Halfway Point!

I cannot believe that my time in Chennai is half over. It seems like we just got here, but our days in the lab are numbered. July is going to be a busy month fir me with a different city every weekend. Today I am headed to Hyderabad! My friend Palak from MSU is from there so we will be staying at her Uncle’s Guest House and she will be able to show us around the city. I am really excited to see her and to not be so lost in a new city. Next weekend we are headed to Bangalore. WE have a tour of the GE plant there on Monday after enjoying the weekend there. The following weekend we are headed north to New Delhi. We will be able to stay there for five days before heading back to Chennai. Then one last day in Chennai and then off to Europe. Europe for eleven days and then home! These next four weeks are going to go by really fast but are going to be great!

This past week

            It was a productive week in the lab! We were finally trained on the Instron Machine so now we can start testing. Training consisted of three days of the Instron guy showing us different kinds of tests. It was kind of long but all helpful information. WE did training with Shiva, from CNDE, another guy from CNDE and some students from Aerospace engineering joined as well.

Then yesterday we impacted three samples! We impacted them all at 40 Joules, which actually ended up being around 37 Joules because that was how close the impact machine would get to 40. The impacted samples are being C-scanned and x-rayed today so that we can tensile test and fatigue them next week!

Well I am off to catch a taxi to the airport for our flight! I hope that all is well where you are!

Weekend in Chennai

We decided to stay in Chennai this weekend instead of traveling. We were thinking about going to Kochi, Kerala that has beautiful beaches and back waters but since it is monsoon season it is raining there. We decided it wasn’t worth going to be in the rain all weekend and the train tickets were hard to arrange for.  So a relaxing weekend here in Chennai was a great alternative!

Friday June 21, 2013
We went to lab in the morning at the normal time and worked in the morning. Caroline and I were able to get our test proceeds finalized and typed up. I wasn’t really hungry when it was lunchtime so I stayed in the lab while Caroline and Tim went to lunch. I had an orange and crackers in my bag that I ate.
       Around 4:30pm we decided to call it a day and headed home. We had plans to head to dinner and grab drinks around 7:30. We grabbed a rickshaw and headed to Besant Negar to do some shopping before dinner. I have wanted some linen crazy colorful pants since I have been here but we have not been very successful at finding any. Caroline found a cute dress though so it was not a wasted trip. Upon arriving back at the Ginger we showered real quick and met up with the boys.
We ate at the restaurant in the hotel because it is convenient and cheap and has decent food.  After dinner we found a cab outside to take us the Q-Bar at the Hilton Hotel. He said he knew where it was and we agreed on a price so we were on our way. About ten minutes out he asked for the address again and looked confused. We then stopped and ask three different people if they knew where the Hilton Hotel was. Our driver did not know where he was going at all. We eventually arrived at the Hilton.
The Q-Bar is a roof top bar at the Hilton. The view of the city at night was beautiful from the bar. It was ladies night at the bar so Caroline and I not only got free drinks but we got to make our own drinks behind the bar! They had glasses, ice, vodka and a variety of juices and pop.  Turns out I am not a very good bartender but it was still fun that we got to go behind the bar. We hung out and met a lot of different people. Towards the end of the night two girls came and introduced themselves to me. They were from Tennessee and Texas. It was nice to talk to other girls and hear about their travels here in India.
The girls then began asking where I was staying that night and if I knew of anywhere they could stay. It was just after midnight and their friend that they were supposed to stay with completely bailed on them and they had nowhere to go. I was not very helpful because there are not any cheep hostels near us that I know of. I jokingly was like ‘all I can offer is the floor of my room haha!’ They took me seriously! After calling their last option they were left with nothing but staying at the bar until close then the bus station until the first bus in the morning. After consulting Caroline (my roommate), we decided we would let them stay in our room. After waiting for a cab ride home we headed home after a fun night!

Saturday June 22, 2013
After our friends left at 7am for an early bus, Caroline and I decided to sleep in and set no alarm. It was so great! We debated getting up at ten to grab breakfast before it was over at 10:30 but sleep was better than food for us! When we finally got moving around 1pm, I wanted to go out and explore! Bob and I went to the Guindy National Park. We did not really know what we would find but knew the entrance was 100m from the main gate of IIT. So we grabbed a campus bus to the main gate and headed to the entrance. After mistaking a cancer institute as the entrance, we found the place. We went to the children’s park first which was actually a zoo. There were lots of different animals and exhibits. None of the animals were active or moving around so kind of boring just lying there.  It was still fun to explore. There was a small castle tower with a slide in the middle. We relaxed there for a rest and it had some shade, which was a relief from the India sun. We then explored the Snake exhibit.  There were lots of snakes but I really liked the turtles!

