a lifetravelogue

Happy Moments!!

2011-12-16T15:56:00.001Z

As we grow older we change, I am not referring to things like mannerisms, way we dress or talk. I am thinking about things which we do to amuse ourselves and be happy. Like things we do on weekends because we have had a busy week and we need to relax. Go out have a meal with friends, watch a movie, go for a drive, talk to a friend, some people like to go clubbing etc. We plan vacations to get our mind out of the daily rigmarole, find ways to relax our body and soul. Ways to be happy and be transported into another world where the day to day worries do not exist and you can be peaceful.

For me it has always been water, it makes me so peaceful, going to a beach, or a quiet lake. A busy beach with lot of people doesn't seem to have the same effect. I thoroughly enjoyed my sea kayaking holiday this year, there were moments when everyone was quiet we were paddling along the shore of Lake Torridon after having done a really tough paddle across the lake against the wind. In this section there was no wind no sound, just the sound of water splashing as we paddle, jelly fish swimming close to the surface, seals popping their heads out in the distance. It felt so serene and I could have gone on for hours and I think we did, I had lost track of time. I was smiling to the lake, to the mountains around, I felt peaceful and happy.

It got me thinking why is it that water makes me to happy. It is a happiness which feels like it comes from within, a very true form of happiness which has no speck of impurity in it. I am just happy!! I remember when I was 4/5 years old we used to live very close to the sea, every sunday morning dad would wake us up at 5am and we would drive to the beach and watch the sun rise. Then we would walk along the shore looking for sea shells counting star fish and jelly fish washed ashore. It used to be just us and a few fishermen getting ready to go to the sea. All you heard were waves crashing on the beach and birds chirping. I used to be very happy, I would look forward to the sunday mornings. I think that is how my mind learnt how to be happy and relax. There are other things of course like spending time with family and friends, lots of things that I like to do but this is one is my favourite I think, it makes me smile inside out. It prints a smile across my face which doesn't go away.

I wonder if that is how our brains work; as we all grow it registers these moments which have been pure, unadulterated and holds on to them. For as we grow older our opinions sometimes get affected by our surroundings and people around us, our adult mind gets clouded by information overdose preventing us to think clearly and know what we like, what we don't. But then when we are in these situations again it comes back to us. Those familiar sounds and feelings transport us into those moments in which we enjoyed happiness in its pure form as a child unaffected by the world around us.

Sea and lakes do that for me, make me happy, make me smile, forget everything else and let me be a child in nature's lap.

China - Growing on me

2011-11-13T03:40:00.000Z

It has been over a year since I have been travelling backwards and forwards between Wuxi and Huddersfield. I did make a trip to US and one to India in between but Wuxi is where I have spent most of my time.
This is my last trip for 2011 and I already feel I am going to miss coming here as often as I did in last one year. Taking around other members of the team from US and UK last week I felt like I was the local, who lived here and knew where to go for what. With my Chinese pronunciations getting a little better and me being able to give directions to the taxi drivers to get where I want to, I feel more comfortable and mobile to get around the town.
Going to Beijing last month and being around Wuxi and Shanghai a few more times on the weekend makes me feel more comfortable with the surroundings. In some ways it reminds me of India!!
The food is getting more comfortable too, I know what I can eat, familiarisation with the dishes and locations to find them!! Also recently I have discovered facebook and blogspot are accessible now, it feels like I am more connected to the wider world which I missed in the past!!
The team at work is also getting used to me and have adopted me as a part of their team. They feel comfortable telling me things and working with me.
I will be back I am sure next year and there will be changes in Wuxi as there always in this fast pace Chinese life. Hopefully I will work on my Chinese and still feel a part of the place when I am back.

Things we need!!

2011-09-08T20:10:00.003+01:00

Sometimes you come back home, energy levels running low, no mood to go for a run. You think of doing something to amuse yourself but can't be bothered. No posture is comfortable and no bed snuggly enough to sleep yet, for there is sun shining outside still. Its evening after a long spell of rain, but you don't feel the same.
A book may be, a call to a friend you haven't long spoken to, nothing seems like a good idea. I have these occasional days when my life, usually running in a controlled fashion wants a break. Long work days and talking all day makes you tired, Mental and physical exhaustion takes over.
My cure for these days is a nice movie, you romantic story which makes you believe in fairy tales, takes you to a world of fiction far away from the madding crowds. Its a nice pause for the brain I guess. It brings a smile, may be a tear sometimes. But its worth it. Once in a while we need somethings!!

Sea Kayaking - my 30th Birthday gift to myself!!

2011-08-27T20:22:00.001+01:00

Water has always been an attraction for me and being so close to it in a Kayak is a wonderful experience. Out of the blues I had this idea of going on a holiday, doing something different instead of visiting old castles/museums or walking around a pretty town. I do enjoy that but there was a desire to do something different. Hence I booked a sea kayaking holiday in Scotland for a week. This was my birthday gift to self as I turned 30!!

I had a wonderful time. The colourful kayaks are captivating, there is something about them that attracts me. Sitting in one for the first time was an experience, there was a little wind too so the kayak was drifting a bit and paddling wasn't easy but soon I got a hang of it, I felt like a natural. The lake (or loch as it is called in Scotland) was a sea Loch and had clear water. You could see the bottom of it where the weeds were or in some cases stones also saw some star fish, sea urchins and jelly fish. That is how clear it was!! We saw some seals swimming ahead, they didn't come close to our kayaks though but did keeping bobbing up their heads and watching us.

There were a few peaceful and calm days where we just paddled along the shore exploring the coastline from a different perspective and there were times when there was a little challenge with the tide and the wind which needed some hard work. One day we decided to capsize and be rescued, there was never a dull moment!!

It felt so peaceful, to be in harmony with nature. We stopped on an island in the middle of the Loch one day for lunch, you could see the land on 2 sides, in front was the vast Atlantic ocean and sitting there eating my sandwich looking at the crystal clear water the world looked perfect. The Creator had a wonderful taste and his creation is cannot be described in words sometimes!!
5 days of peace and quiet, met some wonderful people and saw some beautiful scenery. It felt like a perfect holiday. It didn't matter to me that I was sore after I came back. I could it all over again!!

Flying - just a little off the ground!!

2011-07-30T13:14:00.000+01:00

A friend called me one evening in March asked me if I would like to do a paragliding taster session. There was a deal on a website with 50% off the original price. This was something that I had thought of some times but never got the opportunity to do it. So I didn't waste anytime and bought the voucher, so did my friend!!
Thought I will wait for summer and for better weather before I booked. In the mean time my friend, she has a bad knee thought it might be too strenuous for her knee and was looking for someone to buy the voucher off her. So she managed to sell it to another colleague, an enthusiastic guy who was all up for it!!
So in between all my travel to China and Summer days going by in UK I decided to book the date close to the weekend of my 30th birthday. The first choice of the weekend was 2 days after my arrival from China, unfortunately I caught a virus on my way back and wasn't really well. Also the weather worked in my favour and it got moved to next week.
All excited we drove 2 hours to get to the place where the session would be held, it was a hill bordering with the beautiful lake district and Yorkshire Dales national park!!

It had a rather dull start in the morning where we were supposed to go through all the safety procedures, then try to take off with the paraglider, I did more runs and falls instead of fly or float. By lunch time I was a little disappointed, however after lunch we started doing a few more flights. A few ones made me go a little off ground and slowly as we moved up the hill to launch the glider started taking our feet off ground for longer period. I did 8 flights in all throughout the day, and the last 4 flights were exhilarating!! I floated about 15-20 feet off the ground, manoeuvring my glider and doing reasonable landing!

The most tiring part of the day was walking back up the hill carrying the glider, the farther you went in your flight the longer you had to walk!! Also higher you went up the hill the better flight you had!! By 4 pm the wind died down (something so rare in this part of the country!!) We were exhausted too. It was a fun day, the trainer did tell us that in next few sessions if we wanted we could become qualified flyers in another 6-7 days. I think I am ready for some more flying some time soon!!

Long time

2011-06-25T22:42:00.004+01:00

I cannot believe has been over 6 months since I updated by blog. I cannot keep up with the weeks and months anymore. Since January I have travelled to China 3 times from UK, made one trip to US and Canada and one to India (Oh I forgot my long weekend to Bangkok from China!!). And now I am flying to China again in 2 days. planning my august, sept and Oct travel plans. I have never seen a year pass away in a blink like this before. I have vacations which I want to take, but its hard to juggle them around with the work travel.
I must admit I have enjoyed it, however sometimes I do long to stay at one place and do something other than work consistently. Hence I joined the running club at my gym, I have been running between 9 to 12 Km twice a week since 3 weeks now. I am enjoying that too, I didn't think I could run such distances. Although I am usually trailing in the end and just try to keep up the pace of the group, I am going to keep it up. Even when I am travelling making sure I am staying fit and keeping the momentum. I have also bought myself a holiday for my 30th Birthday which is something that I am quite excited about!! I will be going a month later though but I am looking forward to it. I will post more on it when it happens!!
Another thing that my head is trying to answer is a question which I am asked numerous times now "where do you feel at home?" I might have written about this before too. But its really strange when I am here in UK this feels like home, when I travel to China, it feels comfortable and quite home like, my recent trip to India felt so much like home, going to Toronto feels home like too mostly because mom and dad are there. I feel like I belong everywhere a little bit of this place and a little bit of that one, that is what I carry with me!!

Happy Republic Day India!!

2011-01-26T21:48:00.002Z

I hadn't forgotten but just didn't think much about it until I saw people's status on facebook. Many of them sharing Republic Day wishes on their status. Strangely most of them were the ones who don't live in India anymore.
61 years of Indian republic, I am not sure how I am supposed to feel. Back home republic day would be about being a holiday, watching the Parade in the morning, the best part being the exhibits from each State depicting their uniqueness. I remember I always used to watch out for the ones where I had stayed (which were a few!!). A line from a movie about India's shortcomings once said, no country is perfect, it has to be made perfect and the youth play a big role in that. I stumbled upon a video from that movie today and it was interesting. I was talking to someone few days ago at work about the difference in working culture between India and UK. Working with China so closely recently have reminded me of some of the differences which I had forgotten as I have been away for over 4 years now.
Life is strange, as a kid you are so proud of the national anthem that you sing everyday in the school assembly, I am still proud of the national anthem but can't remember when I last sang it. Living in a country from which we got independence is also a interesting contradiction. I can never feel I am British but I am not sure I am so connected to India anymore either. I certainly have the affinity for my country and miss going there. The smell, the flavours, the weather I miss it all. But at the same time I am not sure if I want to go back and have the fight again. The struggle to prove myself because I am a woman engineer, convince people why I am still single at 29, try to get a electric connection at the house refusing to pay bribe to the government officer and the list goes on. Its my love-hate relationship with my country. I might go back some day, may be not, who knows, but I will be an Indian always!!
Happy Republic Day India!!

Another year gone by and new one on its way!!

2010-12-30T21:41:00.003Z

End of the year is an exciting time, usually its time for me to visit my family. Every year we try to make sure that we use these holidays to be under one roof and with my family's move to Toronto this year it makes it easier for us to be together.

Last year was fairly quiet in its first half where I was busy with work and braving the winter. As soon as we hit May, June things started changing I moved houses and then didn't stop travelling. My first trip to the States from there to Canada. Back in UK for a month and then I was off to China for work, back for a month in which I made a quick trip to States again. Then spent a month in China only to come back for 2 weeks to fly to Canada for Christmas vacation. Wow that has been exciting!!

What have I learnt in this last year? I have become more patient, I think I have learnt to listen a bit more than I used to. Something I needed desperately in China with work. United States was interesting too, my first experience with the country very everything is King size from meal sizes to roads to shopping centres. I also experienced a Lutheran Church In the US which was interesting too. I also managed to loose some of the weight I had been thinking about loosing for such a long time. Get on to healthy eating and regular exercising. Getting back into reading, something that I did very little in 2009 I think the travel in 2010 helped do that. Long plane journeys and wait at the airports allowed me to catch up with some books.

So it was an exciting year and can't thank God enough for the opportunities and his blessings. 2011 starts with travel, more trips to China hopefully can get some more sightseeing done this year. Looking forward to exciting times!!

Attention Span

2010-12-21T22:54:00.003Z

I remember few years ago (when I was young :P) I used to be able to devour magazines reading through every detail in them. Recently I have found myself buying loads of magazines even thought of subscribing for a few but I think I have a short attention span. I cannot get myself to completely pay attention and read a full article. Experts claim a lot of young professionals now suffer with ADD, attention deficit disorder. This is where people struggle to concentrate on one thing and find themselves flicking between things.
It can be attributed to the fast paced lives that we live and the amount of information that we process every day at work. A lot of it is unnecessary I think. I used to meditate few years ago and that used to help concentrate on things. May be I should try getting back to it. I start writing an email to a friend, then remember I need to send a text, while I am at that I remember I need to turn the washing machine off and hang the washing, as soon as I finish that there is the oven timer going off reminding me of my dinner, then there is a book staring at me on the table waiting to be read. I flick a few pages, eat and then I am too tired to do anything so I hit the bed and as I am falling asleep I remember the unfinished email, ah why doesn't it ever feel like I have done everything before I go to bed.
I think I am ready for my holidays!!

