a) I managed to fix the whole not-being-chronological-ness of the blog. This, unfortunately, has turned a lot of what I said into pure nonsense... You will have to deal with this, 'cause I wont
b) the power problem of both my laptop and my cellphone was entirely my fault. I did not know you have to switch the powerplugs on before you can use them... silly me. The internet suffered a similar fate. Turns out you can actually Turn On the modem.... still don't have any connection in my room, but I do in the living room....
c) there was something else I needed to clarify. I forgot.
woensdag 5 mei 2010
Pictures!
Content warning
all these pictures should be seen
whilest imaging stormy heat and humidity.
whilest imaging stormy heat and humidity.
add a splash of car horns
and the incessant sound of barking dogs
for good measure
and the incessant sound of barking dogs
for good measure
The Room in front of mine has embraced the true faith.
View from the appartment in the night time
View from the appartment in the day time
View on the appartment in day time
India. 05 05 10
16 30
5 5 10: it’s almost math.
third, or is it fourth?; full day.
Woke up at around 7.30 am. Took a shower (cold) (the phrase “a cold shower” can not be anything but good in this context). Had some cornflakes. Went for a walk. Silly me. Wanted to check when the mall opened, get a haircut & perhaps buy some cigarettes. The silly bit was that the second and third were entirely determined by the first. The mall opens around 10. I had to be at work at 9, so I just walked a bit more & went to work.
At work one of the airconditioningthingies is broken. Luckily only one of them, so the other 5 or so can still manage to keep the office reasonable cool. Cool for me, for now, that is. If I had encountered this temperature 4 days ago, I would have insisted to open a window for frags sake. Now, I’m just fine (not dandy though, unfortunately)(though I have seen this Awesome coat/vest in a shop that might take care of that problem) (I’ll take a picture of it later).
Had a meeting. There’s this Sri Lanka girl visiting the company about some project there, and I was asked to say a few words about my experience with waste management. Odd. Definitely odd. But interesting. Was asked to get more info on this. Prices, tonnage, energy production, feasibility in Asia...
Then went to lunch with boss, colleague & Sril Lanka. This Indian place (seems like a “duh” comment, but isn’t, seeing that this is actually only the second time I have Indian food). Apparently typical “wedding” food. A lot of small metal pots filled (by hand) with different types of food. Almost all of them “spicy” to some extent. Not necessarily “hot”, but with spices nonetheless. I have found I’m not too big on spices. Or on hot weather. Which is why i came to India, probably. After lunch I had a double espresso in the mall (the lunch was in the mall too) which I couldn’t pay myself, seeing that I only had a 1000 rs note. (50 rs = 1 euro...) and they couldn’t give back on that; silly people. Then I came back to my office and read a bit more on the wonderful world of CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and of LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestation).
I did write some stuff on the first two days, but due to a lack of laptop (I didn’t figure out how to use the plugs till yesterday... apparently you can switch them on and off... silly Indians) (silly me), and a lack of internet once it did work, I haven’t posted them yet. Will do so tomorrow or something (with the handy use of a usb stick)
The coffee in the office is no coffee by the way. Imagine a caffée froid frappe, with added cream and sugar and heated up. If you get there, you’re close.
Love and kisses from Gandhi land,
Tomas.
PS: I’ve already made a few faux-pas here!
A) smoking in a no smoking area (outside! On a parking lot!?).
B) having a beard and unruly hair makes me look like a terrorist by the way. They didn’t want to let me in the apartment yesterday evening. So I shaved yesterday evening and will get haircut in an hour or two...
C) I was talking to Sri Lanka girl, we were joking about the loud whistle of some security guards we passed. And I was making jokes like “haha, my whistle is louder than your voice” etc etc. Then, to sorta round the topic off, I mentioned “his penis is probably really small”. Which was the next logical step for me. But she seemed relatively shocked by this... which was weird.
16 48
5 5 10: it’s almost math.
third, or is it fourth?; full day.
Woke up at around 7.30 am. Took a shower (cold) (the phrase “a cold shower” can not be anything but good in this context). Had some cornflakes. Went for a walk. Silly me. Wanted to check when the mall opened, get a haircut & perhaps buy some cigarettes. The silly bit was that the second and third were entirely determined by the first. The mall opens around 10. I had to be at work at 9, so I just walked a bit more & went to work.