Guindy National Park

At the top of the castle

 After our day of exploring we went to the movie on campus at the open-air theater. We grabbed dinner at Tiffany’s on campus before the movie. They of course only had my third choice of food.  The moon was full and beautiful which was really pretty to see during the movie. It rained a little during the movie but the show must go on and the movie just kept playing and we just got a little wet.

Sunday June 23, 2013
Today we got up early and grabbed a bus to Mahabalipuram which is a city just south of Chennai. There were a handful of temples to see and other points of interest. I will just post some photos from the day!

Sculptures inside a temple. The man next to me is holding everything up for those around him. IF you touch his hand it is good luck, I will hopefully have good luck!

 Another temple, this one had three entrances. One for the Generator, Operator, Destroyer.

 We grabbed lunch at Moonrackers and I got Nutella Pancakes which turned out to be more of a crepe but still very good!

 We then went to the other side of town. There were large sculptures of animals.

 Just chilling with a temple in India.

 Our last stop was the shore temple that was on the beach. We were able to go inside this one a little.

It was a fun day of exploring. I have a small sunburn on my neck and a blister but all worth it. It was really fun because four guys from the lab went with us. So we were able to actually talk with them and hear about their lives in India and answer their questions about the US.Tomorrow I have training for the Instron machine, once we are trained we will be able to start our tests! I hope that you have had a good weekend where ever you spent it. 

Eating in India

We have been trying to expand where and what we are eating. I have found some Indian dishes I have really liked and others that I would rather not have again. I have been trying new things though. This may surprise some of you but when there are not many options, trying new things is a must! There are a few places on campus that we frequent often and then we have explored outside of campus for dinner.

Tifany's on campus

Tifany's - This is kind of like a cafeteria on campus. A lot of students eat here and they have a big menu. Even though they have many sections of the menu, they often only have certain things. The other day when I was there I ordered three things and they didn't have any of them so I ended up ordering Dosa because she said they had it and I can actually pronounce it. I don't actually like dosa but it is what I ate. Masala Dosa in the photo below is a common dish. Dosa is like a crepe texture but bigger and Masala is on the inside. Masala is a potato onion mixture that is bright yellow and spicy. There are three sauces served with dosa for dipping. The sauces vary day to day depending on what they have.

Masala Dosa

Ordering food at Tifany's

Cafe Coffee Day - This is a chain restaurant that is just down the road from Tifany's. This has a variety of different drinks, sandwiches and desserts. We recently discovered this place as an alternative to Tifany's. The one major upgrade is that Cafe Coffee Day has air conditioning and a nice atmosphere so a relaxing lunch. There motto is 'a lot can happen over coffee'. We went there on tuesday and ended up staying there for almost three hours!

The counter at Cafe Coffee Day

'A lot can happen over coffee'

The first time I went I got a Tex-Vex Sandwich which from the description seemed okay but it was very spicy and not my favorite. Since then I have been getting Veg Samosa which is triangle shaped and full of potatoes and veggies. It is still spicy but better than the sandwich.

Tex-Vex on the shelf

Tex-Vex in reality

My favorite part is they have chocolate shots. I am not the biggest chocolate fan but this little bit of chocolate can make every lunch better. It has oreo like crumbs at the bottom then a light chocolate mouse middle with a chocolate covering on top. It the perfect size and combination.

Belgium Choco Shot

Comfy chairs to eat in 

It is difficult to upload photos and organize them in the blog so I will just tell you about each of the pictures and places in the order the photos uploaded.

We found a grocery store called Spencers. The top floor is like home goods and the bottom level is the grocery store

Spencers store

The fruit area

They have lots of nuts and rice.

Fuji Apples - just not the same as home

 There is a food court called Ascendas that is a ten minute walk from our hotel. To get into the food court we have to leave a copy of our ID and wear a name tag. There is aMcDonalds, KFC, subway, and a variety of other places. Yesterday I got a McVeggie and Fries from McDonalds. It was an interesting burger. It looked like a chicken patty from home but when I bit in I realized it was not the same. This was green on the inside haha It was good though!

McVeggie at McDonalds

Every morning we eat breakfast at the hotel. It is the same basics everyday but there is some variety.

Breakfast area at Ginger Hotel.

 The Ginger has a restaurant at night so when we are lazy we eat downstairs.

Ginger Restaurant

 I have learned that when I order an omelet to order a plain omelet or else they will load it with spicy peppers and onions.