China

2010-12-20T11:48:00.002Z

Driving for the first time via Shanghai to go to Wuxi was an experience. In some ways it felt familiar, there are similarities with Mumbai but then there is the cleanliness, infrastructure and big roads in China which do make it different from India. But the number of people and the volume of traffic was not alien to me. I guess coming from India it come naturally.

Walking on streets was different though, not being able to speak the language and understand people is limiting. But I might have been in some remote village in Kerala and have the same experience. However this is not Kerala and no remote village. Wuxi is a upcoming city with a population of around 3million people, any multinational company you can think of has a office in Wuxi. As we drive to work every day I can see familiar names on buildings where busses full of employees make way every day. There is construction going on every where, along the Hotel where I live runs a canal. I am told its a 2000 years old canal and till date it is used extensively. The canal carried barrages which transport the necessary construction material from A to B, taking the load off the roads. Its amazing, how this massive canal once built by a Chinese dynasty is still playing its role in the development of this fast growing country. The Canal is a distributary of the Yangze river but looks as big as a river itself.
There are also some other narrow canals in Wuxi which attract tourists (I guess not as picturesque as Suzhou, which is know as the Venice of the East!!).

Another feature of Wuxi is the Taihu Lake , which is the 5th largest lake in China and is famous for its fish and other water animals which make their way to the many Banquets held in honour of the visits of the western counterparts of many Joint ventures that exist in Wuxi. The Lake is also known as a muse for a few local songs and folk stories. Water always attracts me and a lake with hills in backdrop with Pagoda is definitely a beautiful sight. The old temple area which is know for its flea market and souvenir shops is a pretty place to visit too. You have got to be a tough nut to do bargaining with the people here. Its not easy with me not knowing the language and looking so foreign. My local friend has helped me get some great deals to buy some traditional Wuxi Souvenirs.

There is some great development in Wuxi and I suspect other big cities in China in developing parks and areas of recreation. In plazas near shopping malls in the evening you can find people dancing. Different groups of people led by a specialist, there is wide variety of dances that I have seen, from traditional chinese dances moves, to latest pop moves and western ball room dancing. You find people of all ages, genders dancing and having a great time. I was told its a after dinner activity to stay fit and for retired couples to rekindle their love and dance oblivious to the onlookers (read foreigners like myself!!). The parks also come alive in the evenings where you see some people power walking after dinner, youngsters skate boarding or roller skating, older people sitting in their corner playing instruments or listening to the radio, women practicing traditional dances with fans and grandparents, parents and kids all coming for walk and chatting, catching up on the busy day’s events. Its here that China stops and relaxes itself to prepare for the next day!! The energy there is electric, the young people in office are all buzzing, moving, working, talking fast, eating fast. The speed is fascinating, although I hope sometimes they stop for a bit and take a stock of the direction they are heading to.

The male female equality is something that has stuck me in China. Most of the colleagues at work mention the sharing of household work between men and women. Many young Chinese men like to cook and are sometimes better cooks than their wives, hence have taken the responsibility to do this chore at home. The women get treated likes queen in most of the young families, its still important for men to be the higher earners in the house but that doesn’t stop them from helping their wives in household chores. Living with parents is the norm so grandparents take care of the kids. If they live in a different city that is where the kid(s) grow up. Its a strange price I think a generation has to pay for the prosperity of the country. Many young women at work told me that they see their kids weekly or sometimes monthly because the kids live in a town far from where parents work. The dedication to work is immense, people work long hours, I just wish sometimes they would work smarter and spend more time with family. Hobbies don’t exist till you retire, that is why the retirement age is in 50s. I can imagine the exhaustion of working long hours away from your family.

The food is central in lives of these people, hot breakfast, hot lunch and hot dinner is what everyone knows about China. However there are tea places where you can go drink tea and help yourself to the Buffet. the families get together in rooms and play games, chat and catch up over the weekend. Its quite a loud and fun filled atmosphere.
Although Wuxi has lot of foreigners there are people from small towns in China who haven’t seen lot of foreigners so you do get a lot of stares. I have had people come up and say to me that I am very pretty!! Hahahaha something I have never experienced before!!

The wedding photography is a huge business in China. The trend is to have the wedding pictures taken before the wedding day and then play them during the wedding party. The bride and groom enjoy being the lead cast in the ‘movie’ on their wedding day. I was once walking with a colleague along the lake and we saw a bride and groom getting their pictures clicked, it was got more interesting as we walked further we saw approximately 10 couple getting their pictures clicked, it was a sunny day so I guess a great day to get good pictures. What was funny though that the brides were wearing trainers under their wedding dresses :). Apparently its an all day event where they change into 5 outfits and get pictures clicked. I bet they are exhausted at the end of the day. Well some price to pay to be the lead Characters in their ‘movie’!!

Exciting and interesting are the 2 words that help me define China. The pace is fascinating, the people are so warm and hospitable. I have enjoyed going there and learning more about their ways of life.

On my way back home!!

2010-12-10T05:35:00.003Z

There are a lot of blogs still pending I will post them later on (post dated :D) have an hour at Paris airport waiting for my flight to Manchester. Back home after 4 weeks in China. It has been a good work trip although small, there have been some successes so I am pleased!! But that is not what I am thinking right now.

I am thinking right now about home. Huddersfield is Home!! Wow never thought I would say that 2 and half years ago when I started work there!! With mom and dad's move to Toronto its hard to think of a home in India. Well don't they say home is where the heart is. Seems like the familiarity of Huddersfield makes me feel welcome and home like!! I love driving my car around the town going out in countryside (when the weather permits!!) for walks and fresh air. People ask me where are my roots, I am not sure how to answer that. Do we need to have roots which belong to a place or country? My roots are where my beliefs and my parents are. WIth me all the time no matter where in world I am!! It might be quite a philosophical thought but that is exactly how I feel. I love the fact that I am able to connect to people no matter I go. I love my time in China, great team to work with, I love my friends and colleagues in UK, I also love my friends who are right now scattered over different continents. Why do we have to belong to one country or town when earth is the limit that we have!!

May be its early morning, my thoughts are still floating up in the air where I was for 12 hours during my flight from Shanghai!! Not sure but I like the world I live in with all the variety it has. Making me feel welcome wherever I go!! For now I am ready to go back home!!

Weekend with Friends!!

2010-08-06T20:14:00.014+01:00

When Fiona was over for my birthday weekend I thought I had it all planned out to make it fantastic. Well not everything turns out as per plan. Friday evening was great when Vini and Joey joined us too and I took them walking near a reservoir in Huddersfield. We were plucking bilberries and the weather was great.

Vini and Fiona discussing flowers sharing with us their knowledge of different flowers growing in wilderness in England. The dinner was delicious Nepali food at one of my few favourite restaurants.

The next day I had planned to go to York Races with Fiona. It was a trip with people from work, not having much knowledge about the races I thought it would be a nice day out. Dressed in our summer dresses we were on the bus to take us to York. The trip took us about 2 and half hours (due to traffic) and after 2 hours of reaching there I was bored. I don't gamble neither do I drink. I don't think there is anything in races for a person like me. Wonder why I didn't see that before. So we ended up walking up to down town York and had a nice Mexican meal talking about anything and everything, which was quite nice and relaxing. Then took the train and came back home. A lesson learnt the tough way, am glad was with a friend do it wasn't such a bad day.

Next day I thought I shall use the opportunity of having a friend to go to Ikea and shop for my new apartment. We spent a good part of the day there and brought home Lucy and Lucas. Lucy is my colourful rug, full name: Lucy Blom and Lucas is the matching Lampshade. The are so comfortable together and make my living room so warm and cosy. I also chose Billy my book case. But it was too big to fit in my car (or so we thought) hence Billy came home after a few days. My new speakers are happily resting on Billy. The room feels a lot nicer and cosy. Thanks Fiona, it was a lovely day shopping and reminiscing our memories of our time in Sweden.

Joys of baking

2010-08-03T22:03:00.008+01:00

Today at lunch time I had the desire to eat a Brownie; I have had a desire to eat a chocolate cake since few days, I thought of baking one over the weekend, I had all the ingredients but couldn't get myself to do it.
So today as I sit at lunch time with a brownie from Sainsbury's with a cup of green tea. I felt the desire to write about baking and ended up writing few words on it :).

We used to love to bake
Apple, banana,chocolate cakes,
Not just one but sometimes 2 cakes,
Cinnamon, Vanilla and coffee flavours,
Muffins with berries or chocolate or cream
There were always ideas even in my dreams!!

There were buns and cookies which added to the fun
With Saffron, Cinnamon, Star Anise or Cardamom,
The ginger bread man and the spiced bread so delicious,
With pots of tea and coffee to complete,

Now I sometimes desire a slice of cake
A rich flavoursome delicious bite
There is not so many ideas coming to my head
May be it needs friends to come over to taste
So that we get together when it is dark outside
And Feel the warmth of the closeness with tea and coffee alongside
Then we shall bake cakes and cookies aplenty again
And the ideas might start flowing again

Till then I shall savour
This lonesome bite from the local grocer
It is nice but there is an ingredient missing
Its the gossip and banter which makes it fulfilling !!

United States of America

2010-08-01T18:13:00.007+01:00

After my US visa application was rejected last year I was not sure when will I be able to visit the country, as my sister left US too I thought there will be hardly any opportunity in near future for me to visit country. So this year when there was a work trip that required me to go there I re-applied for the visa and guess what, I got a visa for 10 years!! So work required me to visit Charleston, a beach city in South Carolina and Columbus a small town in Indiana which is often called a 'Cummins town'.
Charleston weather reminded me of Chennai, hot and humid with the smell of sea in the air. Palm trees as we drove up to the hotel. The first thing which caught my eyes in the US was the size of the roads compared to UK and very few pedestrian crossings. Over the weekend I had 2 colleagues who very kindly showed me different parts of the town.

Charleston is a tourist town with its history from the Civil war and was a trading point for Slaves. Its also called holy city due to the presence of churches and synagogues etc. One of my colleagues and his family took us on a harbour cruise in his boat. It was spectacular, dolphins swimming around, pelican diving in for fish, sun setting on the horizon and moon (it was a full moon) on the other side.

Day 1 on the weekend was with my friend from work and her 2 year old lovely daughter it was a walk in the down town gorging on crepes and doughnuts at farmer's market, took a horse carriage ride through down town Charleston, the guide explaining the history of the place in his very 'southern' accent.

Day 2 on the weekend was a visit to the church with my the other friend from work. Charleston falls in the bible belt of US so most of the people are quite devout Christians and sundays are family affairs of going to church, running sunday schools and feeding the homeless. The rest of the day was walking around down town devouring an "American Size" meal of grilled vegetables and Grits (a local speciality - milled corn cooked with salt and milk) ending the day at the beach and reaching the hotel back in time to catch the flight to Indiana :). Although everyone was complaining of the heat, I was loving it. I just loved sitting in the evenings after work in the hotel terrace watching Raccoons and foxes fighting over food and sweating :D..

The connection to Indianapolis at North Carolina airport was delayed due to thunderstorms which are a norm in US during summer. But nevertheless reached there early hours of morning and we had an hour's drive to reach Columbus. Made just in time for a 8 am meeting. The rest of the days were busy with work and chilling out in the evening with other colleagues who were travelling to Columbus. Fatigue was catching up with me and I was getting ready for my vacation to Canada :).

I found that the people in south of US were a lot more friendly than north. Indiana is mainly a farming state so I guess they are not used to lot of foreigners. Also Columbus is a small town which has developed due to Cummins who have their corporate office there. It was an interesting trip felt like a very short one for the country of the size of US. One thing which stood out was shopping was so much cheaper there compared to Europe :P, just wish I wasn't carrying so much stuff for my family in Canada and had more space in my suitcase. Never mind next time :P. However US might be big and cheaper but it still seems quite plastic and artificial I missed Europe which feels like Home now!!!

The Year Ahead!!

2010-07-20T21:47:00.003+01:00

Another year older and I wonder sometimes where am I heading to. I am about to finish the 20s of life and enter into the 30s zone. Do I feel 29? I am not sure how that is supposed to feel!! Was thinking today of all the things I want to do in my life. And considering that time is running out there was an idea!! I decided I am going to do something every year, something that I have always wanted to do but never got around to do it.
This year I got my car, have done pretty okay in regard with my job, also managed to make a trip to the Americas. Another focus last year was to get into healthy living and loose some weight. I have managed to loose some of it but there is still more to go so that needs to become a way of life!!
As I am thinking of my milestones for next year I shall revisit this on 20th Jul 2011 and see how far have I come on this journey and if I have covered the milestones!!

