India isn't a different country, it's a different World...

House!

Well, the move has been made! We are now living in a nice 3 bedroom house near a lake. It's pretty sweet, pretty sweet indeed. I have an attached bathroom, which is great. In India, the bathrooms are called "wet bathrooms"... the reason for this, is that it's just like a big room! There are no shower doors, just a shower head. You can shave, brush your teeth, go to the bathroom, whatever you fancy - while taking a shower. It's definitely an interestingconcept, I dig it, besides the fact the floor is wet every time you shower. I got a big wiper-blade brush to sweep all the water to the corner where the drain is. Very handy.

Anyway, I woke up today with that feeling - that feeling that something very tiny is crawling on you. Naturally, I slapped the spot I felt it, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Only to realize when I finally arose that there were ants in my room!!! ANTS!!! Haha, it was pretty funny. I spent the next hour or so properly detouring their mission to ruin my life. I also bought some hardcore ant deterrent, which, made a moat of deadly chemical in front of my door. Problem solved, probably?

AWESOME INDIAN SHEETS! (Which I bought at Kannan's shop, of course)

Another thing - when writing late at night by candle light. Make sure to cap the pen. I frankly just blew out the candle and fell asleep instantly. I noticed this morning that there were pen marks all over my awesome Indian sheets! My pillow case got a nice little pool of ink as well. Luckily I have two of them.

Trees!

Even luckier, there are copious amounts of trees in Bangalore. Especially the NIMHANS campus. This beaut' was captured there. Trees like these make me want to live in a tree house, just sayin'... my research at NIMHANS hasn't really gotten wings yet. In fact, I've been so busy running around trying to find a house and registering with the Foreign Registration Office, that I have done absolutely nothing for my project. But that's okay, I planned to take the first month to get acclimated, anyway. I have, however, seemingly met every single department head in NIMHANS! Dr. Pal has been a great advisor so far, and has introduced me to a lot of interesting researchers. The head of the Psychiatry department in fact did some research on Huntington's that revolves around the same goals that my project is taking on. Same concepts, different parts of the brain being looked at. So he got a kick out of that, and said I couldcome see patients with him. I could really spend all of my time at NIMHANS learning and experimenting. But, that's not what I want to do, I want to explore India! So I will have to find that happy balance that I talked about earlier...

DELICIOUS DOSAS!

I have been somewhat living off these bad boys for the last week. They are basically like big pancake/crepes. This is called a paper masala dosa, which means it's paper thin - much more surface area than a regular dosa, which is about half or a third of that but thicker. Masala is a type of spice, and there is a potato (?) smorgasbord inside. Anyway, they are delicious. And you should be jealous that I get to eat them everyday, for about 77cents. ;)

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Bevan and I set out to do some house cleaning today. We (mostly him) mopped the house, I mopped my room and scrubbed my bathroom. It's pretty funny, they let us move in, but they are clearly not done with the house. We have a hole in the kitchen that a potential stove(?) vent will go through. Two doors are just not painted. And there are many, many more switches than things that they turn on or off. For an example, I have 4 plugs, 2 lights, and a ceiling fan in my room. How many switches do I have? 12. Why?! ... But judging by the wiring here, I wouldn't be surprised if I am turning on and off the next door neighbors lights when I furiously flick the mystery switches. And power outages are a big thing here, looking at this wiring box, I am not surprised, not surprised one bit...

Fruit!

Fruits. There are so many fruits here. And they are arranged so colorfully! Coconuts are a big thing as well, you chop it with a machete all rambo-like, and then stick a straw in it! Delicious coconut water... I actually tried something called a "Jack fruit" for the first time today, it's damn good. So, for all you adventurous people out there, go find a Jack fruit!

Mooooooo (cow)

Rule #1: Cows have the right-away.

Rule #2: Cows own this country.

This guy decided that picking out of the garbage for food just wasn't doing the trick. So he meandered up the steps of a sweet shop in hopes of a little snack. Hilarious.

Another thing that I have learned here.

"5 Minutes" = "Whenever I get there", "If you have a jetpack", "no"

It's pretty funny, actually. Patience is definitely one thing I will walk away from India with.

