We went camping in Coorg at a coffee plantation. Amazing! Once in a lifetime experience. Everyone became very close (thanks to campfire n booze) and we hiked the tropical forest to eventually arrive at a beautiful waterfall! Our guide let us rope down the waterfall, which was tight, but then he dared us to climb it!! Ehsan was the only one to do it, and everyone wanted me to do it too, but I thought my wrist wasn;t strong enough. :( I took my first hot shower at the plantation. I can't describe my feelings at that moment. It was like my own moment of clarity for those 10 minutes. We went to a buddhist temple called the Golden Temple, and we also went to a elephant training camp. It's actually pretty sad seeing the elephants being hit and chained up... But we we're told this is normal. We swam in the same river the elephants swim, drink, and poop in. It was awesome! The Golden Temple was freaking awesome! The architecture is simply beautiful and the attention to detail is unparrelleled. The temple is actually a buddhist school, so walking around you see a bunch of young boy monks mixed with all these old men monks. Pretty interesting! We sat in on a musical class, and the sounds that were exiting that room were pretty weird/creepy. The statues and sculptures are HUGE and covered in gold. The buddhists do it right.





Last night, our Indian friends got the school to sponsor a "group party" by RENTING OUT AN ENTIRE NIGHT CLUB!!! Free booze, music, food, and fun. Eric, you would have loved it. The DJs love American hiphop n stuff like that, so it was freakin sweet.

Monsoon season has definitely settled in, so the rain comes down like cats n dogs now. Seattle's got nothing when comparing the rain fall here in south India during the monsoon... It's still hot though, so you can't really wear a raincoat, so we rock the umbrella. ella. ella.

I realize that my work here is NOT going to take me 3 months lol, so I'm going to travel India with a couple people for a week or so. It seems most interns here finish their work early and then either bounce early to home or travel India. I think I may do both. FUN!!! The boys n I are headin to Goa this weekend via train, and so far we haven't fully planned ANYTHING... Just how to get there. It doesn't matter though cuz we're good at improv at this point.

Living in India thus far has definitely made me question a lot on how I perceive myself at home, how I perceive others, how I think toward others, and my actions in response to my emotions. I'm learning more and more that there are people who just want to have constant chaos in their lives such as mindless bickering over minute details, placing the last word in a conversation just to stand a bit higher, and WANTING things that may be unnecessary. The purchasing of material goods that have little practical value or buying it because "It's too good a deal to pass up," are things that will soon be conflicting when I return home. Since I've been here, I have almost been in a constant state of uncomfortableness. When I am around others hanging out or reading or working or playing sports; these times are excluded. I am talking about cold showers every morning, sleeping in dreadfully hot weather, stomach pain, food that begins to taste all the same, child poverty everywhere, non-stop honking in the streets, and trying to communicate to others w/little to no English skills. I am getting use to the latter, but the rest are still a bit daunting. I miss my mom's cooking, my dad's talks, and my brothers presence.



Do not take this post as a sad one, but a learning one! I am grateful to be here in India with the people I am here with!! :)

Last Sunday we went to Kapu Beach which is right on the Arabian Sea. I haven't seen beaches like that since Hawaii! The water was warm and they had rocks to climb so you can see miles out to see. We go into town (Udupi) usually to browse the market and try all the local foods, and I just recently got over my stomach hating me. I fell ill about the third day I was here but now I can pretty much eat/drink anything I want, EVEN THE LOCAL WATER :) The fruit here is amazing! I eat mangoes and bananas all the time. The food is definitely spicy, but honestly when they say it's more spicy, they really mean that "Yah it's a little more spicy, but the flavor's gonna rock your tongue." It's funny b/c EVERY meal has a hint of spice and/or curry lol




In Udupi, a group of us went to the Sri Krishna Temple which houses the original Blackstone carving of the Lord Krishna! There are 5 main Krishna temples throughout India, and this is the top one. We were given a personal tour by one of the main priest, and were told the entire story of Krishna. I love it! Hinduism is actually pretty cool and a very tolerant religion. They allow all types of viewpoints and the religion is, supposedly, always evolving to appropriately fit the times. I like this. You can see the parallels b/w Christianity and Hinduism through the stories they tell.

I live in a flat with 5 other engineers: Ehsan (Iran), Ole (Norway), Peter (Norway), Taygun (Turkey), and Paul (Ireland). We hang out with all the other interns including a group of French guys n girls from all over the world (Jordan, Turkey, Czech, Austria, Scotland, Spain, Tanzania). We also play A LOT of football (soccer). I'm getting better everyday for sure. It's funny b/c coming here I thought I would be only learning about India n my work, but EVERY intern here is from a different county. So I've been knocking down LOTS of stereotypes/assumptions I've made of the cultures I'm learning of now. There are a lot of questions aimed toward me about America b/c I'm the only intern this whole summer here that's American. Kind of intimidating... We are all going to camp out on a coffee plantation in Coorg this Monday and Tuesday, and some of us are going to Goa next weekend to visit the beaches/parties. PUMPED!

FOR THE NERDS:
I finally met my employer! It was probably the most awkward situation giving him his gift. I don't think it's normal to receive gifts on unofficial occasions here in India... Either way, I'm researching madly on SIGNAL PROCESSING!!!! It's pretty bad ass because I already know Fourier Transformations, but I'm just learning of a new mathematical approach to signal processing called Wavelet Transformations... If you apply this method followed by a FT, it decreases the signal-to-noise ratio DRAMATICALLY and increases the resolution to optimal levels. This is perfect for EEG (biomedical in general) because you must be very precise and confident in your data if you're going to cut open someones brain and work on it. My research is based off findings of the local medical school and hospitals! The research is aimed toward helping epileptic children and developing adults receive non-invasive forms of treatment, i.e. EEG conditioning of the brain. PRETTY AWESOME!!

There have been so many things going on that I really can't tell them all, but I'm keeping a day-to-day journal so that later I may recall all the little things that went on in this crazy county.

SKYPE USERNAME: crazycuban22
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PHONE #: 00-91-9686124319

So I have arrived and its already has been an experience. There are so many bazaar things that have happened I cannot describe them now. I live in a flat with Peter (Norway), Ole (Norway), and Essan (Iran). Our 5th flatmate is from Ireland and he arrives today. We've all made Indian friends and they;ve been showing us around their city! We are all very good friends already and it is going to look better as time goes on. There are some hard things to swallow, however, such as child poverty, poor waste management, and personal hygiene. It has rained, but for only minutes out of the day and very hard. Otherwise it's scorching and muggy like crazy! I shaved my head because I am in a constant state of sweat!!



Working in India is Mon-Sat with Sundays free! This is weird, but our employers allow us to have four days each month to take time off. We (flatmates and I) have decided to save our days and make a huge trip to Delhi, India's capitol. I have yet to start work, but I have been told it's immensely relaxed. MOM: I can wear sandals to work... :)

To Mom & Dad: The university computers are way too slow, but the internet cafe's are right outside the university and are very fast. I am using one now. We are allowed to download and they provide headsets! Skype maybe? The reason I mention is because our phone calls, even though free for me when you call, are costing you A LOT! At least that's what my Indian friends say. OR we can stick to me recharging my phone minutes and I can just call you. I think skypes nicer because we have no rush to talk.