Journal 11/30/2010
Today I got up, walked to work, did more DNA extractions, ate lunch outside by the river, then spent the rest of the day on the Internet trying to buy train tickets to Bangalore and Chennai.
Katie, Stephanie and I are all going to Bangalore this weekend to meet up with John and Matt. We are leaving on Thursday so that we get there on Friday morning! I am so excited to see people that I know! It will be great to recharge and spend time with friends. I will make it back to Kottayam on Monday morning at 9:00am just in time to go to work. Although the train will probably be late so I will most likely be late to work.
After this weekend I have about one more week alone and then John and Shosh are coming to visit! After that we get to go back home!!!!! The trip is coming to an end really quickly. But I am really excited to go back home and see my family!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Journal 11-29-2010
Journal 11-29-2010
Today I went back to work. I did more DNA extractions from whole Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. I have to wait until Dr. Paradeep Kumar gets back from Pondicherry before I can start doing the PCR reactions. I now have around 60-70 samples that were collected in four different districts of Kerala. Dr. Paradeep Kumar doesn’t get back until tomorrow evening so I probably won’t be able to get going on the PCR before Wed. After work I walked down to a shop/bakery and bought more bread, buns and peanut butter. I know this is sad… but I can’t wait to have bag lunches from the caf again! It is impossible to get a decent serving of meat here.
Today I went back to work. I did more DNA extractions from whole Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. I have to wait until Dr. Paradeep Kumar gets back from Pondicherry before I can start doing the PCR reactions. I now have around 60-70 samples that were collected in four different districts of Kerala. Dr. Paradeep Kumar doesn’t get back until tomorrow evening so I probably won’t be able to get going on the PCR before Wed. After work I walked down to a shop/bakery and bought more bread, buns and peanut butter. I know this is sad… but I can’t wait to have bag lunches from the caf again! It is impossible to get a decent serving of meat here.
Journal 11-28-2010
Journal 11/28/2010
Today is Sunday and EVERYTHING is closed including all the restaurants! There is nowhere to eat and I have no way to cook the ramen that I have in the room. I walked around town for several hours before I managed to find a cool drinks shop that had a loaf of bread for sale. I made peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast lunch and dinner. I should have prepared a little better for Sunday, but I didn’t think that all the restaurants would close.
Today is Sunday and EVERYTHING is closed including all the restaurants! There is nowhere to eat and I have no way to cook the ramen that I have in the room. I walked around town for several hours before I managed to find a cool drinks shop that had a loaf of bread for sale. I made peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast lunch and dinner. I should have prepared a little better for Sunday, but I didn’t think that all the restaurants would close.
Journal 11-27-2010
Journal 11/27/2010
Today is my first Saturday alone in Kottayam. This morning I slept in really late. I had originally planned to go to Kumarakom today but I decided to put it off because it was raining and I didn’t feel like taking a bus anywhere. I spent the day walking around Kottayam and at an Internet closet. It was nice to relax and not have to go to work!
Today is my first Saturday alone in Kottayam. This morning I slept in really late. I had originally planned to go to Kumarakom today but I decided to put it off because it was raining and I didn’t feel like taking a bus anywhere. I spent the day walking around Kottayam and at an Internet closet. It was nice to relax and not have to go to work!
Journal 11-26-2010
Journal 11-26-2010
Quote of the day- John: Chicken-gun YAAAAA!!!!!!!
Quote received via Gmail chat.
Today I walked to work in the morning did more DNA extractions during the day and surfed the web during the incubation periods. I got done with all the work I could do at about 2:00 so then I sat on the Internet killing time waiting to leave until around 4:00. I got a ride back to the hotel in the truck, which was nice because it was raining. Then took a nap, which was GREAT, I was really tired. Went to dinner, got some ice cream and went to sleep.
I don’t know what I am going to do tomorrow. Maybe go to Kumarakom. There really isn’t anything to do in Kottayam. I haven’t really been able to ask many people about what to do because they don’t really understand the question. They usually recommend that I take busses or trains to other parts of Kerala and don’t tell me anything about Kottayam itself.
Quote of the day- John: Chicken-gun YAAAAA!!!!!!!
Quote received via Gmail chat.
Today I walked to work in the morning did more DNA extractions during the day and surfed the web during the incubation periods. I got done with all the work I could do at about 2:00 so then I sat on the Internet killing time waiting to leave until around 4:00. I got a ride back to the hotel in the truck, which was nice because it was raining. Then took a nap, which was GREAT, I was really tired. Went to dinner, got some ice cream and went to sleep.
I don’t know what I am going to do tomorrow. Maybe go to Kumarakom. There really isn’t anything to do in Kottayam. I haven’t really been able to ask many people about what to do because they don’t really understand the question. They usually recommend that I take busses or trains to other parts of Kerala and don’t tell me anything about Kottayam itself.
Journal 11-25-2010
Journal 11-25-2010
Today is Thanksgiving. It really doesn’t seem like it. I don’t have anyone to celebrate with so, sadly, I am choosing not to observe Thanksgiving this Holiday season. It is strange to think that when we go back we are going to be thrown into the thick of the holiday season. All the stores will be decked out with Christmas trees. There will be snow covering the ground. It will be absolutely freezing outside. People will be shopping like maniacs. It will be dark outside during dinnertime. All while we will be trying to get over jetlag and re-orient ourselves. The closer it gets to departure time, the more surreal going back sounds.
