Recipe for travel/ Receta para viajar

An Australian-columbian friend sent me this recipe which only works today!

Una amiga australiana-colombiana me envió esta receta que sólo funciona hoy!

"A la media noche rápidamente te abrazas y saludas a las personas con quien estés y sales con una maleta a dar una vuelta de la manzana donde vives(round the block where you live), make sure you have the most important things (asegúrate de llevar las cosas más importantes)en la maleta, un poco de ropa y algo de dinero, just a small bag will do (bastará un bolsito).Suerte, yo lo estaré haciendo."

Yo también. Y tú?

Since this is really important here's a translation, more or less:

"At midnight quickly hug and greet everyone you're with and leave with a suitcase to go round the block where you live, make sure you have the most important things in the suitcase, some clothes, a little money, just a small bag will do. Good luck, I'll be doing it."

Me too. And you?

My sis painted that!

Posted by a proud sister. (Beaming!)

Amigas. amigos...

Vease abajo... Scroll down!

12 Days of Christmas

got this from here and absolutely love it. Belated merry x-mas.

Reliving Rome

Rome: the Colloseum

Just a pretty car

The Neptune fountain

My favourite place in Rome: the Pantheon

A sunny roman market

Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Theresa

Yeah! St. Peters Basilica.

Michaelangelo's Pietà

Specially for my nephews

Sorry, you know i'm not computer savvy so click on it to enlarge.

Un abrazo fuerte a ti

ok, i know i said the blogs taking rest till January but i had to post this.

Thanks to Olga and The wiz.

When and where did it begin? Who started it? Why?

A short goodbye

Hey!

The blog will be temporarily be closed until January 2007. Sorry, too much to cope with. No doy abasto : (

Here are two photos i wanted to post long back.






Don't know what to say, just like the pic for many a different reasons.














Not a common sight, a lady conductor.

ok, i thought i'd share some photos here. the upload isn't working and now i'm fed up. and then i thought i have to post. i mean since i'm already here just do it.

this has been on my mind for a long, long time. solitude makes you pensive.

with help from Neruda...


...Cuando quiero llorar no puedo
Ni lloro sin querer.

Soñé.


Hoy amanezco.

Empieza mi llanto eterno.

Dead! No way dead!

Very much alive. Just taking a break... what's wrong with that. I need it and i deserve it.

I have loads of things to do. My back is already hurting with all this burden. I know i chose it and therefore i will achieve it. But really, all i really, truly want is a break.

I've been told i plan too much for my life. I plan well into the future, a future that after all, may not even come. but i can't live without making those plans. i need to feel that my life has direction. that's how i've reached here. two dissertations to start and finish. a whole application process pending. two course works to complete. a trip to be made. have to think aboout starting to teach again. i want to and i also need it for my c.v (my future plans depend on it, you see!).

other than all this, i wanted to join the Hyderabad choral society, learn german, excercise, catch up on my reading, learn cooking, do a photography course. these are things i'm putting off for later. i have to set priorities.

don't worry. keeping up my blog is certainly one of them.

Here i am again... just for a short while.

September has been hectic. Except for the last week, i have been/ am travelling the entire month. First it was Santander and some villages in Cantabria, Asturias (Oviedo, Gijón, lots of villages), then it was Valladolid, Salamanca, Ávila and Ponferrada (went for the Scorpions concert, and we were standing right in front).

Since all roads lead to Rome, i finally reached there. It´s a lot like India. Chaotic traffic, very dirty, stench of urine in many corners... Lot´s of Bangladeshis.
A very expensive city, but absolutely worth it.

Next week it´s Sevilla before getting back to Alcalá, winding up and getting back.

My road has reached Rome, yet so much left to see, to do, to live, to share. And so much work pending, so many deadlines! I really wonder how i going to cope with it all.

I know lots of photos are due. I know i haven´t been blogging at all. I´m really sorry. Can´t promise anything as of now. Will get more regular whenever i can.

