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June 03, 2008
More time for fun - Jane
Auto (rickshaw) rides are the most fun way to travel. They're fast and bumpy and kind of like a video game. If there was a way to get rid of the pollution and the honking, I would wish we had some back in Ann Arbor. They would be especially useful when travelling between North and Central campus in a hurry. In fact, I wonder what the Chem building would look like with a line of autos parked out in front. Another interesting observation is that Bangalore auto drivers don't know where all the streets are because it's such a large spread out city. So it's important that you know the directions of how to get to your destination or else the driver will have to stop on the road and ask pedestrians for directions. This doesn't turn out very well usually because people either can't communicate the directions effectively or there is a language mismatch. Bangalore residents can speak Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, or Tamil. And of course English.
My favorite part about exploring Bangalore is the street markets. I especially enjoy walking on 1st main street, where several floral booths are setup. The entire area smells of flowers. For an idea of what one of these booths look like, visit: http://www3.moe.edu.sg/edumall/tl/digital_resources/ss/images/little-india-flower-shop.jpg. Then imagine what a whole street lined with these little shops looks like. Last night I walked around 1st Main Street, just a few blocks away from our apartment, and went shopping. It must be back to school season because several shops were selling school supplies and backpacks. Shopping is usually a slow process. I hang around and wait to hear what other people are buying and paying before I start to bargain for something.
Mounica and I are close to finishing up the water analysis at the PCB lab. We should be done with analysis by Thursday. Then we just have to do a second round of interviews, write up a report, and give a presentation. We still have a little under 2 weeks before we have to leave.
This weekend a family friend of Mounica's came to hang out with us. We visited the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Science/Tech Museum, and Caveri Emporium. The Lalbagh gardens had a huge lotus pond. We also got to climb up tree vines which made for some great pictures. The Science/Tech Museum was a larger version of the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum. There were several new and interesting exhibitsI will upload pics after getting back to the U.S. and post the link on the blog (only a few minutes of internet each day).
I love reading about everyone else's experiences on the blog. The entries also made Mounica and I so very thankful that we are working with SVARAJ. Everyone here is always friendly and supportive. So if anyone decides to come back for another summer, or knows a friend who wants to intern in India, SVARAJ is a great organization to work with. Also, I can completely relate to "the stare" that so many people have been writing about. But I think that when people stare they are mostly curious or surprised. It also reminds me of how nobody does this in Ann Arbor because it's such a diverse town that people who "look different" are the norm.
Posted by xiaojane at June 3, 2008 12:29 AM