add to that the simple fact that there are no streetposts and very few people can actually communicate in english (or read a map) and you see that figuring out where you are can be a pain in the backside.
Anyways, after backtracking my steps to the last good configuration, I finally found my way. The fort really was quite amazing. More amazing, however, was the fact that just outside the fort wall were the slums.. which gave it a rather remarkable contrast. Two locals showed me a way into the fort, which was literally just a few bricks being dug out under the wall so one could just barely climb under it.
The outer fort provided for some rather good photographs. The inner fort was even better, however, as it was located on a hilltop overlooking most of Hyderabad.
One thing I have yet to mention is that Hyderabad, being a city of 8 million inhabitants, has mostly very low buildings (2-3 storeys). This means that it does stretch out over a rather large area. However, that area is not nearly as wide as youd think - maybe 4-5 times the size of Tallinn. So people do live really densely in the slums - its not uncommon for a family of 5 people to live in a single room with a small kitchen corner and no bathroom.
The fort was located in the more islamic part of the town, so women in sarees were replaced mainly with women in burkas, and telugu signs were replaced by signs in arabic. Needless to say, I passed by quite a few mosks on the way as well.
After leaving the inner fort, I took a nice walk towards the main gate of the outer fort. The gate was very beautiful, although a bit in ruins. Id reminded me of one of the gates I had seen in Suzhou, being probably even more impressive. What was interesting, however, was that whereas in Suzhou, tourists had been all over the gate, which was purely a tourist sight, in here you had to enter a back alley to get up to it and I could enjoy the view in solitude. The gate, however, was still in use as it was situated on a rather active road. This meant I could also walk through it once I had walked on top of it.
Since I had walked for quite a long distance, I decided to take a riksha. I said before that in here, people do not expect you to bargain. Riksha drivers are a clear exception to the rule however.. they do not expect a foreigner to bargain, but if you use aggressive negotiation tactics (plainly walking away), they will let you know that they are willing to accept less. The minimum bid you should always start with here is "Meter" which means they have to pay according to what the meter tells. If they accept it, it would be polite to give them a bit extra.. even up to half of what the meter sais. They usually do not accept this however, but they will let their price down. You can then reply with something akin to "meter plus 20", which is usually still way better than what they are offering. All that being said - rikshas are very cheap and even their first offers would usually be considered dead cheap when compared to taxis in Estonia, not to mention anywhere else in the western world.
Ow yes, and in case anyone is wondering about the title - Yes, my face and arms are, in fact, quite red at the moment. 5 hours walking in the sun can do that to you here.
Edit: I went to dinner with an american I met at the inner fort. Took the scooter there and had a really close call in the traffic. Two cars were maneuvering on a rather narrow road, one trying to turn around and the other trying to get past it. I was approaching with quite a speed and just barely managed to slip by the two of them (they had a gap between them that was just over half a meter wide. I know because the scooter is just under half a meter in width).
Cases like this make me think I should learn to use the horn. Logic of its use here is very simple: you honk whenever you need everyone else around you to be aware of the fact that you are there. This applies to all the cases where you attempt to do something completely idiotic, like trying to drive past a bus by going into the other lane (although - lanes are a VERY loose concept here). It also applies to moderately idiotic things like driving past a 6"5' white guy with dreads on a scooter who is behaving rather erratically. Mildly idiotic things (such as driving here at all) also sometimes warrant a honk every now and then, just for good measure.
The american guy, who had stayed in Delhi for 5 months said that he also tried driving a scooter once.. and showed me rather nasty bruises and scars. He said he had been forced out of the road by a bus. He also said that his indian friends who owned scooters or motorcycles had all of them been in rather nasty traffic accidents. So yes, driving here is not really safe and I'll try to keep off larger roads for the time being, just in case.
Anyways, after backtracking my steps to the last good configuration, I finally found my way. The fort really was quite amazing. More amazing, however, was the fact that just outside the fort wall were the slums.. which gave it a rather remarkable contrast. Two locals showed me a way into the fort, which was literally just a few bricks being dug out under the wall so one could just barely climb under it.
The outer fort provided for some rather good photographs. The inner fort was even better, however, as it was located on a hilltop overlooking most of Hyderabad.
One thing I have yet to mention is that Hyderabad, being a city of 8 million inhabitants, has mostly very low buildings (2-3 storeys). This means that it does stretch out over a rather large area. However, that area is not nearly as wide as youd think - maybe 4-5 times the size of Tallinn. So people do live really densely in the slums - its not uncommon for a family of 5 people to live in a single room with a small kitchen corner and no bathroom.
The fort was located in the more islamic part of the town, so women in sarees were replaced mainly with women in burkas, and telugu signs were replaced by signs in arabic. Needless to say, I passed by quite a few mosks on the way as well.
