To India

So, a few days ago I flew to the other side of the world. I am now living in Hyderabad, India, where I will spend the next 6 weeks attending classes. 

I've only been here for two full days, and it's been quite an adventure. So, let's start with an overview.

A lot of people, when they think of India, have visions of spiritual gurus and tropical paradises. They think of yoga and Buddhism, of incense and henna. 

That's not really the case, at least at first. 

India is a beautiful place, but it is also polarized in a lot of ways. We have seen pictures back home of improvised shacks next to modern complexes, gated to keep out the poverty--but the reality, at least where I am, is that the gates usually keep the modern in, and that the majority of places are lower on the economic scale. There's a lot of litter, a lot of "low tech." It's a very interesting duality--the university I'm staying at appears rather run down, and it's surprising when you look at the building and see "Center for Nanotechnology." And there are many very intelligent people around.

In many ways, India is not concerned with appearances. 

But, that's fine with me.

Here's some photos I've taken:

 

The people are polite, but it's interesting being one of the only blue-eyed blonde-haired women around. A lot of staring. 

And the food is very good--so far, I haven't even had any stomach issues. Bonus points for that!

The dorms where I am staying would probably drive a lot of people I know up a wall. There's air conditioning in the rooms, but we don't use it, since the moment you step outside it's hot and humid. Might as well just get used to it, right? Besides, there are frequent and unpredictable power outages, so it doesn't make much difference (last night, I woke up to use the bathroom at 1am, and the power went out just as I was about to flush. I managed to feel my way back to my room in the blackness). 

There is a lot of rain, and some areas collect puddles inside the building. 

The bathrooms are interesting--so far, the hot water hasn't really been working, and we ran out of toilet paper this morning. Now, it's not unusual to not have toilet paper--there are these little spray hoses near the toilets that Indians use. I have yet to quite figure out the logistics of that, so I've been using wet wipes. 

Here's a quick tour of the area around my room:

The internet comes and goes, which is fine, since I don't really want to spend all my time on it anyway. But there is a lot of free time, so I'm hoping to do some reading.

My schedule so far is as such:

8-9am: breakfast

9:45-10:45 (M-Th): Basic Hindi

11-1 (M and W): Contemporary India

12:30-2: lunch

2-4 (W): Contemp. India (extra session)

4-5: tea time

7-8: dinner

So, in short, most days of the week I'm free by 1, and there's no class on Friday. Since we get out at 11 on Thursday, that means there's a lot of opportunities for travel. Also, we have quite a lot of free time.

So, that's pretty much where we're at. If anything interesting happens, I'll check back in. We have a city tour on Saturday, so maybe Sunday I'll write some more.