Summer's Here!!!

2010-05-22T15:34:00.004+01:00

After long, cold winter the summer is finally here!! We had a few days of spring but then it was cold and wet again. Yesterday evening I went for a walk to the park at 9.30, there was still light and the wonderful fragrance of summer flowers was there in the air. It cannot get better than this. Seems like summer has lot of excitement for me too. A trip to the US for work and following it will be a trip to Canada to meet family and relax, a much needed and awaited break. Before I go I am moving to a new house, an apartment this time. Love this cottage but feel like I need to move to a more modern place. Also my baby (the car!!) needs a place for herself, she cannot be left on the street. So next weekend is set for the move. Tomorrow is an exciting day too, there is a dragon boat challenge which is a charity event sponsored by work and we are participating in it. Have never paddled before so this is will be a first, moreover the theme chosen is 'the Smurfs' so we are dressing in smurf costume and colouring ourselves blue. If there are any decent pictures I might post some here :). So Summer of 2010 let the fun begin :).

Shall I or Shan't I

2010-02-07T16:29:00.003Z

Well first I have changed the name, its not a study travelogue any more as I am not a student. So it is now my life's experiences on blog :)..

I have been thinking of booking tickets to go to France in end of March. I am tempted to go but there are some factors which are preventing me to go ahead. I have not been to south of France and I have a friend who lives there and has been inviting me to come and visit him. So there is a positive but its not cheap. I don't want to fly so taking the Eurostar from London to Paris will be the option, I have always wanted to do it so that is a positive too. But the expense is quite a negative, the visa will be a hassle too. I am tempted to drive down south and travel to south of England. Another place I have not really visited. That does appeal to me too.

But I think one factor which is over riding everything else is travelling alone. The idea of travelling by myself, living all alone doing things alone is not exciting. Hmm am I getting old or just lonely? Whichever we need to find a solution soon for either :) cause life cannot be just work and home.

Diversity

2010-02-01T22:41:00.002Z

My company lays a lot of emphasis on diversity, in UK people talk a lot about it. People sometimes are too careful and go over the top to make sure others don't feel discriminated. I started thinking about this word ever since a colleague mentioned about his experience at a local school. Our company does community action with local schools where the employees volunteer to do mock interviews with students, to give them a feel of corporate world. So this colleague, a good friend of mine went to a school and was supposed to interview 16 year old students. They were told to dress up in business formal clothing for the interviews. He met me after the session and was deeply disturbed. He started explaining me his experience; he said, the first candidate was a white English girl who had oodles of make up on and was dressed in a skirt which was quite short, her crotch showing as she came and sat across. He was quite annoyed and asked her to leave cause he said her attire was inappropriate. Then was a girl with a scarf covering her head which he felt quite comfortable conversing with. The third was a girl in a 'Burqa' where all he could see were her eyes. He said it was so hard to converse with her and he could not make out her expressions etc. So he was thinking how do these students with such a diversity study in the same class and coexist. He felt that it would be impossible for the girl in the short skirt to ever have a conversation with this girl who only had her eyes exposed. They could never know each other and would always belong to different worlds.
The conversation with him made me think about all the people of different cultures religions, countries that I am friend's with. But I cannot think of a friend I had who wore a Burqa, may be I didn't know anyone who did. In Hyderabad when I was in school we often saw a lot of girls travelling in the buses etc. but my friend's were too young to wear a burqa. Would that change my behaviour to these girls? I don't know the answer to that question.
But we do judge the book by its cover most of the time. When I see some sikh girls wearing a turban I admire them. I don't know what the other people who don't understand the attire think. I sometimes think about taking the step to get baptised upon which I think I would wear one. Would that make people treat me different? Would they judge me for my appearance? Probably that is when I can really test the meaning of this word. As for now, people usually don't discriminate me for my skin colour. I think I do live in a society that appreciates diversity.

New Year 2010 @ Home

2010-01-07T20:09:00.008Z

After a really hectic 5 months and almost no break (the weekends don't count) I took 15 days vacation which including Christmas gave me almost a month off work.

It started wonderfully with a trip to The Hague to be a witness to the wedding of 2 close friends and it was the best wedding I have even been to. The weekend with them and the other 'witness' was fun filled and cosy. Couldn't have asked for a better start of the holidays. With one day to pack after my return from Holland I was ready to jet set go to Bengaluru!!! The flight from Manchester was quite early which meant a early start with plenty of time to kill at Heathrow. My iphone did a marvellous job of amusing me.
After 2 movies, plenty to eat and a couple of hours of sleep I arrived at Banagalore. My first visit to the city. Coming back to India after one and half years does evoke a lot of emotion. It takes time to get used to the honking, traffic, chaos and people but soon it feels like the norm. Although watching the traffic flow in Bangalore this time I failed to remember how I used to ride my scooter when I was in Pune, it will be a different story now that I have driven in the UK.

Dad planned a trip to Mysore over the weekend, we also decided to visit the Bandipur national park (I was excited by the idea of seeing some pachyderms, its has been ages since I saw one!!)and Sri Rangapatnum (know for the Tipu Sultan's palace who is know for his valour in war against the English ;))

Mysore was beautiful, Bandipur a bit disappointing as I was hoping to see some tigers too but didn't manage to see any. But nevertheless the scenery was beautiful and the lush greenery and sunshine was soothing.
On the way back we stopped at a Bird Sanctuary on the banks of River Cauvery, it was beautiful. On the boat ride around the river we saw some crocodiles basking in the sun; the boatman then told us there were about over 50 in the river.

Bangalore being the silicon valley of India has attracted a lot of young professionals to the city. This worked out very well for me as I was able to meet some of my high schools pals and some friends from university. It was great catching up and talking about our lives.

One of the things I have noticed with people who have move out of their country is that after a long time they have the image of the country as they left it, while the country has moved on leaps and bounds. They still exist in that time zone where no one exists any more. I always have had this fear that I will turn into one of these.

With my youngest sister arriving from Mumbai on Christmas eve it was full house at the Kangs. Laughter, fun and merry making all the way. We made another trip to a waterfalls not very far from Bangalore and they were breathtaking. We were told the waterfalls are called the Niagara Falls of India and are best to be viewed in August - Sep during monsoon season when they are in their prime form. Nevertheless they were beautiful. The trip on the river which takes you through the waterfalls was on small boats called "coracle" in English. They look like small bowls, are made of bamboo and the outer layer is made of canvas or fibreglass with a thin layer of tar to make them water proof. It was a memorable trip.

The new year was quiet, just as we like it. At home after a really delicious 3 course meal, sitting around and talking about time gone by and anticipation of what the new year holds. Peeping out in the sky to watch the Lunar eclipse to see the blue moon (rather unsuccessfully!!).

Soon time to come back to the current home (I find it really hard now to decide which one is home!!). My flight arrived on time with no delays etc due to weather. I arrived Huddersfield exhausted but not very late at night and it was snowing :).

I am a 'Mere' traveller!!!

2009-09-13T21:11:00.009+01:00

Sometimes I miss travelling, I think the constant movement and short trips that we used to do as a part of our masters course had become a way of life. The rigmarole of work, home, weekends busy in tidying, ironing etc. get really monotonous and I feel the need to explore a unknown destination.
As the weather forecast for this weekend looked great I decided on (Thu) that I will make a trip to the popular 'Lake District' in the county of Cumbria. Its a national trust property and known for many hills (or 'Fells' as they call them locally, 'pike' is a peak, 'force' is a waterfall and there are many more) and Lakes (called a mere or a tarn, if its a small one). The largest lake in England 'Windermere' is here and there are a few more.

Sometimes when you start planning to go somewhere (especially in Europe) at a short notice the travel prices can be exorbitant and the youth hostels are almost never available. But this wasn't the case this time. I got a good bargain for a ticket from Manchester to Windermere and a booking in Ambleside on a hostel on the shores of lake Windermere. So half day holiday from work was easy to get for friday afternoon and off I was on this trip. People suggested I take my bicycle with me, I booked it on the train from Manchester to Windermere, however I found out coming back from Manchester to Huddersfield on sat evening might be complicated as the trains were not running due to engineering works and bicycles are not allowed on rail replacement buses. So the decision was easy to take (which I was quite glad about when I reached there its a place for exterme biking if you are into it not for a urban city biker like me).

So almost 3 hours on train and I was in the Windermere, I used the train journey to read my new camera's manual to help me use it better. The weather could not have been faulted, clear blue sky with not a single speck of cloud, its not a common phenomenon in this country and I had read that lake district is known for its dynamic weather changes. I was lucky!!
I walked around Windermere leading myself to the marina (place called Bowness) along the shore of the lake. Took a ferry to Ambleside, the views were beautiful and and the twilight was showing its colours.

The youth hostel is on the shore of the lake, had great views and was quite busy. I later found out it was 'great northen swim' on sat and sun, about 6000 people participating it in. The swim is a charity event and is a distance of 1 mile in the lake winderemere (the water was still cold, thanks to the invention of wet suits). I woke up really early on sat morning and it was beautiful, mist on the lake, swans and ducks looking for their morning meal. It was so calming sitting by the lake and watching sun come out behind the hills and the mist clearing.

I was quite undecided on what to do for the day, my train was in the evening so had most of the day to myself. I was unsure if I should go see a Ghyll (a Ravine with stream within) or climb up a fell to see some spectacular views. The latter was more challenging so I decided to go for it. The tourist office made it sound pretty easy and gave me a map. After passing the bridge house (house on a bridge over a small stream, a place of attraction in lake district) I started the climb, quite a steep climb through woods but it was worth it. I came out of the woods with wonderful views of the lake at a distant and many more peaks around. However the map was not very clear and I had probably taken a wrong turn somewhere and found myself at crossroads, one going uphill and the other was going downhill. I asked 2 fellow walkers if they knew which one I should be following and they asked me if I would like to follow them as they were going the same way. It was a good decision as they had a better map and had been to the Loughrigg Fell before.

Also they were really nice and explained me various sights on the way to help me understand the lake district better. The 'Langdale pikes' quite popular for their shape were clearly visible due to the clear weather (I wouldn't have know what they were if my new found friends, Kate and Carol wouldn't have told me!!).
So after the wonderful walk up the fell and some spectacular views I hurried back to Windermere, due to the swim the buses were running quite infrequently so I wanted to be back well in time for my train. As this was a dream trip everything went well and I was on time to have a nice lunch and later some delicious tea and scones with cream at very English Tea room.
The trip back to Huddersfield was a bit long a arduous due to fewer trains, nevertheless it was a wonderful and relaxing weekend. The Lake district is one of my favourite places now and will be going back for sure!!

London and our mini reunion!!

2009-08-23T04:12:00.006+01:00

Left India almost 3 years ago and started a new journey in Europe with a group of wonderful people. Meeting them over the weekend felt like meeting family. The Masters course we were on is like no other, we faced the challenges of living a new country together, we faced being away from families for such a long time. From being course mates we became really close friends. The closeness I share with some of you is amazing, it wonderful to meet and share life's current path, how it has changed and how some things are still the same :)..

So without getting more emotional about it. It was a great weekend and the weather was on our side. Some great updates from all, lots of food (we can never be short of it!!!) and brief game of casual Frisbee (I dare not call it otherwise or some might disagree!!!), refilling Pimms jar with our own cola, eating our food at a eatery(it was fun guys!!) walking for about 2 hours to have peas and watercress paste on toast but it was great to finish it up with a glimpse of game of football in a pub with some English pub food!!!

I came to work next day so refreshed and energised. It felt like I had been home and was relaxed!!! thank you guys and let us have more of these with the ones we missed...

In the eighth year of my twenties :)

2009-07-20T21:34:00.002+01:00

Finally after a long time I spent 2 consecutive birthdays in the same place :)..Quite unusual to my nomadic life. Did I feel at home? I am not sure. Did I feel alone? not at all!!! A dear friend came over to spend the weekend with me, we spent it watching my roof leak :P, a trip to historic village in Yorkshire and watching a freaky couple dance to rock and roll music in a pub :)..
How does it feel? Actually I feel nothing at all. Some one may be counting but surely not me..I always get confused how many years it is..From standards back home I should have had kids by now :). But I am not counting so it doesn't matter..
What matters is I have a wonderful family who called me so many times to make sure I don't miss them..and spectacular friends who despite how far they are made sure got in touch with me and wished me well.. Thank you all and I agree to as they say "Count your life by smiles not tears and count your age by friends not years"..

Life!!!