After leaving the inner fort, I took a nice walk towards the main gate of the outer fort. The gate was very beautiful, although a bit in ruins. Id reminded me of one of the gates I had seen in Suzhou, being probably even more impressive. What was interesting, however, was that whereas in Suzhou, tourists had been all over the gate, which was purely a tourist sight, in here you had to enter a back alley to get up to it and I could enjoy the view in solitude. The gate, however, was still in use as it was situated on a rather active road. This meant I could also walk through it once I had walked on top of it.
Since I had walked for quite a long distance, I decided to take a riksha. I said before that in here, people do not expect you to bargain. Riksha drivers are a clear exception to the rule however.. they do not expect a foreigner to bargain, but if you use aggressive negotiation tactics (plainly walking away), they will let you know that they are willing to accept less. The minimum bid you should always start with here is "Meter" which means they have to pay according to what the meter tells. If they accept it, it would be polite to give them a bit extra.. even up to half of what the meter sais. They usually do not accept this however, but they will let their price down. You can then reply with something akin to "meter plus 20", which is usually still way better than what they are offering. All that being said - rikshas are very cheap and even their first offers would usually be considered dead cheap when compared to taxis in Estonia, not to mention anywhere else in the western world.
Ow yes, and in case anyone is wondering about the title - Yes, my face and arms are, in fact, quite red at the moment. 5 hours walking in the sun can do that to you here.
Edit: I went to dinner with an american I met at the inner fort. Took the scooter there and had a really close call in the traffic. Two cars were maneuvering on a rather narrow road, one trying to turn around and the other trying to get past it. I was approaching with quite a speed and just barely managed to slip by the two of them (they had a gap between them that was just over half a meter wide. I know because the scooter is just under half a meter in width).
Cases like this make me think I should learn to use the horn. Logic of its use here is very simple: you honk whenever you need everyone else around you to be aware of the fact that you are there. This applies to all the cases where you attempt to do something completely idiotic, like trying to drive past a bus by going into the other lane (although - lanes are a VERY loose concept here). It also applies to moderately idiotic things like driving past a 6"5' white guy with dreads on a scooter who is behaving rather erratically. Mildly idiotic things (such as driving here at all) also sometimes warrant a honk every now and then, just for good measure.
The american guy, who had stayed in Delhi for 5 months said that he also tried driving a scooter once.. and showed me rather nasty bruises and scars. He said he had been forced out of the road by a bus. He also said that his indian friends who owned scooters or motorcycles had all of them been in rather nasty traffic accidents. So yes, driving here is not really safe and I'll try to keep off larger roads for the time being, just in case.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
India - Day 20, Hash
Today I did two things. First - I went to a used books fair and bought two more books for myself. Secondly, I participated in a hash. Now in more detail about both of these things.
I went to the book fair accompanied by Shrewan and Venela (his sister, also one of Tom's assistants). We went by riksha to what seemed to be quite a distance away until I started spotting books being laid out on the pavement on the side of the road. There was maybe a kilometer of such improvised bookstores. What was most interesting to me is that there were very many textbooks on mathematics, computers, engineerind and physics there, all of which cost nearly nothing (20-30 rupees or 5-8 kr). Novels and popular science books were a bit more expensive, costing around 100-150 rupees (40 kr) which is still quite low, all things considered. I was also taken to two stores that sold new books, but there prices were about the same as in the rest of the world and, as nothing really interesting stuck out, I did not buy anything from these. I did buy two more used books though.
On my way back, I recieved a call from Gabe. As I was in traffic, I told him I would get back to him. Which I did. He said he planned to go to the hash and I asked where we should meet up. He named a place and I set off towards it.
Now a "Hash" is an event similar to "Friday night skate" except
a) you walk or run (a distance of 5-10 km), depending mainly on your shape.
b) it takes place somewhere outside the city
c) there is beer and food afeterwards
d) most of the people doing it are foreigners (although this is probably specific to india).
Just before the start, Gabe introduced me to this guy who he said is a programmer but who turned out to be a mathematician instead (specializing in geometry). We had a rather interesting discussion, first about what we were researching and then about religion (as the walk led us through a graveyard). We discussed evolution, Dawkins and different aspects of religions, which was quite fun.
After the walk, I met a couple of other people as well. There were people of all ages from 14 to 60, at least 8 of which were americans, a few french and a few germans as well as a few natives, maybe 40 people in total. They asked all the new people to introduce themselves, and Estonia recieved a wide applause as they had not had anyone from there before.
A few things that this event drove home for me:
Firstly - no matter how crazy things you have done or how many things you have seen or how much you have thought about a topic - there will always be people who beat you in that hands down. And chances are good you run across one in any given company, especially an international one. It is fairly easy to forget that, being the big fish in your own small pond.