Omelet at ginger restaurant

 When we went to the the mall last week we ate in the food court there. I chose to go to a place calle Nalas. I got Bulls Eye Aapaum. It is my favorite thing that I have had here! It was like a fried egg in a crepe like bowl.

Bulls Eye Aapaum

On the way home to the ginger hotel we pass the Juice Stand. It has an actual name but everyone calls it juice stand. They have a wide variety of juices and there is some food too

I got veggie nuggets once. They of course were spicy but a good snack!

Veggie Nuggets

The inside of veggie nuggets

 We went to Zaras Tapas Bar last week which was our frist real restaurant that we went to. We were all very excited about it. It was ladies night so Caroline and I got a free drink! I had spinach balls and french fries. They came with a sauce that I dont know what it was but it was good!

For breakfast I have been making peanut butter toast and when they have eggs to order I make an omelet toast open sandwich. These are my favorite meals!

And sometimes when only things I am not a fan of are available I make my own changes and add peanut butter! 

This is just a glimpse of what I have been eating. There are definitely things from home that I miss and I already have a list of foods that I want when I get home. But I am glad that I am able to try new things here in India!

The places I go in India

I have been posting about what I have been up to but I thought I would update you on the places that I see everyday!

The Ginger Hotel - Where I live
       We have rooms at the Ginger hotel which is a hotel on the eleventh floor of IITM Research Park. Research Park is a building just off campus where startup companies from the university can have office space. There is a food court on the first court but I use the words food court lightly. The few shops there are hardly open and the two times we went there they only had chicken sandwiches despite the fact of having a menu with a variety of items on it. The other floors are full of offices.

This picture is specifically for Christine!

     I share a room with Caroline. We each have a twin bed and there is a small desk and wardrobe. The bathroom is simple. The shower has no edge to it to keep the water in so we often fill the bathroom with water when we both shower in a row. We have a window with a view of the city which is nice because one of the boys rooms didn't have a window.
       The Ginger has most basic things that we need but it is sometimes complicatedly to get what we need. The internet is frustrating because we only have one log in per room. So if Caroline is using the internet I cannot use it or else I will kick her off. So we just have to alternate using it. There is also a hallway full of dirt. We are not sure what this is for because we are on the eleventh floor so why is dirt needed. Almost everyday workers are moving the dirt around the hotel. There is an exercise room but none of the equipment is fully functioning. We have been hand washing our clothes because the hotel charges per item so we don't want to pay that much when we can just clean them ourselves.

IIT Madras Campus
   The campus is completely enclosed by walls and has various gates. There are three main gates. First the main gate which is the main entrance/exit to the campus. There is also a gate that we call 'mall gate' because it is near the mall and then there is Research Park gate which is where we enter/exit to get to and from campus from the ginger. There is security at all the gates but they never stop us or really do that much. They make vehicles check in when they enter. The security guard at our gate introduced himself so we talk to him sometimes when we pass. His name is Lashman.
   Instead of being full of squirrels like MSU is, IIT is full of monkeys and deer. There are monkeys and deer everywhere. The deer are usually in groups and just hanging out or laying in a field. The monkeys run around and chase each other and climb in the trees. If you read my posts last week you heard about how a monkey stole my water bottle from my backpack. I now keep my water bottle inside my backpack instead of the water bottle pouch.
    On campus there are people walking, cycling, biking, driving cars and riding the bus. The roads are narrow two lane roads where staying on the correct side of the road is optional. Vehicles honk very often and swerve around other vehicles and people all the time.
   Since campus is basically a jungle, the trees are giant. The branches extend in every direction and hang down to the ground.

Outside the CNDE

CNDE Lab - Where I research
The Center for Non-destructive Evaluation is a lab inside the Machine Design Section Building. The lab is on the second and third floor. As we enter the lab we must take our shoes off. At first this was odd to us but now I kind of like being barefooted all day. There is a shelf outside the lab for shoes but most shoes are just left on the ground. There are a lot of different students that work in the lab. We have met a handful of them so it is nice to be able to say hello to people while at work.
   The lab on the second floor has six rooms. They all have desk surrounding the wall with computers in all the rooms. We use out laptops to work but students from IIT have use the computers and have their own work stations. Our samples that we will be working with arrived yesterday so we have started to C-Scan them and are prepared to start testing them on the INSTRON on monday.
 

Lobby Area of CNDE

Our samples!

Where we put our shoes

Engineering Design
  This building is just down the road from MDS and is where Bob, Mike and Evan work. They are working with a different professor and working with microwaves and antennas. Lately they have been working on building spirals and making them function properly. It is convenient that they work close to us because we usually meet up and have lunch together. Their building has a courtyard in the center.

