Kerala

Friday morning we woke up at 4:45 and went to the airport. A few hours later we were in Kochi, Kerala. Then we drove to the backwaters and got on a house boat and rode around the backwaters all day. We were served several types of fish along with chicken and duck. We also had pineapple, fried bananas, and tapioca.

Saturday morning we toured the palace. For lunch we ate at a revolving restaurant. Then we went to Jew Town and walked around all the little shops. Some men here wear something called a dhoti which we have been calling a "man skirt" when describing it and one of the guys finally got one. He had a lesson on how to wear it but as we walked down the street everyone smiled and then came up to him and said that he wasn't wearing it right and then tied it in a new way. We came to the conclusion that everyone wears them a different way. But basically you can wear it long or if you want to show more leg you can fold it in half and tie it again.

Sunday we drove about three hours to the hills. We stopped at a waterfall for a little while and we were able to climb up it and get behind the water. Then we stopped at tea plantations and walked through the tea plants.

Mocha Mojo's

Last Friday a few of us went to a Hookah/Coffee Shop called Mocha Mojo's that some people in our group recommended. The food was amazing! It was a nice break from Indian food, which is good but was starting to taste the same.

Pondicherry

This weekend four of the Auburn students traveled 2 and a half hours South to Pondicherry with 6 students from Michigan state. Pondicherry is in a different state than Chennai making it okay for them to have cheaper alcohol and beef. Pondicherry was also colonized by the French so it looks different from the other Indian cities. We arrived late Friday night and stayed at a hostel that was a little outside of the city's center. Saturday morning we moved to L'Escale guest house on which was a much better place and was run by a British man so less communication errors. We went to the beach and then enjoyed steaks for dinner. Sunday we went to Auroville which is this utopian type area outside of Pondicherry where they do a lot of experimental things with food and housing. It is also where Matrimindar is located (giant gold dome ashram) but it was closed by the time we got there. There were some neat shops that sold crafts and food products including Kombucha (a health promoting tea made from fungus).

This Week

On Monday we went to the wedding reception, everyone dressed in sarees and kurtas. We were slightly overdressed for the South Indian style. Everyone stared at as when we walked in and some people asked to take pictures with us. One thing I have not been able to get used to is the stares. People shamelessly stare at us all the time. I have gotten the habit of just looking down when I walk to avoid all of them.

On Wednesday we went to a restaurant called the Rice Bowl and it had great food but it took a long time. One of the guys in our group is working with some people from Michigan State and we had a chance to meet them there. They seemed to be having a very similar experience to us and I think we are traveling to Pondicherry with some of them this weekend.

Yesterday at work we had presentations to update everyone on our projects. One thing that is different in presenting here is that the higher up people will interrupt you in the middle of a presentation to ask questions. The way that I am used to doing presentations is to go all the way through and then go back depending on questions. The Indian way seems to take longer, like most things over here.

Weekend Update

Our group was invited to a wedding reception so all the girls needed sarees to wear. Saturday morning we took a taxi to TNagar to shop for sarees. All of us ended up buying them from Kumarans. We walked in and kept going upstairs to the nicer sarees. Everyone got something different. Mine is a blue/green with some red embroidery and brown beading. The colors and beadwork on all of our sarees is amazing.

On Sunday a few of us went to mass at St. Thomas's Basilica which is built over the remains of Doubting Thomas. The mass was a little different, the music was very modern. After we ate lunch at Sarana Bhavan and I had a mini meal with different types of rice and a delicious desert that was made of rice, milk, and sugar.

We found black coffee at work. The coffee at our hotel is either instant or already has a ton of cream mixed into it so all of the black coffee drinkers get really excited about going to work in the morning. They also bring us snacks occasionally which is very nice.

Beach Trip

Yesterday after our meetings we all got a little bored and two of the guys decided that we should go to the beach so everyone that wanted to go went downstairs and Pramod (the graduate student who is babysitting us here) bargained for an auto rickshaw which was very entertaining to watch. He eventually got the right price and nine of us piled into 3 cars and started swerving through Indian traffic, where laws are merely suggestions. It was a little scary at times but it was fun. We all met up at the beach and put our feet in the Indian Ocean and then walked around. We had cotton candy, roasted con with lime and chili, and ice cream. One of the girls had her palm read and all of the girls got some colorful bangles.

