10 June 2008

In the morning I took an auto to Palace Rd. to try to find the Aikido studio. I succeed after going around for half an hour trying to find it. An Indian from the US even tried to help me out, and I eventually got it. The Addresses here can come in fractional notation. So 15/3 Place road meant go to where you would expect house 15 to be, and go into the alleyway to find the 3rd property in this alley. It is a heck of a system, and no one seems to know directions much here from me. I missed class but found where to go for the evening practice and went back home for breakfast. At work we ran the 2nd day processing of samples but the results were quite weak, especially for the A-type response. Vandana believed that the type A antigen was old and not as reactive, so we would increase the concentration next time we tested. I edited her resumé and sent it to my friend as she was interested in a job in the States. Vibha came to work and hung out for a bit. We went to lunch and she told me about how her stay at the vet hospital was going. We ate at the canteen where we’ve taken most of our lunches and I’ve been having breakfast as they are all quite cheap there (25-75 cents). After work I asked how to get to the Art of Living place which did not exist according to the directions I was given. After calling some people, I found that they were not supposed to meet this week anyways so I would go some other time. I thought I could make it back in time for Aikido. I tried the bus with a bit of help and managed to get off in the right neighborhood…but it took some work to get to the right place. I ended up walking through some parts of town that looked pretty shady, but when I had to ask for directions I was treated very nicely. It was certainly new walking through streets filled with auto shops and tent villages. People tried to be helpful, but no one could understand the website’s address they listed and so I did a lot of wandering to try and find this place. After ignoring about 5 people who told me I was in the wrong place completely (that followed 4 people telling me I was close bye but they didn’t know the address), I found the building a block down the road. It seems people don’t walk around their streets very often. Aikido is in a French cultural center called the Alliánce de Français. It ends up this isn’t a far auto ride from school so I need to figure out if it is worth the $2 to take the trip or if the 12 cent buss ride isn’t as bad when I know where I’m going. This time I even made it in time to train some! After missing aikido morning class and art of living, it would have been discouraging to miss another class, especially after such a long bus ride and walk. The Aikido group is cool as they always seem to be. It is a nice group including Stan from the Bronx who has lived in India for a good portion of his life and is settled there. Some familiar advice I got while training was to not dance by taking larger steps, and allow extension to encourage flow. I shared an auto back with a man living in Hebbal (Near where I live). I ate dinner in a place that unfortunately was a smoking bar, but not much was open at that hour and I was starving. After eating I found an ATM and talked to a guy at a sweet shop for a while. He was working on getting his MBA and is living in Bangalore with his brother who is in IT. His sister and parents are in Los Angeles and he plans on moving out with them eventually. He was a pretty easy going guy and fun to talk with. He says the pubs in town are petty fun places to hang out if I have the time to check them out. There seems to be several types of people with views on alcohol in India from traditional non-drinking to drunkard, with apparently more and more people partaking in alcohol as time progresses. I also met a friendly dog on the way back to school but had no leftovers for it on me.

9 June 2008

I went to collect serum samples today with Nagaraj Sir and Hedgre Sir. There were several adult cows and one baby calf that was kept separate. They were looking in good condition and the collection went fast. We returned for the afternoon and ran the Day 1 lab work on some samples. I went to my second day of art of living and hung out with Bayer for the evening. I learned a lot about him that night. He is an interesting guy and is willing to go to pretty far extremes for a good joke if he gets enough of a kick out of it. He had one go one for 6 months leading on a guy. I saw some photos of his family and he showed me some videos he had. He’s a big fan of belly dancing and some of the other Middle Eastern dance styles. It didn’t hurt that the women in them were pretty hot.

8 June 2008

D. Nagaraju took me around to see some of Bangalore today. We visited Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, and a museum of Science and Technology, which interestingly has one of the first exhibits as the Wright’s Brothers plane. We also visited some shopping districts. The major streets are similar to any major city with shops as you would see on a corner in New York with some fashionable goods. Mixed in the more expensive neighborhoods are KFC, McDonalds, Ruby Tuesday, and other fast food/American joints. The major shoping districts are on Commercial St., MG Road, and Brigade St. Some interesting sights also included a stand for Fish Curry and urinals built into the wall along the sidewalk so people don’t urinate on the walls as much.
I met with Dr. Nadeem in the afternoon and moved my belongings into the Scientist Home which is the designated International Hostel. The room is a bit of a cut in luxury with no A/C, a leaky faucet and bucket instead of a shower, and some pretty worn beds, but I had okayed all this as it was also 1/5 the cost of the other room and I’m not a picky person. I also met my neighbor, Bayer Darmel. He is an Afghani Pharmacy Masters student with his BVSC already done. He has been at this school a year away from his wife and child and has another year to go. He is very social, has a good sense of humor, and is great company. He is even coming to Purdue when he is done in Bangalore to continue his studies. He keeps a pet bunny named Angel that is an adorable white rabbit with blue eyes. A woman flagged me down in the road and told Dr. Nadeem and me that an Art of Living meeting was going to take place that afternoon. This is the same group that teaches yoga to the vet class at Purdue so I thought it would be fun to see what the course is like. Their meetings are pretty lively. There is a lot of singing and towards the end people get up and dance. Smiling is also strongly enforced. Definitely the most lively meditation session I’ve gone to. I signed up for the basic weeklong course later in the month. I went to Sapna Delight for dinner and had the tomato black pepper soup and paneer tikka (one of my first dry dishes since coming here). Paneer tikka was paneer cheese sandwiched between onion and bell pepper with spice. It tasted best with some sauce (Ketchup). While leaving I saw my first rat, which seems as though it took a while for being in a city. It was a cute brown one, a bit smaller than my pet female one.

7 June 2008

I didn’t have to work today but had nothing else to do. I jogged in the morning then collapsed for a bit before going in. I showed some of my coworkers some wrist stretches as Nagaraj sir was complaining about having a tight wrist since a motorcycle accident he had. I even amused them with a few rolls. I met with Dr. Nadeem briefly who just got back from a conference in Iran and is setting up my housing. I failed at finding a cyber café in Ganganager but not signs for them, so I think I just went while they were not open. It was interesting to wander around the town a bit though. All and all it was a fairly uneventful day though.

Back in Action

So, I kinda got caught up in, taking care of business, relaxing, and other such things since getting back, and so you might of noticed that I haven't done anything with my blog in a few months. Well, by popular demand (Mike/Captain) I'm going to try to get a few more entries in more often than never. It's going to switch up to, hopefully, a bit more interactive blog, as I go through professional school. I am having trouble figuring out what the heck I want to do with my life. So now, I'm going to add some influence to the hands of my adoring public...if anyone reads it and responds. So I'll get a bit of my problems out there, and what my dilemma's are, the pros and cons on my list, and the cool things I'm up to and want to be up to. So, for now, I'm gonna peace out and study up for my exams this coming week, but stay tuned for more adventures in the life of Nelson. Cheers.