We skipped fall entirely and jumped right from the middle of summer into Christmas. It doesn’t sound bad… just awkward. We will have missed the proper run up to the holiday season. No football games on TV. No transitioning from T-shirts to Sweatshirts to winter jackets. We will have missed out on all the fall food comfort food like mashed potatoes, gravy smothered meat, squash, and pies. But most importantly we will have missed out on seeing our family and friends. Family and Friends are what really make the holiday season but I guess they will be there anyhow.
I am going to go have dinner and then finish writing today’s entry.
I got to talk to Mom and Dad tonight while I ate thanksgiving dinner by myself. It is great to talk to people from home, hopefully Maddie calls later when she wakes up.
Today is Thanksgiving. It really doesn’t seem like it. I don’t have anyone to celebrate with so, sadly, I am choosing not to observe Thanksgiving this Holiday season. It is strange to think that when we go back we are going to be thrown into the thick of the holiday season. All the stores will be decked out with Christmas trees. There will be snow covering the ground. It will be absolutely freezing outside. People will be shopping like maniacs. It will be dark outside during dinnertime. All while we will be trying to get over jetlag and re-orient ourselves. The closer it gets to departure time, the more surreal going back sounds.
We skipped fall entirely and jumped right from the middle of summer into Christmas. It doesn’t sound bad… just awkward. We will have missed the proper run up to the holiday season. No football games on TV. No transitioning from T-shirts to Sweatshirts to winter jackets. We will have missed out on all the fall food comfort food like mashed potatoes, gravy smothered meat, squash, and pies. But most importantly we will have missed out on seeing our family and friends. Family and Friends are what really make the holiday season but I guess they will be there anyhow.
I am going to go have dinner and then finish writing today’s entry.
I got to talk to Mom and Dad tonight while I ate thanksgiving dinner by myself. It is great to talk to people from home, hopefully Maddie calls later when she wakes up.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Journal 11-24-2010
Journal 11-24-2010
I had a good day today. I started working in the lab. Although all I did was extract DNA from mosquitoes. Things moved pretty tediously slow because they only do 6 extractions at a time when they could be doing 24 or something like that (however many slots are in the centrifuge). Anyway it felt great to do some lab work again. I got in to work around 8:45 and didn’t leave until 7:00. But during the incubations I was able to work on my computer and use the Internet! Yay for wireless Internet! I put some pictures up on Facebook also.
After work I walked around town trying to find a grocery store! It was great to get out and see some of the town. I found a grocery store, a bakery and street side restaurant ( if you can call it that….) It consisted of 3 tables and three guys cooking paratha eggs, chicken and two types of gravy. The food was great! Best paratha ever! They seemed entertained by me, they obviously don’t get many tourists eating at their tables. Anyway I will keep going back there, I think those guys would be hilarious street friends (guys that always wave to you as you walk by).
I got back to my room with a bunch of groceries at about 8:20 then went to go get dinner. I went to the same restaurant as last night because it is really good. I ordered the “Chili Fish” It was GREAT !!!!! REALLY GOOD!!!! BEST CHILI FISH EVER!!!! It came in a spicy gravy and I mopped it up with Roti. Sooooooooo goood. Eating alone also didn’t seem as bad. There were three other people eating alone in the same side of the restaurant. The manager also likes me.
Good Day!
Now I am going to watch some 24 and go to bed.
I had a good day today. I started working in the lab. Although all I did was extract DNA from mosquitoes. Things moved pretty tediously slow because they only do 6 extractions at a time when they could be doing 24 or something like that (however many slots are in the centrifuge). Anyway it felt great to do some lab work again. I got in to work around 8:45 and didn’t leave until 7:00. But during the incubations I was able to work on my computer and use the Internet! Yay for wireless Internet! I put some pictures up on Facebook also.
After work I walked around town trying to find a grocery store! It was great to get out and see some of the town. I found a grocery store, a bakery and street side restaurant ( if you can call it that….) It consisted of 3 tables and three guys cooking paratha eggs, chicken and two types of gravy. The food was great! Best paratha ever! They seemed entertained by me, they obviously don’t get many tourists eating at their tables. Anyway I will keep going back there, I think those guys would be hilarious street friends (guys that always wave to you as you walk by).
I got back to my room with a bunch of groceries at about 8:20 then went to go get dinner. I went to the same restaurant as last night because it is really good. I ordered the “Chili Fish” It was GREAT !!!!! REALLY GOOD!!!! BEST CHILI FISH EVER!!!! It came in a spicy gravy and I mopped it up with Roti. Sooooooooo goood. Eating alone also didn’t seem as bad. There were three other people eating alone in the same side of the restaurant. The manager also likes me.
Good Day!
Now I am going to watch some 24 and go to bed.
Journal 11-23-2010
Journal 11-23-2010
Today was a very productive day. I have nailed down a topic for my project. I will be screening Aedes albopictus for Wolbachia bacteria using PCR. Wolbachia is a important bacterium because it plays a role in the ability of Aedes albopictus to act as a vector for the virus that causes Chikungunya. This study will provide relevant information because Chikungunya is a re-emerging disease. There was a recent outbreak in Kerala in 2007. Unfortunately the time constraints and cost of reagents prevents me from actually doing any sort of project on DNA bar-coding… which was the whole reason for me to come here by myself. Maybe if I finish my project early I can go stay at Mudamalai or Pondi.
I didn’t realize that I was supposed to bring lunch to work every day so I ended up eating out of a box of All-bran wheat flakes that I bought for breakfast. All the stores are closed already tonight so I will probably have to manage with the wheat flakes tomorrow as well. I don’t really have time to get groceries because I have been driven to and from work. The car picks me up at 8:30 and today it didn’t drop me back off until 6:30. As soon as I learn the way I will start walking to work. I was starving tonight so as soon as I got a room at the new hotel “the Homestead” I went to get some dinner. While I was sitting at dinner by myself, looking out the window and saw the all the shops closing.