Today we had our first individual meetings with the person we are working for at Larsen and Toubro. Our leader made very efficient use of time an we were done within an hour, but we were the only ones. So we walked around and got juices, I had a banana lissi which similar to a banana and yogurt smoothie. Then we walked around some more and just decided to leave because we weren't doing anything productive. We bargained for an auto rickshaw and then the driver tried to charge us more but we did not allow it.

Office Visits

Yesterday we went back to IIT and met with a professor there and discussed projects that we will be working on. I will be working with someone on Lifecycle Costing Analysis, meaning if you have a light fixture how many bulbs will it use over 15 to 20 years. Another project is working with qualitative and quantitative data so that engineers and architects/designers can work together better. There is also a project dealing with thermal comfort in buildings and material comparisons. Then we ate lunch at a typical Indian restaurant and everyone ordered a different side and we all shared and ate them with naan and it was delicious. I ordered chenna masala which is chickpeas and a tomato spice sauce. Mangos are also in season here so everyone had fresh mango juice. Then we all went to Larsen and Toubro which is a huge construction and engineering firm that has projects all over India and in other countries. The projects that we discussed in the morning meeting will be taking place at L&T. The buildings were really neat, all of them were different geometric shapes and I think that a lot of them were LEED certified as well.

Today we had another meeting at IIT but with a different professor and we visited his lab which was pretty interesting. He does a lot of research with X-rays and microwaves and what not. I am also noticing cultural differences because when we were in the meeting he answered his phone several times which would have been rude to do in the states but is fine here. Also, time is not an exact thing here, they usually give you a 30 minute to 1 hour time to meet somewhere which is strange because if you are meeting with a professor at home you better be on time or else you look like a bad student.

Now we are all back at the hotel cooling off. I don't think I will ever get used to this heat.

Adventures in India

My mom dropped me off at the Atlanta airport around 11 and then it was hurry up and wait for about an hour until I got to my gate. I made some phone calls and then sat with my group until the flight at 1:55. We got to Chicago around 3 and got some food (the last salad I will be eating for awhile) and then left Chicago around 5 and got to Brussels around 8 a.m. Our next flight was delayed a little because of maintenance issues and we left around 11. Sometime after midnight we arrived in the Chennai airport in India.

The first thing I noticed was that it was hot and crowded, even that late in the night. The group of 12 piled into a van with all of our luggage and headed to our hotel. At night, it did not look like we were in the greatest part of town and we realized the next day that we aren’t.

Our first day we all woke up in time to get the complimentary breakfast provided by our hotel and then most of the group walked to the IIT Madras campus, where some of us will be working. Our hotel is next to a slum, but there is a fence with guards around our hotel to keep us safe. On our walk to the campus we saw plenty of goats, chickens, and dogs in the street. The campus is very pretty, lots of trees keep it a degree or two cooler than outside. On campus there are a ton of monkeys but don’t make eye contact with them because they try to take things from you. We visited a lab and then walked back to the hotel and got the rest of the group and then went for lunch. We walked to a food court in an Industrial Park and noticed that there is a KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway, which will be nice if I’m crazing something familiar. I had some Indian foor, chicken curry with a steamed rice noodle patty and some sort of bread (sorry I don’t know the names) which was a little spicy but delicious. After that we came back to the hotel and soon after that Autumn and I worked out in the tiny gym here. There is a strange machine called a “CrazyFit Massage” and we looked it up and it claimed to be “Australia’s favorite vibration work out.” I’ll keep you updated on that. There is also a bike, treadmill, and weights. It’s really hot outside (around 100 everyday) so I think I’ll stick to the gym, at least until I’m more familiar with the area, but probably the majority of the summer. We ordered a pizza for dinner and it tasted basically the same as pizza back home and then went to bed around 10.

Today we got up around 8 and had breakfast. The coffee here is already mixed with milk and not very strong so I think Autumn and I are just going to make coffee ourselves in our room each morning. Now we are waiting to go to the grocery store and watching Indian television. I have noticed that a lot of the advertisements are for making your skin paler which is the opposite of what the commercials are at home right now which is interesting.

patagonia is a place...

So when I told people that I was going to Patagonia over Christmas break I was surprised at the amount of people that did not know it was an actual place, many people just know of the company Patagonia. But it is an actual place and a beautiful one at that.

My friends an I spent 3 weeks in Chile, 2 and a half in Patagonia (10 backpacking) and 4 days in Santiago. My bag was lost on the way down there and we had a difficult time trying to communicate with the airport workers what had happened. Luckily the hostel owner in Punta Arenas had a sister-in-law that forked for LAN and took care of getting my bag. It only pushed us back a day but luckily we built extra time into our schedule. We spent 2 nights in Punta Arenas and then one night in Puerto Natales and then went into the Torres Del Paine National Park.

