I've grown to really love my neighborhood. It is a very mixed neighborhood. I live in a concrete building, and there are others on my street. But across from me is a thatch roof shack, and on the main road is a mini slum. Some houses have motorbikes, and a few have cars. I have running water (no hot water) but there is also a few communcal pumps on my street where people get water and bath a little and brush teeth. There are chickens, roosters, dogs, cows, cats (gross) and lots of crows.
The streets are lined with little stalls that all sell the same things; veggies, milk, spices, biscuits, pop, rice, lentils, beans, chips, eggs, etc. There are at least 3 shrines that I've noticed. There is also a school, 2 motorbike repair shops, some tailors, some barber shops, tea stalls, a few jewlery/pawn shops and one place that i think sells ice cream, although i haven't tried it. There is a man who does ironing right outside my house. He has a heavy metal iron that he fills with burning coals to provide the heat. I'll try to take pics soon, I promise!
In the early morning, when I'm walking on my roof, I hear the roosters start up. Then the vendors kick in, yelling about their offerings. As I head out for my run, women are gathering water from the pump. As I return, they are running around buying veggies and milk to cook for the day. When I leave for work, everyone is going to school. Kids, in Indian school uniforms, walk to school, ride their bikes, or ride on the back/front/side of their father's motorbikes. This is usually a pretty hectic scene. As I walk to the bus stop, kids are always yelling at me, "auntie, auntie!!" When I look, they wave and do this salute that I've learned is something they teach in school. "Good moring!" they say, as they stand at attention. I always wave or sometimes salute back, which makes them laugh.
This morning, the kids looked more excited than normal, and one of the ladies came running into the street, motioning for me to come over. So I stopped by their house where 2 ladies and a few children were waiting and smiling. One of the women came out with some flowers to put in my hair. Everyone was so happy! None of the ladies speak English, and the kids are little (under 6 I'd say) but can speak a little bit of English. They asked if I wanted drumsticks, which is a vegetable and I said I dont know how to cook that! So I then showed them what I cooked for lunch (today I cooked a bean dish), they seemed to approve but kept asking where is the rice? Then they asked where I work (Nungambakkam) and what is my salary? I said nothing. They looked puzzled. So I said zero, they said 2 zeros? 3 zeros? I said, no, zero, nothing. they said, ten? I laughed and said zero again, and the little kid repeated to the ladies, "ZERO!" I dont think there's any way I can explain this to them!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Map my run
As I've mentioned before, I sometimes try to run around my neighborhood so I can map it out; always trying to match the paper map of Chennai with the reality of my neighborhood. One of my runs takes me past a movie theater that is actually on the paper map, and today I ran past it and got to another main street, which I think is also on the paper map. I thought I knew where I was, but turned around because I did not have time for getting lost today.
When I got to work, I decided to look on GoogleMaps and try to figure it out. To my surprise, there is actually a good map of my neighboorhood and I was able to find some landmarks. Inspired by Jacob (and my lack of actual work to do), I made my map. There is not much on it, but I will try to add more as I find it. Is is probably more useful for me, but maybe you'd want to see exactly where I live? If I get ambitious, I'll try to add pictures too. We'll see.
When I got to work, I decided to look on GoogleMaps and try to figure it out. To my surprise, there is actually a good map of my neighboorhood and I was able to find some landmarks. Inspired by Jacob (and my lack of actual work to do), I made my map. There is not much on it, but I will try to add more as I find it. Is is probably more useful for me, but maybe you'd want to see exactly where I live? If I get ambitious, I'll try to add pictures too. We'll see.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
You say Mahabalipuram, I say Mamallapuram
Frankly, I can't say either of them! Jacob says people sometimes just say Mahabs. Either way, this is where we went on Sunday. All the people I knew who were planning on running Chennai Marathon decided against it. You have to get a check up by a doctor in order to participate and after standing around for hours in the heat with no food or water, they decided just to scrap it. So we (Me, Jacob, Sathish, Shyam and Hamsa) took a little road trip to Mahabs.
Mahabs is the site of a cluster of rock carvings and temples from the 6th and 7th century. It is a little over an hour South of Chennai, down that same dangerous road (ECR) we drove last weekend to get to Auroville. I'm not the biggest fan of ruins, and even though we left early in the morning (I got up at 545am!!!), it was still pretty damn hot while walking around. But it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I'm glad I saw it!. After a little bit of walking around and eating pickled gooseberries and ice cream (not together), we decided it was best to go to have some beers in an A/C bar. Beers before noon, like it.
After attempting to go see a movie, we decided just to get some food and go for a picnic. We were on the hunt for fish fry, but had to settle for parothas, sambar rice, and curd rice. But we were able to get more beers! The boys knew a nice picnic spot that was cool and shady. As we were eating, we watched (and laughed) as some fellow picnic-ers tried to get their car out from being stuck in the sand. Karma's a bitch though, 'cause when we went to leave we were also stuck in the sand! Other people were nice enough to help us, but we weren't successful until the police came to dig us out. The girlfriend of one of the guys who helped us out asked Hamsa what company we were with. She thought that I was a client and they were entertaining me for the day. Why else would Indians hang out with a white woman?