2009-06-05T18:32:00.018+01:00

Its quite easy to just go with the flow and loose touch with yourself. Its strange when I have consciously try to chill out and relax. I was at a friend's place few weeks ago, we were just watching TV and I just couldn't sit still, I was so fidgety, she had to constantly keep telling me to relax. That was so bizarre. And then I started thinking about things I like to do to relax which I miss, things like reading a book (not a book which says "Lean Six Sigma" on it!!) or laying in bed watching TV ( now a days I snooze as soon as I hit the pillow) and writing my blog.

I do miss writing my blog (I really do) it needs my complete attention and I cannot write it when I am thinking of laundry in the machine or all the cleaning that needs to be done and worse preparing for a meeting on Monday over weekend. Its strange how running is a "must do" over weekend as I don't get time to do it on weekdays. Oh my God!! where is the fun and enjoyment gone. I am glad when my friends keep asking me for a update cause it tells me they care, they all care to know what is happening with me in my life, but that still doesn't make me stop and write my blog.

Then my body decides to give me a shake, it might sound strange but this unexpected sickness over last 2 days has made me stop. Haven't done any office work, no stress of cleaning up the house as I am supposed to rest. So I resort to doing things I really enjoy doing :). So here I am updating my blog finally!!!! So will it be fair if I said I am glad I fell sick? :P..

Last few months have been exciting. Mom dad were here for a month loved it!! It was great to come home and have someone waiting for you (hot cooked meals are a bonus to that!!).

Have travelled to London quite frequently recently, its amazing to be able to meet friends and spend time with them. Loved playing scrabble one of the weekends, everyone was playing after ages to had the rule book out, it was hilarious. Last visit was a picnic in park with some wonderful bread, cake and apple tea made by Fiona (can't believe first time when I met her she said I cannot cook!!). Thankfully British summer has been kind this year. We had 4 weeks of April with no rain so Mom Dad were saying "Don't know why you complain the weather is wonderful here" and they took the sunshine away for couple of weeks when they left. But the temperatures have already touched 25 deg C last week so all is not lost. Well this week is predicted to rain (of course you have to pay some price for nice weather here!!!). But seriously this time I want the rain, my Garden is drying up!!

So seems like beginning of a nice summer. Hopefully the good weather also brings some good news with the recession and things start picking up. Meanwhile all we can do is "Carpe diem"!!!

Flowers in my garden

2009-05-05T16:27:00.000+01:00

Its so exciting to look at different buds everyday and await its bloom. The garden in this house is fabulous. There are colours all around and I see new flowers coming out every week. The hardest part is to know the names of these flowers. Well what I have till now are: Daffodils (they are gone now, quite short lived), Tulips (I have this amazing yellow tulip with red bands called tiger tulip), Rhododendrons (there are such a common feature here but all I knew earlier was it was a herb used to cure fever), Blue bells, Lilacs (wonderfully scented, bees and butterflies love these!!), Peonies (these size of this flower amazes me, beautiful bright red colour), of course the Roses, A variety of lily there are loads more I just don't know their names. Thanks to a friend who guided me to names of some of these and there I had a botany lesson in my garden. These are pictures of only some of these there more blooming every day :)

Spring time :)

2009-04-05T15:54:00.000+01:00

I think I can now really fathomed the beauty of the poem by William Wordsworth:

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;"

Feel opportune to be living not too far from where he penned this poem. After the dark, grey, wet and cold months of winter when you dread step out of house, everyone around is tired and grumpy just not amused any more with Sun's hide and seek. its amazing how this pretty yellow flower just peeks out of its bud and spreads radiance around. All of a sudden the faces are smiling again, the banter of "my garden's Daffodils have bloomed haven't yours?" fills conversations. Walking to work is a pleasurable experience.
And finally the Sun gives in and comes out in as it hates not getting the attention. The Daffodils mark the onset of spring here in England. Snowdrops are my second favourite. The Council does a fabulous job of planting the daffodils and snowdrops in the parks, roundabouts and between roads. Its amazing how the cheers and glow in people's lives is brought by these beautiful flowers. They somehow in strange way are the pioneers for other flowers braving the still chilly winds and quite shy sunshine.

Another beautiful spectacle that almost coincides the daffodils are the cherry blossoms. Trees with light pink/white flowers all around. Seems like a haven and seems like winter was never here. I see kids playing with petals fallen from blossom trees throwing them at each other, amazing how the snow is replaced by these feather like, fragrant colourful petals. Here come the tulips and loads of other beautiful flowers now, its amazing how the winter gloom has disappeared and gardening is on everyone's weekend agenda. Nature has it wonderful ways.

Living Here!!

2009-01-25T11:03:00.003Z

I feel blessed to be able to travel to so many different places and live there for periods of time instead of just visiting them for a week or so. Having lived in Huddersfield for almost 7 months now I really wonder if I am really 'Living here'. This has been my longest stay in a place in last 2 years.

My usual routine is to go to work come back home cook, watch TV, read a bit and go to sleep (well you can add gym to few days in that). So the weekdays just go on with this kind of schedule and by the time I reach Friday I give a huge sigh of relief that 'Thank God its Friday'. Weekend activities vary depending on some weekends spent alone in my house doing various house hold chores to doing my weekly run, occasionally I visit my friends and spend some time with them or do something with them. But there is something missing. It is hard to understand what exactly is it. After my sister left it does feel quite boring to cook just for one person, it feels boring to go shopping on my own. Hmm..was talking to a friend yesterday and she thinks I am just camping not Living here...somewhere deep down I think I am going to live here only for a short time so am not letting my roots get deep in the soil...

Wonder if she is right..but then is it a conscious decision or unconscious I wonder!!!

Christmas and New Year 2009

2009-01-02T09:51:00.001Z

England is a country I keep fall in and out of love with. And I think most of the times it is the 'weather' which decides it. Although winter is not my favourite time here (I love Autumn) this year it was great fun..

With my dear sister who came over from the US of A for 2 weeks it was a wonderful time. Also I moved my house on Christmas eve (to everyone's surprise, but hey its a fully furnished house I hardly had to do anything but unpack my stuff!!) The best part was that I had rented a car for a week so we could do the moving very comfortably. Also gave us the freedom to move around Huddersfield easily.

We went to "Castle Hill" which is the a tower built in Victorian Era, it is a distinctive feature of Huddersfield, you cannot miss it from most of the town. On a hill it can be seen from almost everywhere. Can also see from my bedroom window!!! It is one of my favourite spots in Huddersfield because you can not only see Huddersfield town from there but some of the peaks of the peak district which is a national park few miles away from Huddersfield. It gives a good view of the Yorkshire Moors, which have been the muses for many writers.

We also went to see Scammonden reservoir, which is few miles from my home. The first time I had been here was to pick some berries during early autumn, but this time in winter it was quite chilly but nevertheless a refreshing walk along the reservoir (and much appreciated by my sister who studying water management!!!)

One of the must visit places here in Yorkshire is the old city of York, have been there before. There is certain thing about York and MSPME, I have never been there alone, always with someone from MSPME. 4 people now, well I love the city and my friends so it just makes these trips so special every time. My sister enjoyed it as well, she got a glimpse of a City in England and this city has a history from the Roman times!!!

The New year was quiet, we had dinner with friends followed on by quiet evening chatter. But had to leave early as my sister wasn't feeling very well. I was fast asleep way before midnight :)) and woke up at 4 in the morning on the New Years day. It felt wonderful!!!

Work starts on 5th Jan and actually I think I am ready for it now after a nice relaxing break.

Keeping up

2008-12-22T21:18:00.004Z

I know I know I have been a lazy person not written here for ages. Sometimes I wonder what inspires me and most of the time I have realised its stress and pressure to get things done (and right now I am packing and need to finish it tonight!!).
I am moving my place (well in the same town but a different house) keeping up my average of "6 months stay at one place"!!!!
My house mate (who owns it) is planning to sell the house so I have found a another place. I really enjoyed living in this pretty "pink" house, but this new place I am going to move to is amazing too. I went to see it last Sunday and instantly fell in love with it. Its called Shakespeare building and keeps up to its name!! Its a listed building in Huddersfield which means that it was one of the first houses built when it town was formed. Isn't that amazing!!! Its got a unique character to it; nice pretty garden in the front, a fireplace, a rocking chair by it, high celling with wooden beams. So 24th I move to this new pretty place. Its my Christmas present to myself!! And to add to the excitement my sister comes over tomorrow so we can settle in the new place together.
I think I have spoken too highly of the new place that I need to attach some more pictures of it very soon. Which I shall.
And now let me get back to my packing which needs to finish tonight!!
Merry Christmas dear friends!!!! Like they say here " Have a good one"!!!

Life in Huddersfield

2008-08-03T18:05:00.007+01:00

Student life gone and welcome work, in the moorland of yorkshire is one of the largest towns in England called 'Huddersfield' and this is where the work life has begun. Almost 9 hour flight from India and another one hour flight from London to Manchester, another 45 min in taxi..That could be one of the ways to reach here!!!
A small town centre which caters to almost all the necessities and widely spread residential areas. Huddersfield is beautiful, the town is quite busy but the sheeps, horses and cows are not so far away. So if you fancy taking a rather longish walk you might find yourself on countryside, a beautiful moorland. Not far from here is the village Haworth, of Bronte sisters fame. So this is the land of inspiration of books like 'Wuthering Heights' , 'Jane Eyre' (I am a big fan of these!!) etc.

Took me some to settle down here, not sure if I am completely settled yet!! Moved in a really pretty house of one of my colleague who was willing to share it with me (she is not living here most of the time)..Getting used to the Yorkshire accent, the slangs of the local vocabulary, the 'Yorkshire' way of life!!! The people are amazing here, very helpful and kind.

My boss is a wonderful person as well. Realising my loneliness in the new town she offered to spend a saturday with me. We started the day berry picking on a hill near a reservoir, Bilberries they call them here, the rain and sunshine played hide and seek. It was wonderful didn't realise where time flew and we were left with a box full of berries at the end of it!!! There are amazing places not so far from the town where people do para-sailing and hand gliding. The view is amazing with reservoirs and outstretched moorland. There is indeed a lot to explore around and can't thank her enough for having an amazing day out with me.
Work is going on good. Keeping me busy on weekdays my first project also requiring me to take frequent trips to Coventry, making me realise the need to soon get a UK driving license.
So for the moment life seems like getting settled!!!

Growing up...

2008-07-29T21:06:00.000+01:00

When do you actually say that you are a grown up? I wonder sometimes. Is there a moment after which you say yes, now I am a grown up?

The first time it stuck me was when I started house hunt in Pune (even though it was my second job and I had lived alone in Delhi for one year!!!). A friend might recall my weird manner of doing so. I choose the area I liked and went in the streets just asking people sitting in the park, cafe etc. if they knew about any to-let places. This friend of mine thought I was crazy talking to strangers. Well didn't get me any house that way but I did meet some really nice people. And I think all goodness is still not lost in the world.

I also remember another incident, I think I have mentioned it earlier in my blog. When I came to Huddersfield for the first time to give my interview. My train from London got delayed and I had missed the connecting train from Wakefield. A little elderly gentleman offered me to share the cab with him and I agreed. It was close to midnight but this wonderful soul ensured that I was safe in the hotel before he set off for his home.

If any of my younger sisters would have told me about something like this I am sure my reaction would have been quite wild and would have reprimanded them for being reckless. You can't trust strangers we are always told.

As grown ups when we are in these situations we do take risks. We feel that now we are wise enough to get ourselves out of the trouble if we get in to one!! I think my parents did get worried the initial few years after I moved out of home. But ever since I moved to Europe they realised there was little they could do so there wasn't any wisdom in worrying about things. So I think (although I am not completely sure) they consider me to be grown up now..Although last few months that I stayed at home I absolutely competed with my teenage sister for everything!!!

So what is it? Does it have to do anything with age? I think its mostly to do with responsibility, the moment you are on your own taking control of your life. Alas, it is easier earlier when you would be considered grown up when you were married and had children (particularly in Indian context). But now with the career getting importance over family there are possibilities that you are a grown up much before you get married or have children.

So even though I might still have the privilege to go home and pretend to have a teenage crisis, time and again I am reminded of my passing years when people ask me, do you have children at home.I think I ought to be a grown up now!!

Glimpse of Perugia....

2008-06-16T21:33:00.003+01:00

!

These are just the pictures, hopefully I can complete my post soon!!

Indian Premier League(IPL) ...the new cricket fever in India

2008-04-24T12:03:00.006+01:00

Taking inspiration from the European premier leagues (the football ones I am talking about), BCCI (board of control for cricket in India) came up with IPL. Well can't give them the credit of being pioneers of this idea (as ICL: Indian cricket league started first!!) but the fact that IPL is gaining popularity cannot be ignored. The most eye catching feature being the presence of players from the current Indian team and also some of the best players from other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan. Not to forget the 'star' quotient of these teams is reinforced with the presence of many leading industrialists and Bollywood stars who own many of these teams. This game is not just about cricket, it also involves a lot of money and beginning of another era for cricket in this country where the sport is worshipped.

