First few days

Hello friends and family.  I have finally moved into the trainee flat here in Hyderabad and figured out how to connect to the internet (it was a tricky process).  But let's start where my last post left off.  After writing, a couple of AIESECers and I went to see a movie at the new mall.  It is very modern and well air conditioned, which is very important.  The theater itself was pretty standard.  Halfway through the movie though, the lights came on and the reel stopped.  I thought the projector was broken but it turns out they have intermissions in their movies in India.  This way they can sell more snacks and give everyone a chance to stretch their legs...Not a bad idea.

Later that night, I did a homestay with Rishwin.  He (along with everyone else that I've met so far) is an extremely gracious and generous host.  We relaxed at his house and he showed me a great view of Hyderabad from the roof of his apartment complex.  The next morning we went out for Indian breakfast, which again, was delicious.  (From now on I'm not going to write how good the food is.  This should be assumed.)  I had a dosa, which is a crispy shell full of potato, onion and spices.  You dip this in different sauces.  Afterwards, Rishwin and I went back to his place for a few hours.  I watched some cricket on tv but I still don't understand it.  Hopefully I will learn how to play while I'm here.  My plan is to learn cricket and teach ultimate frisbee.

After stopping by at the AIESEC office and meeting more people, some of us went to a cafe.  To get there I had my first ride in an autorickshaw.  They are like little open-air pods with room for three in the back.  At the cafe we smoked hookah and talked about American movies and tv shows.  Luckily for me, a couple of the guys watch Lost, so we had a lot to talk about.  When we left the cafe it started to rain.  What began as a refreshing drizzle turned quickly into a massive downpour.  Within a minute or two the streets were like rivers and traffic was at a standstill.  Fortunately one of our friends who met up with us had a car so we were sheltered from the elements.  The plan was to stop by the office, pick up my suitcase and drop me off at the trainee flat, but we had to delay for an hour or so since we didn't want to go swimming.  We waited at another new mall and had dinner at McDonalds.  Hyderabad is a quickly developing city and there are several new malls and restaurants.  One of my new friends commented that he can't keep up with all the new establishments springing up seemingly overnight.

Once we were able to get my bags, the AIESEC Hyderabad president, Rishwin and I chilled for a while and had a few beers and some awesome Indian snacks.  Then they dropped me off at my new home for the next two months.  The flat is very spacious and has a good view of the neighborhood.  So far I have met two of my roommates, Anne from Kenya, with whom I share a room, and Iko, from Nigeria.  There are three more people living here that I will probably meet tonight.  After setting up my bed I was very tired so I tried to fall asleep.  The key word here is tried.  I have always had a hard time sleeping the first night in a new place, but the heat did not help.  There is a fan in my room, but India employs controlled power outages so it doesn't always work.  Also, there is a mosque right by my place and they broadcast prayers over the loudspeakers every five hours.  That plus babies crying, dogs howling, cats meowing, and roosters crowing made for a restless night.  Maybe I'll get used to it over time, but maybe I should just get earplugs. 

Today Anne took me on a short walk and showed me the ropes at the local market.  I bought some cereal, juice and mangoes.  Now I am waiting to be picked up to go over to the office of Pamencap, the company that I will be working for.  I am sitting on my bed, enjoying the cool breeze.  It turns out there are positives as well as negatives to the rainstorms here.  I miss everyone at home and hope all is well.  Red Wings up 2-0, woo!

 my room

 my view