Robin's India-ish Adventure

Hi Everybody,

I haven't posted in a while. I've been away from India... I decided that I needed to get out. My adventure now ventures out of India, and raises a mixed bag of feelings. I'm glad that i get to get out and see familiar faces and to experience other countries, but I'm also sad that i didn't take advantage of the opportunity to travel India.

I just got back from a trip to Dubai to visit my best friend and his family for Christmas! It was a great to see familiar faces and to spend time with my second family.

To summarize up Dubai, it's an urban metropolis, with skyscrapers upon skyscrapers. Not to mention an indoor ski hill, the worlds largest mall (doubling the size of West Edmonton Mall), and world's tallest tower, the Palms (islands in the shape of a palm tree), and numerous exotic cars (ranging from Aston Martins, to Ferrari, to Lamborghini and of course Porche)

Currently back in Chennai for 24 hours and them i'm off to see my brothers for new years! Looking forward to it!




The Burj Dubai. It's the world's tallest building! If you were on the top floor, how you evacuate if there was a fire? Stairs would take you hours to climb down! Parachute?

SNOW!! the indoor ski hill!! A Winter Wonderland...kinda like Canada right now.

Cheers

Robin

Island in the Sun

Hi Everybody,

I have just returned to Chennai from a 2 week trip to the Andaman Islands. We visited Port Blair, Havelock Island, Neil Island and Ross Island (which was a occupied by the British and briefly by the Japanese).

My trip had an interesting start.

Saturday, November 29, 2008 - Robin's Hostel Room.

I was packing till about 2:30 AM trying to fit all my clothes into my newly bought travel bag... and i decided that i would be up by 5 pm to clean my room, tidy things up and catch a cab by 6AM to the airport. However, at 6:30AM i failed to wake up... and woke up to a rapid banging on my door and somebody screaming my name. Half asleep i cursed the one banging on my door for about 2 minutes and then suddenly i realized that i was suppose to be up about 1 hour and a half ago to clean my room before leaving... high on adrenalin...i got up, brushed my teeth cleaned my room in record time... and sprinted out the door, arms flailing and with my hair blowing in the wind!!

and that's all the excitement of my trip... the rest consisted of sitting on a beach, snorkeling, eating, and reading books... on an "Island in the Sun"...

The flight was 2 hours and when we landed we proceeded directly to the jetty to catch a ferry to our first destination... Havelock Island... the ferry ride was about 2 and a half hours... we arrived around 4:30 around the time of sunset...



We then went to our beach resort.

Our hut... which consists of a double bed and a mosquito net... that is all.
the other huts.
a 10 second walk from out hut... beach no. 5.


on our way to beach No. 7.



Beach No. 7. Time magazine ranked this beach the most beautiful beach in Asia... it's absolutely stunning.


Beach No. 7 at sunset.



This is a place i would definitely take a serious girlfriend. At our resort, there was this adorable couple, about the same age, who would sit at the dinner/lounging area and play cards by candlelight after dinner. It was a scene cut out of a movie... It's all about the simple things... the simple pleasures... they say you only need 3 things to be truly happy: good food, good drinks and good company. We had all 3 on our Andaman trip...

I'll leave it at that... i have so many pictures... i haven't even posted pictures of Neil Island, Port Blair, or Ross Island.


So i guess... Single Ladies... we'll have to set up a date... how does drinks and dessert sound?

Cheers

Robin

It's not your fault. It's me.

Dear India (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

We need to talk. It's not your fault. It's me. I'm sorry i have to do this by blog, but I'm taking some time off from our relationship. I think it would make our bond stronger. I also think we should start seeing other people. I just never felt completely comfortable with you. You and I are too different and it seems like we come from different worlds. You like to measure rain in centimeters, while i like to measure rain in millimeters. From what I've seen of you, you like the heat and humidity, while at this time of the year, I like to see snowflakes, Christmas lights, and a Winter Wonderland. You like to drive like crazy maniacs and ignore the safety of pedestrians, while i like to drive speed limit and obey the rules of the road. You like to bargain and haggle people, and I believe in honestly and like to pay a HONEST fee/price. At the hostels, you like to limit internet connectivity, in fear of others abusing the internet and affecting their grades, and i believe in freedom and taking responsibility for my own actions. You like to take 'red tape' and bureaucracy and take it to the next level (that is unimaginable by a normal human being) and I am am just content with just plain regular 'red tape' and bureaucracy (thank you very much!). You treat the environment poorly (Litter Bug!), and i value and like to protect the environment. I like spending time in the unpolluted outdoors. You like to make things super complicated and I'm just your regular simple Canadian guy searching for some simple answers and his way in the world. You like to squat and I like to sit and I like to use hand soap and toilet paper. But hey! Look on the bright side, we didn't have to argue about the toilet seat being up or down!