July 2006

was with my parents and my sis for an entire month... went tubing... went to an aquatic amusement park... went on the scariest ride 'cliffhanger'... organized a garage sale and sold everything... fell ill... went swimming... tried to learn tennis and almost died of exhaustion... yummy! dunkin donuts... ate mexican food... ate indian food... made a lot of tea...of course, shopped a whole load... watched a tamil, hindi and english movies... went to philadelphia... met my two cute lil nephews... and my cousins and aunts and uncles... and sheena and brute... redocorated mami´s living room... blogged... submitted my work on time... read a lil... sang songs... did not cook (tea does not count, that´s boiling only)... washed very few clothes... did wash vessels... gave alot of free fashion advice... talked lots to my sis... fought lots with my sis... bugged her a lot with my kisses... also did window shopping... met so many people i´d only heard of earlier... went house looking... took a lot of photos... dressed up... lazed around... slept late and woke up even later...watched pirates of the carribean and rang de basanti (mentioned here since i liked both)... bought a lot of gifts... played rummykub and life... sulked, cried and laughed... went to auburn... met my cousin... visited her department and labs... met a friend after three years... took silly photos and videos... saw a fireworks show... went to a temple... got pampered... went to amma´s school... merratafied one devil... helped my sis with babysitting... and so much more...

Ferias de Alcalá

We are celebrating the Ferias de Alcalá this week (18 august - 27 august). what does that mean? that means lot´s of cultural programmes, competitions, concerts, lot of people, lot of drinking and lot of partying.

the drinking thing is an extreme. At 1:30 in the afternoon free sangría is given out at the Plaza! At 1:30 p.m!!!

And when i asked some Alcalaínos why they celebrate the ferias, the answer was, "Para divertirnos!"(To have fun!)

The real reason is because on the 24rth it is the Día del santo patron of Alcalá (San Bartolomé).

here are some photos of the inauguration. i don´t particularly like them but anyway.



































i like this one, reminds of the roadside stalls outside the exhibition grounds in hyderabad

List

Usually i´m too lazy to do this stuff but found it here and even though i have to much stuff to post i thought i should do this atleast once in my life. Really don´t think anyone´s going to read the entire list, it´s just for me.

Instructions:
Bold the ones you did.
* the ones you want to do.
the more stars the more desperately you wanna do it

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins*
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid*
06. Held a tarantula*
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it (many a times and *********)
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise(many a times and ******)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa*
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg*
19. Slept under the stars***
20. Changed a baby's diaper (don´t particularly want to do it!)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon *
22. Watched a meteor shower *
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (who hasn´t)
27. Had a food fight (no way!)
28. Bet on a winning horse (i don´t bet)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb*
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster*
35. Hit a home run / a six
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking(many a times)*
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment(so many times, in fact, just yesterday! and of course, *************************************)
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces (?)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (many a times and don´t want to do it ever again)
42. Had amazing friends (and have amazing friends and *****)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales *
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing*
49. Midnight walk on the beach***
50. Gone sky diving *
51. Visited Ireland *
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan**
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke******
59. Lounged around in bed all day*******
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain *
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China ***
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites***
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married (Thank god no!)
73. Been in a movie (a short film)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice ***
80. Gotten a tattoo*
81. Rafted the Snake River *
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage***
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark*
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand ***
90. Bought a house***
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents (i don´t like this one!)
93. Been on a cruise ship*
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking***
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote article for a large publication (not yet, but hopefully soon and ****************)
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane*
109. Petted a stingray*
110. Broken someone's heart (don´t know)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari***
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild*
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon***
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents***
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days *
126. Eaten kangaroo meat*
127. Eaten sushi *
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about (i hope so)
130. Gone back to school *******
131. Parasailed**
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey*
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language**
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair (at a school fair, it counts doesn´t it?)
146. Dyed your hair (coloured it)*
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head (i may in May)*
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Independence Day

To celebrate this occasion, the Embassy of India organized a programme of Indian dances at the Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

All Members of the Indian Community and All Friends of India in Spain were invited to see the programme.

Bharat Natyam by Tatyana Popova. She´s from Kazhakstan who studied in Kalakshetra around 15 years!

Bollywood style dance by Silvia and Isabel. Their first dance was fun but after dancing to 2-3 songs we were just too bugged. I mean, it was like they didn´t want to get off the stage.

Flamenco Performance by Pepa Chacon. Good guitarrist and singer, amazing voice she has, but the flamenco dancer was just not worth it. Sad!... and by the way, don´t know why there was a flamenco perfomance on our Independence day. Perhaps a Kathak-flamenco fusion would have been better.

Bollywood Masala by Masala Group. Finally an Indian face! This was really fun now. Just like in the movies.

Bhangra by Surinder Singh and company. Punjabi fun.

Bhangra, Bollywood and Masala join to invite Public to the mass dance. Best part of the programme. All of us danced.

Vote of Thanks. A necessary formality.

