Internet and Stuff
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.