I'll be leaving in 5 short days, in that time I'm just going to pack up a few things and take some time off from you. I'm going to see a different side of you, hopefully a more relaxed side, with charming beaches, friendly faces and away from the hustle and bustle of the urban city. I'll also be going to see other people and spend some time with them over Christmas and New Years. I need to get my head on right. At this point in my life, I just can't commit.

I'll be back by the middle of January. I hope we can work things out. Maybe I'll have a whole new perspective when i get back.

We're still friends right?

Intern's Log Star date 11.22.08

Intern's Log - Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Saturday: Thunderstorms. High: 29`C, Wind ENE 21km/h. Chance of precipitation 100%
Night: Thunderstorms. Low 24`C. Wind ENE 18km/h. Chance of precipitation 80%.


12:00 pm: Woke up to overcast skies, light drizzle. Running out of clean underwear, decided to do some laundry. Decided to washed my luggage case (Nike duffel bag - jammed it in the washing machine), washed underwear, bed spread etc, hang dry.

Made my way onto my bike, proudly named "Brakeless Kickstand" (because it lacks brakes and the kickstand is broken). Made my way to the local cafeteria (Tifany's) for some breakfast/lunch (Brunch). Ordered Gobi Masala Dosa and a bottle of water (Brand Aquafina).

Went to the scholar's lab to check e-mail, Facebook, check my online globe and mail, listen to music. Most played song - Michael Buble's Home.

"Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky, I know
But i wanna go home
Mmmmm, I've got to go home"

4:00pm: Coffee and newspaper break at Cafe Coffee Day. Cappuccino with extra espresso shot, Veg Puff and Masala Garam tea to go for the lab (drinking it right now - delicious (it's the only tea i drink so... relatively delicious - miss my Chinese Tea - Iron Goddess).


Newspaper article (The Times of India - November 22, 2008)
"Ban on doctor couple who let minor son do cesarean lifted"
- doctor couple let 15 year old son perform C-section, in hopes of getting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Left utterly speechless and can't help but think WTF?!

5:30 pm: To Work or to pretend to work - that is the question. Ponder what to eat for dinner - most likely Paneer Fried Rice, Alu Gobi Masala, and Naan - Rice, potatoes, cauliflower - a starch filled redundancy.


Intern's Log End for star date 11.22.08

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." ~ Sir J. Lubbock

Robin signing off.

Newspaper Articles Part 3

The Times of India - November 20, 2008
"70-yr-old knocked down by bike, run over by bus"
"12-yr-old boy tricks old man of Rs four lakh"

The Times of India - November 19, 2008
"19-yr-old girl immolates self inside supermarket"
"For falling in love, boy thrown in front of train"
"Man takes divine path to escape marriage"

The Times of India - November 18, 2008
4-yr-old burnt alive by mother's lover"

The Times of India - November 17, 2008
"Toxic fumes kill two workers in septic tank"

The Times of India - November 15, 2008
"40 held for stone pelting":

I am left utterly speechless, every time I read the newspapers here. For people who know me, Robin with nothing to say, is a rare rare thing.

Cheers

Robin

Symbolism

Hi Everybody,

Again, my favorite movie is "Stranger Than Fiction" and "that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives."

The part "...save our lives" can have a myriad of different meanings, but I like to think of it as a way to tell me something or point me in the correct direction - I did decided to accept the internship to India for several reasons: to learn more about my field of study (health policy, health economics, population health), to travel, and for personal reasons.