The guy who helped us get our house, Rajesh, has also helped us get other things, like beds and bean bags (our furniture of choice, and an amazing choice, I will add)... but above all that. We've become pretty good friends. We've also been close (literally, 3 people on a motorcycle?!). Bevan, myself, and Rajesh have hung out the last few days, had some whisky, had some laughs. Good guy. He is also planning on coming to the states next year, so if I am around I am looking forward to hosting him if he comes to the WestCoast.

In other news, I bought some spectacles here the other day. Good lookin' glasses, however - I do think they made the power a bit extreme. I can see into peoples souls. Seriously though, I am getting headaches, but that just might be from inhaling the deadly exhaust. Yep, that's probably it.

Tomorrow the plan is to learn how to play cricket, we will see if that manifests! ...

Bangalore! The city of boiled beans...

Well, this post has nothing to do with boiled beans, but apparently that's what Bangalore means!

My camera has been relatively inactive since reaching here, but I did manage to take a few pictures in the last couple days. So much has happened in the last week it would be nearly impossible for me to try capture it all, with that being said, here is a summary of a summary :).

If I had to do it in three words... I'd say FOOD, HOUSING, and KANNAN.

Food:

Is downright delicious. The typical south Indian style meal is called aThali, this consists of a bread which is in the middle of your plate... usually a few pieces, or rice! Then your plate is surrounded with little bowls of curry! So good! My favorite so far is the green one on the right. It's Palak, or spinach. Mmmmmmm... I had a big bowl of that today as well :) Of course this is just the normal meal, you can get hundreds of variations and different types of currys. Can't wait to try them all. Surprisingly enough, I haven't been out-spiced here, I enjoy the spicy foods that I've had thus far... even though more than a few times my nose has run!

HOUSING:

Shoot me. This has been the biggest adventure/disaster of them all. Bevan, Eliza and I have been non-stop trekking around this city, looking at place after place. Just when we think we have found the one, something falls through. It has happened to us twice already, I even brought my luggage to one of the places! Yet, still no beans. (pun intended)... We have comeacross another place that we have put an offer in, we'll know sometime in the morning tomorrow... keep your fingers crossed!

KANNAN:

A local fabric shop owner! This guy is the best! His whole family works in the shop, and his entire family (around 300 people I'm told) has 8 or 9 Sari/Shirt/Silk shops around Bangalore and India. He is probably the most friendly and genuine person I have met here! We have all taken quite a liking to him. In fact, when the housing crisis was happening, I called him up and he set us up with one of his friends, who is a relator. This guy has actually been showing us the places that we have made offers on but something seems to happen last second. Hopefully we'll be able to seal the deal tomorrow!

............

Traffic:

What a nightmare. This is one of the only downfalls of Bangalore. Lots and lots of traffic if you are anywhere near city-center, which, unfortunately, NIMHANS is located! Yikes! Talk about air pollution... it's pretty grim. I'm going to invest in a bandana, taking it old cowboy Western, or gangsta, you're choice.

Language:

No hablas? No problem!

English is spoken by most people here. At least a little bit, brokenly. I've been learning Kannada the last week, which is the local language, and it has gotten me far. You start speaking Kannada, and the people immediately become friendly to you. Cool deal, eh? Howdhu! (yes)

Rice & Beans:

A lentil shop, lots of the foods of South India are based from these...

Cricket:

This has to be the most popular sport in India, you can see it being played where ever there is open space. It's pretty cool, I will learn one of these days... this guy totally missed the ball if you can zoom in and see it, bahah ;).

Political movements:

I'm not sure how close any of you are following Indian news. But there is a giant anti-corruption movement happening right now. Spurred by Anna, who was using fasting as his vehicle. There have been hundreds and thousands of people in the streets, chanting with flags and candles, against corruption in the government. Today as we were leaving dinner, we stopped behind a small group of 100 to observe. Immediately we were handed candles, and before we knew it there were at least 3 cameras snapping pictures of us. So when morning rolls over... we're either appearing on the front page of the Daily Hindi, or getting arrested by Interpol.

On a brighter note. I'm finally going to get some sleep!

PEACE

India!