On a positive note, dinner was really good. I had chicken 65, Mushroom Manchurian, Roti, and some chai. For about half an hour I was the only person in the restaurant. It is really lonely to eat at a restaurant all alone. The first two restaurants I have been to don’t have coke or any bottled beverages. This means that the only consistent thing in my life has been taken away : ( hahahaha This sounds super depressing. I am not depressed. I am lonely.
It is easier to keep up with the journaling when you don’t have anything else to do.
Today was a very productive day. I have nailed down a topic for my project. I will be screening Aedes albopictus for Wolbachia bacteria using PCR. Wolbachia is a important bacterium because it plays a role in the ability of Aedes albopictus to act as a vector for the virus that causes Chikungunya. This study will provide relevant information because Chikungunya is a re-emerging disease. There was a recent outbreak in Kerala in 2007. Unfortunately the time constraints and cost of reagents prevents me from actually doing any sort of project on DNA bar-coding… which was the whole reason for me to come here by myself. Maybe if I finish my project early I can go stay at Mudamalai or Pondi.
I didn’t realize that I was supposed to bring lunch to work every day so I ended up eating out of a box of All-bran wheat flakes that I bought for breakfast. All the stores are closed already tonight so I will probably have to manage with the wheat flakes tomorrow as well. I don’t really have time to get groceries because I have been driven to and from work. The car picks me up at 8:30 and today it didn’t drop me back off until 6:30. As soon as I learn the way I will start walking to work. I was starving tonight so as soon as I got a room at the new hotel “the Homestead” I went to get some dinner. While I was sitting at dinner by myself, looking out the window and saw the all the shops closing.
On a positive note, dinner was really good. I had chicken 65, Mushroom Manchurian, Roti, and some chai. For about half an hour I was the only person in the restaurant. It is really lonely to eat at a restaurant all alone. The first two restaurants I have been to don’t have coke or any bottled beverages. This means that the only consistent thing in my life has been taken away : ( hahahaha This sounds super depressing. I am not depressed. I am lonely.
It is easier to keep up with the journaling when you don’t have anything else to do.
Journal 11-22-2010
Journal 11-22-2010
I was tired and out of it when I woke up in the top bunk of a train car this morning. I slept on and off until about 10:00am which was good! Sleeping in on trains helps to make the ride seem shorter. I chatted with a couple of different groups of Indian people for a while, and found a Munch bar in my bag, which I ate for Lunch. Then I finally made it to Kottayam at about 3:00. I was on my way walking out of the station when a man ran up to me and asked if I was going to VCRC. I said yes and got into the waiting vehicle. Kottayam is a very hilly city. Aside from the hills, Kottayam seems to be a little bit more wealthy than other Indian cities. There is less trash on the street, the buildings seem to be in better condition, and things don’t appear to be quite as crowded as in Tamil Nadu. The roads are also really narrow, some have stone walls on one or both sides.
A siren is going off right now… I have no clue what that means here… It sounds like a tornado siren.
Well I am still alive… and nothing seems to have happened.
I was a little bit crabby when I got picked up because I hadn’t had anything substantial to eat in almost 24 hours. I was taken directly to the YMCA where I was informed that rent would be 450 rupees per night. For 25 nights that amounts to about 250 US Dollars. This news kept me crabby. This is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! Katie and Leah are paying 250 rupees per month to rent an entire guesthouse at VCRC in Pondicherry. Later in the day I asked Dr. Paradeep Kumar about this and he suggested that I switch to a hotel nearby that is 376 rupees per night. This isn’t a huge decrease in price but it does help. So tomorrow I will be moving there.
I spent about an hour at the VCRC Kottayam office today. It is located in a suburban house in a gated community…. Odd isn’t it. The house is filled with desks, -80 freezers and an office. The upper floor is supposed to house a molecular biology lab but I haven’t seen it yet. I had absolutely nothing to do at the office today after I finished talking with Dr. Paradeep Kumar so around 5:30 I managed to get someone to drop me back off at the YMCA.
I bought some bread and cereal for tomorrow. Then went up to my room, only to be intercepted by “the room boy” A nice dude about my age who speaks very little English. I figured out that he wanted me to come down to the office where I sat awkwardly in a room with three men, one of whom must run the YMCA. They also spoke very poor English, and it was unclear why they wanted to see me. But this did provide an opportunity to ask them about checking out tomorrow morning. I made awkward small talk with them for about 20 minutes. It turns out that the YMCA in India has games like chess and billiards instead of athletic equipment and pools like they do in the USA.
I finally made it up to my room where I dropped my stuff and left to go find some food!!!! Finally!!! I was so hungry. I ate at a really bad restaurant downstairs called India coffee house. It was a really odd, really cheap place and the food was correspondingly bad. The waiters were also wearing ridiculous hats. Hahahaha
At least I got something to eat. Then I came back to the room and took a cold shower. Now I need to read some papers for tomorrow so that I can propose some project ideas.
I was tired and out of it when I woke up in the top bunk of a train car this morning. I slept on and off until about 10:00am which was good! Sleeping in on trains helps to make the ride seem shorter. I chatted with a couple of different groups of Indian people for a while, and found a Munch bar in my bag, which I ate for Lunch. Then I finally made it to Kottayam at about 3:00. I was on my way walking out of the station when a man ran up to me and asked if I was going to VCRC. I said yes and got into the waiting vehicle. Kottayam is a very hilly city. Aside from the hills, Kottayam seems to be a little bit more wealthy than other Indian cities. There is less trash on the street, the buildings seem to be in better condition, and things don’t appear to be quite as crowded as in Tamil Nadu. The roads are also really narrow, some have stone walls on one or both sides.