Well, onto the symbolism in my life. Today, I went to T. Nagar shopping for a Backpacker's backpack. I did buy one for about 50 dollars Canadian at the Witco store and it's of "Questionable" quality, let's hope it stays together for at least 4 weeks. I slowly made my way back to campus and placed the backpack with the pile of other backpacks/bags that i have accumulated. I currently have 3 backpacks/bags: 1) a BLACK Wegner laptop backpack (however the Wegner symbol is a RED cross) 2) a RED North Face Messenger Bag that i use for daily use (going out of campus, walking around campus to carry umbrella, water bottles etc. and now my new additional backpack (I have been accumulating lots of CRAP) 3) a RED Fantasy Backpacker's backpack. I also noticed that every morning (like clockwork) i go to the local cafeteria to purchase a RED labeled 1 liter water bottle. I also have RED bracelet still around my right wrist from the Diwali Puja.

This post could either be due to the fact that 1) i have WAAAY to much time and i possibly need to get a life or 2) the belief that life CANNOT be a serious of meaningless accidents and coincidences, or is life a tapestry of events that culminate in a exquisite and marvelous plan. It could quite possibly the former, and it's true that i have way too much time on my hands. But we cannot disprove the latter, scientifically. We can choose not to believe, but I think in some ways, people believe that some proportion of their lives is uncontrollable and unchangeable.

So, as i realized this and after i have read my online daily Globe and Mail Newspaper from Edmonton and made an effort to get some work done. I proceeded to investigate the symbolism or meaning behind the 2 colors, red and black.

This is what i have found.

From the website: (www.three-musketeers.net/mike/colors.html)

Red
"Red can symbolize many things; from blood, to love, to infatuation. Basically red symbolizes strong emotions, or things of strong emotions rather than intellectual ideas. For example, red can symbolize excitement, energy, speed, strength, danger, passion, and aggression.

According to Henry Dreyfus, it is popularly felt that red, the color of blood and fire, represents life and vitality. Red also signifies the color of the sun: a symbol of energy, radiating its vitalizing life-force into human beings. Red is also looked upon as a sensual color, and can be associated with man's most profound urges and impulses."
Hmm.... quite interesting.

Now onto the color black

Black
"Black is the color of the night, and of "evil." Black can also be a color of elegance or class (such as a black-tie only event, and black evening gowns.) Black can also represent ideas such as power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, and mourning. Black can also represent a lack of color, the primordial void, emptiness. It can also mean sorrow or mourning, in the Christian tradition of wearing black to funerals.
According to Henry Dreyfus, Black, sumi, is the color of mystery and solemnity; the color of the night. Black expresses the depths of the unknown, and encourages the imagination of a different world from that of daylight realities. Used by itself, black can represent bad luck or misfortune."

Red representing life, vitality, and strong emotions (passion) and black representing the color of mystery and solemnity or the depths of the unknown.

Hmm.... Interesting... Black and Red... Red and Black.

"You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only ask one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?" ~Dean from Serendipity~

Back to work!

Cheers

Robin

Irony

Hi Everybody,

One of my favorite movies is "Stranger Than Fiction", and there are times where i wonder what type of story my life is - comedy/tragedy/drama etc. I still haven't figured it out yet... i hope it's a good story with a happy ending. My favorite part of the movie...

"As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true."

Anyhoo, back to the point of this post. Before i came to India, i asked myself "what would i do in India, that i can't do back in Edmonton/Canada?" The first answer to that question was Yoga! I'm going to go to India and learn some Yoga. I mean 4 months of yoga, would almost make me half decent. The Yoga Center that has been recommended for international students is the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres , which is about a 10-15 minute bike ride off campus to the beach in Chennai, which ironically is based out of..........Montreal, Quebec, Canada, established in 1959 (they have centres all over the world - North America, Europe, Middle East, India, and South America. Then I realized, what i already knew before that, CANADA KICKS SOME SERIOUS ASS; that we are an INSANELY multicultural country and that i would come home to the "Cultural Mosaic" that is Canada and learn some Yoga.

Well... that being one reason, it's also due to my laziness and fear of dealing with Indian traffic especially during rush hour and most importantly, my lack of a bicycle (8+ weeks and counting!!). They drive like they're walking through a crowd... a good accelerator and a working horn are essential. You're right...a horn and fuse business in India/China would make a FORTUNE!

My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot.
~Ashleigh Brilliant~

Well said Ms. Brilliant... well said.

Cheers

Robin

PS. What does this post have to do with "Stranger than Fiction"? Good question.