We stopped for tea to recharge ourselves and let the car have break before driving back to Chennai. Some Indian fellows wanted to take a picture with me. They told my friends to take good care of me and to make sure I had a good time in India. Again, my Indian friends were apparently in charge of entertaining me! They also said I need to get some saris. So Hamsa and I made a shopping date for next week. I can't wait!
Here are more pics
Mahabs is the site of a cluster of rock carvings and temples from the 6th and 7th century. It is a little over an hour South of Chennai, down that same dangerous road (ECR) we drove last weekend to get to Auroville. I'm not the biggest fan of ruins, and even though we left early in the morning (I got up at 545am!!!), it was still pretty damn hot while walking around. But it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I'm glad I saw it!. After a little bit of walking around and eating pickled gooseberries and ice cream (not together), we decided it was best to go to have some beers in an A/C bar. Beers before noon, like it.
After attempting to go see a movie, we decided just to get some food and go for a picnic. We were on the hunt for fish fry, but had to settle for parothas, sambar rice, and curd rice. But we were able to get more beers! The boys knew a nice picnic spot that was cool and shady. As we were eating, we watched (and laughed) as some fellow picnic-ers tried to get their car out from being stuck in the sand. Karma's a bitch though, 'cause when we went to leave we were also stuck in the sand! Other people were nice enough to help us, but we weren't successful until the police came to dig us out. The girlfriend of one of the guys who helped us out asked Hamsa what company we were with. She thought that I was a client and they were entertaining me for the day. Why else would Indians hang out with a white woman?
We stopped for tea to recharge ourselves and let the car have break before driving back to Chennai. Some Indian fellows wanted to take a picture with me. They told my friends to take good care of me and to make sure I had a good time in India. Again, my Indian friends were apparently in charge of entertaining me! They also said I need to get some saris. So Hamsa and I made a shopping date for next week. I can't wait!
Here are more pics
Friday, February 19, 2010
Under Pressure
I've been attempting South Indian cooking, which is very different from North Indian cooking, and no wheres near American cooking. I would venture to say that I'm a fairly good cook at home; I know some good recipes and can improvise, etc. Those skills are useless here. At home, one has a certain amount of culinary autonomy. In Chennai, either it's made the right way, or the wrong way. Certain spices dont mix with certain vegetables, certain vegetables dont mix with other vegetables, and dont even ATTEMPT to put potatoes in your Sambar!
At work everyone eats lunch together and shares everything. Its like a potluck everyday, it's fun. But that means that whatever you bring to work is going to be scrutinized. The first time I cooked food from scratch for work I was pretty excited and confident about it, until Mani opened the lid and laughed. He didn't even need to taste it, he could tell it was wrong just by looking. Despite hearing the same simple recipe (Moong Dal) from almost everyone at the office, I managed to F it up! No worries, they said, Geetha (our office tea lady) would fix it. And once she did, everyone enjoyed my creation.
The office felt my cooking would benefit from a pressure cooker, yes, I should definitely get one if I'm going to continue to cook here. But then they went on to tell me nightmare stories about how pressure cookers can explode and people can get hurt or burned. Oh, but not to worry, you'll be fine, you just have to put in the exact correct amount of water and cook it the correct amount of time and then wait a while before opening it. How do you know the correct amount? Well, that depends on what you're cooking.
So the next day, Ramki, my boss, gave me one of his many pressure cookers (why does he have so many pressure cookers???). I wanted to cook chick peas, which are mainly sold dried here. Pressure cooker magically allows you to skip the overnight soaking and still get soft beans, rice, or lentils in a short amount of time. Despite my fears, and all the warning stickers on the box, I followed the instructions and put one vessel peas to 2.5 vessels water into the pressure cooker. I sealed the lid and put it on the flame. I went about the rest of my business, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the cooker.
After a few minutes the pressure cooker started making some pretty scary hissing noises. As the noises got louder, all those stories of explosions filled my thoughts and I immediately left the kitchen and called Jacob (think Elf calling his dad 'cause the radiator was making hissing noises). He said it was normal, but I was still scared. I stood by the door and awaited the whistle. When the pressure builds up inside to a certain point, the steam lifts the weight on top of the cooker and the whole thing whistles. I thought it was going to be like a tea kettle whiste, but this was more like a cartoon train whistle, complete with a big release of steam. Every time the pot whistled, I jumped; it scared the shit out of me and I couldn't wait for this anxiety to end!
After the sixth whistle, I ran into the kitchen, turned off the stove and ran back out. But just 'cause the stove is off, does not mean the danger is over, most pressure cooker accidents happen upon opening. I think I must have waited an hour before opening it, not because I was scared, but more because I actually forgot I was still cooking! The peas came out nice, and at work I was happy to see some people even took second helpings.
Im getting used to the pressure cooker, and it's definitely a time saver, allowing me to cook complete meals after my morning run and before I go to work, but the whistle still scares me! This morning when I was cooking, I heard the familiar whistle sound, but it didn't come from my cooker. Suddenly I realized that all my neighbors around me were also using their pressure cookers to cook their meals for the day. What a wonderful place to live, I thought.
