Saturday, November 18, 2006

A Smile...

Imagine this...

A 18 year old steps out onto the roads in a country where she knows no one, doesn't speak the language, and has never gone so far away from familiar territory. She has had a rough three days of travel and minus a few packs of "Le Snack", she has had nothing to eat.

She has a single address in her possession - and all phone numbers she has tried are either "Engaged", "Disconnected" or "Will be attended to after the Summer Break".

She is extremely worried, but she knows that she has to find her way to her University. She has money in the form of Travellers Cheques - the concept of which is very new to her, like everything else at that moment.

She walks out of the hotel, in search of a railway station. Lugging a 30Kg suitcase and a further 10kgs in hand bags, she finally makes it to "Centrum". She waits outside "Forex" - to convert money and is suddenly very very scared.

The feeling of utter helplessness must have shown on her face, for immediately a kind face looks to her and asks, "India se ho?". The girl nods feebly. The stranger then smiles at her.

It was that smile that kept me going during my time alone in a foreign country. It was that face that made me feel at home in a place that was nothing like home.

I spoke to Parveen - then stranger, now friend, a few days ago. Even as I speak to her now, I am truly overcome with emotion and I think "There must be a GOD somewhere who looks over me".

Thursday, November 16, 2006

:D

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

Conclusion:
Eat and drink what you like. It is speaking English that kills you.

PS: I am liking this new "blogger"!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Today

Today I am feeling... scared! I can't think of a better word than that!

I am not someone who copes with change too well and the next few months are going to be too much change too fast. Everything seems to be in fast-forward right now. I don't even have time to reflect!

I know this is only a phase and I will get over it. I also go through phases of intense excitement and acute happiness... it is all part of grand plan I suppose...

I guess my "scared" phase is also my most productive phase, so maybe I shouldn't complain!

Friday, November 10, 2006

A Phone Conversation...

Me: Hello Appa! Eppadi irrukeenga??
MPA: Ennada, indha ponnu unnum ennaku message anapaliyeennu nenaichindu irundhaen!
Me: Illa - I wanted to call you, adhunaala thaan naan message anapalla.

More Talk...

Me: Aparam next enage pogaporeenga??
MPA: En kitta podavaikku vendiya colour elaam soliirukiyyee. Naan seriya vaangaati, enna thitta maatiyoo??
Me: Naan thitta maataen!
MPA: Illa ma! Thittanum! Adam pidichaa thaane ponnu??
Me: Appadi illa - ippo thitta maaten-nnu sollanum. Aana, podavai seriya ilaati kandippa kathuvaen!

I told my mum about the above conversation and she said, "Evaloo aasai-ya irukaa paaraen!".

If she had had any doubts before, I am sure they are no longer there.

I do consider myself truely lucky.

(I don't want to translate the above conversation - it somehow doesn't feel right. It was a conversation I had with Sudarshan's dad over the phone today. It is just an example of how loving his family is!)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Geography? ME???

I did almost no Geography in high School and deffinetly no Geography at Uni! The only Geography I have ever done was the compulsory two terms that we had to do in Yr.7 and Yr.8, and honestly I don't think I remember any of it. (I do remember giving a great talk on the Daintree Rain Forest with Nadia though!)

Today, I was tutoring one of my students and he said he had a couple of exams tomorrow and wanted to go through some stuff with me. He is in Yr.7 and so I asked him to come over. He came over and said, "Right! I want to know how to read weather charts!". I said, "Hmmm.... where are your notes on the topic?". He gave me his book and some 20 pieces of paper fell out - none of the sheets were complete and hardly anything was written on the subject!

I tried to tell him I knew nothing about the subject, but didn't want to stress him out a day before his exam. I gave him a few questions to do, quickly ducked into my room, Googled, "Reading Weather Charts", skimmed through a few websites and went back to explain it all to him!

How good am I??? :P Now I can read weather charts - Did you know that in the Southern Hemisphere, air spins colckwise at low pressure and anti-clockwise at high pressure???

We read a few different weather charts afterwards and predicted the weather at different places - now we both feel like we could do Tim Bailey's job - and do it without an accent!

At Work Today:

Note: We have quite a few people getting married in the lab over the next few months...


Rose: Shall I load your samples as I load mine?
Me: Are you sure? I can do it.
Rose: No No. I will do it - for the bride-to-be!
Me: Awww! Thankyou.

I then walked into the lab and announced loudly:

Me: ROSE IS LOADING GELS FOR ALL BRIDES TO BE!!!!
:P

Moral of the story: Never offer to help Vidya!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Sharada Ma

I attended a beautiful dance drama today. I really enjoyed it!

The drama was about Sharada - consort to Rama Krishna. The person who introduced the topic said something along the lines of "Sharada Devi was extraordinarily ordinary".

I thought the life history of a truly amazing person was extremely beautifully represented. I enjoyed it thoroughly and was left feeling extremely inspired...

I just wanted to thank all those people who put on such a beautiful show!

Friday, November 03, 2006

Hmmm...

"I could always fall in love with the person I marry... but I don't think I could ever bring myself to marry the person I think I love."