Plus points:
Very friendly and humble Ambassador. Sat with everyone else on the ground. Accepted the idea of asking people to move back and sit on the ground so more could see the stage.
Nice audience. Very appreciative and participative
Free show organized in the centre of Madrid.
Met a long lost friend from JNU.
Enjoyed some forgotten songs again.
Cute bhangra dancing guy.

Not plus points:
No chairs (bad organization).
Weak programme, lacked quality... why flamenco? why so few programmes?
Same problems with loud speakers (the keech sounds and of course they were blaring).




I don´t know why i´m so negative these days.

Well, here we go again. I just mentioned to someone that i have studies spanish and that i´m going to be a spanish teacher.

As in, first it was like:

Me: i´m writing my dissertation.
The other: working or studying?
Me: studying. to be a spanish teacher.
Other : really cool

(and goes on to ask some more questions like: are you in spain?, in india, how long?, is it in demand?, marriage plans? etc.)

But 'Other' can´t control it.
Now Other: if u dont mind then can i ask u something.......why have u chosen spanish..and further studies in it...

I have no grudges against 'Other'. i´m just writing this cause it´s always bugged me.

I mean, i hate that question. It´s not curiosity. It´s just saying "you´re dumb", "what´s the point in that?" etc.

Does anyone ever ask a 'to be engineer or doctor' why engineering? why medicine? NO.

So don´t ask me!

Makeover

My sister, my aunt and I decided to redecorate my aunt´s living room. This was

how it looked

BEFORE:

and

AFTER

P.s I know it´s kind of unfair that in the before photo the room isn´t decorated but the idea of a 'before and after' just struck us late.

and i couldn´t choose between both the after pics so let me know which one you like better.

Back to work!

So i´m back in Alcalá... with mixed feelings... more negative than positive.

Had a wonderful, fun month at home. Now i have to get back, or rather, finally start working on my dissertation :( Boo hoo :(

Will post soon... maybe some photos... i don´t know. let´s see.

Yippee!!!

Finally managed to link you all !!!

(and all on my own)

The following is truly the most interesting conversation i've heard in a long time:

My sister: hi.
My boyfriend: hi.

Bombay

if you need to locate someone in bombay
or
if you need any other help please check out:

http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/

thanks ravptor.

Paris in 2 and a 1/2 hours

Missed my connecting flight due to an airtraffic delay in Madrid. So I was stuck in Paris for a night. Since the hotel was closer (but still very far) to the airport than the city and it took me around 1 and a 1/2 hours to reach the city, we will start our tour 'Paris in 2 and a 1/2 hours' directly in the city.

19:00 I got out of the RER at Saint Michel/Notre Dame and went straight to the Cathedral.

Sunday mass was being held inside. Since I'm totally ignorant of its historic importance I'll refrain from making any comments about its impact (on no) on me.

Leaving the Notre Dame, we cross the street and make our way towards the Musee du Louvre. We stop at a couple of souvenir shops to buy my sister a postcard of Paris and a bookmark of 'Le Ciel Etoile' (since she's learning French and since she likes this particular painting very much). We also buy a bookmark of 'Tournesol' for a friend in Valladolid (he likes this painting).

The streets are like the streets of Madrid, small, criss-crossed, lined up trees.

...

Walking along the banks of the Seine is a pleasure. I would have preferred having company, though. There are lots of ferrys on the Seine. Lots of tourists.

Along the Seine, there are many small shops selling paintings, post cards, old black and white pictures, old comics and books and other 'interesting' stuff like this.



Across the Seine as we reach the Place du Chatelet we can get a glimpse of the Tour Eiffel, our final destination on this tour.



We continue on our way and yes, we reach the Musee du Louvre. Sadly it's better know now due to the Da Vinci Code!



And right across is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel that opens out to the Jardin des Tuileries. One can also faintly see the Obelisque and the Arc de Triomphe at the back.



20:30 Oh my God! It's late and we still haven't seen the Tour Eiffel! We take a last glimpse of the Louvre as we hurry across de Pont du Carrousel in direction to the Musee D'Orsay.



At the Musee D'orsay, since we are dead tired and lack time, we decide to take the RER till Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel.

..................

We reach in about 10 minutes and as we walk towards the Tour Eiffel it appears to us little by little. Voila!

There it stands on one end of the Parc du Champ de Mars.



We sit down to take a breath and feel like we're in India. Yes, the number of Indian tourists here is incredible. Finally after speaking to a Chilean couple and not buying 330ml of water at an exorbitant price of 2,50 euros(!!!) we walk back to the RER station and head back to the hotel.