Secondly - conversing in a language non-native to you in a culture space that is completely foreign is.. complicated. And if there are people who share your cultural space and language, you find it much easier to speak with them. MUCH easier. So fitting into the conversation is quite hard at first... but it gets easier with practice, as you start figuring out the cultural space and its implicit rules. That seems to come with trial and error, however, so one has to be ready and willing to make mistakes. And as one has to make an effort to do so, so it is often much easier not to bother. I have seen this in both my own behaviour and in others behaviour towards me.
Thirdly - spending a longer amount of time abroad will change ones view of the world. However, the change might not necessarily be for the better,
I'm going to finish up with one interesting factoid.
It is illegal in India for a doctor to tell the parents the sex of their child before he/she is born.
I went to the book fair accompanied by Shrewan and Venela (his sister, also one of Tom's assistants). We went by riksha to what seemed to be quite a distance away until I started spotting books being laid out on the pavement on the side of the road. There was maybe a kilometer of such improvised bookstores. What was most interesting to me is that there were very many textbooks on mathematics, computers, engineerind and physics there, all of which cost nearly nothing (20-30 rupees or 5-8 kr). Novels and popular science books were a bit more expensive, costing around 100-150 rupees (40 kr) which is still quite low, all things considered. I was also taken to two stores that sold new books, but there prices were about the same as in the rest of the world and, as nothing really interesting stuck out, I did not buy anything from these. I did buy two more used books though.
On my way back, I recieved a call from Gabe. As I was in traffic, I told him I would get back to him. Which I did. He said he planned to go to the hash and I asked where we should meet up. He named a place and I set off towards it.
Now a "Hash" is an event similar to "Friday night skate" except
a) you walk or run (a distance of 5-10 km), depending mainly on your shape.
b) it takes place somewhere outside the city
c) there is beer and food afeterwards
d) most of the people doing it are foreigners (although this is probably specific to india).
Just before the start, Gabe introduced me to this guy who he said is a programmer but who turned out to be a mathematician instead (specializing in geometry). We had a rather interesting discussion, first about what we were researching and then about religion (as the walk led us through a graveyard). We discussed evolution, Dawkins and different aspects of religions, which was quite fun.
After the walk, I met a couple of other people as well. There were people of all ages from 14 to 60, at least 8 of which were americans, a few french and a few germans as well as a few natives, maybe 40 people in total. They asked all the new people to introduce themselves, and Estonia recieved a wide applause as they had not had anyone from there before.
A few things that this event drove home for me:
Firstly - no matter how crazy things you have done or how many things you have seen or how much you have thought about a topic - there will always be people who beat you in that hands down. And chances are good you run across one in any given company, especially an international one. It is fairly easy to forget that, being the big fish in your own small pond.
Secondly - conversing in a language non-native to you in a culture space that is completely foreign is.. complicated. And if there are people who share your cultural space and language, you find it much easier to speak with them. MUCH easier. So fitting into the conversation is quite hard at first... but it gets easier with practice, as you start figuring out the cultural space and its implicit rules. That seems to come with trial and error, however, so one has to be ready and willing to make mistakes. And as one has to make an effort to do so, so it is often much easier not to bother. I have seen this in both my own behaviour and in others behaviour towards me.
Thirdly - spending a longer amount of time abroad will change ones view of the world. However, the change might not necessarily be for the better,
I'm going to finish up with one interesting factoid.
It is illegal in India for a doctor to tell the parents the sex of their child before he/she is born.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
India - Day 19
Today was a rather busy day (by my current standards). At 10.30 I went to Nandita (one of Tom's neighbours, an older woman) only to find out that the driver had not arrived yet (so I managed to hear what was cussing in Hindi judging by the tone used). At about 11 we went shopping with her and Tom's other neighbour, Shiika (the one with the huge library). I managed to get quite a few souvenirs for both myself and some of my friends as well. When in the car, we also had interesting conversations with Nandita about charities and how to keep them going. Her main idea was that one has to always train ones own apprentice, and she cited Jesuites as very famous successful example of being able to keep things running for years on end, from one leader to another.
They left me at a souvenir shop (well.. an art shop, as it also had statues way too large to go in airplane luggage) I was approached by someone asking if I do acid and whether I would like to go to a rave. I declined, in case anyone is interested.
Me and Tom were then invited to Pat for pre-dinner drinks. We went with the scooter. I asked jokingly whether I could drive and he said sure, go ahead. We arrived in one piece, although I did manage to scare Tom considerably by my driving style. We drove past Sandhya on our way and when Tom asked me to pull over and I did, he looked visibly distressed.. and nervous laughter followed, from both of us.
Gabe was also invited, although he arrived a bit late. He had actually phoned me earlier to ask whether I would like to go out with him and a friend of his he had met a week ago. Sadly, that didnt work out because the friend had had a busy day and wanted to rest.
