The German Misadventure-1

Well it really has been a long time since I posted. I don't seem to recall my last post-it might very well have been about my last intern, but I'm feeling too lazy to check.

Anyway, to be honest, this post doesnt have much to do with a sudden reawakening of my desire to be part of the blogosphere again. The thing is, I haven't made any real human contact in like 3 days. It is finally starting to get on my nerves.

But first, about the place. What strikes you first, more than anything else, is that Germany is ordered-almost frighteningly so. You know how in India the cars at a traffic light(if there is one) always stick fender-to-fender? Well in this town at least, they seem to unerringly maintain a distance of at least 1 m. They never deviate, not even in the middle of the day during office hours.

That experience might of course be different in some other town. My town, Aachen, is a relatively small town, things would probably be different in Berlin or Frankfurt.

The people are unhealthily polite. I've been 'hallo'-ed by perfect strangers not just inside my dorm, but also on the road, in the station, in the airport and of course in the university. And its not as if they want to start a conversation or anything- most of them either can't speak in English, or are uncomfortable speaking it.

Now I had the misfortune of being alloted a single room, with my own kitchen. Also, I can login to my university's lab from my room, so I don't really have to move out of my room. Add to that the fact the net is incredibly fast here and you can download anything you want, its amazing I've even stepped out of my room. But then, as I have come to realize, one does eventually need to talk to people.

There are of course those who have come here on an intern of their own. 2 others from my college, some assorted people from NITs, and one guy from IIT B. Anyway, I didn't exactly hit it off with them, despite my best efforts, so this weekend I found myself opting out of a trip to Paris with them and staying home sitting on my ass.

As I said, I haven't had any human contact in 3 days...since people can cook their meals in their rooms, they dont have to step out at all, and they don't. Its becoming so annoying that I probably will have to go to work tomorrow, and make friends with the rest of the guys.

There have been some benefits- I have learnt the rudiments of cooking and I have seen several good looking girls-good looking not just by iit standards, but generally, and of course this has forced me to start innovating to find things to do-which I believe is a good thing, however depressing it might be.

I hope to make a trip to Brussels next weekend, but I can't be sure. Expect my next post soon!

Bangaluru week 1

So an year after Rahul romping his curls on the streets of this maddu-land, I find myself banished to the same fate, albiet without the curls. As expected, the first week was a hotch potch of over-charging auto drivers, dosa-sambhar, catching wrong buses and dosa-sambhar again. (Btw, you really feel the power of cultural segregations on a southie trip, all the advertisements you can see only have Deekipa Padukone, Madhavan+Vidya Balan, or Asin. Its literally scary to imagine if suddenly the Tamils declare a fatwa against all outsiders while ur there. Sheer numbers matter) Currently, we happen to be in search of safe havens where the white-collars hang out. MG road has been rumored to be one, (our office is its wrong end, so havnt been there yet), and Forum confirmed as.

Some facts to be noted:
1) All north-indian eating joints(dhabas) are punjabi house.
2) MacDonalds is cheaper here.
3) The buses actually have the front seats reserved for women, as the well-informed ladies are quick to point out, which makes you imagine a (very-successful) ad campaign by the government (sporting a very forward feminist lead) to sensitise the women of the facility.
4) Some buses have tickets, some have bills, some have neither. And the rate differs between them. The ticketless being the cheapest.
5) Bangalore is big, bigger than Delhi maybe. You end up spending 3 hours in buses if your not careful.
6) Locals can't multi-task, never. Its fruitless to ask an attendant a question while he's in the middle of billing a customer.
7) When ur taking an auto, the driver is doing you a favor.
8) Autos won't get a passanger back from your destination, never mind that its 8 pm and ur going to a hustling market place.

Anyway, the post can't be complete without mentioning the workplace. Its cool, a cafeteria, flexible work hours, high speed net, no strict supervision, doesn't take much to make us happy. Video conferencing company == cool big screens in office. PtbN, lunch makes you sleepy. Coffee half an hour later must.

We got a house, yay, we rented a flat to stay. 6 of us, 6 of us two floors up, ruchus all around. Getting in the cooking atmosphere, starting with sandwiches, maggi, french toast, tea. The bathroom tap makes an eiree noise. TV is a ban. Especially when theres an IPL match everyday and your not the biggest fan.

What else? Went to Nandi hills, Lumbini Gardens on the weekend. Timepass places, won't specially recommend to anybody, but Bangalore doesn't seem to offer much else. Learned a few planning and money managing tips from veterans.

Now to the end, I am wondering why I wrote this blog. Well, we were supposed to maintain a diary, maybe this will do?

PS: Beru, brokerage, research papers