It's 21:30 already. Paris needs more time but this is what we could (barely) manage in 2 and a 1/2 hours.

I enjoyed it. Did you?

the long-promised photo

the final countdown

27th June, 2006

28th June, 2006

29th June, 2006

x

30th June, 2006

x

1st July, 2006

x

It´s the 2nd of July, 2006... Yippee!

i´m writing this entry after reading what a friend of mine has written.

i typed Vidyaranya (my school) and LFJC (my junior college) on google and it took me here. Here are some excerpts (and my comments in brackets). Of course, i am biased. Who isn´t?

Vidyaranya
a
absence of uniform

a

the value system of our children

a

exams are not conducted until the students reach class eight

a

emphasis on learning rather than on clearing exams

a

student-teacher ratio ranges between 18:1 and 25:1

a

atmosphere of celebration

a

classrooms are large and spacious, with colorful charts and cutouts

a

Craft, clay-modeling, singing, gymnastics and pottery classes

a

basketball and football

a

each child is unique and different

a

no ranking system

a

freedom is the key word

a

explore and understand their world

a

But one does wonder how they'll fit into the world once they pass out of school. (This is an often asked question. The answer: we´re here in this world with the rest, we don´t live in ghettos...we´ve fitted in.)

Little Flower Junior College

For aspiring engineers and doctors and even commerce wannabes in the city

primarily known for brilliant academic results

state ranks in Intermediate and EAMCET are a way of life

life at LFJC is mostly about academics and hard work

"temple of knowledge" ( if that is what they consider knowledge they are sadly mistaken)

Each class usually has around seventy students (please compare with Vidyaranya)

The creativity extends, though only in a fleeting way, to literary and artistic areas, too. There are a few popular intra-college cultural events in the course of the year (and the rest of the time the students are forced to slog)

And after the college chose to be co-ed, there is a lot more intra-student interaction than in the earlier days! ( ha ha ha! co-ed, cojones! i was reprimanded for having spoken to the boys in the class, the p.t sir´s only job was to keep an eye on the students and always separate the boys from the girls)

the best junior college in town for all the career-oriented (exactly! not suitable for those who want a life.)

tears

a show for us

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

Today, we participated in a radio show here in Alcalá de Henares.

Cadena Ser invited us to speak about our experiences in Spain and about stereotypes of our countries here and of Spain abroad.

It was great fun. We laughed so much. and of course, we realized that we have so much in common.

a

a

Host:

Sergio, Spain

Participants:

Nicole, Guatemala

Sikitu, Congo

Tania, Mexico

Sio, Greece

Giacomo, Italy

María, Spain

Miguel, Spain

and

me, India.

Estatuas vivientes

Last weekend the municipality of Alcalá organized 'Living Statues' in the Calle Mayor.These 'statues' were standing in different parts of the street and like with bubble gum machines, if you drop a coin in their box, they do something like sing, dance, say crazy things, jump about.

asdbkasdbjkabjks

As you can imagine the kids enjoyed it loads.

asdhasbdjkabsfjk

This sea fairy gave the kids magic shells.

asdbgaklsjdoñash

This guy was 'Shoe Majer' as opposed to Fernando Alonso. See the unopened champagne bottle on the right and on the left a hat for donations for a new car.

These two had intellectual conversations... just like Don Quijote and Sancho.

This maiden drew your portrait... a stick figure portrait.

And then there were more...

preponed

(big grin)


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(still grining)

back from granada. and need i even say how amazing it was?

the first two days there was a glorious sunshine (34ºC), reminded me of india. but the next two days the weather played foul. it rained. on wednesday there was a steady rain from morning till night and our luck, we had tickets to the Alhambra that day! on the bright side, how many people can boast of having seen the Alhambra in rain?

also visited García Lorca´s summer house, the many teterías (tea shops), the barrio Albaicín...

here are some of the photos, it was really hard to select just a few:

p.s by the way, for the first time in my life i missed a bus, the bus back to madrid, and had to take the next one! nice experience, don´t regret it.










The Sierra Nevada
















The river Darro













View of the Alhambra from Carrera del Darro

On the way to the Alhambra

View from the Alhambra















Generalife en la Alhambra

















Patio de los leones

Cobbled streets of Albaícin

Calderería nueva.
Doesn´t it look like S.N market?














Una casa en Albaícin

García Lorca´s summer residence between 1926 and 1936. He wrote some of his most important works here (Thus Five Years Pass(1931), Blood wedding(1932), Yerma (1934)).