For dinner we went to this rather weird chinese-indian-european place. Portions were big, but prices were similar, being comparable to those found in above-average places in estonia. Tom said he was paying, however. During dinner it turned out that Pat had also had a rather crazy life, having stayed with headhunter tribes in South America and having had to watch a building she was supposed to be in be blown up in a terrorist attack, while being next door and recovering from a hangover.
The drive back on the scooter was similarly distressing to Tom, especially because I took all the turns at considerable speed and the last left turn was quite a close call because of that. When he got off, he said "You really are insane" and Im quite sure he did not mean it as a compliment, although he did admit that in here, being a bit crazy is quite useful for driving. Thankfully, the streets were rather empty today, as I do have to admit I did not plan on cutting things so close (it was actually a byproduct of me not being able to account for the extra weight of another person on the bike).
Also - I am reading Penrose at the moment and I, as a computer scientist with a small amount psychology background, do not agree with his ideas of conciousness, or, rather, think they are completely ludicrous and that he understands nothing of either what computers are capable of or how human mind works.
They left me at a souvenir shop (well.. an art shop, as it also had statues way too large to go in airplane luggage) I was approached by someone asking if I do acid and whether I would like to go to a rave. I declined, in case anyone is interested.
Me and Tom were then invited to Pat for pre-dinner drinks. We went with the scooter. I asked jokingly whether I could drive and he said sure, go ahead. We arrived in one piece, although I did manage to scare Tom considerably by my driving style. We drove past Sandhya on our way and when Tom asked me to pull over and I did, he looked visibly distressed.. and nervous laughter followed, from both of us.
Gabe was also invited, although he arrived a bit late. He had actually phoned me earlier to ask whether I would like to go out with him and a friend of his he had met a week ago. Sadly, that didnt work out because the friend had had a busy day and wanted to rest.
For dinner we went to this rather weird chinese-indian-european place. Portions were big, but prices were similar, being comparable to those found in above-average places in estonia. Tom said he was paying, however. During dinner it turned out that Pat had also had a rather crazy life, having stayed with headhunter tribes in South America and having had to watch a building she was supposed to be in be blown up in a terrorist attack, while being next door and recovering from a hangover.
The drive back on the scooter was similarly distressing to Tom, especially because I took all the turns at considerable speed and the last left turn was quite a close call because of that. When he got off, he said "You really are insane" and Im quite sure he did not mean it as a compliment, although he did admit that in here, being a bit crazy is quite useful for driving. Thankfully, the streets were rather empty today, as I do have to admit I did not plan on cutting things so close (it was actually a byproduct of me not being able to account for the extra weight of another person on the bike).
Also - I am reading Penrose at the moment and I, as a computer scientist with a small amount psychology background, do not agree with his ideas of conciousness, or, rather, think they are completely ludicrous and that he understands nothing of either what computers are capable of or how human mind works.
Friday, March 5, 2010
India - Day 18
I hate goodbyes. Dave and Alex left today for their round trip of India (2 months). Thankfully, Brits are (supposedly) just as bad at saying important stuff as Estonians are. Just before leaving, Alex told me of his uncle, who has proposed to his wife by just leaving a ring and a note "will you marry me" for her to find.. and had gotten no reply other than the fact that the woman was wearing the ring the next day. Actually, kind of cute when you think about it.
One of the computers at school is completely virus-ridden and will probably need a clean reinstall. The trouble with windows is that even if you have a legal CD key, it can be a pain in the ass to find the appropriate CD for it. Not to mention the trouble of installing it. But the people at the school are really nice. Especially the head mistress (principal) of the school Lavanya, who I have been told is just a little older than I am. When the power went down, I sat down to read a book, but then I was asked to do it in their classroom.. which is kind of weird, but I have sort of gotten used to the odd customs here. I took a look at one of the textbooks they were using and it was in English. That was quite unexpected for me, as the children seemed quite young (10?) and to my understanding, the English skills of even the teachers are quite poor (except Lavanya, whose english is by no means perfect but quite good for a non-native speaker).
I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of my life lately. I do not find my research meaningful, sadly. Teaching at the university fares somewhat better on that scale so I will probably try to continue with that as well. However - doing both of these simultaneously is what drove me to the edge in the first place. Then again, there seem to be no good obvious alternatives.
My hopes of recovering whilst being here have not really come true. If anything, some things have gotten worse. Maybe because I am forced to deal with some things I was running away from before. However, I am not really dealing with them either, or rather am trying but not succeeding.
One of the computers at school is completely virus-ridden and will probably need a clean reinstall. The trouble with windows is that even if you have a legal CD key, it can be a pain in the ass to find the appropriate CD for it. Not to mention the trouble of installing it. But the people at the school are really nice. Especially the head mistress (principal) of the school Lavanya, who I have been told is just a little older than I am. When the power went down, I sat down to read a book, but then I was asked to do it in their classroom.. which is kind of weird, but I have sort of gotten used to the odd customs here. I took a look at one of the textbooks they were using and it was in English. That was quite unexpected for me, as the children seemed quite young (10?) and to my understanding, the English skills of even the teachers are quite poor (except Lavanya, whose english is by no means perfect but quite good for a non-native speaker).