At work one of the airconditioningthingies is broken. Luckily only one of them, so the other 5 or so can still manage to keep the office reasonable cool. Cool for me, for now, that is. If I had encountered this temperature 4 days ago, I would have insisted to open a window for frags sake. Now, I’m just fine (not dandy though, unfortunately)(though I have seen this Awesome coat/vest in a shop that might take care of that problem) (I’ll take a picture of it later).
Had a meeting. There’s this Sri Lanka girl visiting the company about some project there, and I was asked to say a few words about my experience with waste management. Odd. Definitely odd. But interesting. Was asked to get more info on this. Prices, tonnage, energy production, feasibility in Asia...
Then went to lunch with boss, colleague & Sril Lanka. This Indian place (seems like a “duh” comment, but isn’t, seeing that this is actually only the second time I have Indian food). Apparently typical “wedding” food. A lot of small metal pots filled (by hand) with different types of food. Almost all of them “spicy” to some extent. Not necessarily “hot”, but with spices nonetheless. I have found I’m not too big on spices. Or on hot weather. Which is why i came to India, probably. After lunch I had a double espresso in the mall (the lunch was in the mall too) which I couldn’t pay myself, seeing that I only had a 1000 rs note. (50 rs = 1 euro...) and they couldn’t give back on that; silly people. Then I came back to my office and read a bit more on the wonderful world of CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and of LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestation).
I did write some stuff on the first two days, but due to a lack of laptop (I didn’t figure out how to use the plugs till yesterday... apparently you can switch them on and off... silly Indians) (silly me), and a lack of internet once it did work, I haven’t posted them yet. Will do so tomorrow or something (with the handy use of a usb stick)
The coffee in the office is no coffee by the way. Imagine a caffée froid frappe, with added cream and sugar and heated up. If you get there, you’re close.
Love and kisses from Gandhi land,
Tomas.
PS: I’ve already made a few faux-pas here!
A) smoking in a no smoking area (outside! On a parking lot!?).
B) having a beard and unruly hair makes me look like a terrorist by the way. They didn’t want to let me in the apartment yesterday evening. So I shaved yesterday evening and will get haircut in an hour or two...
C) I was talking to Sri Lanka girl, we were joking about the loud whistle of some security guards we passed. And I was making jokes like “haha, my whistle is louder than your voice” etc etc. Then, to sorta round the topic off, I mentioned “his penis is probably really small”. Which was the next logical step for me. But she seemed relatively shocked by this... which was weird.
16 48
zondag 2 mei 2010
Terror Strikes
4.40 pm now. When does “evening” start? I really need to get a convertor/adaptor. Laptop’s almost empty. Don’t want not being able to type & do stuff.
2nd of may 3.44 pm
Did put my alarm clock.
Ignored it.
Called Som around 12.
Gave me directions to meet him at the nearest mall at 1.30ish.
I did.People kept giving me looks. Asked Som about it.
Said it was either because I was so obviously waiting for someone (unusual in India?) or because of my hat.
Made me stand out, apparently. Decided to keep it nonetheless.
Bought groceries, oddly enough. Cornflakes (muesli like with added nuts), skimmed milk (aimed at losing weight, apparently), two “butter milks” (advised by Som, supposedly good against the heat), and a snickers.
Need to get money soon. Still have enough, I suppose, but didn’t really count on going grocery shopping on the first day.
Wore sandals and shorts today; seen Som wear them yesterday.
Stifling heat.
Didn’t find an adaptor for my cell & laptop though. Despite checking over 3 shops.
Thousands of uniformed guys, none of them able to give me useful advice. L
laptop & cell will die soon I suppose. Hope not before tomorrow, on my first day at the office.
The shop smelled like the grains I used to feed the chickens with. Oddness.
Security everywhere, I was frisked a number of times. Terrorist scare, it seems.
Stole toilet paper from the adjacent room. Which will be occupied soon, Som claimed.
Had a chat about religion and stuff. Som is a Brahman, and a firm believer in Shiva.