At work everyone eats lunch together and shares everything. Its like a potluck everyday, it's fun. But that means that whatever you bring to work is going to be scrutinized. The first time I cooked food from scratch for work I was pretty excited and confident about it, until Mani opened the lid and laughed. He didn't even need to taste it, he could tell it was wrong just by looking. Despite hearing the same simple recipe (Moong Dal) from almost everyone at the office, I managed to F it up! No worries, they said, Geetha (our office tea lady) would fix it. And once she did, everyone enjoyed my creation.
The office felt my cooking would benefit from a pressure cooker, yes, I should definitely get one if I'm going to continue to cook here. But then they went on to tell me nightmare stories about how pressure cookers can explode and people can get hurt or burned. Oh, but not to worry, you'll be fine, you just have to put in the exact correct amount of water and cook it the correct amount of time and then wait a while before opening it. How do you know the correct amount? Well, that depends on what you're cooking.
So the next day, Ramki, my boss, gave me one of his many pressure cookers (why does he have so many pressure cookers???). I wanted to cook chick peas, which are mainly sold dried here. Pressure cooker magically allows you to skip the overnight soaking and still get soft beans, rice, or lentils in a short amount of time. Despite my fears, and all the warning stickers on the box, I followed the instructions and put one vessel peas to 2.5 vessels water into the pressure cooker. I sealed the lid and put it on the flame. I went about the rest of my business, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the cooker.
After a few minutes the pressure cooker started making some pretty scary hissing noises. As the noises got louder, all those stories of explosions filled my thoughts and I immediately left the kitchen and called Jacob (think Elf calling his dad 'cause the radiator was making hissing noises). He said it was normal, but I was still scared. I stood by the door and awaited the whistle. When the pressure builds up inside to a certain point, the steam lifts the weight on top of the cooker and the whole thing whistles. I thought it was going to be like a tea kettle whiste, but this was more like a cartoon train whistle, complete with a big release of steam. Every time the pot whistled, I jumped; it scared the shit out of me and I couldn't wait for this anxiety to end!
After the sixth whistle, I ran into the kitchen, turned off the stove and ran back out. But just 'cause the stove is off, does not mean the danger is over, most pressure cooker accidents happen upon opening. I think I must have waited an hour before opening it, not because I was scared, but more because I actually forgot I was still cooking! The peas came out nice, and at work I was happy to see some people even took second helpings.
Im getting used to the pressure cooker, and it's definitely a time saver, allowing me to cook complete meals after my morning run and before I go to work, but the whistle still scares me! This morning when I was cooking, I heard the familiar whistle sound, but it didn't come from my cooker. Suddenly I realized that all my neighbors around me were also using their pressure cookers to cook their meals for the day. What a wonderful place to live, I thought.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Auroville Marathon
This weekend I went with my friends Jacob and Leah to watch them run the Auroville Marathon. Auroville is a funny place just outside of Pondicherry, which is about a 3.5 hr bus ride South of Chennai. Auroville is hard to explain, it's like it's own country/commune, and while there you can't really tell you're in India. I hadn't seen that many white people (or toilet paper) since the airport! They have a lot of self sustaining things like wind mills and water treatment, etc, but I think there may be some sort of religious thing behind it as well. I can't decide whether I think it's too new age hippy or if it's really cool. Check it out for yourself. Either way, it was an interesting place to have a marathon.
The marathon was small, maybe 50 or so runners (about 100 for the half marathon), and the course was 21.1km (half marathon) so the full marathon runners had to do 2 loops. Marathon started at 5am, but we had to meet the bus at 415 on the road. There we were, in the pitch black, alone on the road, dressed like runners (except for me), numbers and all, and the bus pulls over and asks, "are you going to the marathon?" They did this with all the runners on the way, which gave us a laugh and brightened our moods, which had been pretty dark and crabby as we had woken up at 330am.
I love watching marathons. I love love love it. This one was so fun and interesting. Because it was so small I was able to see my friends (and all the rest of the runners) at least 4 times throughout the race. Alot of the people who signed up for the full stopped at the half (including Jacob). Running a marathon is hard enough, but when it gets to be in the 80s for the last 10km, you're running on red sand and the water stations are every 3km, it's just plain crazy. I spent a chunk of that time at the 36km aid station, giving people water and electrolytes and spraying lots of knees and ankles with an awesome NSAID spray that they make in India. There were no more oranges or bananas, just water and electrolytes, with only one more aid station to go before the finish. At this point people were just drenched in sweat, like they had been swimming. My favorite part about watching marathons is helping runners, and these guys needed lots of support. Then watching those same runners finish just brought tears to my eyes!!!
Also, the announcer was the funniest announcer I've ever heard at any sporting event ever. Yes Nate, even funnier than the big guy at Gloucester! Afterwards, they served up idly, sambar, dosai, and vadai, which was delicious. The other thing that made it fun was that I got to meet a bunch of Jacob's friends who he knows from running marathons (there arent that many South Indian marathon runners, so they all see eachother at all the events). So I finally got to hang out a bit and even got to have some beers!!!
Leah and I were luckily offered a ride back to Chennai with Jacob's friends Shyam, Hamsa and Sathish, sparing us a very hot and crowded bus ride. Also, we got to experience the madness that is driving on the ECR. There are lane markers, like any other road, but they mean nothing.