I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of my life lately. I do not find my research meaningful, sadly. Teaching at the university fares somewhat better on that scale so I will probably try to continue with that as well. However - doing both of these simultaneously is what drove me to the edge in the first place. Then again, there seem to be no good obvious alternatives.
My hopes of recovering whilst being here have not really come true. If anything, some things have gotten worse. Maybe because I am forced to deal with some things I was running away from before. However, I am not really dealing with them either, or rather am trying but not succeeding.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
India - Hard Rock Cafe, vol 2
This time it was not as exiting as the first time. We met the same germans and immediately sat at their table. As the music was quite loud, only one-on-one conversations were really possible and as I was not really in the talking mood, I was phased out in my own thoughts most of the time. This time, most of the songs were not familiar to me (although there were still a few I did know, most notably Linkin Park "In the End" and Metallica "Unforgiven")
End got a bit interesting, however. We even danced to about two songs. Then cops showed up, as the bar should have closed at 12.30 but was still open at 12.45 (as we all demanded one extra song from the DJ). We quicly put together our money to pay the bill, but then the germans said that they would be paying for us.
We left and tried to get a taxi for Gabriel, which was an undertaking in its own right as most drivers wanted to rip him off but Dave would not let them so they just drove away. Finally, he got a cab that asked a fair price and got on it. Then we started walking back home. At some point, a car passed us and one guy yelled something at us from the window. To which Dave replied something in telugu ("shut up", he translated to us later). The car pulled the brakes and stopped 10 m from us... and then drove away. Probable reason - Me, Dave and Alex are all of rather large build even by european standards:) To be honest, I would have been very pissed at Dave if they really had come out and started asking for trouble, as I generally do not believe that such passing insults (as they assumably yelled from the car) should even be acknowledged, much less replied to. However, both Dave and Alex seemed quite proud of what had happened. Pride of youth, maybe...
End got a bit interesting, however. We even danced to about two songs. Then cops showed up, as the bar should have closed at 12.30 but was still open at 12.45 (as we all demanded one extra song from the DJ). We quicly put together our money to pay the bill, but then the germans said that they would be paying for us.
We left and tried to get a taxi for Gabriel, which was an undertaking in its own right as most drivers wanted to rip him off but Dave would not let them so they just drove away. Finally, he got a cab that asked a fair price and got on it. Then we started walking back home. At some point, a car passed us and one guy yelled something at us from the window. To which Dave replied something in telugu ("shut up", he translated to us later). The car pulled the brakes and stopped 10 m from us... and then drove away. Probable reason - Me, Dave and Alex are all of rather large build even by european standards:) To be honest, I would have been very pissed at Dave if they really had come out and started asking for trouble, as I generally do not believe that such passing insults (as they assumably yelled from the car) should even be acknowledged, much less replied to. However, both Dave and Alex seemed quite proud of what had happened. Pride of youth, maybe...
Friday, February 26, 2010
India - Day 11
Went to the school again, this time to set up a wireless router. However, there seemed to be no internet connection.. and when I asked about it, the head mistress told me that they had had it switched off as they could use the broadband wireless connection.. so I first had to explain I cannot really share a connection that does not exist and then to figure out how to share internet connectivity gained from a USB dongle. Fortunately, It wasn't hard.
I then tried riding the scooter again. Did a bit better than last time, but I still did not dare to go to the streets with it. So I went for a walk instead, firstly to go get something to eat and then to see the national park nearby. The park was closed, though, so I just sat down in its vicinity and thought about life and its meaning for about an hour.
Im sad to report that the more I think about things, the more meaningless everything becomes. The world is just slowly floating away from me and I really have nothing in it that I would want to hold on to desperately. The more I think about it, the less I believe in the possibility of making the world a better place. The world has its own way of coping even with the biggest of catastrophes. To us, the poverty here might seem appalling, but to people actually living in it, it is just life as usual - they treat all this as normal, and, as everyone else, just try to find ways of moving upwards, if they can, whilst otherwise accepting what they have got.
All this comes from a person who has helped fix computers and install internet for two different charities by now, both of which are very grateful to me. Gratitude I do not deserve. I still try to help out, however and whenever I can, but the more I think about it, the less I feel it actually does any good.
All this is not depressing to me.. just worrisome, for I fear where it may very well lead. But emotionally, I do not feel neither anxious nor sad. For the moment, I still have over two weeks to sort things out in my head.. No point in rushing things. After all, that drifting away is one of the reasons I chose to come here.
