Ah, to the age before internet. What did we do? Since my last post, I spent six consecutive, solitary and isolated days without the all-powerful and all-knowing that is the internet. This happened because I went on a trip away from the friendly confines of Bangalore to a town of roughly equal size in Hyderabad, about an 8 hour bus ride north. Going in I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have internet, but the thought of not having it didn’t really bother me. A nice relaxing time to clear your mind and not worry about the world afar, but focus on the world around you. Sure, it sounds nice, and was, for about the first 24 hours.
Then reality set it. No updates on the Buccos (who I’m glad are playing well), no Stanley Cup finals highlights, no newborn babies or wedding announcements (gag) on Facebook. No Netflix, no HBO, no news, no random google searches. It’s amazing how many times I wanted to quickly google something on my phone, or check the weather, or look at a map, only to be disappointed. In the rather slow and boring pace I’ve come accustomed to since I’ve been here, the internet is my only slice of sanity. Being away from friends and family and people to interact with, the internet and its updates I’ve, regrettably, started to cling to. It’s one thing when you’re out camping or something similar where you knowingly shut yourself off from the outside world. It’s another when everyone else around has wifi or 3g or 4g and you’re stuck in the 90s.
One positive I will take from the experience is that I managed to read, a lot. I’ve been reading a ton since I got here, there isn’t too much else to do besides peruse the internet and watch Netflix. Without the internet for six days I actually managed to read a book and a half, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, excellent, and most of Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, excellent as well. I already finished Graham Greene’s Orient Express and am deciding whether to start Moby-Dick or The Three Musketeers. If you can’t tell I like classics, and what a better opportunity to read them than by being here. The absence of internet made it wonderful to read. But again, only for so long. Any reading I’ve done over the past 10 years have been in small spurts between TV and/or Internet sessions or before bed. Having reading as the only form of entertainment is, different. It sort of brought me into some of the older books, when this really was the only form of personal entertainment. I did have my phone still, not like anyone can contact me though, and I have gotten really good at Spider solitaire and Golf solitaire and managed to snap a few pictures inbetween.
OK, Internet and technology complaining aside, my six day trip to Hyderabad was actually very interesting. I could write three more paragraphs on the trip, but I digress. First off, Hyderabad was one of the worst hit of the recent heat wave. Fortunately, it eased the day before we arrived, but it was still hot. We were there to do what Varghese has been doing for 15 years which is leadership and development workshops. The participants here were members/volunteers of a Christian leadership group called Inter Collegiate Prayer Fellowship (ICPF). They were a great, fun, funny and interesting group of guys from all over Southern India. What they and ICPF do is work with troubled university aged kids to help them overcome problems of addiction, stress, relationships, etc. through Christianity. Our goal was to facilitate a workshop covering the basic themes of leadership, peace building, problem solving, communication, cooperation and teamwork. The sessions of the four day program involved incorporating these themes through various activities, games, songs, prayers, and discussions aimed both at the participants, but also so that the participants can use them for their own work with teens.
The workshop and the ICPF guys were a blast, we stayed in one of the member’s apartment where everyone enjoyed authentic Indian meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A quick trip to the ER and a couple of injections later I learned of my first ever allergy, mangoes (which is a shame because they are delicious and sold on every street corner). I had my first truly authentic Chicken Briyani, a dish common in India but native to Hyderabad, which is chicken that is slow cooked within the rice both full of flavors and spices. We concluded the trip with a day a relaxation with friends of Varghese, I had another allergic reaction to mangoes, and then we took another overnight bus back to Bangalore. Bangalore, with its cool, cool temperature of like 90 (seriously it’s much nicer than Hyderabad, but I’m still sweating as I write this) and it’s glorious wifi.
Friday is a trip to a rural village outside of southern town called Salem. With my fellow volunteer/intern “My dad ate the ‘e'” Stanly, we’re to visit a school to help write a grant proposal and also visit a leper hospital. The latter of which I’m excited and sort of nervous. I mean, leprosy is still a thing? First world problems.
This was a rambling blog post as the power has been out and it is dark and I had to do something before my computer dies and I’m left in total isolation. Also, power outages are daily occurrence in India and can last from a few minutes to well over an hour like this one. END.
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