A siren is going off right now… I have no clue what that means here… It sounds like a tornado siren.
Well I am still alive… and nothing seems to have happened.
I was a little bit crabby when I got picked up because I hadn’t had anything substantial to eat in almost 24 hours. I was taken directly to the YMCA where I was informed that rent would be 450 rupees per night. For 25 nights that amounts to about 250 US Dollars. This news kept me crabby. This is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! Katie and Leah are paying 250 rupees per month to rent an entire guesthouse at VCRC in Pondicherry. Later in the day I asked Dr. Paradeep Kumar about this and he suggested that I switch to a hotel nearby that is 376 rupees per night. This isn’t a huge decrease in price but it does help. So tomorrow I will be moving there.
I spent about an hour at the VCRC Kottayam office today. It is located in a suburban house in a gated community…. Odd isn’t it. The house is filled with desks, -80 freezers and an office. The upper floor is supposed to house a molecular biology lab but I haven’t seen it yet. I had absolutely nothing to do at the office today after I finished talking with Dr. Paradeep Kumar so around 5:30 I managed to get someone to drop me back off at the YMCA.
I bought some bread and cereal for tomorrow. Then went up to my room, only to be intercepted by “the room boy” A nice dude about my age who speaks very little English. I figured out that he wanted me to come down to the office where I sat awkwardly in a room with three men, one of whom must run the YMCA. They also spoke very poor English, and it was unclear why they wanted to see me. But this did provide an opportunity to ask them about checking out tomorrow morning. I made awkward small talk with them for about 20 minutes. It turns out that the YMCA in India has games like chess and billiards instead of athletic equipment and pools like they do in the USA.
I finally made it up to my room where I dropped my stuff and left to go find some food!!!! Finally!!! I was so hungry. I ate at a really bad restaurant downstairs called India coffee house. It was a really odd, really cheap place and the food was correspondingly bad. The waiters were also wearing ridiculous hats. Hahahaha
At least I got something to eat. Then I came back to the room and took a cold shower. Now I need to read some papers for tomorrow so that I can propose some project ideas.
Journal 11-21-2010
Journal 11-21-2010
Today started off well. I slept in and then Katie and I went to Coffee.com the Internet café to do some work and write a couple of emails. In the afternoon I made spaghetti… again, because I had to finish off all the sauce before I left. While I was packing up the rest of my stuff, Claire managed to get a Skype call through on the poor Internet connection she uses in Cairo. It was great to hear from her, I haven’t been able to talk to her on the phone for almost a month.
I was in high spirits as I said goodbye to the girls and got into the car to begin my trip to Kerala. Unfortunately the driver was a little bit to enthusiastic about driving in a car with a horn and AC. He was blasting on the horn so much that he may as well have just kept it honking continuously for the entire 4 hour drive. He also kept the AC on high for the entire trip, which was completely unnecessary because it was a chilly night outside the car. I should have said something about it but I didn’t.
The drive itself was really interesting. It was my first experience with Indian highways. It is pretty scary to be in the car when an Indian driver is going at highway speed. The same lack of traffic rules apply to the highway. Drivers force their way between cars to merge, they break at the last second, and pull out into oncoming highway traffic like it is no big deal. On Indian highways there are uncontrolled crosswalks, pedestrians, cows, dogs, bicycles, mopeds and severely underpowered motorcycles all traveling at less than ¼ of the speed of the cars. Busses and Lorries also add to the mess. They can’t go very fast and every car wants to pass them. But they also block the visibility of the road in front of the passing car. I can’t count the number of times we have pulled out into the opposite lane to try to pass only to be confronted by an oncoming buss or a group of cows. I am convinced that the Indian government should stick to building only smaller roads to prevent people from going fast.
I made it to the train station 4 hours early, as I had anticipated… the VCRC people had insisted I leave at 5:00 for a 11:30 train. So I sat down on the station floor with everyone else. This was a really interesting experience… Within minutes I was surrounded by families and groups who had taken up spots around me. After a couple of hours I became aware that I was one of about 3 single travelers in a group of hundreds of people. Nobody does anything alone in India. I am fairly certain that I looked a bit out of place sitting in this group of people because at one point an bummy looking black American dude came up to me and asked me “are you ok?” I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary except sitting on the station floor but that has to be considered normal considering the other 100 or so people sitting around me. Later someone tried to hand me a baby. So I pretended that I only spoke Spanish. It is never a good idea to accept babies from strangers.
Finally my train showed up at platform 7. I walked over there and waited some more then finally got on. About an hour later the train left the station and around 2:00 I finally fell asleep. I had chips and water for dinner.
Today started off well. I slept in and then Katie and I went to Coffee.com the Internet café to do some work and write a couple of emails. In the afternoon I made spaghetti… again, because I had to finish off all the sauce before I left. While I was packing up the rest of my stuff, Claire managed to get a Skype call through on the poor Internet connection she uses in Cairo. It was great to hear from her, I haven’t been able to talk to her on the phone for almost a month.
I was in high spirits as I said goodbye to the girls and got into the car to begin my trip to Kerala. Unfortunately the driver was a little bit to enthusiastic about driving in a car with a horn and AC. He was blasting on the horn so much that he may as well have just kept it honking continuously for the entire 4 hour drive. He also kept the AC on high for the entire trip, which was completely unnecessary because it was a chilly night outside the car. I should have said something about it but I didn’t.