In the evening, I sat on the balkony with Dave and Alex and we talked about life, universe and everything.. later, Alex left and we continued with just Dave. It was quite interesting, as we managed to discuss things in the wide spectrum ranging from morality in business to ex-girlfriends.
I then tried riding the scooter again. Did a bit better than last time, but I still did not dare to go to the streets with it. So I went for a walk instead, firstly to go get something to eat and then to see the national park nearby. The park was closed, though, so I just sat down in its vicinity and thought about life and its meaning for about an hour.
Im sad to report that the more I think about things, the more meaningless everything becomes. The world is just slowly floating away from me and I really have nothing in it that I would want to hold on to desperately. The more I think about it, the less I believe in the possibility of making the world a better place. The world has its own way of coping even with the biggest of catastrophes. To us, the poverty here might seem appalling, but to people actually living in it, it is just life as usual - they treat all this as normal, and, as everyone else, just try to find ways of moving upwards, if they can, whilst otherwise accepting what they have got.
All this comes from a person who has helped fix computers and install internet for two different charities by now, both of which are very grateful to me. Gratitude I do not deserve. I still try to help out, however and whenever I can, but the more I think about it, the less I feel it actually does any good.
All this is not depressing to me.. just worrisome, for I fear where it may very well lead. But emotionally, I do not feel neither anxious nor sad. For the moment, I still have over two weeks to sort things out in my head.. No point in rushing things. After all, that drifting away is one of the reasons I chose to come here.
In the evening, I sat on the balkony with Dave and Alex and we talked about life, universe and everything.. later, Alex left and we continued with just Dave. It was quite interesting, as we managed to discuss things in the wide spectrum ranging from morality in business to ex-girlfriends.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
India - Day 8
Today I went to visit the school for the second time and made a census of all the computers that they have. All of them seemed to be working, but there were these truly strange problems with power that initially made me suspect that power cables were faulty but I later shifted the blame to either the mains or extension cords.
We went out to eat into a really fancy place. Tom generally hates fancy places, but for some reason, he likes that one to the point of actually inviting us there. The food really was good, though.
Otherwise, a slow day yet again. On the ride to the school, I talked to Dave (who wants to become a lawyer) about burning out. I suggested he keep at least one hobby that would force one to physically relax, at least to some extent. He said he plans to keep up playing at least one instrument, but in general, sex seems to be the best solution. Guess what that made me think of. However, it seems I no longer obsessively think of M. as I used to. Thoughts go more along the lines of just giving up, on everything. Not much healthier, but a bit easier to evade, thankfully. For the time being, I try to take as much of a bystander view to my thoughts as I possibly can and just let things be as they are. Still, I worry about this month just leading me into a worse condition than I started from. However, only time will tell on that one.
With some luck, Tom will show me how to drive the scooter tomorrow. Should be fun :)
We went out to eat into a really fancy place. Tom generally hates fancy places, but for some reason, he likes that one to the point of actually inviting us there. The food really was good, though.
Otherwise, a slow day yet again. On the ride to the school, I talked to Dave (who wants to become a lawyer) about burning out. I suggested he keep at least one hobby that would force one to physically relax, at least to some extent. He said he plans to keep up playing at least one instrument, but in general, sex seems to be the best solution. Guess what that made me think of. However, it seems I no longer obsessively think of M. as I used to. Thoughts go more along the lines of just giving up, on everything. Not much healthier, but a bit easier to evade, thankfully. For the time being, I try to take as much of a bystander view to my thoughts as I possibly can and just let things be as they are. Still, I worry about this month just leading me into a worse condition than I started from. However, only time will tell on that one.
With some luck, Tom will show me how to drive the scooter tomorrow. Should be fun :)
Monday, February 22, 2010
India - Day 7
Power just went out in the appartment, in the middle of the night, so the three of us are sitting in darkness and waiting for the power to return. Internet is also dodgy at best, so the computer I have tried to fix for 3 days now is not really that far along (as I constantly need to check something from the net but cannot get access to it). In case anyone is wondering, this is also the main reason why I have yet to post any pictures.
Today I went to the place where Dave and Alex work, helped set up one computer, then fetched lunch and, after eating, was taken shopping for telephone cable. This time I got a ride on a motorcycle, which was pretty fun. On the ride, I took two short videos about the traffic. I am hoping to put them up into youtube at some point, but I sincerely have no clue as to when that could be.
Otherwise, today was quite a slow day. I finished one book and started on another, practiced playing the bass and just sat around doing pretty much nothing. Slow day, and I see plenty of those in my future. Then again, it is pretty nice to average 70 pages of reading a day and to have my bass skills noticeably improve each day. I have fears about coming back but I worry about them increasingly less. Nothing really seems to matter any more.
Today I went to the place where Dave and Alex work, helped set up one computer, then fetched lunch and, after eating, was taken shopping for telephone cable. This time I got a ride on a motorcycle, which was pretty fun. On the ride, I took two short videos about the traffic. I am hoping to put them up into youtube at some point, but I sincerely have no clue as to when that could be.
