Hyderabad Highs and Lows

-->

This past weekend Leala and I took the plunge and headed out on our first non- guided trip.  We took a semi- sleeper bus from Pondicherry to Hyderabad.  It was a 14 hour trip with only two bathroom stops, but we had friends waiting for us in Hyderabad and it was well worth the discomfort.  While in Hyderabad we stayed at The University of Hyderabad; three Hendrix students are currently there.  One, Connor, is in India for the year, while Paige and Gilly are there for the semester like Leala and I.  Gilly was able to arrange for us to stay in their hostel, Tagore.  We fit into the student crowd there so we ate for free! The rooms were great and I took the first hot shower I’ve taken in three weeks… a magical experience.

We got in Friday morning and then Gilly took us to a market (the name of I can’t remember). We did some shopping and it was so laid back- which is unusual for shopping in India.  Only one time did a shop owner get annoying: I didn’t look at his store and he followed me for a minute. I told him I didn’t want to look and then he offered to buy me tea or a coke, and then he would leave me alone. Needless to say I gave him a dirty look and he got the picture. Friday night we went to a club called Liquids. It was ladies night, so free drinks for girls from 8:30-10:30! It was a lot of fun and I met some nice Indian girls as well as got to know other international students from University of Hyderabad.

Saturday Gilly, Leala and I went to Golcunda Fort. It is this massive, ancient structure that looks like it is part castle and part maze.  Some of it is situated on the top of a large hill, and if you climb to the top there is an amazing view of the city. Later that night Leala and I went to an Indian mall and had pizza and ice cream… it was delicious. Our stomachs were killing us because we weren’t used to that kind of food. We both put on a brave face and took the bus home. It was dark, raining and there were no women out, but we did it after asking men who looked nice enough to help us.

Sunday we went to Charminar, a huge building/temple with a shopping area.  I got some jewelry (Hyderabad is known for its pearls).  Later that evening we ran into some trouble trying to leave Tagore and get to our bus to take us back to Pondy.  Basically one guard at the University was a jerk, and the rest of the people we met (including a shop owner, university student, and our auto-rickshaw driver) were kind and helpful. We made is back Monday morning, caught the bus to campus, and then hopped on a boys only bus and asked them to stop at the women’s hostels- I didn’t miss a single class on Monday and best of all we made it to breakfast!

This Thursday we all leave to go to Bangalore and Mysore. I will post again after the trip, as I am sure I will have more stories to tell.

 The beginning of our trip.

 It was so clean and airconditioned!

 So clean.

 We finally made it.

 Dino's shopping

 At Liquids with some international students we met.

 Golcunda Fort- amazing.

 Great view from the top.

 Charminar

Life in Pondicherry- Week 1 of Many!

-->

I have been lacking in my blog posts recently, so I thought I would write one now.  On Friday I finished my first week of classes, and finally have my schedule figured out (though I start meeting for two of my classes next week).  I am taking History of the Medieval World, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, Feminist Studies (an English class), Christianity in India (which is an individual course just for me) and Practical Classical Yoga.  Pondicherry University is very large, and has different buildings spread across campus for the various departments.  Luckily all of my classes (save Yoga) take place at the Silver Jubilee Campus, which houses Humanities, and Social Sciences.  Unfortunately, Silver Jubilee is a 30-minute walk away from the Hostel I live in (Madame Curie), so I have to catch the bus to get to class. This is not a big deal, except the bus schedule doesn’t really exist. I always go out and wait about 20 minutes before I really need to leave that way I don’t miss the bus.  It is also frustrating that the buses don’t run right before or right after classes let out.  They are at weird intervals so if you get out of class on time, you have to wait 30 minutes for a bus.  On the bright side, every day my patience is getting better and everyone who knows me well knows I need to work on this.

Another difficult thing about Silver Jubilee is that it is not a comfortable building.  I am there for several hours and wait there between classes, but there is no real area to sit and relax.  There are two library-like areas, but you can’t take any kind of books into them (even your personal books).  There is also a small cafeteria, but it gets loud and sometimes boys have come over and started to talk to me (which was friendly of them) while I was doing something. The building is set up so that there are three main blocks of rooms and each one is in a circle with a courtyard in the middle.  Hallways connect the three circles, but everything (except the classrooms) is open air, so I end up sitting in the hot sun while trying to read a book.  Just something else to get used to.

            My classes are very different from those at Hendrix.  So far the only reading I have been required to do is for feminist studies- about 5 pages total.  It is a nice break, but I also know I am not focusing on classes because there is so little work.  I do have one assignment in my Contemporary Indian Philosophy class (that I take with Lauren and Jackie): we have to write 4-5 pages on a specific part of Indian philosophy. So that is very vague and it’s due Tuesday.  I checked out two books from the library and plan on looking into Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga as soon as I get the motivation. My Christianity in India class is another one I have readings far, as of now I only need to read a couple pages of the professors notes for next class.

            Some exciting things that have happened to me this week: Leala and I went into Pondy, got a bike and didn’t get lost; I finalized my class schedule; I found out I’m able to audit a field hockey class; I made some Indian friends; I finally got a phone and it started working this week; the internet seems to be getting better (or I am getting used to it); I was able to talk with my family; I had an interview for an internship via Skype that I think/hope went well; and today a group of us went to an eco- arts festival (where I got 2 cool books, saw some great live music, learned how to bargain for an auto-rickshaw better, and was one of 8 passengers crammed into an auto that we only paid 200rps for ($4).

Hopefully this next week will be just as good. I am still settling in and life is either really great or really hard right now, I want it even out a bit- but that will take time!

 My room! Currently the curtain is different- I bought a tapestry at the market.

 A map of the university

 A view of my hostel, Madame Curie.

 The shower

 Sink/ bathroom area

 Eco-Music Fest

 The bands we saw