Thursday, September 25, 2008
And it's out!
The internet has been cut. As told in my last entry, I am connected
via a cell phone. It is fun.
via a cell phone. It is fun.
I will write an update at a later time.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Hello from Pabal!
Yes I know! I've finally started a blog. I'm not sure how long this will last though due to the fact that the Ashram I am at is at odds over the monthly subscription rate with the internet service provider. The director thinks the connection will be cut soon. To access the internet, we will be using a mobile (cellphone) which will act as a modem. I'm not sure how many of you know what I am talking about but suffice it to say that the connection is extremely slow, possibly slower than a dial-up (remember AOL back in the day?).
Anyway, I'm finally here! After a long and intense month of orientation, I made it out to my project site about a week ago. I'll update you all on my first month later - there is way too much to say about that time period. I've barely had any time to reflect on it. When I first arrived, the reality of the situation hit me really hard. I had no way of communicating with anyone including most of the people here. The students here (around 30 or so) come from different, mostly rural, parts of India and thus speak two to three words of English. The director spends three to four days of the week in Pune. The staff play hide and seek. It was a tough first few days here. I felt an amount of loneliness that I never thought was possible. Also, the week I came was the ending of the Ganapathi Chaturthi festival, a huge festival that is mostly celebrated in Maharashtra. The festival meant that everyone had the weekend off and thus I had no idea what to do. I tried interacting with the students but the communication barrier initially proved to be too much. The internet was out (something to do with the lease-line), my mobile had no yet been activated, there was power outtages (load-shedding) for the better part of the day, and the monsoon season decided to go out with a bang (the seasons are in transition from monsoon to winter - basically from cold and rainy to just cold and foggy). All of these factors made it really hard for me to adjust here.
As I was writing this, the internet was cut-off (seems like it was temporary - keep your fingers crossed!). But I will try to keep you all updated with my experiences here at the Vigyan Ashram. The students here are doing amazing things. Hopefully I'll be able to join them in some of their creations. If you have any ideas or inventions you think would be cool, feel free to holler because I can more than likely create it. We have a Fab Lab - once you figure out what that is, you'll wonder how they managed (and sustained) to keep one out here in rural India. It never ceases to amaze me!
Anyway, I'm finally here! After a long and intense month of orientation, I made it out to my project site about a week ago. I'll update you all on my first month later - there is way too much to say about that time period. I've barely had any time to reflect on it. When I first arrived, the reality of the situation hit me really hard. I had no way of communicating with anyone including most of the people here. The students here (around 30 or so) come from different, mostly rural, parts of India and thus speak two to three words of English. The director spends three to four days of the week in Pune. The staff play hide and seek. It was a tough first few days here. I felt an amount of loneliness that I never thought was possible. Also, the week I came was the ending of the Ganapathi Chaturthi festival, a huge festival that is mostly celebrated in Maharashtra. The festival meant that everyone had the weekend off and thus I had no idea what to do. I tried interacting with the students but the communication barrier initially proved to be too much. The internet was out (something to do with the lease-line), my mobile had no yet been activated, there was power outtages (load-shedding) for the better part of the day, and the monsoon season decided to go out with a bang (the seasons are in transition from monsoon to winter - basically from cold and rainy to just cold and foggy). All of these factors made it really hard for me to adjust here.
As I was writing this, the internet was cut-off (seems like it was temporary - keep your fingers crossed!). But I will try to keep you all updated with my experiences here at the Vigyan Ashram. The students here are doing amazing things. Hopefully I'll be able to join them in some of their creations. If you have any ideas or inventions you think would be cool, feel free to holler because I can more than likely create it. We have a Fab Lab - once you figure out what that is, you'll wonder how they managed (and sustained) to keep one out here in rural India. It never ceases to amaze me!