India has been amazing so far! I arrived on the 15th in New Delhi. It took a bit of time to get everything situated but I finally made it to the hotel that the Fulbright program had booked for us. Its called the Taj, which is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in. They literally treat you like royalty, it's a bit awkward actually. But I did make friends with the elevator guy, his name is Surander! Every time I said his name he lit up with a giant smile and warm handshake. My conference in Delhi was the 16th and 17th, so I managed to get the entire 15th to explore. And as it turns out... it was Indian Independence day! How lucky! I headed off to this place called India Gate, which is a giant monument in the center of Delhi. I checked that out and then walked to the parliament which is in a straight line from India Gate. This is IDENTICAL to the walk from Capitol to Washington Monument in DC!!! So weird! The best part was that people were all out celebrating Independence day, it was a great first India experience. Kites everywhere, smiles everywhere... ice cream vendors everywhere!

These are referred to as "Tuk-Tuks" or "auto-rickshaws"... a very easy way to get around the city and very affordable. Unfortunately, in cities like Bangalore where the traffic is heavy, so is the pollution. It's tough to breathe when sitting in one of these bad boys in traffic.

India gate in the distance...

KITES!

Parliament

That night I ended up running into a big group of Fulbrighters who had just arrived, a lot of them I knew from the orientation I had in DC a few months ago. We talked for a while and decided to meet back in the lobby to head out for dinner. We ended up in a pretty upscale place because it was one of the only places that was open! Very delicious food though, I had ... I don't remember now... but essentially it was butter chicken in a red curry sauce with white rice. Very delicious!

The next few days were spent in conference and meetings, a lot was learned and fun was had, though it is nothing to write here...

We did, however, go out to dinner on the 16th as a entire Fulbright group. We went to the American Ambassadors house! There were probably 180 people there, including 30 waiters who constantly came around with intricate finger foods, wines, scotches, anything you could think of! The food was extravagant as well, very tasty. I had a scotches or two, a glass of wine, and chatted with some folks. It was a great experience. Afterwards a group of us went out to the local hotel bar and had a drink and talked until the late hours of the night. It was actually sad saying bye to everyone on the 17th! I had made such great friendships in such short amount of time... but I am sure we will run into each other again, lots of places to go in India :).

When I arrived in Bangalore [sadly I have not taken any pictures yet!!] on the 17th it was fairly late at night. There was a total of 3 of us going to Bangalore, myself and a couple, Bevan and Eliza. We have become friends over the days and will most likely end up getting a place together in Bangalore. We went our separate ways out of the airport and I found my hotel pickup. I had been working on learning Kannada, the local language spoken in Bangalore, so I said the few words I know. Instantly he was happy and we had a great conversation the entire way back (in English, of course), he showed me around the city a bit as well. My hotel is pretty sweet, once again, and I ended up chatting with the receptionists for half an hour. They gave me a welcome drink of "Leeche(?) Juice" which is absolutely delicious, quite possibly the greatest thing ever. They also gave me a few words and phrases to learn and said they would test me in the morning! Ha! I was so excited to be in Bangalore finally and settle into the city i'll be in the for next chapter of my life...

My first day in Bangalore started early, went to the breakfast buffet where I also made some friends by speaking Kannada, and then headed off the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) where I'll be working for the next 9 months. I met with Dr. Pal, who is a neurologist there and one of my supervisors, he showed me around a bit and then introduced me to Dr. Jamuna, who is a neuropsychologist and will be supervising the assessment part of my research. She then introduced me to a few of her PhD students, Narinjana and Divya. They have showed me around the campus the last two days and I have got to know them fairly well. Also helped me to get a SIM card, which is priced fantastic, it basically costs me 20 rupee for an hour. I also get internet! The first day we headed to lunch at a nearby mall-ish type spot called "the forum", a definitely westernized spot of Bangalore, I don't know if they thought I couldn't handle Indian food or what, but there was a KFC/PizzaHut/Chinese/Anything you can ask for there. I ended up getting some Indian food anyway ;). Today we ended up having lunch in the canteen as they call it, the local cafeteria of the hospital, which is absolutely huge by the way. It's easily 1 square mile. Now, this is going to shock some of you, but I had a meal and a half-meal for 20 rupees. The current exchange rate is $1 to 42.25 rupees. Hmm... I could get use to this.