The drive itself was really interesting. It was my first experience with Indian highways. It is pretty scary to be in the car when an Indian driver is going at highway speed. The same lack of traffic rules apply to the highway. Drivers force their way between cars to merge, they break at the last second, and pull out into oncoming highway traffic like it is no big deal. On Indian highways there are uncontrolled crosswalks, pedestrians, cows, dogs, bicycles, mopeds and severely underpowered motorcycles all traveling at less than ¼ of the speed of the cars. Busses and Lorries also add to the mess. They can’t go very fast and every car wants to pass them. But they also block the visibility of the road in front of the passing car. I can’t count the number of times we have pulled out into the opposite lane to try to pass only to be confronted by an oncoming buss or a group of cows. I am convinced that the Indian government should stick to building only smaller roads to prevent people from going fast.
I made it to the train station 4 hours early, as I had anticipated… the VCRC people had insisted I leave at 5:00 for a 11:30 train. So I sat down on the station floor with everyone else. This was a really interesting experience… Within minutes I was surrounded by families and groups who had taken up spots around me. After a couple of hours I became aware that I was one of about 3 single travelers in a group of hundreds of people. Nobody does anything alone in India. I am fairly certain that I looked a bit out of place sitting in this group of people because at one point an bummy looking black American dude came up to me and asked me “are you ok?” I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary except sitting on the station floor but that has to be considered normal considering the other 100 or so people sitting around me. Later someone tried to hand me a baby. So I pretended that I only spoke Spanish. It is never a good idea to accept babies from strangers.
Finally my train showed up at platform 7. I walked over there and waited some more then finally got on. About an hour later the train left the station and around 2:00 I finally fell asleep. I had chips and water for dinner.
Journal 11-20-2010
Journal 11-20-2010
I really enjoyed sleeping in this morning and not having to sit at a microscope all day. We went into Pondicherry and hung out for most of the day and had dinner at a pretty good Chinese/Indian food place. Then at about 9:00 I made some late night spaghetti. Then stayed up till 12:00 doing laundry and packing stuff up for my trip to Kerala tomorrow.
I really enjoyed sleeping in this morning and not having to sit at a microscope all day. We went into Pondicherry and hung out for most of the day and had dinner at a pretty good Chinese/Indian food place. Then at about 9:00 I made some late night spaghetti. Then stayed up till 12:00 doing laundry and packing stuff up for my trip to Kerala tomorrow.
Journal 11-19-2010
Journal 11-19-2010
Today was a Friday
I spent the entire day practicing the identification of mosquitoes. UGH… It is frustrating that I have wasted a whole week not making any progress on my project because I haven’t been able to make it to my project site yet. Both of the girls have their projects very clearly defined and are starting to work on them. That being said, It was a shame that I had to say goodbye to the people from the VCRC lab. They were all nice and generally a lot of fun to work with. After work we drove into Pondi and went out to dinner.
Today was a Friday
I spent the entire day practicing the identification of mosquitoes. UGH… It is frustrating that I have wasted a whole week not making any progress on my project because I haven’t been able to make it to my project site yet. Both of the girls have their projects very clearly defined and are starting to work on them. That being said, It was a shame that I had to say goodbye to the people from the VCRC lab. They were all nice and generally a lot of fun to work with. After work we drove into Pondi and went out to dinner.
Journal 11-18-2010
Journal 11-18-2010
30 Days left in India.
Today, I worked from 9-5 in a mosquito lab at VCRC. The lab I was in is involved in the upkeep of the Mosquito museum at the VCRC. They collect, pin identify and preserve mosquito specimens from all over India. As a result VCRC has a very impressive collection of mosquito specimens. They have collected adults and the larval skins of each mosquito. This process is incredibly tedious but the people doing the work are great! They are all extremely knowledgeable and friendly! It was great to work in this lab. Although all I got to do was sit at a microscope and learn how to identify different genus and species types of mosquitoes using traditional taxonomy. It was difficult to stay enthusiastic about mosquitoes for that long.
30 Days left in India.
Today, I worked from 9-5 in a mosquito lab at VCRC. The lab I was in is involved in the upkeep of the Mosquito museum at the VCRC. They collect, pin identify and preserve mosquito specimens from all over India. As a result VCRC has a very impressive collection of mosquito specimens. They have collected adults and the larval skins of each mosquito. This process is incredibly tedious but the people doing the work are great! They are all extremely knowledgeable and friendly! It was great to work in this lab. Although all I got to do was sit at a microscope and learn how to identify different genus and species types of mosquitoes using traditional taxonomy. It was difficult to stay enthusiastic about mosquitoes for that long.
Journal 11-17-2010
Journal 11-17-2010
Today was a Muslim holiday so we didn’t have to go to work! Instead we went into Pondi to the Coffee.com Internet café where I sent emails and downloaded papers until about 2:00. When we had all finished using the Internet we walked down to the beach. The Pondi beach is pretty nice, but nobody swims there because of strong undertow. It was a beautiful day to walk around. There were a lot of Indian locals and tourists just sitting on the rocks watching the waves come in. There were also a lot of beggars. One old woman in particular followed us for about 15 minutes trying to give us a piece of paper with Tamil writing on it. Then we had lunch at the Sea View restaurant. It served all veg Indian food and I ordered a gravy dish with mushrooms, which was delicious.
Later, the girls wanted to go shopping but Stephanie and I didn’t so instead we decided to take a drive down the ECR (east coast road). Later we came back and meet up with Katie and Leah for dinner. We eventually decided to go to a pizza place that had been mentioned in the blue pages of our India packet from Olaf. It was good but the prices were really high and I don’t think I have any desire to go back. During dinner we talked a lot about being ready to go home even though we still have four weeks left.