However people are also a little confused at the moment, as in the past they used to support only India against all other teams in the world. But now these teams also constitute players from different countries and have their own home cities. Usually your favourite player is not necessarily the player from your region. So people are at loss of loyalties, whether they should have them towards the players or regions.

Its quite interesting as this has become the common topic for discussion among one and all. Everyone is glued to the television every evening for about 3-4 hours to watch the match of the 'day' or some times match(s). The newspapers seem to have got a lot to write about, not so much about cricket though but about the celebrities coming to watch these matches, about the cheer girls (they are all imported and not taken very well by local fundamentalists!!) so on and so forth.

As for me, I have never been a big cricket fan but its hard to refrain from watching these star studded cricket matches once in a while. Also I see the positive side of it and hope that more money is invested in other sports so that kids are encouraged to play other sports not just cricket. So who knows this might just be the beginning!!!!

Favicon- Fiog bug :))

2008-03-29T16:45:00.002Z

Caught by the favicon bug initiated my Fiogblog I experimented and it works..I hope so!! Its not as pretty as your frog Fiona but I was just experimenting :))..

Summer in Mumbai..

2008-03-29T11:41:00.002Z

It isn’t always that I am brooding about the poverty in India and thinking about Global warming. I also compare a lot of other aspects of life to my stay in Europe. Its fun to think that I was almost convinced living there that ‘Tan look is a healthy’. Coming back here and with the summer heat catching up I long for the winter and getting some of this tan off my skin and have the nice fair look back (its even tempting to go and buy one of those skin whitening products!! Geee but I am not going to do that!! Have I ever been that vain?) I see a blond woman (we got plenty of them living in Mumbai now!!) running on the necklace road at noon oblivious of the heat, a white guy holidaying in India walking without his shirt trying get some tan. It makes me smile; I recollect all those endless discussions and talks about how we want we don’t have and arguments in favour and against tanning!!! And then I hear my aunt saying, how pretty she looks now na, she has become so fair (are u listening people!!).

The colours of summer clothing are also amazing; it’s great to see people wearing bright colours on the streets. Mumbai’s fashion street busy with people buying summer clothes and summer shoes, not only the Fashion Street but multiplex malls launching their spring and summer collections to lure the crowds (Oh N and J you guys would have loved to go around everyday!!). I saw many of these colours in Spain and Italy but rest of the places were a little sobered down. But I was amazed to observe the increased amount of people wearing western outfits, may be I didn’t notice earlier. I see more noodle straps, more Capri pants, more trousers, more shorts and short skirts and the best part is that people from all age groups seem to get comfortable in them. Another thing I can’t stop myself from doing is converting everything to pounds (blush!!) while it seems cheaper than it is available for in United Kingdom, the gap isn’t too wide. I was quite amazed to see the sky rocketing prices of clothing here. Then I am reminded of all the trouble I had to face while moving from country to country and bringing stuff back home. I took a silent vow to not buy anything I don’t need; I am trying to stick to it!!!!

I also see a lot of people running in the morning, which is amazing for earlier I used to only see old people walking or ladies catching up their gossip on the pretext of their walks. The yoga fever has also caught up now, good to see we are going back to our basics and adopting it in our lives in a positive way! Sometimes I try to go early to avoid the ‘rush hour’ time!!

I had also missed the roadside spicy food (although I still approach it myself with caution, gosh I lost the knack!!), the various flavours of what we call Mumbaiya food!! The array of vegetarian dishes; last one and half years I was tested in this area. People trying to convince that meat is the way of life, it feels good to be back at home and have a restaurant menu where vegetarian dishes equal and sometimes exceed its non-vegetarian counterparts, having pure vegetarian restaurants serving delicious food, which I was told “is food for rabbits” (Huh)!!

So the summer is here to stay with smiles and sweat J, till the monsoon arrives and wets the town. So till I can, all I plan to do is ‘soak up the sun’!!!

PS: I shall put some pictures of sunny Mumbai soon..

Some fleeting thoughts

2008-03-28T11:15:00.000Z

Returning back to India after a year and half I have started observing some things more closely, comparing it to the various places that I have been etc. When you live in an environment you are accustomed to the ways of life, if you go away and come back some aspects of the old environment catch your eye which were a norm earlier.

In a city like Mumbai, living on one of its busiest and most happening streets (in terms of business, politics and lifestyle) its hard to ignore the plight of the pavements. The pavements are laid afresh and soon dug out by some department or the other for some underground maintenance work. But it’s not the quality or condition of the pavement that catches my attention; it is the people living on it. A family with about 4-5 children sleeping there and living there right around the corner of one of the busiest traffic signals of the city. Wonder what they do for a living, I have seen them sometimes making garlands, selling lemon chilly hangings (it has to do with some religious belief and people buy them on Saturdays to ward off evil spirits!!) etc. There is another family I see everyday during my morning jog on the famous ‘necklace road’; a must see on one’s visit to Mumbai, it’s along a shoreline and hosts a lot of ‘important’ buildings.

Another thing that fancies me is the attachment of these people to stray dogs. I think I dare not call these dogs stray any more, they seem to belong to them. Not just one or two of them but sometimes 4-5 dogs sitting or sleeping with the old guy or one of the kids (possibly his grandchildren) ‘living’ near the sea. I have seen them sharing not only their space but also their meagre meals with these creatures. I reach back home and read in the newspapers about Tigers getting extinct, about Global warming, about how chunks of Ice is breaking away from Antarctica all because we humans have forgotten to live in harmony with nature. We strive in our mechanised environments searching for solutions to these problems, thinking about alternatives, what would happen when the sea level rises (Mumbai would be submerged under sea they say!!). But this old man is oblivious, I think of these calamities which might occur while he lives his life struggling in his own way and sharing with these creatures who guard him from rodents when he sleeps in the open or snuggle up with him in warmth when it gets chilly at night.

However, the newspapers are blaring out news about the ‘famous’ personalities of Indian film industry, the television channels are repeatedly showing how an actress lives her life. People from other parts of India visit Mumbai to catch a glimpse of a ‘film star’. The simplicity from life is completely lost. Then on another morning I see a kid from the family living on the traffic signal doing her morning routines along the roadside in sand recently dug out on the pavement. And then I see the old man making his way through the rocks to find a little privacy near the sea to relieve himself even though there is a public toilet right next door. These sights are somehow unique of India. So many emotions overwhelm me; thus, upon arriving home I switch on the television to watch a Bollywood movie overflowing with superfluous emotions taking my mind off the reality and helping me do my bit to contribute to the Global Warming!! (What a pity)

Back Home-Sundries and my mind's wanderings

2008-03-04T09:20:00.005Z

Almost two months since I arrived back home now and I haven't posted on my blog. Call it laziness or whatsoever. Its strange but I did not have the inspiration to write for so long. My mind has been occupied by too many things and so my body (getting accustomed to the environment!!).
Home has been, of course a cosy den with so much love and warmth. But I have started missing action in my life. Lot of anxieties in my head; not knowing how to make the best use of this time I have, seems to create ripples in my head.
Strange is human nature, when we are busy with life's dailies we long for these long days with no deadlines. Once we have it we desire for the rush and the race. I wonder if this is what life is all about. I feel like a fool every time wanting for what I don't have. But all is not bad in this mind machine :)) may be I am exaggerating a bit too much. I have been reminiscing the memories of past one and half year, the past that shall never come back but has the irremovable mark on my life. I shall put some of it here too.

Apart from these mindless wanderings in my head I have been spending some time with family, an aunt and a cousin who were visiting us. Going around the city and exploring parts I have not been to before. Reading some books I have been thinking of reading from a long time and trying to keep up the running I started about an year and half back. While running today I realised I must also keep up this blog which I started an year and half back..
But you know the best part about writing this post..The inspiration of writing seems to be coming back!!!

Flight back home...from where we started 16 months ago..

2008-01-25T10:34:00.000Z

Well this girl still hasn’t reached home. I leave for London to go to Huddersfield for an interview. The flight was not alone but with a dear friend, so it wasn't so hard to say bye to Sweden and get back to the country I had landed first time after I left India. Yeah that is right I reached London..

London to Huddersfield was an adventure, the train was delayed and I missed the train which I had to change in order to reach to Huddersfield. Alone at 11.00 pm it could be quite intimidating wondering what to do and where to go. But the English are quite hospitable I must admit. There was another gentleman who had to go the same route and he offered to take a cab together and share it. Before we could leave the station the local station authorities offered to arrange the cab for us. That was really something. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Well the gentleman was amazing too, he made sure I reached the right hotel and checked in before he left for home (I must write to him soon!!)

The next day back to London was quite tiring, dragging the suitcases and looking for the hostel was a tiring process. Nevertheless I succeed and also manage to catch some sleep before meeting my friend in the evening. We walk almost for 5 hours talking about everything in life and last 16 months. From the streets of London, along the river Thames, passing the Big Ben, close to Trafalgar Square it was an amazing way to say ‘till we meet again’.

Somehow Europe wasn’t letting me go so soon. I boarded Flight AI130 to Mumbai but somehow it didn’t take off. Soon the pilot announced that the flight would only go next day afternoon or evening and we will be put in to hotel for the night. Yup some more delay in the time to touch Indian soil. Well 13 hours later the flight did take off and I did reach home. Hugging mom, dad and mo after 16 months was the most beautiful feeling in the world.

The Graduation-MSPME 2006-2008

2008-01-20T12:08:00.000Z

The graduation night marked the official closure of the 16 month long Master course. It was amazing (the food was good too, but no one cared about it!!) Ernie and I has compiled some pictures and videos of everyone and put in presentation. It was great to look back and reminiscence about the impressions we had gathered over these 16 months with each other.
The speech by Anders was heart warming; he is one of those people who touch your heart when he speaks. Also Bakhtier’s ending speech about ‘Together’ was beautiful. There were thousands of pictures clicked, two songs (all of us with Fiona leading the Piano!!), a lot of crying and of course handing of the diplomas.
The gang (MSPME + Profs) moved to corona (the discotheque) after that started another aspect of the night. Everyone was dancing their hearts out, some were crying their hearts out and some were drinking their hearts out. It was the night when everyone wanted to capture each and every moment spent with each and everyone. This was how we would say goodbye after living like a family for one and half years.

But life, comes full circle we shall meet again, we shall share moments again and now we are richer because we have each other as a part of our lives. We have someone at different parts of the globe whose face would appear in front of us when we hear about that country!! So we really didn’t say good byes we just said until we meet again. Thanks everyone for making these 16 months so special.

Well this was about the ones I lived with for the entire time, and then there are some other special people who made living in their country special. Well in particularly Sweden, the people I shared my corridor and kitchen with weren’t just corridor or kitchen mates, they were much more. They were representatives of Sweden, Austria and Germany for me. They gave me glimpses of their countries. The last dinner I had with them was superb. The German (Knoedel) was delicious, the Swedish desserts (pardon me for forgetting the names!!) were yummy too. But that wasn’t all they were there till the last moment for me. Helped me pack, clean up and even get ready for leaving on time for my flight. I was so running out of time and would have been lost without you guys. I shall take care these wonderful moments with me, meet all the promises we made and work towards fulfilling them.

In the morning when the taxi arrived all of you who came to see me off and also those who came to airport made me realise how special this bond was and will be treasured forever. I am going to miss you all and for sure we shall meet soon!!!

The 16 months....

2008-01-18T12:00:00.000Z

All good things come to an end!! but then that is what makes them valuable...I will miss everyone but then that is what makes this friendship special and we treasure each other for lives...
I really had an amazing time...the cultural exposure, Educational exposure and very different perspective and outlook to a lot of things in life. I feel sometimes I have grown over these months. I can handle more uncertainties, be more confident about what I want to do and what not, do more versatile things (e.g running sledging and a lot more :)), I have friends all over the globe now..not just classmates we shared a part of our lives together. I carry a bit of each one with me and it starts from the way I speak now (hehehehhe)..

What next is of course the sensitive question but it still doesn't take away the charm from the wonderful time we all had and learned from...

God Bless all of us and I am sure we will be placed quite well..wherever our hearts desire and we shall meet again sometime!!!

The New Year 2008

2008-01-03T10:52:00.001Z

Here we are in 2008, seemed quite distant in 2006 October when I left home and it Jan 2008 already.. 2007 has been the most dynamic year of my life I think. Jan 2007 was celebrated in Edinburgh UK and then I moved to Italy, from Italy in august I moved to Sweden. Living in 3 countries within a span of one year does qualify as a dynamic year!!!
Not only the places the experiences have also been amazingly favoured. From generally quiet Scots to the loud quite animated Italians to the silent Sweden each place has added on some value to my life!!! It has also been over one year to blogging!! So may be its a time to reminiscence things which have past in this one year.
Edinburgh was my first experience outside India. It was nice not so big city for me to get a footing in the European soil. It prepared me for Milan I think. Milan a completely different experience. Fashion, football, apperitivos, pizzas, pastas, coffee, parks, Duomo, amazing accent and my basic Italian sums it all I think!