Overall I had a lovely weekend; I got to travel a bit, meet new people, drink beer AND support marathon runners! Here is a pic taken before the start of the marathon:
I also learned how to say the following things in Tamil; jackfruit, do you have ice cream?, run!!, it is good, shall we go?, hello good friend, and let's elope (which is literaly the words for "run" + "shall we go?"). I used some of the phrases at work today and while shopping this morning, everyone was impressed!
The marathon was small, maybe 50 or so runners (about 100 for the half marathon), and the course was 21.1km (half marathon) so the full marathon runners had to do 2 loops. Marathon started at 5am, but we had to meet the bus at 415 on the road. There we were, in the pitch black, alone on the road, dressed like runners (except for me), numbers and all, and the bus pulls over and asks, "are you going to the marathon?" They did this with all the runners on the way, which gave us a laugh and brightened our moods, which had been pretty dark and crabby as we had woken up at 330am.
I love watching marathons. I love love love it. This one was so fun and interesting. Because it was so small I was able to see my friends (and all the rest of the runners) at least 4 times throughout the race. Alot of the people who signed up for the full stopped at the half (including Jacob). Running a marathon is hard enough, but when it gets to be in the 80s for the last 10km, you're running on red sand and the water stations are every 3km, it's just plain crazy. I spent a chunk of that time at the 36km aid station, giving people water and electrolytes and spraying lots of knees and ankles with an awesome NSAID spray that they make in India. There were no more oranges or bananas, just water and electrolytes, with only one more aid station to go before the finish. At this point people were just drenched in sweat, like they had been swimming. My favorite part about watching marathons is helping runners, and these guys needed lots of support. Then watching those same runners finish just brought tears to my eyes!!!
Also, the announcer was the funniest announcer I've ever heard at any sporting event ever. Yes Nate, even funnier than the big guy at Gloucester! Afterwards, they served up idly, sambar, dosai, and vadai, which was delicious. The other thing that made it fun was that I got to meet a bunch of Jacob's friends who he knows from running marathons (there arent that many South Indian marathon runners, so they all see eachother at all the events). So I finally got to hang out a bit and even got to have some beers!!!
Leah and I were luckily offered a ride back to Chennai with Jacob's friends Shyam, Hamsa and Sathish, sparing us a very hot and crowded bus ride. Also, we got to experience the madness that is driving on the ECR. There are lane markers, like any other road, but they mean nothing.
Overall I had a lovely weekend; I got to travel a bit, meet new people, drink beer AND support marathon runners! Here is a pic taken before the start of the marathon:
L to R; Amol, Sathish, Jacob, Leah
To see more pics, please go hereI also learned how to say the following things in Tamil; jackfruit, do you have ice cream?, run!!, it is good, shall we go?, hello good friend, and let's elope (which is literaly the words for "run" + "shall we go?"). I used some of the phrases at work today and while shopping this morning, everyone was impressed!
Friday, February 12, 2010
This is not my beautiful house!!
Here are some pics of my flat:
This is my living room, complete w/ extra bed/couch
And this is a pic taken while standing in the next room, which i guess could be a dining room if one had a table and chairs. On the left side is my kitchen, on the right side is my room. (in the middle is me!!)
Here is where the magic happens. Just kidding, it's just my bedroom. Bed is quite small, maybe you cant tell, but my feet usually hang off a bit. That thing stage left of my bed is an aircondtioner. It's Subha's (my director) and she says she is going to come and get it. i'm hoping she either changes her mind or forgets (more likely) as I think I'll be needing it in a few weeks. For now, the ceiling fans are enough.
Here is my kitchen. Note the red gas tank!! Also, a picture of those ants who got into my "airtight" container.
Can you see them? Those bastards!!! The water trick is working, but I'm surprised how many ants try to swim! Also, the ants have gotten into my clothes. I dont really mind, they dont bite or anything, I just have to be sure to brush them off before dressing. Also, it beats cockroaches and/or rats!
Not pictured is the guest bedroom, which is just an empty room now that the bed has been converted into a couch. That's it, that's where I live. Its nice and big, but it's pretty empty. Leah said I should have a party there. I told her that this is the party (her and me). But yeah, there's plenty of room, so come on over!!!
Also, all the walls are empty. I'd much appreciate if you sent some pics, postcards, drawings, paintings ANYTHING!! Letters are nice, you guys know how much I like mail! But really, postcards are probably best, you only have to write a little and then I can have some nice decorations on my walls. Again, my address is:
This is my living room, complete w/ extra bed/couch
And this is a pic taken while standing in the next room, which i guess could be a dining room if one had a table and chairs. On the left side is my kitchen, on the right side is my room. (in the middle is me!!)
Also in that "dining room" (which is not worth photographing) is the bathroom sink. There is also a guest bathroom that I never use, partly because there is a wasp building a nest in there.
Here is where the magic happens. Just kidding, it's just my bedroom. Bed is quite small, maybe you cant tell, but my feet usually hang off a bit. That thing stage left of my bed is an aircondtioner. It's Subha's (my director) and she says she is going to come and get it. i'm hoping she either changes her mind or forgets (more likely) as I think I'll be needing it in a few weeks. For now, the ceiling fans are enough.
Can you see them? Those bastards!!! The water trick is working, but I'm surprised how many ants try to swim! Also, the ants have gotten into my clothes. I dont really mind, they dont bite or anything, I just have to be sure to brush them off before dressing. Also, it beats cockroaches and/or rats!