Otherwise, today was quite a slow day. I finished one book and started on another, practiced playing the bass and just sat around doing pretty much nothing. Slow day, and I see plenty of those in my future. Then again, it is pretty nice to average 70 pages of reading a day and to have my bass skills noticeably improve each day. I have fears about coming back but I worry about them increasingly less. Nothing really seems to matter any more.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
India - Day 6
Initially, I thought today would be a very slow day. I had plans to go out for lunch with Dave and Alex, but otherwise, I decided to stay in and just read and practice bass. However, in the evening, the plans changed somewhat, as I was first invited to a party at a neighbours flat (who was a friend of Tom and needed help with computers) and then later to a party at some south african called Ragu (where we went together with Dave, Alex and two indian guys, one of whom drove). In there, the others watched cricket and we then played one round of Wii Bowling.
As the others were just drinking and doing the other usual male bonding stuff, I decided I would lose comparatively little by leaving early and just walking home. However, 100 m out of the door and I realized that these sandals were hurting my knees (as they were forcing me to walk in a somewhat unhealthy way). So I took them off and walked home barefoot.
So here comes yet another paragraph about the streets here, but this time from a new angle. Despite the fact that there is dust and rubble and trash everywhere around, the streets themselves are actually surprisingly clean and smooth. There were relatively few pebbles or grains of sand, so my soles could quite easily bare the 5 km I needed to walk. The surface was mainly tarmac (asfalt), but laid in quite a smooth way, something you could fairly easily rollerblade on, if you wanted to (not that the traffic here would allow for it, mind you). In general, it was an interesting experience, as I did not really think while walking here.. just.. flow, I guess.
To be honest, during the day today things got pretty bad in my head. Im just thankful that Ma. sent me an e-mail reminding me that people back home are still there. The evening was a bit better though. As long as I am not alone with my thoughts, everything is quite good here. However, I have spent nearly a week here and no noticeable progress has been made in my search for meaning. However, the search for being is going well, as it seems :)
The next two days I will probably spend working, fixing computers and laptops for Tom, the school and one other charity. It will probably do me some good :)
As the others were just drinking and doing the other usual male bonding stuff, I decided I would lose comparatively little by leaving early and just walking home. However, 100 m out of the door and I realized that these sandals were hurting my knees (as they were forcing me to walk in a somewhat unhealthy way). So I took them off and walked home barefoot.
So here comes yet another paragraph about the streets here, but this time from a new angle. Despite the fact that there is dust and rubble and trash everywhere around, the streets themselves are actually surprisingly clean and smooth. There were relatively few pebbles or grains of sand, so my soles could quite easily bare the 5 km I needed to walk. The surface was mainly tarmac (asfalt), but laid in quite a smooth way, something you could fairly easily rollerblade on, if you wanted to (not that the traffic here would allow for it, mind you). In general, it was an interesting experience, as I did not really think while walking here.. just.. flow, I guess.
To be honest, during the day today things got pretty bad in my head. Im just thankful that Ma. sent me an e-mail reminding me that people back home are still there. The evening was a bit better though. As long as I am not alone with my thoughts, everything is quite good here. However, I have spent nearly a week here and no noticeable progress has been made in my search for meaning. However, the search for being is going well, as it seems :)
The next two days I will probably spend working, fixing computers and laptops for Tom, the school and one other charity. It will probably do me some good :)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
India - Hard Rock Cafe Hyderabad
As I mentioned before, I hadn't seen any clubs around and assumed that only a few actually existed. This made it quite weird when Dave said that he was going to the Hard Rock Cafe with his friends. This I did not want to miss so I asked if I could join them. As it turned out, the cafe was only a kilometer away (i.e. VERY close). Others had already all had three beers and continued drinking there. I just drank two cokes (which was a mistake, in the hindsight as I am already having trouble sleeping due to jetlag).
Anyways, tonight was fun. Despite not drinking, I more or less kept up with Dave and Alex, sitting in a table with a bunch of germans and their indian boss, singing along to the Village People, Rammstein, Linkin Park and a few others. As the afforementioned indian spoke fluent english, I asked him about the clothing discrepancy mentioned in the earlier post. He said that breaking of tradition is much better tolerated in men, but that it is changing in the upper classes of the younger generation. He also told us of a more western-minded bar where we might actually meet some women who are not out to get married (as the HRC had male-to-female ratio of about 5-to-1). Whether I will go there will, of course depend on many factors but.. hell, it would be fun to see, at the very least.