Caroline and I and Engineering Design

Courtyard at Engineering Design

 That's all for now! I am hoping to post about the food here later today or this weekend! We are not traveling this weekend so we are going to explore Chennai more and maybe go to the beach again. I hope you are having a fabulous day wherever you are.

Weekend in Pondicherry - When nothing goes right.... go left

Last weekend we took our first weekend trip. Our destination was Pondicherry, which is a union territory of India that was formed by former French India. It is south of Chennai and we have heard is a great spot to visit!

Getting there

We asked around for the best way to get to Pondicherry and it seemed as though everyone we asked had a different way to get there that was the easiest or cheapest. Some people said that we could take a city bus there. Others said just go to the CBMT and A/C buses leave quite often. Some said they leave every hour while others said they are not that frequent. Some recommended a cab and said it should cost 3,000 Rupees. Nobody gave a concrete answer that seemed doable though. After hearing all of this we thought booking a cab would be easier because will pick us up at Ginger Hotel and drop us off at our hostel. We wouldn't have to worry about finding bus stations and finding hostel once there. The cab was going to cost 10,000 Rupees for the whole weekend. So we were going to have to pay significantly more for the luxury but at that point it was all we had to go on. After discussing the price we decided that the cab was too expensive and that we were going to take the bus. So just before 4pm on Friday June 14 we took the campus bus to the main gate and went looking for the bus stop which we were told was just outside the gate. Upon finding the station we went inside to buy tickets. We were then instructed to buy tickets on the bus and to wait outside. So we stood on the side of the road waiting for a bus. We didn't know the color, kind or when it was going to come. We asked around and stood near people that were also going to Pondicherry. Then a bus pulled up and a woman said that one would go to Pondicherry so we joined the crowd and crowded the doors of the bus. 

     As we boarded the bus the ticket man said standing room only. Not knowing when the next bus would be we didn't want to get off so we paid the man 190 Rupees for tickets. And then we stood near the front in the aisle and by the door. Some of us leaned against chairs and found a place to put our backpacks. There was a small ledge in the aisle that I tried to sit on but it began to hurt my bottom after awhile because it was not a very big ledge.

 About 45 minutes into the trip I began feeling sick. This had happened before when we drove to the beach. I think it is because driving is much more aggressive here so the bus or car moves side to side a lot. I was not looking forward to the remaining two hours on the bus. We made a few stops and a woman near me got off the bus and I immediately made the move to take her chair. Although I was sitting backwards, sitting helped calm my stomach. Bob got the seat next to me a bit later and talking to him distracted me so I was feeling a little bit better.

Getting to the hostel

We arrived at the Pondicherry around 8pm. The bus pulled into a noisy crowded area. We attempted to buy return tickets but were unsuccessful after trying at four different ticket windows. Our next task was to get to our hostel we had booked. We had an address and had a picture of a map around the hostel on my phone. But we had no idea where we were. We didn't know the name of the bus stop or what streets were around us. We asked around and began walking. The streets were crowded just like in Chennai. We got to a roundabout that I was able to find on the map that I had. Using the compass app on my phone we figured out which direction to walk. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to our hostel. We were all tired and hungry and very happy to see the Hotel Coramandel sign in the street. 

Hotel Coramandel

We walked into the hotel and waited behind some French gentlemen to check in. I had booked three double rooms for two nights at this hostel. I received two email confirmations from hostelworld.com and had a copy of the email and our reservation number to check in. We gave the man at the front desk my name and then the number. He looked at his computer and shook his head. He said he did not have my name or number. After clarifying that he had not received our reservation from hostelworld we realized that we weren't staying there and that we had nowhere to stay. The man had three beds left for the night and nothing available the next night. Being a group of six, this would not work. He recommended another place in town and gave us a map to show us where it was. We headed back out still hungry and tired and not very frustrated and annoyed. It took us 15 minutest to get to the other hostel. 

Ram Guest House

After confirming with the front deskman at Ram Guest House that he had three rooms we paid him for the nights. He asked us to fill out a form with out passport number and visa and basic information. Tim responded that he did not have all the info on hand and the man said 'No Problem. Just sign the bottom'. This was odd but we just wanted a room. He walked us upstairs and showed us into three rooms. Caroline and I had a room with two beds and a bathroom. We sat down and were relieved to just sit. After a few minutes I noticed little bugs on my bed. I was not very happy about this and after a few minutes went downstairs to request a room change. The man was confused but offered another room, which we were grateful for. It had one double bed but we were fine with that as long as there weren’t any bugs. 