Not pictured is the guest bedroom, which is just an empty room now that the bed has been converted into a couch. That's it, that's where I live. Its nice and big, but it's pretty empty. Leah said I should have a party there. I told her that this is the party (her and me). But yeah, there's plenty of room, so come on over!!!
Also, all the walls are empty. I'd much appreciate if you sent some pics, postcards, drawings, paintings ANYTHING!! Letters are nice, you guys know how much I like mail! But really, postcards are probably best, you only have to write a little and then I can have some nice decorations on my walls. Again, my address is:
Ms. Carly
SAATHII
No. 78 Pushpa Nagar Main Rd
Nungambakkam, Chennai
INDIA 600 034
Thanks, and I look forward to your correspondence!
I have no friends
Last night my friend Leah (ex AJWS volunteer and girlfried of my office mate, Jacob) slept over. She got to sleep in the living room. It was so fun for me to have a friend over and we stayed up until almost midnight! If forgot what is was like to visit with people. Most/all of the time I just go home after work and hang out by myself. There are my friends Jonathan Goldstein, Gregor Ehrlich and Howard Chakowicz, but I guess they're not really my friends because they are on a CBC Radio show called WireTap. But everyday I listen in on their phone conversations (that's the nature of the radio program, check it out www.cbc.ca/wiretap) so I feel like they're my friends. yikes, that's pathetic.
I found a yoga place near my office, so maybe i can make friends there. Also, we have a work holiday on Saturday so this weekend I'm going to Pondicherry with Jacob and Leah to watch them run in a marathon, so maybe I will make friends there. I guess my life here has gotten more settled, normalized, and i dont have to constantly think about how to do things. Now I have time for friends. It's funny, I really do like being by myself, and never really thought this would be an issue, but the more I hear about what my friends (imaginary or otherwise) are doing at home, the more I miss having friends.
The good news is that Leah told me that everyone at the office likes me (she has the inside scoop). They seem to appreciate that I take the bus, wear Indian clothes, and even my attempts at Indian cooking (another blog for another day). I have fun at the office, and I usually keep long hours here, in solidarity. But I now think it's because at the office I have friends. At the end of the day, most people in my office go home to their families. Although everyone is in their late 20s, early 30s (except for 2 older women), they are all married and have children. Also, Will (my AJWS supervisor in NYC) told me it was culturally inappropriate to hang out with members of the opposite sex outside of work. As most of my office (again, except for the 2 older women) are guys, that really limits my choices.
Oh, but wouldnt it be fun to go to happy hour with my office mates. But alas, there is no such thing as happy hour in Chennai, and I haven't really seen a bar. Hmmm....we'll have to wait and see how all this turns out. In the meantime, I'm hoping for a fun weekend in Pondicherry.
I found a yoga place near my office, so maybe i can make friends there. Also, we have a work holiday on Saturday so this weekend I'm going to Pondicherry with Jacob and Leah to watch them run in a marathon, so maybe I will make friends there. I guess my life here has gotten more settled, normalized, and i dont have to constantly think about how to do things. Now I have time for friends. It's funny, I really do like being by myself, and never really thought this would be an issue, but the more I hear about what my friends (imaginary or otherwise) are doing at home, the more I miss having friends.
The good news is that Leah told me that everyone at the office likes me (she has the inside scoop). They seem to appreciate that I take the bus, wear Indian clothes, and even my attempts at Indian cooking (another blog for another day). I have fun at the office, and I usually keep long hours here, in solidarity. But I now think it's because at the office I have friends. At the end of the day, most people in my office go home to their families. Although everyone is in their late 20s, early 30s (except for 2 older women), they are all married and have children. Also, Will (my AJWS supervisor in NYC) told me it was culturally inappropriate to hang out with members of the opposite sex outside of work. As most of my office (again, except for the 2 older women) are guys, that really limits my choices.
Oh, but wouldnt it be fun to go to happy hour with my office mates. But alas, there is no such thing as happy hour in Chennai, and I haven't really seen a bar. Hmmm....we'll have to wait and see how all this turns out. In the meantime, I'm hoping for a fun weekend in Pondicherry.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
100% Victory
First of all, Happy Birthday Nate!!
Now a story about running.
I've been running here for about 1-2 weeks. Yup, just as people in my neighborhood were beginning to get used to me, I throw 'em for a loop by running! A lot of people here walk, but I have not seen a lot of people running (although the Chennai Marathon is next Sunday, announced only yesterday, so you'd better train fast!). I start by walking circles on my roof early in the morning to beat the heat. Then I stretch outside my door and take off for about 20 min. I wear scrub bottoms and big Tshirt I found I my flat. People stare, kids laugh, but who can blame them?! One smart ass young women yelled, “run faster!” I just wave and smile.
At first I only ran to my bus stop, down the main road to the next bus stop and back into my neighborhood, then ran around my block for a while. One day I went a little farther into my neighborhood and found a yard with a small temple in it. So most days I run there. Sometimes I feel awkward/disrespectful running around a temple, especially when I see people take off their shoes to enter the grounds. But, then I see people ride their motorbikes through the grounds for a shortcut and/or kids playing cricket there and I feel better.
