Of Rats and Men

To those *cough* Sarah *cough* who have been asking if I'm going to ever post here again, the answer is yes, I am. A lot has happened since I last posted. My room, for one, has been inhabited not only by my host sister, my roommate Brittany, and I, but also by a few rats who have either been chased out, killed with brooms, or killed with rat poison. I consider my role in capturing and killing the rats to have been a crucial one: I stood on top of our mattresses and yelled every time they ran out from some corner or pile of things, thus alerting the people doing the chasing and killing as to the rats' presence. Without this, they might never have known where it was. From now on, you may address me as The Rat Master. Anna is also acceptable between family members and close friends.
In other news, this coming weekend I and the 31 other American students in the program are travelling to Pondicherry, in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is a state in southern India. Here's a map if you're interested. Tamil is also the state that my host family comes from. We are taking a bus to Pondicherry on Thursday, and from there we will also travel to Chennai, Kanchipuram, and Mammalapuram. We'll see temples, the Ashram in Pondicherry, five Rathas, a museum, a beach, a church, a dance school...among others. I'm really excited, it's the first excursion (other than coming from Delhi by train) that I've made out of AP. The other trip which I posted about was cancelled last minute because all the hotels were full. Which just meant I had other adventures in Hyderabad that were equally exciting, even if they didn't involve huts and swimming out to abandoned forts. The following weekend I am travelling independently for the first time, yayy!!! By independently I mean with a group of four other girls. We are going to Hampi, in Karnataka. No last minute cancellations, either: we've got train tickets, room reservations, and everything. All for about $20, total. I love travelling in India.
One of the exciting things which happened the weekend I did not travel, was that I was on television!!! My host brother Bharat and his girlfriend took Brittany and I to the opening of this new hair place in Hyderabad. The press was there, and they filmed us and took lots of photos, and a few days later, there we were in the daily news on TV!! Haha I never thought I would be on TV, least of all in India. Today after class I'm going to the Industrial Baazar, an exhibition of work and ware from all over India, all in one place. Next week I also have an appointment to call an NGO, the Concern India Foundation, and "take an appointment" (a perfect example of Hinglish) with them for that day or the next. One of my classes this semester is called "NGO's and Development" and for one of the internal assessments (basically midterm) I have to work with an observe an NGO of my choice. Which is perfect, because it's what I would want to do anyway, while I'm here. I found this particular one online, and luckily for me they have a branch in Hyderabad!
I also am hoping to work with this foundation. I heard about them through a summer program I applied for in Guatemala. My interviewers sent me the link to it in an email (my acceptance email!!!). However, even though I was accepted into the Guatemala program I'm not sure if I can do it (I'm trying to get funding from Columbia, we'll see how successful that is), but I hope to be able to at least work with their branch in Hyderabad while I'm here, if I have time.
And that's it...or rather, in the interests of time and posting some pictures, this entry is now closed.