Yesterday, I had a class with Aradhana who is actually very sick for the past several days. Not sure whether she has a really bad cold or something else, but her voice is very hoarse. She might have been feverish two or three days ago as well; however, she's been very dedicated to me and I in turn have been doing a lot of learning on my own. We still have a lot of grounds to cover b/c she is still trying to figure out what level I'm at and how she can help me improve during the two and a half months that I'll be in Pune. The focus will almost be entirely on grammar which is a good thing because I can ask her any grammatical questions I have (and I certainly have quite a lot) and she will explain to me.
I've been stuck in the apartment for the past 4 days, not because I didn't want to go out, but I needed some time to settle down a little and take it easy. All my housemates go to the work so I have the entire apartment to myself. Vaibhav leaves at 9:00 and gets back at around 6:30. Bhavesh leaves at 9:30 and usually gets back at 7 or 8. Abhik and Vikas leave at noon and don't usually get back until 11:00 pm. By that time, I'm already in bed so I hardly get to talk to Vikas or Abhik until morning.
Even though I've been inside, the heat is something that I need to get used to. By 3 pm, Pune can get up to the upper 90s, and I have to soak my shirt with water to cool myself and that's just being inside. But next week, I will explore Pune. Aradhana suggested that I should go to the Bhandarkar Research Center or the Sanskrit Center at the University of Pune instead of staying in the apartment. Because I live quite far from the center of Pune, I'm gonna have my housemates drop me off on their way to work.
On Friday, I will head to Mumbai for two and a half days. I will take a bus in the afternoon and stay with one of Vikas' friend. He really wanted me to save money in Mumbai which can be a notoriously expensive city. Some parts can go up to $300/night; the cheapest budget hotel would cost me at least 1000 rupee/night. Vikas told me that his friend said that Mumbai right now is hot and humid--a double whammy. I definitely want to take a tour bus around the city on Saturday, do some sight-seeing/shopping on Sunday and then head back to Pune Sunday evening. That would be good.
Today May 26, 2011, a sudden thunderstorm struck Pune and our apartment was flooded in about 15 minutes. Vaibhav and I had to use bed sheets to soak up the water and then wring out the water into buckets. I asked Vaibhav whether this was the beginning of the monsoon but he said that it was a little too early. Nonetheless, it really was scary...I saw a pole being struck (not sure whether it was hit by lightning or not, but there were sparks and then it fell followed by people screaming.) This is just way too close for comfort--not sure how the woman who was so close to the pole felt, but I was hella scared even though I was inside and ten story up. The lightnings were very frequent almost one every 10-15 seconds. I tried capturing the purple-lit sky but had little luck.
You know in India, almost everyone can cook except for me, and I think it’s going to be good for me to at least spend some time watching the servants prepare lunch and dinner. I told my housemates that you can save a lot of money in America if you know how to cook delicious meals otherwise you’re stuck w/ going out to eat all the time and that can be very costly. So honestly, I have much to learn from people who do domestic work in our apartment than from my roommates who are all software engineers.
I've been stuck in the apartment for the past 4 days, not because I didn't want to go out, but I needed some time to settle down a little and take it easy. All my housemates go to the work so I have the entire apartment to myself. Vaibhav leaves at 9:00 and gets back at around 6:30. Bhavesh leaves at 9:30 and usually gets back at 7 or 8. Abhik and Vikas leave at noon and don't usually get back until 11:00 pm. By that time, I'm already in bed so I hardly get to talk to Vikas or Abhik until morning.
Even though I've been inside, the heat is something that I need to get used to. By 3 pm, Pune can get up to the upper 90s, and I have to soak my shirt with water to cool myself and that's just being inside. But next week, I will explore Pune. Aradhana suggested that I should go to the Bhandarkar Research Center or the Sanskrit Center at the University of Pune instead of staying in the apartment. Because I live quite far from the center of Pune, I'm gonna have my housemates drop me off on their way to work.
On Friday, I will head to Mumbai for two and a half days. I will take a bus in the afternoon and stay with one of Vikas' friend. He really wanted me to save money in Mumbai which can be a notoriously expensive city. Some parts can go up to $300/night; the cheapest budget hotel would cost me at least 1000 rupee/night. Vikas told me that his friend said that Mumbai right now is hot and humid--a double whammy. I definitely want to take a tour bus around the city on Saturday, do some sight-seeing/shopping on Sunday and then head back to Pune Sunday evening. That would be good.
Today May 26, 2011, a sudden thunderstorm struck Pune and our apartment was flooded in about 15 minutes. Vaibhav and I had to use bed sheets to soak up the water and then wring out the water into buckets. I asked Vaibhav whether this was the beginning of the monsoon but he said that it was a little too early. Nonetheless, it really was scary...I saw a pole being struck (not sure whether it was hit by lightning or not, but there were sparks and then it fell followed by people screaming.) This is just way too close for comfort--not sure how the woman who was so close to the pole felt, but I was hella scared even though I was inside and ten story up. The lightnings were very frequent almost one every 10-15 seconds. I tried capturing the purple-lit sky but had little luck.
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| The storm was crazy...didn't dare to venture out for a pic. |
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| Doesn't look like much water...but it wrought plenty of havoc. |
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| This was the closest that I got to capture a lightning. |
You know in India, almost everyone can cook except for me, and I think it’s going to be good for me to at least spend some time watching the servants prepare lunch and dinner. I told my housemates that you can save a lot of money in America if you know how to cook delicious meals otherwise you’re stuck w/ going out to eat all the time and that can be very costly. So honestly, I have much to learn from people who do domestic work in our apartment than from my roommates who are all software engineers.
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