My landlord said I should run around the neighborhood more to learn the lay of the land. So this morning I tried something new. I ran out to Anna Nagar, a nearby neighborhood that I had been to before, and on my way home I was on the main road and I decided use a different entrance into my neighborhood, about a 3 min walk away from my normal entrance. As I was doing it, I kind of knew it was a bad idea, but I always run past this entrance and really wanted to know how it connects to the rest.
After 5 min of running, I was lost. I kept walking, for another 15 min, still lost. It's hard to explain, the whole neighborhood is not that big, and it is kind of sandwiched between 2 main roads, so I couldn't have been that far from my house, but there are lots of little roads and dead ends and turns. Another difficult thing is that I dont really know the name of my road, or the roads leading to my house. Also, I forgot to mention that addresses changed a while back (no one can tell me exactly when this happened) so every house/place has a new and old address, further complicating things. Again I wasnt panicked or anything, just lost and annoyed.
Eventually I asked a woman how to get back to the main road, knowing that if I got there I could easily find my way to my house, even if it was the long way. She pointed me in a direction (people dont give clear directions, this is also why I didn't want to ask), and then things started to become familiar. I saw a store called White Milk that I had noted before and started to see these funny fliers hanging up that say “Learn English Grammar- 100% Victory!!”, so I knew I was getting close. I turned a corner and sure enough, there was the temple yard, complete with kids playing cricket!
Another situation resolved! 100% Victory!
Now a story about running.
I've been running here for about 1-2 weeks. Yup, just as people in my neighborhood were beginning to get used to me, I throw 'em for a loop by running! A lot of people here walk, but I have not seen a lot of people running (although the Chennai Marathon is next Sunday, announced only yesterday, so you'd better train fast!). I start by walking circles on my roof early in the morning to beat the heat. Then I stretch outside my door and take off for about 20 min. I wear scrub bottoms and big Tshirt I found I my flat. People stare, kids laugh, but who can blame them?! One smart ass young women yelled, “run faster!” I just wave and smile.
At first I only ran to my bus stop, down the main road to the next bus stop and back into my neighborhood, then ran around my block for a while. One day I went a little farther into my neighborhood and found a yard with a small temple in it. So most days I run there. Sometimes I feel awkward/disrespectful running around a temple, especially when I see people take off their shoes to enter the grounds. But, then I see people ride their motorbikes through the grounds for a shortcut and/or kids playing cricket there and I feel better.
My landlord said I should run around the neighborhood more to learn the lay of the land. So this morning I tried something new. I ran out to Anna Nagar, a nearby neighborhood that I had been to before, and on my way home I was on the main road and I decided use a different entrance into my neighborhood, about a 3 min walk away from my normal entrance. As I was doing it, I kind of knew it was a bad idea, but I always run past this entrance and really wanted to know how it connects to the rest.
After 5 min of running, I was lost. I kept walking, for another 15 min, still lost. It's hard to explain, the whole neighborhood is not that big, and it is kind of sandwiched between 2 main roads, so I couldn't have been that far from my house, but there are lots of little roads and dead ends and turns. Another difficult thing is that I dont really know the name of my road, or the roads leading to my house. Also, I forgot to mention that addresses changed a while back (no one can tell me exactly when this happened) so every house/place has a new and old address, further complicating things. Again I wasnt panicked or anything, just lost and annoyed.
Eventually I asked a woman how to get back to the main road, knowing that if I got there I could easily find my way to my house, even if it was the long way. She pointed me in a direction (people dont give clear directions, this is also why I didn't want to ask), and then things started to become familiar. I saw a store called White Milk that I had noted before and started to see these funny fliers hanging up that say “Learn English Grammar- 100% Victory!!”, so I knew I was getting close. I turned a corner and sure enough, there was the temple yard, complete with kids playing cricket!
Another situation resolved! 100% Victory!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
What about Bob?
Yesterday, when I got to work after my big train ride, I found out via email that my friend and fellow AJWS volunteer, Bob, was coming to Chennai...in a few hours!!! I was soooo excited to see Bob because A#1) I love him and B#2) it's nice for someone who knows me (even if only a little) to see where I live and what I'm up to. A fellow midwesterner, Bob is from Madison, WI where he is a theater professor at UW. He is 67, and I'm very impressed that he is roughing it here on his own in India. His wife, family, and most importantly, his adorable granddaughter are all back at home, missing him no doubt. Bob is so nice and has a great, witty sense of humor. Also, he was the last friend I saw in Mumbai before boarding my plane to Chennai. I could not wait to see him, I was smiling all the way home on the bus!
So today he met me at my office around 5pm. He met all my coworkers and then we walked together to my bus stop. I tried to leave early so the bus wouldnt be crowded, but no luck...it was sooooooo crowded! I'm glad Bob got to see what the bus was like, but I felt bad that he got crushed! I've explained the bus before on the blog (see Get on the Bus post), and it was great fun for me to watch Bob passing the money on the bus. Usually you just pass it to the person next to/on top of you and tell them where its supposed to go. But Bob would say, "Money, coming back!" or "Here comes some change!" really loud for everyone to hear. Once he said (Dan, you will love this one), "if you dont have change, I'll take a cheeseburger!" Mind you he's yelling these things in English. I thought it was hilarious, but was unsure how the other passengers felt.