Saw it as odd that I was an atheist. Seemed slightly skeptical about it.
Will meet him later today, it seems. Will get a new cell phone/tariff tomorrow. I hope.
A couple of hours to kill. Feel like killing them on my laptop. But am afraid to kill the battery simultaneously. Friendly fire, so to speak.
2nd of May / 2.43 AM
The heat is stifling.
It’s difficult to move; breathe; think.
Thank god for air conditioning.
Never thought I’d believe that statement as much as I do now. Well, perhaps not the God bit. But the happiness when thinking about non-heat, about only slight humidity. Bliss.
Som picked me up. This other guy did too. It was the other one who held the paper with my name written on it in clumsy letters. It was the other one that took my baggage when I thought he wanted to give me hand. It was him that honked every 2 minutes of the half an hour ride. At the dogs, at the people, at the cars.
Cars… sounds insufficient to describe it though. An amalgam of tripods, bmw’s and scooters. Vehicles seems more appropriate. Driving through areas I would dub ‘slums’ but aren’t, apparently.
The air smells bad. Not rotten, but… bad. Goes wonderful with the heat though.
Som was kinda nice. Seemed vaguely amused by vandana being slightly annoyed at being woken up this morning. Can’t read him (yet) though.
“though” seems to be on the front of my mind. Might be a symptom of the mixed impressions I’ve been getting.
Will have to call Som or Vandana tomorrow “morning”. Asked when the people in India generally get up in the weekend. The elderly at 7 or 8, he said. Adolescents, having gone out till 3 in the morning – he made that sound as an outlandishly late hour – would sometimes stay in bed till 11 though. Shudder.
Don’t know if I’ll put my alarmclock tomorrow. Probably will.
Don’t want to make too bad an impression after all.Krish will arrive tomorrow. Or at least he should. ‘cept that there seem to be problems in Nepal. Didn’t enquire what kind of problems.Slept a couple of hours on the plane. So not tired.
Slight head ache already forming though.Reminds me of Som’s comment about how hot it is these days.
That even he thinks so.
38 degrees.
He said.
Shudder (bis)
Nighty night.
Tomas.
It’s difficult to move; breathe; think.
Thank god for air conditioning.
Never thought I’d believe that statement as much as I do now. Well, perhaps not the God bit. But the happiness when thinking about non-heat, about only slight humidity. Bliss.
Som picked me up. This other guy did too. It was the other one who held the paper with my name written on it in clumsy letters. It was the other one that took my baggage when I thought he wanted to give me hand. It was him that honked every 2 minutes of the half an hour ride. At the dogs, at the people, at the cars.
Cars… sounds insufficient to describe it though. An amalgam of tripods, bmw’s and scooters. Vehicles seems more appropriate. Driving through areas I would dub ‘slums’ but aren’t, apparently.
The air smells bad. Not rotten, but… bad. Goes wonderful with the heat though.
Som was kinda nice. Seemed vaguely amused by vandana being slightly annoyed at being woken up this morning. Can’t read him (yet) though.
“though” seems to be on the front of my mind. Might be a symptom of the mixed impressions I’ve been getting.
Will have to call Som or Vandana tomorrow “morning”. Asked when the people in India generally get up in the weekend. The elderly at 7 or 8, he said. Adolescents, having gone out till 3 in the morning – he made that sound as an outlandishly late hour – would sometimes stay in bed till 11 though. Shudder.
Don’t know if I’ll put my alarmclock tomorrow. Probably will.
Don’t want to make too bad an impression after all.Krish will arrive tomorrow. Or at least he should. ‘cept that there seem to be problems in Nepal. Didn’t enquire what kind of problems.Slept a couple of hours on the plane. So not tired.
Slight head ache already forming though.Reminds me of Som’s comment about how hot it is these days.
That even he thinks so.
38 degrees.
He said.
Shudder (bis)
Nighty night.
Tomas.
zaterdag 1 mei 2010
What should have been my first India Blog Post
for those who get confused really easily : This post should appear BEFORE the other India post. It is, in fact, the very first of my Indian Blogging
Due to lack of laptop & internet, however, this was not to be. I have now solved it through the cunning use of a usb-stick...
½ Mei : Rond Middernacht.