The beds were hard as rock and the bathrooms were simple and not the best but we had somewhere to call home for the weekend

Dinner

There were a few restaurants on the map we had acquired so we thought we would try to find. We began walking in search of food. We eventually landed at a place called LB2 Lounge. It was a smaller place but a very nice restaurant. The menu had a wide variety and I decided on a cheese omelet and spaghetti. I was really hungry and wanted to take advantage of the fact that there was not spicy food that I liked. They both were delicious! We met the owner of the place as we left. He studied in the US and was fun to talk to. He said to come back. Before heading home we wanted to at least see the beach so we walked east until we found the beach. We could hear the waves crashing against the rocks on the shore. We sat on the rocks foe awhile just relaxing and enjoying the view. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

Exploring

The next day we left our hostel in search of breakfast around 930AM. We didn’t want to waste any daylight. We did not find too many breakfast places. Bob and Evan bought shoes and Tim got a banana. Once 11 rolled around we finally found a place. It was a cute little place right on the beach. The water was still beautiful. After breakfast we walked down the beach looking for the tourist center to find out more information and maybe take a tour. Evan, Mike and Caroline wanted to find the beach and to surf so they headed the other direction and Tim, Bob and myself wanted a tour. The tour that was offered was not running that day because not enough people so they recommended another tour place that had a tour at 2pm. It was just after 12 so we decided to explore and then go to the other tour. We found a café with Heineken so we grabbed a beer and relaxed for a bit. We had walked a lot and the day was only half over. We tried to rent cycles after our beers so that we could bike around but that was trickier than expected. Most places had bikes, which are motorcycles, which we were not confident enough to drive in the crazy traffic and on the opposite side of the road.

Tour of the City

We got to the tour place at 1:40 to take a tour at 2pm. After a confusing conversation we were told the tour was full but we can rent a cab for twice as much to take us to the places. The A/c in a cab sounded good but we didn’t want to spend so much money. We decided to give ourselves a tour and took a picture of the list of locations on the tour. We grabbed an auto to the furthest location and walked around to the ones close to it. We saw the Gandhi statue on the beach and walked through the street of street vendors along the beach.

We went to the Pondicherry museum. We saw the park near the beach. We bought a water bottle to share after the park because we were so warm. After pouring water into our cups we were surrounded by small children. They appeared homeless and were after our water. They grabbed the cup right out of Tim’s hand. I instantly starting walking away and two followed me closely as I chugged the remaining water from my cup. I offered the empty cup to the children, which they did not want. It was kind of scary though because they surrounded us so quickly and it was very overwhelming. Once we escaped the children we went to the ashram. This is a religious place of prayer. There were flowers and people sitting, kneeling and standing and praying. We had to take our shoes off across the street before we could enter the area.

Tim, Bob and I grabbed lunch at Daily Bread Café that was very good. I got a toasted cheese sandwich that was like a grill cheese and a small cheese pizza. The sandwich was good but the pizza was made with very different sauce. It wasn’t bad but not great either. After lunch we grabbed an auto to the boathouse that is just outside of town. We heard there were boat tours there so we wanted to go on one. As we arrived the gates to the boathouse closed and the man informed us that the boathouse closed at 4pm. It was 4:15. We were quite disappointed. The guy said we could come back tomorrow but wouldn’t give us any details about the boat which was frustrating. We took the auto to the Botanical Garden on the way back to the hostel. The garden was closed to so we just went to the hostel.

Dinner

We were told that this one hotel was great for dinner so we met the others there. We sat down and got water but after looking at the menu we decided that the restaurant was expensive and did not have very many good options. So we awkwardly told them we were not going to eat there and paid for our waters. We went back to LB2 Lounge where we knew we would like what they had. We had a wonderful dinner and grabbed drinks with a group of people from Germany who are teaching English at a school in Chennai. It was great to talk with them and hear about their experiences.

Sunday

We got up at 5am so that we could watch the sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful and the waves were again gorgeous! 

The beach was full of people walking. The road was closed to vehicles so that people could walk. We grabbed breakfast after the sunrise and headed to the boathouse. The boat rides took us to Paradise Island that was beautiful. The waves were smaller and the sand felt great between our toes. 

Caroline and I waiting for the boat to the island

Boat Ride!

On the beach!

On the Beach!

After the beach we went to Botanical Gardens before grabbing lunch. We arranged for a cab ride home so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the bus and not having seats. I slept the whole way back in the cab.

Overall it was a fun weekend. A couple of hiccups in the plans but very fun to explore a new city and be on the beach for a bit! We are hopping to travel this weekend too but still ironing out the details!