After a crazy bus ride, we arrived in my neighborhood. I've been here enough now that most people have seen me around and kind of know me. But to see me with another white person, whoa!! For once, I was not the only outsider!! Bob got to see my house and then we walked to town for dinner. We had dinner (meals) at the local veg restaurant, and they were way more attentive then they normally are. Again, 2 white people is a spectacle! I was thoroughly impressed with Bob's eating skills, he plays with his food just like a native!
We caught up and it was so nice to see him. It was nice to compare notes on India and our interactions with AJWS. It was nice to speak American English and not have to repeat myself a lot. Most of all, it was really nice when we hugged goodbye. I dont get a lot of hugs here in India, as people here dont really do hugs. When he got in the auto to go back to his hotel, I walked back home, alone again. It was so nice to see him, and so sad to say goodbye.
So today he met me at my office around 5pm. He met all my coworkers and then we walked together to my bus stop. I tried to leave early so the bus wouldnt be crowded, but no luck...it was sooooooo crowded! I'm glad Bob got to see what the bus was like, but I felt bad that he got crushed! I've explained the bus before on the blog (see Get on the Bus post), and it was great fun for me to watch Bob passing the money on the bus. Usually you just pass it to the person next to/on top of you and tell them where its supposed to go. But Bob would say, "Money, coming back!" or "Here comes some change!" really loud for everyone to hear. Once he said (Dan, you will love this one), "if you dont have change, I'll take a cheeseburger!" Mind you he's yelling these things in English. I thought it was hilarious, but was unsure how the other passengers felt.
After a crazy bus ride, we arrived in my neighborhood. I've been here enough now that most people have seen me around and kind of know me. But to see me with another white person, whoa!! For once, I was not the only outsider!! Bob got to see my house and then we walked to town for dinner. We had dinner (meals) at the local veg restaurant, and they were way more attentive then they normally are. Again, 2 white people is a spectacle! I was thoroughly impressed with Bob's eating skills, he plays with his food just like a native!
We caught up and it was so nice to see him. It was nice to compare notes on India and our interactions with AJWS. It was nice to speak American English and not have to repeat myself a lot. Most of all, it was really nice when we hugged goodbye. I dont get a lot of hugs here in India, as people here dont really do hugs. When he got in the auto to go back to his hotel, I walked back home, alone again. It was so nice to see him, and so sad to say goodbye.
Thanks Bob for being my one and only visitor!!
Orange you glad we took that second picture?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Rectum?! Damn near killed em!
Despite all the bad news about HIV/AIDS in India, there are some bright spots. HIV/AIDS prevalence in the general population and among some high risk groups such as IVDUs and sex workers, is decreasing. However, the prevalence amongst MSM (men who have sex with men) has stayed the same/gotten higher. I asked Dr. Sathish why he thought this was happening, hoping he would shed some light on India's attitude towards homosexuality. However, he thought I was asking why MSMs were a high risk group.
He told me it was because of anal sex. Realizing my questions was misunderstood, I nodded and said,”sure” hoping to just drop it. But then he went into more detail, using hand gestures, nonetheless. Now although I'm a pretty immature person, when it comes to work, I always manage to maintain my professionalism, something that has always impressed my friends' parents (namely Judy Kessler). As my dad (and uncles) will tell you, people seem to tell pharmacists some pretty personal stuff. But Dr. Sathish, completely straight-faced, explaining the mechanics of anal sex while using phrases including, but not limited to, “tight sphincter” was probably the biggest test to my professionalism in recent memory. Thank god I passed and lived to blog about it!
He told me it was because of anal sex. Realizing my questions was misunderstood, I nodded and said,”sure” hoping to just drop it. But then he went into more detail, using hand gestures, nonetheless. Now although I'm a pretty immature person, when it comes to work, I always manage to maintain my professionalism, something that has always impressed my friends' parents (namely Judy Kessler). As my dad (and uncles) will tell you, people seem to tell pharmacists some pretty personal stuff. But Dr. Sathish, completely straight-faced, explaining the mechanics of anal sex while using phrases including, but not limited to, “tight sphincter” was probably the biggest test to my professionalism in recent memory. Thank god I passed and lived to blog about it!
Driving that train, high on Biryani...
... Krishna Jones you'd better watch your speed!!!
Ok, here is my account of 2 consecutive nights on the overnight train!
We went to Hyderabad (13 hr train ride) for a PPP experience sharing meeting with SAATHII offices from other States. On the way there, it was me, my counterpart Mani, Dr. Sathish (our immediate supervisor), and Dr. Sucharita. We rode third class AC, which is the lowest of the AC classes. It was not all that comfortable, and not quite as fun as I had imagined. Dr. Sucharita did not sit with us, and Mani and Dr. Sathish were busy doing work most of the time. We had brought food, and everyone kind of takes turns eating as there isn't enough room for everyone to eat all at once. Its hard to explain the layout of the train. Each section has 3 levels of bunks facing each other and then 2 more levels of bunks against the window on the other side of the aisle. When the beds are folded up, everyone sits on the lower person's bed like a bench, facing each other, legs all over the place!
I definitely saw some cockroaches, some even crawling on the walls! But I had to pretend I didnt see them so I could sleep. After dinner, I climbed up to go to bed. I got top bunk 'cause I went to bed first (our of me, Mani, and Dr. Sathish). They give you sheets and a pillow and blanket, but trying to make your bed while youre on it and there's not even enough room to sit up is a big challenge!