When I look at my pictures it is still hard to believe that I was there. It is easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We were extremely lucky with weather. We had one bad day with 60 mph winds which knocked me over and took Omar's glasses. Liz got stuck in a bog on the day we went through the pass but Omar helped get her out. We met people from all over the world and someone that goes to Auburn. We had a trail family from Texas.

We hiked for 10 days and then went back to Puerto Natales for 2 days and then to Punta Arenas for 2 days. On our way to the Punta Arenas airport there was a strike and we had to walk around it and were luckily picked up by an airport worker and our flight to Santigo was only delayed 20 minutes. We spent 4 days in Sanitiago and met up with someone from home who guided us around the giant city.

What to do

We didn't know where to begin. There were so many options of things to do and places to go. One day Omar called and said "I know where we are going" and said that he had read several things about the Torres Del Paine Grand Circuit. We looked into it and it was perfect. It takes roughly 8 days and is between 50 and 60 miles. We would have enough time to have some layover takes or do short day hikes.

So then we had to actually start planning the trip. The past trips that I have been on have been completely planned for me so I didn't know where to begin. We found the travel agent that NOLS recommends for students doing the Patagonia course and she patiently worked with us as we figured out dates and found us a good deal on plane tickets. "Good deal" is a relative term, it isn't cheap to fly to Patagonia. So now I am working on getting the right gear and figuring out just what I need to bring down there. We are also starting to work on hostels and public transportation which might be a bit of a challenge since Liz is the only one that can speak any Spanish.

another trip

So this summer after I got back from Wyoming I visited my good friend Omar in Birmingham. I had heard of this movie/documentary and told Omar about it and he had heard of it to so we decided to watch it. It is called 180 South and features one of my heroes, Yvon Chouinard.

So the movie is amazing for those of you that have not seen it. It is a great example showing that a good trip is on where you learn more than you were expecting. It also shows beautiful images of Patagonia. They go to Conservacion Patagonica which is something that Doug Tompkins founded and basically they are restoring Patagonia by buying farms and removing the fences and invasive plant species.

Conservacion Patagonica seemed like an amazing organization and immediately after the movie Omar and I looked online to see if there was any way that we could go there. We found out that they had a volunteer program that operated from October through March and that volunteers were encouraged to stay three weeks. What about our winter break? We called a few friends and Liz was the only one who was persuaded to join our hypothetical adventure. I emailed the volunteer manager and we started to bring up this idea to our parents. None of them said no but they weren't saying yes. So we waited and a few weeks later I heard back from the volunteer manager saying that we could go but we needed to know soon because the spots fill up fast. Well, it took awhile for all of our parents to come around but eventually they did. I remember how excited I was when Omar's parents finally said yes. I wasn't at home when I received his call but as soon as I got home I emailed the volunteer manager with our basic information. The next morning I had a reply saying that they were overbooked and that we would not be able to go. I think I called Omar about 4 times before 9:30 am and when he finally called back he said "What is going on? Did someone die?" and I explained to him what happened. We were all depressed since our great adventure didn't seem like it would happen. It was hard for me to go from "I'm going to Patagonia over Christmas break to help restore the wilderness" to "I'm going to go home...probably sit on the couch and watch old Christmas movies" which would be nice, but not anywhere as amazing as going to Patagonia. Another thing is that this is our last chance to do something together. Omar is about to start medical school and Liz is about to start grad school so it seemed like it was now or never.

We thought about our options for a couple of days, non of us wanting to sit at home for the whole break. Then we realized that we could still go to Patagonia, we would just have to plan our trip. So we started working on that.

30 Days

It had been awhile and summer is almost over. You may know that I did a NOLS course this summer in the Wind River Range for 30 days. I learned so much out there about myself, dealing with others, a tolerance for the uncertainty so I've decided to just list some things that you may or may not have known about my trip.

For thirty days:

I did not take a shower

I carried everything I needed on my back

I woke up around 6:30 and hiked

All of my meals were made on a single burner stove

I carried all of my garbage on my back

I had to wait 25 minutes before drinking my water for it to be purified

I put on wet or frozen socks and boos every morning

I slept in a tent with 3 or 4 other people who I didn't know before the trip

I got to know everyone in the group and learned to see the good in all of them

I walked through waist deep snow (not everyday, but a lot of them)

I was the only one to not get a mosquito bite (genetic superiority!)

