Internet...and other happy things

Two months to the day of the first time Airtel told me that my phone and internet connection would be activated it finally is! Yes, I am as amazed as you are. It got to where Airtel would tell me “tomorrow” or “in one hour it will be activated” and I laughed in their faces—which really isn’t the best way to go about getting what you want, but I was that confident that it would not make any difference one way or the other that I risked it.  Then I had a few days of my phone working but my internet not working and most recently, for a change, my phone was not working, but my internet was. And, so you know how awesomely technically advanced I am—the internet was working on one computer but not on the other. So I rigged the working computer to share internet to my computer so that I could get emails in on my laptop. How awesome am I? I know…but then, I realized that all I needed to do was uninstall and re-install the internet USB thingy (yes, I know it’s called a dongle, but that is the dumbest word and I refuse to use it unless I have to), and so maybe I am not as technologically advanced as I originally thought.  But I know I am more technologically advanced than Airtel Customer service—or maybe I am just more logically advanced, but I do know that the following conversation with customer service is rather circular:

Trying to call from my phone:  “Your out-going calls have been temporarily suspended. Please call 121 for more information.”

And after calling 121: “Your out-going calls have been temporarily suspended. Please call 121 for more information.”

Anyway, if Airtel craps out on me in a few days (very possible), I already have a back-up plan: Daniel’s wireless connection, which comes in very clearly to my flat. I haven’t met him yet, but I am sure that his name is Daniel. Why am I certain that he named his wireless internet after himself? Because he is not creative at all. How do I know that? Because his internet password is “123456.” Thank you, Daniel, for not reading any of those scary articles about hackers who steal your internet and then your identity and not changing your password to Fwe23g49Hjq*?p.

My happiness at finally finishing the internet/phone business, which means that I don’t have to go back to the Airtel office and sit there for hours again, made me start thinking of other happinesses in my life:

·      I have moved the bazillion boxes of stuff from the old office out of my house and into the new office.

·      And the new office has multi-colored walls.

·      And they moved the stuff out of my house by bicycle rickshaw. Yes, it was awesome.

·      And I have discovered a 20-minute running loop around my neighborhood. It’s not a great route like my down-to-the-Ganges River-route was, but there is less likelihood of me being attacked by a river dolphin or kidnapped by a gang of angry fishermen. The 20-minute loop is something I can work with—run it twice plus whatever smaller loops I can find or run it three times for extra fun.  Running here is tricky because I can’t go before the sun is up (currently about 6am) since I might trip over a sleeping water buffalo or fall in a craterImeanpot-hole. But if I’m out running too late (i.e. past 7:30), I get stuck in school traffic—kids in uniforms erratically riding their bikes down the street or bicycle rickshaw drivers with carts full of school children riding erratically down the street or cows wandering erratically down the street…keeps me on my toes, figuratively and literally.

I’m sure there’s more stuff to be excited about, but it’s wedding season here and blasting fireworks are shattering my peace of mind. I saw an elephant walking down the street last night from my car window—part of an elaborate wedding procession. I leaned out of the window to try and get a photo (for my nephew who recently made it clear that he likes elephants way better than cows and I want him to like me the best of all) and knocked off my sunglasses that were on my head that I had forgotten about because it was night-time and I wasn’t using them because I am not a hiphop star (yet).  The wonderful man who is helping me out this week, slammed on the brakes and went back to get them for me before they were squashed by the elephant.  That same man plus our newly hired field officer have contrived not to let me carry anything from our office-shopping list. I am telling myself to accept the chivalry and enjoy not having to carry anything. It’s not so bad since, true to my womanly nature, I always carry around overstuffed bags with things that I’m sure I can’t live with out and I might need at any random moment but most of which I never use. Not having to carry other stuff kind of helps.

And now I should start winding down so I can do the other stuff I was supposed to do before I started writing this.  I will leave you with this photo of an elephant butt that I got after the elephant passed us while we were looking for my glasses. It is the only one that came out.

Cheap Entertainment

Part of traveling in more exotic regions is being able to take whatever comes at you. For me, I just try to find the humor in whatever crazy situation I find myself in. And I am pretty much amused by everything.  I think having to take an umbrella and flashlight to go to the bathroom is fun. Taking a cold bucket bath while looking out over the beautiful green mountains is highly entertaining. Eating a chicken that I watched quietly die at the point of a kukuri does not bother me. Careening around cliffs in an over packed car with 1000ft drops inches away from our tires is hilariously terrifying. I also find it funny that I lean over to the other side slightly to try to balance out the car—it’s the way I play video games, urging little Mario to run faster and faster (Mario is the only video game I care about). Changing into swimming attire behind a tiny bush—fantastic good fun. Going for a run straight up a mountain and deciding that Captain Roy was right—you should never run a good horse uphill.  Then, running intervals up the mountain through thick fog—joyous! Sliding into the top bunk on a train—good times!  Driving through a river, sticking my hand across the border into Bhutan, not managing to kill the ginormous spider in our bedroom, swimming in a river, visiting a temple, eating crazy delicious food—uproarious.

And all of that was just from one trip to Sikkim! Here are some more things in my life that bring me great amusement:

*Being the tallest person in the office (besides Andrew) but still not being able to reach the shelves in our kitchen cabinets.

*I’ve taken to stuffing my bra with tissues and not for the immediately obvious reason. The problem: Indian clothes for women do not have pockets. Not the leggings that I wear under the kurtas (long shirts) and not the saris either. And you never know when you are going to need a tissue. And I get tired of carrying bags with me everywhere I go.  It’s nice to have a good place to carry extra things…

See a place for pockets in this outfit?

*Things my boss says. For example, we were discussing the subject of broadening our national partner base and he was vetoing one suggestion: “Oh, those people won’t work with us. They have AC.”

*Things national partners have said to me: “Amanda, I like you. Your thinking is very authentic.”

*Getting a twisted back from riding hours sidesaddle on a motorcycle to get to a project site. It’s always more fun on a motorcycle, especially if you don’t have to wear a helmet.

*Riding a little wooden boat across the Ganges to get to a project site. Everyone on our boat was standing up and balancing precariously. On the way back it was dark and a thunder storm was coming. Super-fun!

           

*I recently noticed that when I’m driving around in new places, trying to take everything in, I open my eyes extra wide—like I can suck the beauty into my soul through my eyeballs.

*I also really love farm animals. Especially the piggies. Probably because I've spent so much time in countries where they are mythical creatures that don't exist in modern civilized places...

This photo is does not need to be rotated, Marian--Younna took it like this.

Of course, those with me are not always amused by my amusement, and there are things that drive me crazy too—being honked at loudly by passing cars when I am innocently walking down the street and there is plenty of room for them to go around me. Since one particularly loud dance party at a camp for Palestinian orphan children, I have had extra-sensitive eardrums. Being honked at for me is like being smacked in the back of the head—it is actually physically painful. And nearly incessant. I have a special hatred for the extra-high-pitched ones.  But I’m ok with that too—if I go deaf in India, I’m already in with some of the deaf community here and my Bengali sign language is getting better. Imagine how great my sign language communication would be if I actually were deaf? Bus drivers everywhere are wanting to help me find out, it seems…

I could still do this if I were deaf, right?