We made it back to the guest house around 8 and then Katie Stephanie and I all watched Up In The Air, a movie with George Clooney then we went to bed. Good day!
Today was a Muslim holiday so we didn’t have to go to work! Instead we went into Pondi to the Coffee.com Internet café where I sent emails and downloaded papers until about 2:00. When we had all finished using the Internet we walked down to the beach. The Pondi beach is pretty nice, but nobody swims there because of strong undertow. It was a beautiful day to walk around. There were a lot of Indian locals and tourists just sitting on the rocks watching the waves come in. There were also a lot of beggars. One old woman in particular followed us for about 15 minutes trying to give us a piece of paper with Tamil writing on it. Then we had lunch at the Sea View restaurant. It served all veg Indian food and I ordered a gravy dish with mushrooms, which was delicious.
Later, the girls wanted to go shopping but Stephanie and I didn’t so instead we decided to take a drive down the ECR (east coast road). Later we came back and meet up with Katie and Leah for dinner. We eventually decided to go to a pizza place that had been mentioned in the blue pages of our India packet from Olaf. It was good but the prices were really high and I don’t think I have any desire to go back. During dinner we talked a lot about being ready to go home even though we still have four weeks left.
We made it back to the guest house around 8 and then Katie Stephanie and I all watched Up In The Air, a movie with George Clooney then we went to bed. Good day!
Journal 11-16-2010
Journal 10-16-2011
Today I had a preliminary introduction to VCRC. I was got a full tour of the mosquito colony and the collection of mosquito specimens. I was also able to get a brief introduction to the topic of mosquito DNA barcoding. Later in the day Katie and I went into town to visit the coffee.com Internet café. We also picked up groceries to make spaghetti we used Prego sauce which was really expensive but we enhanced it with chicken mince mushrooms and onion. It was really good but we didn’t pay attention to the noodles so we ended up making noodles that were of oatmeal consistency. Oh well, at least the sauce was delicious. Tomorrow is a Muslim holiday so we get the day off!
Today I had a preliminary introduction to VCRC. I was got a full tour of the mosquito colony and the collection of mosquito specimens. I was also able to get a brief introduction to the topic of mosquito DNA barcoding. Later in the day Katie and I went into town to visit the coffee.com Internet café. We also picked up groceries to make spaghetti we used Prego sauce which was really expensive but we enhanced it with chicken mince mushrooms and onion. It was really good but we didn’t pay attention to the noodles so we ended up making noodles that were of oatmeal consistency. Oh well, at least the sauce was delicious. Tomorrow is a Muslim holiday so we get the day off!
Journal 11-15-2010
Journal 11-15-2010
Today I woke up just before 8:00 to the sounds of knocking. I assumed it was coming from next door and I had planned to get up at 8:00 and finish packing anyway so I got out of bed. About 10 minutes later I heard the knocking again but this time it was definitely coming from my door. When I opened the door Katie was standing there! What a great surprise. It is really nice to see Katie again especially now that John has taken off.
Our main task for the day was to make it to VCRC in Pondicherry. To do this we had to get a bus at the Koyambadu bus station. That was easy enough, the bus ride was around 4 hours and I was really uncomfortable. I was crammed in a seat with my knees pressed painfully against the seat in front of me. I was also trapped in the window seat that was conveniently placed directly on top of the wheel well. Despite my discomfort we did in fact make it to Pondi : ).
We took a rickshaw from the bus station to the hospital near VCRC we found our way pretty easily from there. When we got to VCRC they gave us room keys at the gate. We went to the rooms to set down our backpacks. The rooms were extremely nice and decorated with furnishings that must have been from the 70s. Then we met with Dr. S, the head honcho.
We had the first meal of the day at 2:00 in Dr. S’s office, it consisted of a hand full of snack mix, a piece of Indian sweet and a cup of Chai. I was sooooooo hungry. This little snack definitely helped.
Dr. S told us about what we were going to do and where we could stay. We eventually decided to move from the really nice rooms to the more modest guesthouse that is currently occupied by a girl named Stephanie from the USA. She is here doing a Fulbright scholarship project. The guesthouse has 5 or 6 rooms ( I cant tell if one of the locked rooms is a closet or a room). It is pretty nice and has a kitchen. It also costs 250 rupees per month, which is SUPER CHEAP. I am only staying here until Sunday then I will move on to the YMCA in Kottayam Kerala.
We went out for dinner with Stepahine tonight and she showed us around Pondicherry a little bit. We also got some groceries. Stephanie seems like she is a pretty nice girl and we all seem to get along so far.
Today I woke up just before 8:00 to the sounds of knocking. I assumed it was coming from next door and I had planned to get up at 8:00 and finish packing anyway so I got out of bed. About 10 minutes later I heard the knocking again but this time it was definitely coming from my door. When I opened the door Katie was standing there! What a great surprise. It is really nice to see Katie again especially now that John has taken off.
Our main task for the day was to make it to VCRC in Pondicherry. To do this we had to get a bus at the Koyambadu bus station. That was easy enough, the bus ride was around 4 hours and I was really uncomfortable. I was crammed in a seat with my knees pressed painfully against the seat in front of me. I was also trapped in the window seat that was conveniently placed directly on top of the wheel well. Despite my discomfort we did in fact make it to Pondi : ).
We took a rickshaw from the bus station to the hospital near VCRC we found our way pretty easily from there. When we got to VCRC they gave us room keys at the gate. We went to the rooms to set down our backpacks. The rooms were extremely nice and decorated with furnishings that must have been from the 70s. Then we met with Dr. S, the head honcho.