Umea, the peaceful, serene and enchanting town, in the middle of the forest, near a lake, a small downtown, not too many people and a lot of baking encompasses most of the things here.
It is amazing how quickly can we human beings (at least myself) can adapt to different environments and learn from each other living in a close knit set of friends.
In addition to what I learned on the course, I am quite proud of the fact that I learned how to run (thanks FW for that!!), went swimming so frequently (thanks KK for that) started baking more frequently (thanks E for that), learned so many international cuisines (thanks all my classmates for that) and a lot more which cannot fit in the words of this page.

I shall miss all this moments but I shall carry with me all the experiences and learnings. All these places and the people are a part of me now.
Although the beginning of this year is hazy and things aren't really clear where they will settle in due course of time, it doesn't worry me. I think I had one of the best years of my life and with God's grace there will be more to come!!!

The Enchanting Lake...(I can't have enough of it!!!)

2007-12-27T11:21:00.001Z

The Swedish flavour of Life....

2007-12-18T17:23:00.000Z

Days are getting really short the sun rising at almost 9 am and setting at 2pm gives quite few hours of sunlight (when the sky is not overcast!!). On my things to do list is primarily the thesis work and job hunt at the moment.

So to make these gloomy days a little exciting I was bestowed with 2 interesting kitchen-mates. They are a couple and are Swedish. It is interesting to talk and know from them about this country!! The exciting things to do when its cold and dark..

Well the Christmas is around the corner so I am also getting to know the Swedish Christmas traditions. The last one being about St. Lucia day on the 13th December. When there is a train of young girls and boys singing St.Lucia carol going around door to door and people inviting them for fika (a swedish tea, cookie and cake time!!). Although the train doesn't really go from house to house in big cities any more, it is still prevalent at the schools, universities and churches. I saw the one at the university. Quite interesting with the lead girl carrying candles on her head (mind you it is a position girls work really hard for!!!) and other children following her with candles in their hands and each person in the train symbolises some one. This is how they prepare themselves for Jul (Christmas in Swedish).
It has been really interesting also to know about different cookies, cakes and drinks which are Jul special!

My swedish friends also are quite sporty and love running and Ice-skating. A lake near our apartment seems like a perfect spot for that. Well can you believe it? Running on the lake? It brings the scary images to my mind of the ice breaking and not being able to come out of it!! I was so sceptical when they told me about it. But I did it!! I went running on the Lake!!! It is the most amazing thing. A water body in the summer and autumn turning into a huge playground in the winter! Of course you cannot run everywhere cause it is a little slippery, but you can walk on it. A big block of ice, the lake; one of the most amazing experiences I ever had. I am going back to run on it again soon. (Don't worry I was taught the skills to know if the Ice is strong enough). My another new addiction is the aurora forecast website. Long nights make the probabilities of seeing a aurora higher. Hopefully I will spot it again soon. (yes I have witnessed it twice already!!!)

So life isn't so gloomy after all even when it is dark and cold, it in fact just gets more exciting!!!!
And I am thoroughly enjoying the Swedish flavour of life with my new friends!!!

Lulea Calling....

2007-12-08T16:48:00.000Z

A master program in Project management requires a thesis in Project Management. How clichéd is that? Well we decided to do something that wouldn't be so boring (I say we here, cause you do the thesis in pairs!!). Hence after a lot of rumbling, jumbling, searching and brainstorming (in management terms) we decided upon a topic related to Film making!!!
And as it turns out, the people in the Swedish film making are quite friendly to students trying to understand film making from basics. They were ready to give time and attention to us and answer all kind of questions, many of them I am sure sounded pretty silly to them.
The time seemed to be opportune too. There was a film convent in a city about 270km from Umea called Lulea. And a lot of producers were expected to attend this convent. Luckily we also found a producer in Umea who also works for the Swedish television and gave us some time for the interview.

So off we were to Lulea for 3 days, a small town by the bay (which was frozen!!). A cute town with its beauty enhanced by the Christmas decorations.
The producers and other people from the film industry were kind to answer all our questions. It was quite interesting to observe that most of the old producers were quite passionate when they spoke about the process and were amazing story tellers. They would get carried away and in between start explaining how they went about shooting a particular scene or a movie.
The younger were more business oriented corporate styled producers, who explained film making as a structured business like process. We also met some rookies and it was interesting to feel the difference between the years of experience between them.
2 days of the convent and we were there, did not take any pictures with them but the Kulturens Hus where the event was, was an admirable sight too.
Well the point is now that we have the interviews, starts the process of writing it down in black and white. The fun part seems to be over, (gee hee heee) not really the travelling is over may be now starts the process of culmination of the last assignment of this master and then? Who knows....

The Frozen lake-A picture's worth a thousand words...

2007-11-17T15:56:00.001Z

Snow White and her dwarfs....

2007-11-03T19:22:00.000Z

Imagine waking up and seeing a spotless white blanket all around!! I don't have to imagine cause that is what I saw the moment I opened my eyes today morning. As far as my eyes could see there was a white capping to everything. Such is the beauty of a snowy winter. Needless to say this was the first spell of light snow. In winter when there is heavy snow and there is going to be even less of the sun my imagination is handicapped to visualise life then. So just live the moment and wait to watch the turn of events.
With my thesis due I hope the dwarfs appear somewhere from the snow and help me doing some bits of it. (long spells of nightfall catalyse fairytale like imagination to run wild!!!) The roads get deserted early and shops close at 4 on sat evening. So its time when your brain needs some kind of serious activity else we humans are bound to lose our mind, the thesis seems to be just perfect dose for the same!!!

Brussels re-visited

2007-10-13T16:01:00.000+01:00

When I first went to Brussels never for a moment I thought I would come back there. And that too within 2 months...It was interesting..But this trip was completely different from last one..This was an 'Official trip' I went for representing my class at the Erasmus Mundus Assembly conference...It was interesting to meet 80 representatives from all over the world studying under the Erasmus Mundus Umbrella.
It started out quite interesting with video cameras making us pretend to talk and wave as we all gathered in the entrance of 'Tour Madou' the tallest tower in Brussels also the venue for the 2 day conference. What followed was an interesting 2 days with talks from the European commissioner of Education and committee members of Erasmus Mundus. The second day was an interesting contest for the president's post between 5 people (2 Indians, 2 Pakistanis and 1 girl from Netherlands) , with the European winning it!!!

In the evening I went for some chocolate shopping with a Malaysian girl, an American and a Canadian; the fame of manekin Pis still alludes me and this time I went to hunt its female counterpart..the Jeanekke Pis..which is quite neglected and not so interesting.
Well a short but interesting visit to the European Union headquarters in Europe: Brussels...I have a feeling I shall be back there soon....

Biking around the city called Umea...

2007-09-19T08:09:00.000+01:00

Settled in Umea..almost a month and after contemplating for weeks about whether to buy or not, I decided to buy a bike!! Great decision!!
A city which has bike lanes and plenty of forest, its a pleasure!!! wind gushing through hair, on your face, is indeed a wondrous experience.
The fall colour of trees is another thing of beauty.
Biking around the lake peeping inside empty summer cottages..looking out of different mushrooms..studying at the banks of the lake...watching the clouds drift by..the bluest blue of the sky...going to lake in darkness and watching the Northern Lights...star studded sky and its reflection...listening to the sound of darkness....sounds like a page from Enid Blyton plots I used to read long ago...seems like living in a fiction storybook apart for the fact that have exams now and then and a thesis to work on.. but that happens in story books too right?? the vacation is always after the exams!!! but here it runs parallel....

In the arms of Nature...

2007-09-02T07:22:00.000+01:00

After a 21 day long trip in Europe...hopping from Spain-France-Belgium-Netherlands-Denmark I finally reached Sweden. All the places had their uniqueness, however you can see the similarity between the places in southern Europe and northern Europe...
Reaching Sweden somehow felt like reaching home...strange...its my first time in this country, perhaps after 21 days of travelling reaching a place where u can have a stability for a 'while' makes ur brain play these games on you!!!!! Did not stay for long in Stockholm, just 4 hours to take my train to the biggest city in the north of Sweden 'Umea' (well depends what the comparison of biggest is been made to!!):). After an eight hour journey (and one book) I reached Umea in the morning. Milan had been very industrial city like and brown after the green Scotland. The glimpses of Swedish landscapes I caught in the early hours of morning were soothing to the eye. Green trees; Birch and Pines mostly with landlocked water bodies seemed like a painted landscape.
The Swedish people are known for being reserved, which is quite true but they are extremely helpful in case asked for. The lady at the railway station was very helpful and came to the main road with me explaining me how to take a bus to the university. The bus drivers (thankfully talk English unlike Milan!!) are quite cheerful greeting you with the traditional 'hej hej' when you get on the bus. One of the passengers who works at the university was kind enough to take one of my bags and guide me to the door of the International students office.
Well and then began the process of settling down, which indeed I think the best part of moving to a new place. The anxiety of finding out where to buy what; getting lost on the ways you will learn to walk with closed eyes later; cleaning up the room and deciding where to put what; it seems like starting things all over again in some terms!!!!
The lake near the apartment is quite beautiful, always dreamt about staying near a lake and walking back home through the forest. This does seem like one of those places. Here you rarely find signboards of street names and to go to a new place you just follow the direction rather than a path!!!
The cold here seems to be a concern but lets see...So far I love being in the arms of nature..

Summer Travel...

2007-07-22T20:21:00.000+01:00

Bitten by the European vacation bug and a month for the next term to begin..I decide to travel during the break till classes start in Sweden..
Start with Rome on 23rd of Jul, come back to Milan to ship the things to Milan and then leave for a Western Europe on the 1st Aug 07 and reach Umea on the 21st of Aug..
Have never travelled for this long time ever before, and on my own (with my travel partner Hedy of course).. Will I miss any flight?? Will i go over my budget?? Will I loose anything on my way?? Will I run into any kind of unimaginable trouble?? Questions in my head and premonitions make me feel both excited and warn me to be cautious....whatever I am going and am sure will have a great time and new impressions...

I have my travel guide 'Lets Go Europe'!! so tomorrow we start from Milan to Pisa and then to Rome and back to Milan...
I shall write about the places as I move...

Exams in Milan....

2007-07-01T12:42:00.000+01:00

3 exams down in Milan..life has been in a fast lane lately...to many things happening at the same time..starting on the 7th of June the exams finish only on the 19th of Jul...and the entire period is also filled with assignments and classes..finsihed my second last exam today...it was fine...looking at the results of the past exams..they haven't been too promising either..2 B's ok i guess...the exams have been quite weird here...extended time lines...assingment extensions...professors helping to answer the questions..its different the Italian style..except for the exam today which was till some extent a bit strict but then it was multiple choice so wasn't really hard to copy for those who wanted to!!!!
Life has been driving me behind it last 2 months!! Going to Rome on 23rd (finally!!)...then starts the european travel in August...so loads coming up before i touch the scandanavian land of Midnight Sun (Sweden!!)

Whirlpoolised...

2007-06-22T19:47:00.000+01:00

Its strange how interviews come knocking at my door..(thank God for his Glory) Synthesis Job fair organised in Milan in May was just another event to attend to 'have a look' at the job opportunities in this country..
After going through some companies and receiving stereotype answers; if u want internship they are looking for permanent job, if u are looking for a permanent job they are looking for interns and if they are what u r looking for, then u must know to speak Italian (mine is still at the beginner's level!!)..so after giving just one resume and collecting a few souvenirs and their websites I gave up and decided to head back home...
Just in time to see Ernesto (my mexican classmate) coming with a nice writing pad with cute look..and I wanted one for myself.. :))..so i went to the stall but there were too many people hovering around there..and I felt a bit awkward to just pick it up and leave. Waiting for the person to speak to me I glanced to the stall opposite to it..
Whirlpool it said...sounds familiar..and i remembered a friend who used to work for them...lets check I thought..The guy was very nice (talking in English), he told me about a Fast track program they have and are hiring for the same.. He wanted to see my CV and as he went through I seemed to be quite a promising prospect for them...and he announced that I just applied to Whirlpool for their fast track program...:)) thanking him and collecting my souvenir I made my way to the uscita (exit) and thus was the story shelved..