I learned that in order to motivate others sometimes you have to take initiative and do things first.

I learned that there are a lot of leadership styles

I learned that sometimes it is best to lead from behind

I did not have an ipod or any way to listen to music

I did not have a cell phone or any connection to the outside world

I did not carry money or any plastic card

I did not carry any form of identification

I learned that just because society tells us to do something does not mean it is the right this to do

I learned that we do not have control over the majority of things that go on around us

The list goes on and I'm sure that other things will come to me later tonight that I should have mentioned and other things will come a month down the road that I did not realize I got from the course but I just wanted to share a few of these things with you.

traveling

It is hard for me to believe that I have been back in the states for 3 weeks and in less than a week and a half I will be heading to Wyoming where I will be doing the NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) Wind River Wilderness course.

I have been wanting to do a NOLS course for quite some time and this is the one that I finally got my parents to agree to but now that it approaches I am starting to get nervous. I know that everything will be taken care of but I am still nervous. I just have to remember that this school has the wonderful reputation it does for a reason.

London Calling

The internet at our hostel in London has not been great but it is working now so I can update you on my London adventures.

Tuesday, after a four and a half hour train ride from Edinburgh to London we walked into the hostel and basically had enough time to drop our stuff off and unpack a little and then we were off again. wE got on the tube and when we came up and walked a little bit there was Big Ben (he's not as tall as I had imagined), the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We walked across the river to the London Eye which is like a giant ferris wheel that lets you see all over London. We went up as the sun was starting to set and had a magnificent view of the city.

Wednesday we watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Then after that we walked through Hyde Park and ate lunch at a cafe there then went to St. Paul's Cathedral. I was blown away by St. Pauls, it was so beautiful (no pictures allowed inside though) and we walked up all the 500 and something steps to the very top. Wednesday night we went to different theater shows, I chose the Phantom of the Opera, playing at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was a wonderful performance and what made it better was that I had blackberry ice cream during intermission.

Thursday we started off at the British Museum which has a little bit of everything and I was overwhelmed walking though there. Then we went to the Design Museum which I loved. There was an exhibit on sustainable innovation which showed new products, buildings, etc that were making moves in sustainability including a solar powered boat, new packaging for puma, and recycling rain coats into bags. After that we went to the firm uscreates (http://www.uscreates.com/) and talked with Mary Rose Cook, one of the founders, about what they do. They were service designers but their main focus was changing social behavior. One of their recent projects was getting more people to get tested for chlamydia. Then we went to radarstation (http://www.radarstation.co.uk/) which was one guy who did more of managing and coordinating people to work on projects.

Friday we went to Prospect (http://www.prospectdesign.eu/) where we talked with Richard Eisermann who I was very impressed with. He studied at RISD and has lived all over. He has been working for quite some time and told us a lot about how he has made transitions into new things. We ate lunch at the Black Friar and then headed to Seymour Powell (http://www.seymourpowell.com/). I think everyone was pretty impressed with Seymour Powell. Out of all the firms we visited they do more of what we are specifically trained to do. Their main focus is researching the future and doing a lot of forecasting. After that I walked through the National Gallery where I saw Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Da Vinci's Cartoon. Then I went to the National Portrait Gallery and then a few of us went to see Date Night.

Today I went to an exhibit at the British Museum that had Renaissance drawings then to a little French cafe near the hostel for lunch. After that I took the tube to the Tate Modern Gallery and then walked to Westminster Abbey which was closed for visiting by the time I got there. I did get to see a protest against the war in Afghanistan which was interesting. Then I came back to the hostel and I guess I'm about to start packing for my last travel day, my journey back to the states tomorrow.

Arthur's Seat and Art Museums

Yesterday a group of us decided to go hiking. The name of the mountain/hill is Arthur's Seat and it is only a mile walk from the hotel and it was such a beautiful day that we couldn't pass it up. We prepared by buying pre-made sandwiches from Sainsbury's and then we left the hotel sometime after 11. We made it up to the top in about an hour and ate lunch there. We waited to hear the cannon fire at one (this is the way that the ships set their clocks) and then we went to another ridge and got an excellent panoramic view of the city and then we went down. Most of us got soft serve from the ice cream truck at the bottom and then we came back to the hotel.