I had been in contact with Bevan and Eliza through email, but only briefly, they said that their accommodation was out in the middle of nowhere, so I told them to come to my hotel as it is in the center. I ended up running into them in the hotel lounge! We had a drink and discussed what our living situation has come to... we made a few appointments for tomorrow, and hopefully will find a place! I'm excited to live with them, they are both great people and I think it'll be both fun and a great learning experience. They are also a little older than me, and when I mentioned my age, there was a little shock, but hopefully that won't be a problem :P.

We met up for dinner having a place called "Sunny's" in mind. It was recommended to them by a friend who they met in Bangalore. Turns out it was an upscale Western food restaurant. Not yet sick of Indian food, we headed in a different direction. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we didn't find anymore appeasing places on the street we walked down. We ended up settling on a local street shack, which served a variety of dishes. It was extremely packed outside the window, and there wasn't any seating area. This is the kind of place that everybody and the entire conference we just had warned us not to eat at. But, since it was so popular, it couldn't have been too bad, right?! We tried to order two dishes of something that resembled bean curd and chile sauce, as Bevan put it (found this out after eating it), and I ordered a plate of Veg fried rice. We ended up getting one dish of the bean curd deal and my rice, 2/3, not bad street shack, not bad. This came to about 60 rupees. Now, I want you to imagine a 15" pizza. A very large pizza, right? Now, make that a plate, and then make that plate filled with rice which is 2" high! Whocaneatthatmuchrice?!?!?!? Needless to say, the three of us failed to put away all of the rice. We left in defeat, but with happy tummies. Well, sort of, there was that thought in the back of our minds that we just poisoned ourselves and would die before returning to the hotel.

But, I can tell you now, my stomach is in prime condition. Bangalore day 3... starts tomorrow.

Goodbyes, Taxim and Bartering like a Turk!

Tuesday was the last day for a few of our little group (Irina, Brent's girlfriend, and Lars and Simon, the Denmark guys!) ... We started out by going to a place for breakfast. I had lamachun (la-ma-joon) which is also referred to as a Turkish pizza and menemen which is a runny egg dish with vegetables. Put them together and got a little bit of deliciousness. It was a good last hangout for some of us, we did some things and then wishes both Lars and Simon farewell...

Left to Right: Brent, Irina, Lars, Simon, Michael Jordan

After hanging out at the house for a bit, I suggested we hit a Hamami! AKA a Turkish Bath...

This was a great idea. Wow! What an experience. I missed out on doing this last time I was here so I was pretty adamant about trying it this time. Brent and I went in one side, and Irina had to go into another side. We started out by getting into some fancy attirewhich consisted of a kilt-like towel. And after a labyrinth of doors we finally got to the first section, which is the blazing hot sauna. I stayed here until I found myself to be medium-well. Then a Turkish guy came and beckoned us onto our next part. Here we sat (by the way, the entire place is made out of white marble) and they scrubbed us until we left a few layers of skin on the floor. This was intertwined with a good soaping. Afterwards we laid out on big marble slabs and received massages! A cool shower followed, and then we were led to individual rooms to relax. A very awesome experience!!!

Now that I felt like a million bucks, we gathered the rest of the guys and jumped onto a ferry to Taxim to hangout for Irina's last night. Taxim is the "happening" place of Istanbul. Lots and lots of people, lots of things to do, bars, restaurants, the whole nine yards.

The guys on the ferry.

Brent, Safak, Me, David.

A street performance.

Fire dancing and a band. They were incredible. I would have bought tickets...

The night wrapped up at a restaurant. We had countless glasses of tea and good company.

Brent went with Irina to the airport and we headed back to the house.

Wednesday Brent and I slept in until noon, which felt great. I headed out shortly after to scavenge for food and soak in the city. I tried to get lost, but since I am writing on my computer at the moment, that failed! Anyway, I did run into this guy who was selling cactus fruit. That was kind of interesting, of course I had to try it, the taste was veeeery faint, but it was good... lots of juice/water, and it had hints of a lot of mango-esce fruits. Now I know how to cut open cactus fruits! They do have a lot of seeds however, apparently they were okay to eat, but if I grow a baby cactus in my stomach - I will not be happy.