A month later..an email from the lady from HR appeared in my mailbox. It mentioned they had short-listed my resume for a telephonic interview and I had to fix a time with them for the same...and within 3 days i had a 45 min telephonic interview..within a day n half i received an invitation for an assessment to be held at their office in Comerio (abt an hour from Milan)..they provided a pick up from Milan (a swanky black BMW) and an entire expenses paid trip to Comerio.
At Comerio I met 5 other people who were called for assessment..just 6 of us!! everyone was quite surprised!!
one and half day at Comerio... a team game, a case study and three rounds of interviews were the agenda....
Dunno the result yet...may be in another week..but sounds like another exciting nomadic plan..21 months of initial training which include 3 projects (9, 6 and 6 months) in 3 different locations of Whirlpool Europe..
Whatever may be the result..I must admit it was one great assessment I went through..everything well organised; people warm, open and honesty answering your questions(with only shortcoming of not much vegetarian food)...Considering the fact it was a bolt from sky I thank my stars for this experience. The other 5 candidates I met were amazing too...we all hit together quite quick...
So truly said every experience is a learning in life...
and for the result...watch out this space....

All the world's a stage..

2007-06-08T22:54:00.000+01:00

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

William Shakespeare

Wonder if Shakespeare were a woman how would he describe the different stages..just trying to put my thoughts, however i don't intend to compete with him in any respect.

The loving daughter; apple of father's eye,

The teenager; getting in touch with her feminity,

The lover; longing to belong and tearful lingerings,

The wife; taking care of the need of her man

The mother; showering all affection she to her priceless possessions,

The grandmother; the well of affection which is full again,

I think though we women have changed in terms of independence and our desires from life; we long to head the corporates, long to try to change the world but at the end of the day we still want to come home to our grandchildren to shower our love, we still want to grow old with the man we met when we were in our best years.

Is it really possible to have best of both the worlds? I wonder...

But as I read Shakespeare again;
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

I think what he really refers to is the human nature which spends all its years trying to learn the ways of the world..but in the end..its all the same...
so what really matters in life?? we all need to or technically do pass through these stages...is it worth being the perfect player or it doesn't matter...

what is the answer to all this I wonder....

Una messa per molto lavoro

2007-06-04T12:13:00.000+01:00

A month of lot of hardwork!! assignments, exams, more assignments, more exams..this is how the month of May, June and July are in MIP for MSPME. The first 2 months had lot of holidays to travel around and then everything else had a deadline..2 assignments done and more to go..have to face an exam in 2 days...and while i struggle with the handouts with Italian english.."their typology of temporal modality" is unfathomable for my brain. (to understand this joke one has to read the handouts by my prof) no offence intended he is a great person and a good professor, I think the infequent use of english in their daily lives is the cause of this..anyways while i am half way through a poem which i want to put on this blog since long I hope I can make it really soon...
watch out for that...

Milanese way of living..

2007-05-05T10:44:00.000+01:00

Over 2 months in Milan and I am getting used to the life. On run from Monday to Thursday from project management classes to Italian classes at night!! Travelling on the weekends and getting goosebumps as the deadlines for assignments and exams approach due to the past separation with books and notes ;).
Then there are weekends when I decide to chill out and study but they are marred with team meetings for the assignments...huh loads going on here in Milan and its all seems to me sometimes as a movie running in fast forward mode.
Between all this still try to find time for running (when the rain and my laziness doesn't play spoil sport) and swimming (have a friend with needs to wet his Gills twice every week so I have company)...
Some times on the weekends like to go an walk around the town. From the Castle to the Duomo (cathedral) along the streets of the fashionable busy town.
Sometimes on the road you find people playing music, doing some jugglery and selling fake branded products. Its quite a pot-pourri of all different sorts of people. Along with natives there are a number of immigrants from Morocco, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey and some other Arab countries. Quite like Mumbai..a mix of people from all over India.
So am also one of them now. In fact its an addition of 26 of us from march 07 till Aug adding to the milanese pot pourri.

Life at Milan Last 2 months..

2007-04-30T05:11:00.000+01:00

From 3rd march Milan has been quite challenging in all its terms. but that I think has been its best part. Also we had lot of holidays since we arrived so had some time to go around.

Como (a lake close to Milan), Verona (The town of romeo and Juliet), Venice (the beautiful town of canals) and most recently back yesterday from Cinque terre and Pisa ( an UN world heritage site and the other famous for its leaning tower).

Verona was a nice small town, felt quite nice walking around the city looking at Italian architecture which showed in the small houses, bridges, narrow streets. Nice day out there...

Venice..hard to put in words. Although the first impression can be a little misleading cause it is usually bustling with tourists from all around. but if you take a pause and walk around its narrow winding lanes which unexpectedly take you to the canal it can take your breath away. San Marcos square (the centre of all the main Basilica and Clock tower) is amazing at the early morning hours when there aren't many people, all you can hear is the pigeons !!!
The islands nearby on Murano and Lido (couldn't manage to go to Burano) are also quite nice. Murano famous for its blow glass furnaces forces you to spend money on the beautiful Venetian glass!!!

Cinque terre (literally 5 terrains) or 5 villages are the 5 villages on the western coast of Italy on the Ligurian Sea which further is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. Initially primarily fishing villages are now a world heritage sight. The coastline is amazing. The water extremely clear and pure, it was a wonderful sight walking around the coast. (Heard its called Sardinia of the north)

Pisa another small town, which I could manage to see only at night so could not go up the tower!! But the leaning tower does seem very surreal. Made of marble, in the same area are also a Baptistery and a church. Amazingly beautiful handwork on the marbles on these.
After these towns in Italy. The places I must visit are Rome and Florence..

Although most of the towns are quite predictable as they all have a Duomo (Cathedral), Piazzas (Squares) and Colosseum (many of them). So when going to Italy these are the must see places in any town!!

Ciao from Milan

2007-04-15T09:42:00.000+01:00

Reached Milan on the 3rd of March 07 and right from the airport started the struggle with the people so patriotic about their language!! Good in a way but does get annoying sometimes when u cannot explain the shopkeeper what you want.(Sigh) but now that I am catching up on a few words life seems to be getting easier. It reminds me of my first few days in Pune at work, where everyone spoke Marathi and I couldn't understand what was happening around.

Well I have been away for the blog for over 2 months now. Reason: not being able to access to internet in my Pyjamas (its metaphoric..heheheheheh a joke!!!!) anyway now that I can do it [thanks to the company called Fastweb and the shopkeeper who was extremely nice to translate each sentence he wanted to tell us from Italian to English using Google language tools!!!!]. I shall be more regular.

After reaching here there have been some trips around..first one was to Como where there is a nice beautiful lake (Loch as the Scots call it!!!). Then to Verona; the town where Shakespeare received his inspiration to write Romeo and Juliet!!! And last week to Venezia (Venice!!) the city on canals...amazing...Italy is really a historic and beautiful country.
Shall write more about this places in my further entries.
For now I am still exploring Milan and think shall do it in the next week long break I have coming up next week!!!

Last month in Edinburgh

2007-02-11T14:57:00.000Z

Your desire to write is its itchy best comes out only when you are supposed to study and concentrate on the books!! I remember how I wrote one my favourite poems just before an exam during engineering.
Anyway coming to the point. Wrapping up the term in Edinburgh about 20 days time I shall say bye to Edinburgh. Strange isn't it, within a span of 5 months you get used to the place. Somehow I am used to the room, the dorm, the unversity, despite the fact we have been cursing the place for being too far from the center, for the unpredictable weather it has!!! It has been the home away from home... I like the scenic Scotland!!! It has been a nice stay. My first stay in a place outside India. I think I am gonna come back here some time. Maybe after I complete the course.
Life is the like a neckalce with colourful beads. Individually they are unique but when they come together they enhance the beauty of the owner!!!!
So here is another bead in my Life's necklace....

Life after Vacation: term 2 Edinburgh...

2007-01-19T02:07:00.003Z

So how does life look after a trip to England..a Lazy vacation with bouts of running !!!
The Term 2 comprises of Olwyn, Olwyn and Olwyn with 2 weeks of Quality and Procurement sandwiched in between.... We have presentations on research methodologies...yippee..how Interesting!!!! it takes about 2 weeks....We were video taped during the presntation n now that we have the CDs I realised how much i move my hands when I talk :D...
Next week was Procurement; intersting initially as I could relate some of the things from work, but soon was quite a drag..but i like Prof Chadwick..he really was well prepared and knew a lot abt the subject....have his exam this week..
Then was Quality the Prof was quite interesting..he tried hard to read the slides someone had prepared for him..6 sessions and i could survive only one and half..partially due to my health...yeah my body did its trick again...(reminding me how prone i am to falling sick and not recovering for a long time..been 3 weeks now!!!) and there went my biking trip to Linithglow!!!!! hopefully i can still do it before I leave UK..
Other than that this term had the Burn's Supper on the 25th.. a trip with Han to the tantallon castle in Jan end..a Potluck with the Indian girls...
Coming week sounds interesting...Exam on 15th, dinner with course director the same evening, potluck for other profs on 16th, Isaac's party on 17th, a day with Suren on 18th and olwyn's assignment on 19th..so watch out for this place before i move to Milan...

The New year

2007-01-19T02:07:00.002Z

well this is what happens to people like me...u forget to publish the blog at right time and put the New Year thoughts almost end of January....hmmm funny...gosh..hate my self for postponing things...

The New Year….

Interestingly this New Year beginning decided to be different. The Hogmanays party, the one everyone was looking forward to, was cancelled due to strong winds and gales!!! The weather is so unpredictable in this country and things just stop because of the weird weather, can’t imagine what would have happened if something like that happened in India; especially when people had paid about 20 to 45£ for this party and some of them even came from various parts of the world to celebrate this event. No matter we might get a refund but still the New year eve memories shall remain. So after hunting down some places to hang out in the city, which turned out to be none, we decided to come back, sit and chat with everyone. Isaac (he flew all the way from Mexico just to attend this party) had some tequila and wine from Mexico which kept the mood of the day. And Aparna (Prasad’s wife) cooked some lovely ‘pohe’ and there went my Detox diet. I ate like a pig. Worst idea to do a detox over New Year and then go to a party like that!!! Shall do it soon again when the classes begin(Geeeeee). Good way to keep my mind off an overdose of research skills which we have this term!!!!
So slept at about 4 am 1st Jan 07.
Now this country sleeps today nothing is open, no shops, even buses run scarcely, no buses from the campus, so this is an indication to sleep more. Nevertheless, my body alarm wakes me at 8 am and I look it promises a sunny day. But as I write this now the story is changing and the sky looks overcast. Some clouds marring the sunlight (grrrrr). But the weather forecast says it’s going to be a nice day. Let’s see this unpredictable country and its weather.
Although I am glad I went to the previous 2 events in the city which were before the New Year. The first one, on 29th which was a torch light procession, when hundreds of people walked on the street holding torches in their hands and moved up to Calton Hill where they burned a Ship and effigy of a Bear (Don’t know the story behind it, need to do some research!!!) people leading the procession were dressed up as Vikings and there was a nice bagpiper band leading it. Adding the flavour to everything was this group of sardars playing the ‘Dhol’!! wow reminded me of bhangra!!! And the even finished by this wonderful display of fireworks. Was hoping New Year’s fireworks to surpass these.
And the 30th was interesting too, the Celidh on stage which some people tried doing and ended up really funny with people just jumping around and trying to remember who they were dancing with!! Then the theatre on street and of course the carnival, it was really bright and interesting. Was thinking, ‘so this is when this city wakes up and people are on street even late night!’ In a way did get a flavour of the Scottish way of celebrating the New Year but was hoping the eve would be the best of all. Unfortunately this was not supposed to go this way. So Lesson no. 1 for this year: anything can happen in Britain if the weather goes the wrong way. Everything stops!!! Hahahahahahaha..But that is how life is as well so unpredictable, never know what’s gonna happen next, anything can just go the wrong way. And goodness me, I see the Sun coming out again and almost no clouds in the sky!!!!

The vacation and its activities.....

2007-01-19T02:07:00.001Z

Morning Jog…

Last few days, jogging every morning for almost an hour or more. A surreal feeling can’t put it in words, although will try to.
Running after some time becomes a form of meditation. Like the mind during meditation initially tries to wander away in all possible directions and then slowly as u bring it closer to a state of steadiness it stays there for a while, infact longer than a while and sometimes u just enter this state of trance after which u just don’t acknowledge your surroundings and everything just stops for those moments. The thoughts cease to disturb, the body stops to distract and the mind just stands still. That is something what happens when you run, initially the legs, the body everything complains, all the forces inside u just try to make to stop and act against the inertia. But after sometime if u persist and stop paying any attention to it, the body accepts the present state and then its just u, the wind and your breath. And then u run for a longer time, and the time ceases to exist. And very much like meditation this also doesn’t last forever, the body after some time tries to get back to its original form the mind starts flickering about and making you stop running or makes you hear noises from all around you. Then slowly your les begin to ache and you are forced to stop yourself like in meditation you are brought back to reality. Wonder if this state can also be surpassed and you can reach the next level wonder what that would be like. Like some one asked some days back. Is there a way to come back from it? what if we just stay in that state forever? I don’t think that can ever happen our human minds are fickle enough to bring us back to the reality. But somehow am getting addicted to this new form of meditation called running.

