1 week and counting

Already one week gone..and what did I do in my first long weekend? I drank..and drank some more. We had 2 goodbye parties for one south-african guy..Seth..a really good guy. We drank some whiskey and rum, and had some fun, and listened for the biggest part of the evening to my music (I was the DJ!). Some other people went to Jodhpur, to see one of the sights I also have on my wish list. First I felt a bit insulted because they didn`t mind to ask me if I wanted to tag along..later..I was actually happy. They left saturday night and came back sunday night. The trip there and back again took 12 hours. They were in the city for maybe 8 hours? Not worth it in my honest opinion. I`d rather take some more time to see sights like those; If there is one thing I hate, it is running through sights.

My job at the moment is still a big question. I`m in doubt which project to take..currently I`m in child and development, working together with Gina. But somehow..communication is just very difficult, and nothing feels really right. My working-methods are just a lot different from hers I guess, and today I had a gigantic problem just to understand where and what she was doing. Our supervisor of the child and development program didn't..but then again I wonder if she really cares about anything anyway. So I`m thinking about moving to natural resource management, there was a nice project there which had a bit more connections with economics. Of course..I`ll have to work alone again..but maybe it is for the best..I can do it at my own speed, with my own line of thinking and reasoning..that might work-out a lot better. Only problem with that project is that I would have to go to a forest for three weeks to study forest management at the spot. Its a bit long..but then again..it would be a great adventure.

Greetings

Paul

After the first night...

I slept like a rose, stone..or any other object that stands for a good and long night of sleep. It has been mre than 24:00 hours now since I entered the country, and I think my level of expectations where correct: Having no expectations at all. I think it is a country which you really have to enter with an open mind, and where you just have to let things come at you..slowly.

I`ve got a beautiful room, in sort of a ched on the top of the house. I don`t know if it is water-proof, but the great view when you step out of the room is simply brilliant. So I got up today, and the first thing I did was sitting on top of the roof with the sun shining in my face. Also a nice thing is that the railroads are just next to the house, and the trains always loudly announce their pressence. They are not so pretty diesel-trains, but I`ll make sure to take some pictures for the train-lovers out there.

The people in the house (7 others) are all very nice. Although the names are not yet completely in my mind, it always takes a week or 2 for them to settle in my long-run memory and stay there for the rest of my life. 3 guys and 5 ladies by the way.

I`m also going to try to buy a guitar here, an acoustic one. From my first impression I should be able to get one for maybe around 20 euro's...although I haven`t seen a shop yet. It`ll probably be my first try at aggressive india-style bargaining :D.

I`ll post some pictures one of these days on my msn space, so check that place out.

Greetings

Paul

ps: Good luck to my cousin and of course the little baby!

Nerves!

As an update to the last post: Everything is arranged, the only thing I need to do is to buy a new toothbrush, and get some stuff for my lenses. That's about it.

And I`m probably going to try to learn to read some Hindi before I leave. One website teaching it said it was an easy language to learn, and they even gave instructions. Hope this would enable me to read and order some food (Not knowing of course what I have ordered). Next I noticed that the 3 other free trainee spots at my NGO employee have been taken, 2 by other dutchies, 1 by someone from Columbia. This kind of his a positive vote for my choice to work at this company; If those three people choose it, I can`t be wrong, can I? All in all it seems to become one big happy dutch colony again, just like in Korea. My mother-language will maintain its average quality thanks to this I guess.

Anything else? Well..I bought 7 records last weekend; Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Winter, The Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, Het Goede Doel, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and another one. This makes my collection go past the 60 mark. I`ve got almost more records than cds now, within maybe a year of starting to buy them. And since the prices are 1 cd for 10 records, I`m a happy man to keep expanding my music collection in this way.