We had the first meal of the day at 2:00 in Dr. S’s office, it consisted of a hand full of snack mix, a piece of Indian sweet and a cup of Chai. I was sooooooo hungry. This little snack definitely helped.
Dr. S told us about what we were going to do and where we could stay. We eventually decided to move from the really nice rooms to the more modest guesthouse that is currently occupied by a girl named Stephanie from the USA. She is here doing a Fulbright scholarship project. The guesthouse has 5 or 6 rooms ( I cant tell if one of the locked rooms is a closet or a room). It is pretty nice and has a kitchen. It also costs 250 rupees per month, which is SUPER CHEAP. I am only staying here until Sunday then I will move on to the YMCA in Kottayam Kerala.
We went out for dinner with Stepahine tonight and she showed us around Pondicherry a little bit. We also got some groceries. Stephanie seems like she is a pretty nice girl and we all seem to get along so far.
Journal 11-14-2010
Journal 10-14-2010
Today was a serious travel day. We woke up on a train bound for Delhi. The train finally arrived at the Delhi station about 4 hours late. But thankfully we still had enough time to get to the airport and catch our flight. We found an unofficial taxi and took it to the airport. When we arrived we were excessively early because our plane had been delayed about three hours. At this point it was about 1:00 and we still hadn’t had anything to eat so we headed toward the terminal 1 food court where there was a KFC and a Pizza Hut. I ordered some KFC then a little bit later a pizza. I also was able to get some free WIFI on my Ipod so that I could send an email to Claire. I was pretty stoked because WIFI in general,,, let alone Free WIFI, is a treasure in India.
Our flight on Spicejet was uneventful. The seats were extremely close together and there was a toddler that was punting the back of my seat. But other than that it was good. We were in high spirits when we reached Chennai. We got our bags then got in our first Indian Taxi to head to ICSA.
The Taxi was great! It was some old British car, the standard model used by most Indian taxi drivers. I really liked riding in it.
When we got to ICSA we repacked and got two rooms. Then I had to part with John. Hopefully I will see him again soon. It will be weird to travel without him. It is tough to learn how to travel really well with someone and then have to transition to a different travel situation. It is particularly difficult because when you are traveling like this, people are the only constant thing in your life.
Today was a serious travel day. We woke up on a train bound for Delhi. The train finally arrived at the Delhi station about 4 hours late. But thankfully we still had enough time to get to the airport and catch our flight. We found an unofficial taxi and took it to the airport. When we arrived we were excessively early because our plane had been delayed about three hours. At this point it was about 1:00 and we still hadn’t had anything to eat so we headed toward the terminal 1 food court where there was a KFC and a Pizza Hut. I ordered some KFC then a little bit later a pizza. I also was able to get some free WIFI on my Ipod so that I could send an email to Claire. I was pretty stoked because WIFI in general,,, let alone Free WIFI, is a treasure in India.
Our flight on Spicejet was uneventful. The seats were extremely close together and there was a toddler that was punting the back of my seat. But other than that it was good. We were in high spirits when we reached Chennai. We got our bags then got in our first Indian Taxi to head to ICSA.
The Taxi was great! It was some old British car, the standard model used by most Indian taxi drivers. I really liked riding in it.
When we got to ICSA we repacked and got two rooms. Then I had to part with John. Hopefully I will see him again soon. It will be weird to travel without him. It is tough to learn how to travel really well with someone and then have to transition to a different travel situation. It is particularly difficult because when you are traveling like this, people are the only constant thing in your life.
Journal 11-13-2010
Journal 10-13-2010
Today we left our hotel in Mcloud ganj ( I am still not sure how this is spelled). I was finally able to send the package home. The post office makes you jump through all sorts of crazy hoops before they let you send a package in India. Then we said goodbye to a shop keeper that John and I had made friends with and headed toward the bus stop. We got on a bus stop bound for pathencott (again I don’t know the spelling of this). From there we got on an overnight train headed for Dehli. This journey was uneventful but really tiring and we didn’t get much to eat during the day and had junk food for dinner at the train station. I was exhausted but still found it hard to fall asleep on the middle bunk in a 3rd class sleeper car.
Today we left our hotel in Mcloud ganj ( I am still not sure how this is spelled). I was finally able to send the package home. The post office makes you jump through all sorts of crazy hoops before they let you send a package in India. Then we said goodbye to a shop keeper that John and I had made friends with and headed toward the bus stop. We got on a bus stop bound for pathencott (again I don’t know the spelling of this). From there we got on an overnight train headed for Dehli. This journey was uneventful but really tiring and we didn’t get much to eat during the day and had junk food for dinner at the train station. I was exhausted but still found it hard to fall asleep on the middle bunk in a 3rd class sleeper car.
Journal 11-12-2010
Journal 11-12-2010
Today was our last full day in Mcloud ganj. After that john and I did some last minute shopping. He got some more gifts for his relatives at home and I didn’t buy anything of great significance except for a giant duffel bag that I can use for the flight home. This bag will fit my entire backpack and still has room for lots more stuff. I am really going to need all the extra space for all the gifts and other things that I have accumulated so far. Mcloud ganj continues to be a fun place to stay. John and I are now friends with several of the shop owners and have been invited to have tea on two separate occasions.
Today was our last full day in Mcloud ganj. After that john and I did some last minute shopping. He got some more gifts for his relatives at home and I didn’t buy anything of great significance except for a giant duffel bag that I can use for the flight home. This bag will fit my entire backpack and still has room for lots more stuff. I am really going to need all the extra space for all the gifts and other things that I have accumulated so far. Mcloud ganj continues to be a fun place to stay. John and I are now friends with several of the shop owners and have been invited to have tea on two separate occasions.