Brussel – London – Mumbai.
+1 – 1 -5.5 . of zo iets.
’t Is niet simpel, zo verticale lijnen oversteken. Of maak daar maar gewoon “lijnen” van. Niet enkel grenzen; noordte en zuidte graad. Als die woorden bestaan. Mijn taalgevoel – God hebbe zijn ziel – is ergens anders nu. Ergens anders.
De man voor mij – kan het anders? – leunt graag achteruit. Nu ja, wat kan je er aan doen? Het is zijn recht, zo niet zijn goed. Toy Story 1 & 2 zullen mogelijk vanaf nu voor mij de geur van Indiareizen dragen. Mogelijk ook niet. Zo’n indruk hebben ze tenslotte niet gemaakt.
De jongedame naast me – leuk ding, zo op het eerste en laatste gezicht – is van chinese herkomst. Maar dan echt; ik kan het zien aan het lettertype dat ze gebruikt in word. Let wel, het kan ook iets anders zijn. Maar mijn racistische, in-hokjes-denkende-geest heeft reeds zijn conclusie getrokken. Het verdict is onvermijdelijk onverbiddelijk. U is een Chinese, mevrouw. Ze drinkt thee zonder extra suiker & heeft een normale eetlust. Ze lijkt in het bezit te zijn van een job. Of een vreemde interesse in het turen over excell bestanden op een lange vlucht. Beiden zijn, me dunkt, mogelijk.
We landen over een 40 tal minuutjes. Id est : we zijn nu al aan het dalen. Zoetjes aan. De ceinturen, echter, die hoeven pas over een 40 tal minuutjes aan. Al is het beter om ze aan te houden gedurende de hele vlucht.
Het is echter druk vandaag in Mumbai. De luchtleiding – of hoe die mensen ook heten – heeft reeds laten weten dat er een vertraging zal zijn van vermoedelijk 10 tot 20 minuten. Jeetje. Mijn hart bloedt en mijn oren doen lichtjes pijn. 40 minuten, het zal zijn.
Due to lack of laptop & internet, however, this was not to be. I have now solved it through the cunning use of a usb-stick...
½ Mei : Rond Middernacht.Brussel – London – Mumbai.
+1 – 1 -5.5 . of zo iets.
’t Is niet simpel, zo verticale lijnen oversteken. Of maak daar maar gewoon “lijnen” van. Niet enkel grenzen; noordte en zuidte graad. Als die woorden bestaan. Mijn taalgevoel – God hebbe zijn ziel – is ergens anders nu. Ergens anders.
De man voor mij – kan het anders? – leunt graag achteruit. Nu ja, wat kan je er aan doen? Het is zijn recht, zo niet zijn goed. Toy Story 1 & 2 zullen mogelijk vanaf nu voor mij de geur van Indiareizen dragen. Mogelijk ook niet. Zo’n indruk hebben ze tenslotte niet gemaakt.
De jongedame naast me – leuk ding, zo op het eerste en laatste gezicht – is van chinese herkomst. Maar dan echt; ik kan het zien aan het lettertype dat ze gebruikt in word. Let wel, het kan ook iets anders zijn. Maar mijn racistische, in-hokjes-denkende-geest heeft reeds zijn conclusie getrokken. Het verdict is onvermijdelijk onverbiddelijk. U is een Chinese, mevrouw. Ze drinkt thee zonder extra suiker & heeft een normale eetlust. Ze lijkt in het bezit te zijn van een job. Of een vreemde interesse in het turen over excell bestanden op een lange vlucht. Beiden zijn, me dunkt, mogelijk.
We landen over een 40 tal minuutjes. Id est : we zijn nu al aan het dalen. Zoetjes aan. De ceinturen, echter, die hoeven pas over een 40 tal minuutjes aan. Al is het beter om ze aan te houden gedurende de hele vlucht.
Het is echter druk vandaag in Mumbai. De luchtleiding – of hoe die mensen ook heten – heeft reeds laten weten dat er een vertraging zal zijn van vermoedelijk 10 tot 20 minuten. Jeetje. Mijn hart bloedt en mijn oren doen lichtjes pijn. 40 minuten, het zal zijn.
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