Today I woke up and went to St. Mary's Cathedral for mass and then came back to the hotel as some members of the group were leaving for St. Andrew's. I decided not to go after seeing the weather and realizing that it would literally be an all day event. Instead I got directions to the Art Galleries and set out. The first two were about a thirty minute walk from the hotel. I got a little lost but I found a beautiful footpath by the river that brought me right in front of the Dean Gallery. It was a smaller gallery but had some nice Dada and Surrealist pieces. I ate lunch in the cafe there and then walked across the street to the Modern Art Gallery and walked around there for awhile and then headed to the National Gallery of Scotland which had pieces from about the 15th century up to the Impressionists.

I love Scotland!

Glasgow was amazing to say the least. We had a fun project that had us thinking in a whole new way. The day we finished our project we had a tour of the Mackintosh building. It was so strange walking around in this building after seeing so many pictures and learning so much about it. The building exceeded my expectations for sure. I was sad when the guide first told us that we were not allowed to take pictures but as I was walking through it I realized that pictures would not do this building justice.

After the tour we meet up with Sarah and her partner Lauren at a nearby bar where they both gave some advice on social networking and meeting important people for jobs, so really valuable information. We left to go get dinner after about two hours and went to a place called Bella Italiano that turned out to be a longer walk that we originally thought. However, it was worth it because it was wonderful food and we had 2 for 1 coupons.

The next day we had off until 4 which is when we were leaving for Edinburgh. I ended up walking through the park to the Kelvingrove museum. There I saw Dali's Christ on the Cross and a Monet, Van Gogh, and Matisse. After that I went to the Mackintosh House which was picked up from its original location and moved to the University of Glasgow campus. The house was amazing as well, I truly enjoyed that tour. After that I meet up with the group and we got on a train to Edinburgh.

Today I walked the Royal Mile and ended at the Castle where everyone was supposed to meet at 2. So after the group got together we went inside the walls and walked around all the buildings and saw the crowned jewels and the stone which the royals are crowned on. After that more walking and city touring.

Day 2 in Glasgow

Today we ate lunch at the Willow Tea Room, designed by Mackintosh. The lunch was small but very good. I had the ham and cheese and got honey and almond tea which had a smooth taste and was just sweet enough for my liking.

The main idea of the project stayed the same but individually we changed course a few times throughout the day. Aft the beginning of the day I was in a group of four working on improving the library for families and a tech geek. By the end of the day I was working with a partner on creating a system to benefit the unemployed and the system is run through the library.

I am liking the idea of service design, it makes a lot of sense when you really about it. Our leader, Sarah Drummond, started a company called Snook and he and her partner work on improving services by learning about emotions while experiencing the service. It seems very interesting and it makes sense that people would need to be doing this sort of work. I think it is something I will have to look into in the future.

The Design Factor: Belfast

We had an office visit in Belfast and I was very impressed with William Lee and The Design factor. William Lee gave an excellent presentation about the things they were doing in the office and then gave us all some great tips for getting a job or internship and just overall things for our futures.

on to Scotland

I am glad to be out of Belfast and now in Glasgow, Scotland. Yesterday was a long day of traveling and I think we did just about as many types of transportation possible, minus a plane. We checked out of the hostel at 11 and then had some free time until 3 when we had to leave the city. So most of us went to the botanic gardens and then the Ulster Museum and then to lunch. At 3 we piled into taxis which took us to a ferry. The ferry ride was awesome! You could walk around and get food or sit and try to use the impossibly slow internet. After the 2 hour ferry ride we got on a one hour bus ride to take us to the train station which was another hour to bring us into Glasgow. By the time we got off the train it was dark and we walked through the hilly city to the guesthouse. It was very odd walking past the Mackintosh building of the Glasgow School of Art. I have seen so many pictures and have learned about him and it was just strange that I was in front of the actual building!

This morning I woke up early and went for a run, still not believing that that is the actual Mackintosh building and the Mackintosh tea rooms in front of me. Then I had a Scottish breakfast which included beans, bacon, potato pancake, toast, and eggs. It was delicious. Then we went to school, meeting on the steps of the Mackintosh building and then going across the street and getting to work on service design.

Our leader is a graduate student named Sarah and I really like the type of work that she does. It is not so product centered, but she thinks about the experiences we have when using services and how to improve those. Our project deals with getting certain user groups to use libraries more often. We went to visit a library today and talked to the librarian about the different services offered and how busy they were and things of that nature. So we should be ready to get working tomorrow.