The rest of the day was spent running around getting quotes and bartering with a laptop and iPhone that I am trying to sell here. It was fun seeing the game played, although my Turkish is limited, it was a good lesson on reading body language. Tomorrow we will set out in attempt to finalize some prices! Cross your fingers...

We headed to the Bosporus for sunset. It was pretty epic.

Cheers!

Beach day at Sile!

On Monday we decided to head out to Sile, a popular beach destination in Turkey. It took about an hour and a half to get out there, with a few busses along the way. But it was definitely worth the journey! During our walk to the beach area, Brent ran into a guy named Urg, who he played volleyball with a few weeks prior. Urg knew very little English and I know very little Turkish, but we managed to get across some conversation (?) about volleyball and other things. After a bit of warming up with the volleyball in which a few others joined us, we headed over to the courts. Urg and I played on a team and played very well! We took on a range of different competition and managed to fend them off successfully. It was really fun playing at a high level again! We had a small audience too, which was also pretty cool. We played for probably 3 or 4 hours, after which I was extremely exhausted and took shelter under the shaded bleachers. I then brought myself to plunge into the icy Black Sea. Immediately running out as if I was being chased by a pack of sharks.

Urg and I...

When we came back to ourselves we found this guy laying in our umbrella shade! We found out his name is "King" and he is somewhat the top-dog around these parts. There are many many dogs around the beach areas whom are stray. Very nice pooch though...

We found some nearby rocky hills and decided they would be fun to climb. They were probably 50 feet high, and had great foot and hand rock/holes. This was really rockclimbing! No harnesses though, so we had to be careful. And what did I do it in..? Of course! Rainbow sandals! (I should get paid for this endorsement) ...

Then we headed towards some other rocks we saw in the distance. This turned out to be the best idea of all! It was another secluded cove! So peaceful and the sight was incredible. There were jetting rocks all around. And I here you say, where is King? He came with us!!!

We headed a little further away to another rocky area, here I found very cool picture opportunities. I spent a good while trying to get some good shots. I think this is one of them!

At this point, we walked back to the original spot we were at to collect our things. But ended up staying because it was so close to sunset. Now, ELEVEN dogs are with us. They were especially attracted to Irina, who sent out an animal vibration, like aquaman, she was dogwoman.

You thought I was kidding? No. These dogs followed us a good mile back into the city! It was absolutely hilarious!!!! All these people had crazy looks on their faces wondering where all these dogs came from and why they are in the city! Planet of the Dogs!

A long journey back home gave way to a much needed slumber, where I actually slept more than 5 hours! Although I did get attacked by a few skeeters... bastards!

:)

Burgazada & Turkish Hospitality at its finest!

Saturday (?): After a good day of reading and having Cay (TEA!) by the Bosporus, I met up with about 10 of Brent's roommate's friends. We headed off to the volleyball courts! The best part was, as we were finishing up, the Turkish Olympic Volleyball team showed up! The #1 and #2 doubles teams played a few games which I watched very intently with a big smile on my face! Court side to some of the best volleyball players in the world. Amazing!

We went and got some food afterwards, I had meneme, which is like a runny egg dish in a bowl with vegetables and other stuff. Generally you eat it with bread. First time I've had it and it was pretty good. The night ended with myself, Safak, David (Brent's roommates), and Lars (Danish guy) going to a part of Turkey that is a big hangout. It's called the "saw-hill", it's a giant grass lawn which borders the water. Hundreds of mid-20-30 year olds drinking, smoking, having a grand ol' time. There was a lot of people playing music, volleyball, frisbee, dogs, cats, iguanas. It was a good day.

Sunday: Went to church with Brent's roommates and others... afterwards we headed out to the Islands!!! This was probably the highlight of my previous trip to Istanbul, so I was much looking forward to this.

We're off!

There are 9 islands, called the Princes' islands.

It was great, we went to the island of Burgaz. (Ada means island)...

Found a secluded little cove, and hungout for a bit.