Journal 11-11-2010
Journal 11-11-2010
Today was a great day! We woke up at 7:00, had a quick breakfast at a café near to our hotel and then we started walking toward Triund. The path to Triund took us though mcloudganj and into another town in an adjoining valley. Once we were in the second town we spent about 45 minutes lost on the wrong trail because our map was very basic. We finally backtracked and found the correct trail coming out of a parking lot surrounded by shops. This trail took us up a riverbed through a town and finally up the side of a mountain. The hike up to Triund was very picturesque, the weather was great and we were all really happy to be up in the beautiful Himalayas! This mountain range is unlike any other one that I have seen. The mountains are steeper and rocks seem sharper. I have close to no knowledge about rocks but I will attempt to describe them anyway. The rocks in the Himalayas seems harder than the sandstone that I have observed in many parts of the USA. However after closer examination the Himalayan rock seems splits into leaves and flakes if you smash it up at the right angle. It also has a shiny quality a lot like malachite (I believe).
Enough about rocks. The hike was awesome the only downside was that Leah was going really slowly and complaining about various health problems. This got really annoying and john and I could barely handle it by the time we reached the top. (sorry to bash you Leah). The view at the top was so beautiful that we forgot all about Leah’s whining. There were three large peaks directly on the backside of the mountain we climbed. If you looked down in the direction we climbed you could barely see the towns because of the hazy mist that hangs in the valleys.
It was a good day!
For dinner we went to an all vegetarian Japanese restaurant. I had miso soup, and vegetable tempura. It was good but I wish I could have had sushi also.
Today was a great day! We woke up at 7:00, had a quick breakfast at a café near to our hotel and then we started walking toward Triund. The path to Triund took us though mcloudganj and into another town in an adjoining valley. Once we were in the second town we spent about 45 minutes lost on the wrong trail because our map was very basic. We finally backtracked and found the correct trail coming out of a parking lot surrounded by shops. This trail took us up a riverbed through a town and finally up the side of a mountain. The hike up to Triund was very picturesque, the weather was great and we were all really happy to be up in the beautiful Himalayas! This mountain range is unlike any other one that I have seen. The mountains are steeper and rocks seem sharper. I have close to no knowledge about rocks but I will attempt to describe them anyway. The rocks in the Himalayas seems harder than the sandstone that I have observed in many parts of the USA. However after closer examination the Himalayan rock seems splits into leaves and flakes if you smash it up at the right angle. It also has a shiny quality a lot like malachite (I believe).
Enough about rocks. The hike was awesome the only downside was that Leah was going really slowly and complaining about various health problems. This got really annoying and john and I could barely handle it by the time we reached the top. (sorry to bash you Leah). The view at the top was so beautiful that we forgot all about Leah’s whining. There were three large peaks directly on the backside of the mountain we climbed. If you looked down in the direction we climbed you could barely see the towns because of the hazy mist that hangs in the valleys.
It was a good day!
For dinner we went to an all vegetarian Japanese restaurant. I had miso soup, and vegetable tempura. It was good but I wish I could have had sushi also.
Journal 11-10-2010
Journal 11-10-2010
Today we didn’t take on anything too impressive because john and I were still feeling a bit under the weather. We did however do an impressive amount of Christmas shopping. I was able to get gifts for most of the people on my list. They have some really great tourist oriented shopping in Mclowdganj (I still don’t know the correct spelling).
John and I made several trips out of the room to go on long shopping trips. We also kept coming back to the room to take little relaxation breaks during which we would usually watch an episode of 24. We were still really tired and worn down from traveling and getting sick and we have some digestive issues that need to be handled with caution. Hahaha.
Later in the evening John Leah and I all went to Johnny’s Italian kitchen (the same resaraunt we went to on the 8th) I was really hungry from bolognaise but unfortunately the restaurant was out so I had to settle for some chicken pasta that was almost the exact same as the pasta I had had previously. Oh well.
Today we didn’t take on anything too impressive because john and I were still feeling a bit under the weather. We did however do an impressive amount of Christmas shopping. I was able to get gifts for most of the people on my list. They have some really great tourist oriented shopping in Mclowdganj (I still don’t know the correct spelling).
John and I made several trips out of the room to go on long shopping trips. We also kept coming back to the room to take little relaxation breaks during which we would usually watch an episode of 24. We were still really tired and worn down from traveling and getting sick and we have some digestive issues that need to be handled with caution. Hahaha.
Later in the evening John Leah and I all went to Johnny’s Italian kitchen (the same resaraunt we went to on the 8th) I was really hungry from bolognaise but unfortunately the restaurant was out so I had to settle for some chicken pasta that was almost the exact same as the pasta I had had previously. Oh well.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Journal 11-8-2010
Journal 11-8-2010
Went to Italian restaurant with Leah
Proceeded to get sick at 11:30
John and Leah had both already gotten sick that day. We think that we all got food poisoning from food that we ate at a bus stop.
Went to Italian restaurant with Leah
Proceeded to get sick at 11:30
John and Leah had both already gotten sick that day. We think that we all got food poisoning from food that we ate at a bus stop.
Journal 10-29-2010
Quote of the day:
Paul: “John! In true Indian fashion, I am going to need you to pour yourself a drink so that we can toast.”
John: “Well if that is the case, then in true Indian fashion let me wash this cockroach out of my glass.”
Paul: “John! In true Indian fashion, I am going to need you to pour yourself a drink so that we can toast.”
John: “Well if that is the case, then in true Indian fashion let me wash this cockroach out of my glass.”
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