Thoughts still invariably went to where they probably should not have, as there are relatively few people who have both consistently and successfully dragged me out to the town. However, today it was more of me just being thankful that they had indeed done it for otherwise I would currently be a very depressed nervous wreck. At the moment, I actually feel kind of good. It was fun :)
Anyways, tonight was fun. Despite not drinking, I more or less kept up with Dave and Alex, sitting in a table with a bunch of germans and their indian boss, singing along to the Village People, Rammstein, Linkin Park and a few others. As the afforementioned indian spoke fluent english, I asked him about the clothing discrepancy mentioned in the earlier post. He said that breaking of tradition is much better tolerated in men, but that it is changing in the upper classes of the younger generation. He also told us of a more western-minded bar where we might actually meet some women who are not out to get married (as the HRC had male-to-female ratio of about 5-to-1). Whether I will go there will, of course depend on many factors but.. hell, it would be fun to see, at the very least.
Thoughts still invariably went to where they probably should not have, as there are relatively few people who have both consistently and successfully dragged me out to the town. However, today it was more of me just being thankful that they had indeed done it for otherwise I would currently be a very depressed nervous wreck. At the moment, I actually feel kind of good. It was fun :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
India - day 2
Woke up at around 9, having slept nearly 11 hrs and feeling quite rested. Had breakfast, which consisted of toast with jam and a cup of tea (with milk, as is the english tradition). Then went to the town to buy books and to look around. There were two problems with the bookstore. Firstly, it was closed. Secondly, I had previously lent all my money to Tom so he could have one of her assistants buy books for the school. However, I found a really nice small second-hand book store nearby and since I did have a few small bills, I did pick up a few books nonetheless. I then had a nice walk around town, having my first experiences of crossing the roads here.
Came back and then went out again, this time with Tom and to the nearest ATM so he could withdraw money. Had an interesting discussion on the way. For instance, it turns out that Tom and I share yet another common trait - being unable to count money - with certain limitations in both cases, of course. He also told me that he had worked 10 years fixing jukeboxes when he applied to IBM - where the person who hired him went out on a limb but did not have to regret his decision.
When we got back, Tom had to get back to work but I decided to go out walking again, this time to find a music store. Of course, I managed to misinterpret the directions given me and went to the wrong place, but since I ended up in the vicinity of the book store and now had both money and time, so decided to look around in the store for a bit longer than I did previously. I then walked back, this time through a different route, one involving many back roads, a few dead ends and crossing a 6 lane main street.
One thing I have to mention - during the whole of today, I have seen only 2 westerners on the street besides the people I am living with. Everyone on the street has black hair and a very strong tan (i.e. distinctly middle eastern, so the vast majority are probably indian and the few foreigners come from nearby countries). Most everyone seems to speak Telugu as the first language and the general level of english comprehension seems poor. Another thing worth mentioning is that I feel safe here, even in the back alleyways where I would not dare go in Estonia. The fact that the tallest man I have met here comes to my shoulder length might partially explain this, but people really do seem friendly here. Of course, to them, I am quite a sight for them - white, tall and with light brown dreads.. one passer-by actually wanted to take a picture with me :P
I will start working this evening - first order of buisness is to reinstall windows on two of the laptops here at Toms apartment.
Tom keeps on repeating India will change me. I think he is right, but in what way, remains to be determined. Some thoughts still haunt me... but it is much easier to get my mind off of them in here than it would be back in Tartu.
Came back and then went out again, this time with Tom and to the nearest ATM so he could withdraw money. Had an interesting discussion on the way. For instance, it turns out that Tom and I share yet another common trait - being unable to count money - with certain limitations in both cases, of course. He also told me that he had worked 10 years fixing jukeboxes when he applied to IBM - where the person who hired him went out on a limb but did not have to regret his decision.
When we got back, Tom had to get back to work but I decided to go out walking again, this time to find a music store. Of course, I managed to misinterpret the directions given me and went to the wrong place, but since I ended up in the vicinity of the book store and now had both money and time, so decided to look around in the store for a bit longer than I did previously. I then walked back, this time through a different route, one involving many back roads, a few dead ends and crossing a 6 lane main street.
One thing I have to mention - during the whole of today, I have seen only 2 westerners on the street besides the people I am living with. Everyone on the street has black hair and a very strong tan (i.e. distinctly middle eastern, so the vast majority are probably indian and the few foreigners come from nearby countries). Most everyone seems to speak Telugu as the first language and the general level of english comprehension seems poor. Another thing worth mentioning is that I feel safe here, even in the back alleyways where I would not dare go in Estonia. The fact that the tallest man I have met here comes to my shoulder length might partially explain this, but people really do seem friendly here. Of course, to them, I am quite a sight for them - white, tall and with light brown dreads.. one passer-by actually wanted to take a picture with me :P
I will start working this evening - first order of buisness is to reinstall windows on two of the laptops here at Toms apartment.
Tom keeps on repeating India will change me. I think he is right, but in what way, remains to be determined. Some thoughts still haunt me... but it is much easier to get my mind off of them in here than it would be back in Tartu.
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