David and I set off hiking, we climbed a rocky point to get to the other side of the island, here we found even less people and even more cool climbing areas. I was in my rainbows sandals, which are supreme for climbing. Really, they are, I didn't slip once. :) We ran into two guys on top of this hill we hiked up, chatted a bit in broken English/Turkish, David did a bit of translating as well. On our way back to the cove we decided to take a rather daring route. It was fairly steep and covered in pine needles which made traction next-to-none. Luckily it was spaced out by trees about 10feet apart. So you could slide and grab onto the next tree. Very exhilarating, and again, my rainbows held up. Unfortunately, David's shoes didn't treat him as well and he has to hook his arm around a tree to avoid tumbling very far and painfully. Leaving a big bruise and scrap on his back, underarm, and forearm. When we got to the end, we popped out of the trees about 20 feet away from our group! It was great.

I had to head back a little earlier than the rest of the group in order to be back in time for dinner at Mahir's (Brent's old roommate who I stayed with last year).

The boat was extremely backed and I ended up sitting on the back railing, these seagulls followed us the entire 45 minute journey.

A few busses later, and I was reunited with my old friend! This was truly a great night. Mahir had recently become married to Hava. I had such a good time at their house I was sad to leave! We had NINE different dishes!!! Two noodle dishes, one with yogurt, the other was a spicy sausage type. One rice dish. A salad. A tomato soup with cheese. Another soup with chickpeas and meat. An absolutely fantastic eggplant dish. A plate of fruit. And homemade Baklava (A Turkish dessert, very sweet and good!). I also indulged in numerous Cays and another homemade drink that resembled a cappuccino. Hava's food was excellent!

These types of nights are what makes traveling so great, spending time with an amazing group of people from all different parts of the world and at different points in their journeys. I enjoyed the talks and the company tremendously. Until next time, Insha'allah.

From left to right...

Irina, Brent, Hava, Mahir (Hope to see you all in India!)

It's Turkey time!

And it begins........


After an all-nighter leading to a laborious 27-hours of hopping airports, ferry boats, and trekking up cobblestone streets... I have finally made it to Brent's house. Quite the journey so far, and with a lack of sleep so severe, I have developed a grand narcoleptic condition. Falling asleep just about every time I do not have to move.

It is now the start of my 3rd day here. The first night was spent meeting Irina, Brent's girlfriend, and his roommates, Safak and David. Two guys from Denmark are also staying here, Lars and Simon. All in all, a cool group of people.

Since going to bed (or turning off lights, or turning off music, or anything of the sort) is not really considered an option until well after a sane time (we're talking 2-3am here, people). Our days have been starting a little late, but hey, gotta adapt, right? We started out by going to grab some food down the street, 3 items for 5TL (~$3), not bad! Ihad a rice dish, some soup, and egg plant / beef. I was a little worried about the options for breakfast, but it turned out to be really good and did not cause a nuclear bomb togo off in my stomach. Irina has not been here before, so we took to the main tourist parts, going to see Hayasofia and the Blue Mosque. Although I had already seen these about a year ago, of course it was awesome to see them again! This time we were actually able to go into the Hayasofia (meaning holy wisdom), it was the first center for the Christian religion, it was then later captured and turned into a mosque,and now a museum.

The Blue Mosque is just an incredible sight, giant ornate pillars support the highly domed and decorated walls. It inspires a sense of awe.

Of course, we stopped for some Turkish coffee throughout the morning adventures and talked, which is really one of the best parts about traveling that is often left out in the blogs or discussions. It would be a bit odd to talk about talking, I think, it's tough to convey the happenings of a few hours over coffee and tea. So, this stuff is usually just left out and the rough skeleton of my day is sketched!

We were feeling quite hungry at this time, so we headed towards another district of Istanbul and found ourselves in a small cafe. I had a Donor Tavuk (chicken sandwich). After we ate the custom is to serve tea, which we gladly drank over 7 or 8 games of Durrak, a Russian card game.

We decided to take the long way home, and walk along the Bosporus, it was great seeing all the lights on the water and soaking everything in. It is a religious holiday period called Ramazan right now for the majority of the Turkish people, fasting ends after the last call to prayer, which is usually around or later than 8pm. With this being said, the city gets a bit more lively after this time... We got back around 11pm and then stayed up, of course, until 3ish ;). Ah, to live like a Turk.