The England Road trip..

2007-01-19T02:07:00.000Z

I have already given enough introduction to this interesting journey we decided to take up and how we got to start this journey! So journey begins on 17th Dec 2006 at 9 am. Before I start I must introduce all the people who are going a part of this journey; Isaac (Mexico; the second driver!!), Ernesto (Mexico), Bakhtiar (Uzbekistan; navigator), Kirill (Uzbekistan, Russia), Amy (Malaysia), Fiona (Malaysia; the Primary driver) and finally me (India; navigator). So now u can see that we have 2 Mexicans, 2 Uzbeks (Russians), 2 Malaysians and just one Indian. So we hear a lot of Spanish and Russian on the trip (the Malaysians are like us (Indians) they talk in Queen’s English)
Well now first destination is Cambridge which is about 500 km from Edinburgh. So Isaac is the driver and I am the navigator. Trying to figure out, how the highways, motorways work in this country. With minor initial hiccups and a full tank we are finally on our way to the destination on the right highway!!!
It’s Isaac and me talking and figuring out the way to move while most of them catch up on the sleep they lost last night!!! The country side is quite beautiful we travel along the coast for a while and then there are vast fields around. Occasionally we pass through a small town with cute houses. Then the first stop is Durham for lunch, a quick bite and we are off again. The whole day is spent in travelling. Fiona takes over from Isaac after 3 quarters of the journey and then while rest of them sleep me and Fiona are trying to choose a channel on the radio which has more songs than talk!! Reaching Cambridge, it is about 7 pm and we are at Cambridge!! Quiet town, loads of bicycles around. After hunting down the Youth Hostel we drop our luggage and move to catch some dinner. Thus ends day 1.
Next morning I am feeling queasy (because I haven’t had enough sleep!!) a Russian paracetamol does the trick and we are off to see Cambridge.
First stop St. John’s College, nice architecture, and then we hop on this free bus which takes u around the city, which is admiringly small enough to travel on foot! We would like to go to this museum of archaeology but unfortunately is closed on Monday!! So we move to museum of anthropology, a quick tour, a stop at Kings College and we are off to next destination; Oxford at about noon.
Well this trip gave me good training on navigation, but who learns without any mistakes so at a cross section I decide to take a road which makes us take a highway all the way around London which was not necessary and our journey gets a little delayed than expected. Strange things these highways are, once you get on one there is no way to get back or take a U turn so just keep going!!! So we are the Youth Hostel (well this was quite a hunt as well) at about 5 pm (it’s already dark!!). I think its Murphy’s Law which rules the world. Apparently as we were delayed on the first day (we expected we could travel 500 km in a new country n 5 hours and reach Cambridge by 2 yesterday!!) we did not check back on our original plan. We hadn’t planned to stay at Oxford and out stop for the night was at Kensington (London), oops, fortunately Isaac and Bakhtiar run around get print out of the bookings and they agree to transfer from Kensington to Oxford and we had a place to stay for the night. This is an interesting night cause after some preliminary sightseeing in this city and our dinner we reach back the Y’Hostel, and its time to reorganise the plan, a little brainstorming suggested by someone and everyone’s priorities are listed and at the end of about 2 hours we have another plan which is slightly different from the original plan and calls for Kirll to travel alone to his final destination. Hmm little hiccups who says life is as smooth as a motorway in England!!
So next day is the sight seeing in Oxford city which involves moving from one museum to another, one cathedral to another and then it’s dark and foggy and time to move to Salisbury!
Bakhtiar takes the lead from here and is the navigator now with Isaac as the driver. And after travelling for about 2 hours on twisty, winding country roads in fog we reach Salisbury and temperature is already ZERO.
The night at Salisbury is spent at the Y’Hostel playing card games.
Early morning with a temperature of -2 we move to see the Salisbury cathedral, next stop Salisbury castle which is almost in ruins! Unfortunately due to ice on the bridge they do not allow us, the entry is delayed but we cannot wait as need to move, so we are off to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is quite picturesque; the frozen dew around on the grass and trees added a flavour to the look. The reason for its creation is quite mystery. Various theories surround it, may be astronomical reasons or just a symbolism of humanity and it capacity to do the impossible. And the interesting part is that the stones were brought up through road by pulling using ropes and muscle power. Must have some valid reason to do something like that, but u never know human nature is actually quite unpredictable!!
Lonely planet says Avebury: ‘things here are larger and more impressive than Stonehenge’. But unfortunately its not impressive enough for us so we just touch and go the town. Sitting in the last seat isn’t the best experience in the world, but once you fit in you do not feel like getting out, me and Kirill vote against getting out of the car . So we move quickly to Bath. The temperature in Bath is not quite promising as well, about -1. The first stop is the Roman Baths the main attraction of the town. We spend 8.5£ and 3 hours; we now know how the Romans took bath back in those days!!! It is too cold and foggy to do anything else, so we have a nice relaxing supper in a hotel whose heating was right on top of our heads.
Back to Youth Hostel for the night and next day’s plan; Windsor.
Everything is great except for the cold. It is about -3 here too. Nevertheless this is my favourite spot among all the castles we saw. The major attractions being the doll house and the queen’s chambers, rarely one has the chance to see how royalty lives today. We spent a considerable time in this palace and this happens to be the last stop for the trip.
After lunch Kirill leaves for Bath to spend some more time with his friends and rest of us are off to London to spend the night.
London is quite spectacular at night especially just before Christmas. Another discovery over the trip is that the Brits are really polite drivers. They wait for you to pass and are very cool, no honking horns, no wild overtaking. Unfortunately London is different, the drivers here are quite harsh, could be because there are more Asians driving on the roads here!!! So Isaac needs to revive his aggressive Mexican driving skills to travel from the western part to the eastern part of the London reaching the Youth hostel. We see the Big Ben, London Eye, cross over the Tower Bridge, pass the parliament and national museum. Finally we reach the youth hostel which happens to be the biggest youth hostel in UK; that is just for information. We move quickly to see the city at night. This time we take the tube, driving your car is not a good idea in London!! So we take the underground tube in London; we go to Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street and reach China town. Some really nice Chinese food for dinner (thanks to Amy and Fiona) and we are running to make sure we catch the last tube to Rotherstrine station. Finally manage to catch the last train and reach a station near the youth hostel.
Next day we part from the Mexicans, Isaac to leave for Mexico and Ernesto for Italy!!
We are the end of the trip it’s Fiona, Amy, Bakthier and me on our way back to Edinburgh. Fiona drives non stop similar to the way she runs non stop, with just a break for lunch at Manchester we are on our way to reach Edinburgh on time at about 7. Well when u think everything is going on fine, something has to go wrong. We have a flat tyre 18 miles from Edinburgh in the middle of now where.
Well who says there are no good people in the world any more. We realised we were near some kind of barn or a farming area. As Bakhtiar and me walk around exploring we see a small cottage with a Christmas tree, as we near the door we see a man watching TV, well we were just hoping to find out where we were so that we could call the helpline to come there and help us with they tyre. This couple run back with us and take up the job of changing tyres. Surprisingly the man knows almost nothing about changing tyres and his wife takes the lead and puts everyone in action. While Fiona tries to call up the car rental and the Vauxhall helpline to get some one to change the tyre, the rain Gods smile on us and having no choice we are trying to change the tyre. Well after almost 2 hours, moments of anxiety, confusion and persistence we are able to change the tyre. And most of the credit goes to the Lady (Catherine) and Bakhtiar. We get a really warm farewell from them. She hugged me twice and wished luck. I think we should go back some time before we leave this country and thank for the timely help.
Well we move on and in another half an hour we are in Edinburgh and thus ends the England trip.

Beginning of the vacation

2006-12-27T22:10:00.000Z

The vacation officially started on the 8th of Dec-06..we had the last exam on the 5th that gives us 3 additional days..but trying to get over the post exam hangover we went out everyday saw a movie and were back only at 1 am.....well this honeymoon could not last long as we had 2 assignments to hand it by the 15th before we could be done with this term...so 9th the sat seemed most apt for starting the work...This is precisely when we usually forget good old Murphy!!! the Library was closed for the weekend and we had no books or material..but we did have another good reason to delay the work for another 2 days...so we curse the system on saturday for not informing in advance (well we were too busy to check the notice boards!!!)..saturday evening is spent planning this trip to England...initally from 3 of us its now 7 of us..yipeee.....and we are planning to hire a CAR...wow a 7 seater CAR....
so the research is on and we finally like a car and the price...
Sunday is lost in the excitement and here we are on Monday....many of us still feel to lazy to begin..I have had enough of this assignment cribbing and decide to finish it by wednesday..Nevertheless am delayed by a day and four days of almost hard work and i voila i have these assignments almost ready by the thursday evening....
Friday is the submission day; me and Fiona decide to get rid of the monsters first thing in the morning...at 10 am and the assignments handed in... we are ready to start our vacation....

Next stop is 'Enterprise' the car rental company...Fiona and me are the only people whose licenses are valid to drive in this country but my driving skills are no good even for open fields without a risk of crashing....so its just Fiona who is our official driver for the trip......
then there is a change in plan..the cute guy at 'Enterprisee' explains that its the same rent if we rent for a week or for 5 days..so we decide to take it for a week; hang around and show off in Edinburgh before we leave !!!!
But a change in plan..we leave on sunday no monday..gives us additional day....yipeeee.....more fun....but hang on....where are we gonna stay??? Isaac has a sleepless night trying to book the youth Hostels and reserve place for us....thanks dear..saviour......

and saturday evening we go to Gillian's place for a christmas dinner with her family...
that is for another story..a night with loads of fun..

and now it sunday morning 9 am and the Isaac is the driver for the day and the fun starts to roll...it wouldn't be fair to continue in this post..lets have another story for the entire road trip..

Jas

some writings to ponder on....

2006-12-26T21:37:00.002Z

This is one of my favourite of Robert Frost's Poems:

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sighS
omewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

And these I am trying to deciper and figure out:

I do my thing and you do yours,
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine,
You are you and I am I;
If by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.

^Fritz Perls

If I just do my thing and you do yours,
We stand in the danger of losing each other
And ourselves.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations;
But I am in this world to confirm you
As a unique human being,
And to be confirmed by you.
We are fully ourselves only in the relation to each other;
The I detached from a Thou
Disintegrates.

I do not find you by chance;
I find you by an active life
Of reaching out.
Rather than passively letting things happen to me,
I can act intentionally to make them happen.
I must begin with myself, true;
But I must not end with myself;
The truth begins with two.

^ Walter Tubbs

If I just do my thing and you do yours,
We stand in the danger of losing our Society
And eventually ourselves.
We owe our present to the past
And ourselves to the previous generations.
How much can we call ours?
Wild geese fly easier as a group.
Tulips look more beautiful in clusters.
We do not find each other by chance,
Nor join together only by twos.
Dont think too much about yourself.
There are many things we can do together.
We must begin with ourselves, true.
But why not lose ourselves, too,
In communal spirit,
For all, not for one or two!

^ You Yuh Kuo

[MoS (Management of Self)]

The beginning of the term

2006-12-26T21:37:00.001Z

Ok so now let us start from the beginning....

May be i give a Short Abstract (!!!!!) of what has happened so far...

reached Edinbrugh on 24th Sep 06..met my first classmate at Mumbai International airport...Ghazal from India....unfortunately could not sit together on the flight....

then at London Heathrow airport..i met Fiona and Amy from Malaysia......and on the flight to Edinburgh met Bimal from Nepal....well although I do remember the order in which i met everyone else..would not go in detail of explaining that.....5 days to discover the place before we meet the professors and another 3 days for the term to officially begin......

well that is how it all started..let us have separate posts for the profs and the other travel now...

Introduction

2006-12-26T21:37:00.000Z

Hmm finally a blog...a few sign in hiccups...i hope can handle it now....
Lemme first thank the main inspiration for this ..Bob who advised to keep a memoir while travelling..Fiona Wan....and nitin for reinforcing it today...thanks ...i think will keep posting now...
another reason..my hands have been itching for a while now to write..so think its time to transform the thoughts into words.....been a long time since have done that....

This studytravelogue starts with my entry in the Erasmus Mundus course of 'Masters in Strategic Project Management (European)' since we are three months late will be covering some backlog..[;)]

so this course....it is a three country program starts in Edinburgh (Scotland) and then we move to Milan (italy) and finally to Umea (Sweden) all this in 16 months.....and an MSc program.....
The biggest Plus of this course...i have friends from all over the world now....studying and staying with people from different cultures and countries sure gives u a new insight about people...also we are discovering new places together.....

am learning each day....

so here we start our journey on the Blog now.....