So when the beds are out, if you re walking down the aisle, 6 pairs of feet will be sticking out at you from one side and 2 people sleeping against the wall on the other side. Which is exactly what I saw at 130am when I got up to pee. 8 beds per section, 8 sections per train car. 64 people per train car, mostly men and ALL SNORING!!! It was the craziest snoring symphony I've ever heard (and I have heard A LOT)!!! I put in my ear plugs, but the sound still came through. In the end I just laughed, 'cause what can you do? I think that is why I'm surviving India. If something doesn't hurt me, I just find it amusing. Easily amused- best part about being Carly!
The place we were going to, Hyderabad, is famous for a type of food called Biryani. Other cities have it, but it's supposed to be FANTASTIC from Hyderabad. Since we were only there for the day, and were having lunch at the conference center (which happened to be a convent), it looked like I was going to miss my chance. But Mani convinced one of the office Madams to get us a parcel of Chicken Biryani for the the train ride home.
On the way home, it was just me and Mani, everyone else was staying for longer. Our parcel dinner was delicious. Biryani is rice cooked with super spicy chicken. It was very oily and delicious. Both Mani and I are mainly veg, but we both thought it was worth eating meat, since we were in Hyderabad. Our dinner sparked a long conversation with 3 other men sitting in our section about biryani and why Hyderabad has the best and Chennai biryani sucks. We ended the conversation by toasting sweet lassis (like a sweet yogurt drink) we bought from the train boys selling things up and down the aisles. We then talked about the snoring and everyone was laughing a lot, it was quite fun, you guys know how I like to make friends, especially on trains.
I got top bunk again, and slept surprisingly well, given those 3 bigger men in our section and their snoring! Our train arrived 15 min early (so at 540am), which was before my alarm went off. Mani woke me up and I was completely out of it, but managed to gather my stuff and get out of there. Mani rode with me in the auto to my house to drop me off. It was still dark so I got changed, went for a run, had a shower and came to work! What a day!
Ok, here is my account of 2 consecutive nights on the overnight train!
We went to Hyderabad (13 hr train ride) for a PPP experience sharing meeting with SAATHII offices from other States. On the way there, it was me, my counterpart Mani, Dr. Sathish (our immediate supervisor), and Dr. Sucharita. We rode third class AC, which is the lowest of the AC classes. It was not all that comfortable, and not quite as fun as I had imagined. Dr. Sucharita did not sit with us, and Mani and Dr. Sathish were busy doing work most of the time. We had brought food, and everyone kind of takes turns eating as there isn't enough room for everyone to eat all at once. Its hard to explain the layout of the train. Each section has 3 levels of bunks facing each other and then 2 more levels of bunks against the window on the other side of the aisle. When the beds are folded up, everyone sits on the lower person's bed like a bench, facing each other, legs all over the place!
I definitely saw some cockroaches, some even crawling on the walls! But I had to pretend I didnt see them so I could sleep. After dinner, I climbed up to go to bed. I got top bunk 'cause I went to bed first (our of me, Mani, and Dr. Sathish). They give you sheets and a pillow and blanket, but trying to make your bed while youre on it and there's not even enough room to sit up is a big challenge!
So when the beds are out, if you re walking down the aisle, 6 pairs of feet will be sticking out at you from one side and 2 people sleeping against the wall on the other side. Which is exactly what I saw at 130am when I got up to pee. 8 beds per section, 8 sections per train car. 64 people per train car, mostly men and ALL SNORING!!! It was the craziest snoring symphony I've ever heard (and I have heard A LOT)!!! I put in my ear plugs, but the sound still came through. In the end I just laughed, 'cause what can you do? I think that is why I'm surviving India. If something doesn't hurt me, I just find it amusing. Easily amused- best part about being Carly!
The place we were going to, Hyderabad, is famous for a type of food called Biryani. Other cities have it, but it's supposed to be FANTASTIC from Hyderabad. Since we were only there for the day, and were having lunch at the conference center (which happened to be a convent), it looked like I was going to miss my chance. But Mani convinced one of the office Madams to get us a parcel of Chicken Biryani for the the train ride home.
On the way home, it was just me and Mani, everyone else was staying for longer. Our parcel dinner was delicious. Biryani is rice cooked with super spicy chicken. It was very oily and delicious. Both Mani and I are mainly veg, but we both thought it was worth eating meat, since we were in Hyderabad. Our dinner sparked a long conversation with 3 other men sitting in our section about biryani and why Hyderabad has the best and Chennai biryani sucks. We ended the conversation by toasting sweet lassis (like a sweet yogurt drink) we bought from the train boys selling things up and down the aisles. We then talked about the snoring and everyone was laughing a lot, it was quite fun, you guys know how I like to make friends, especially on trains.
I got top bunk again, and slept surprisingly well, given those 3 bigger men in our section and their snoring! Our train arrived 15 min early (so at 540am), which was before my alarm went off. Mani woke me up and I was completely out of it, but managed to gather my stuff and get out of there. Mani rode with me in the auto to my house to drop me off. It was still dark so I got changed, went for a run, had a shower and came to work! What a day!
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