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August 20, 2007
Will Help HOPE a Little Bit, and Other News
Hello all!
So, I went to one of the HOPE locations in Andheri East today. It was a bit of a mess to get there (I wasn't organized) but I should be fine in the future.
They have 5 computers and they teach Microsoft Office, as well as some conversational English.
I had a discussion with the HOPE leader for India, and he told me that one of their big needs was on digitization and reporting. They need to report regularly to their sponsors, and they need to be able to show their success stories.
I'll build them a simple solution using Access. Nothing too complicated, but something that will save them from having thousands of Word documents with unmanageable data.
On the way back, I saw a couple cows and dogs munching on a pile of garbage. Other street sights of before: a dog in a puddle of muddy water in the middle of the street, bathing and drinking. A procession of cows and ox in the middle of the street, some goats tied together to a pole, on the roadside. Lots of stray dogs. Stray dogs sleeping in the middle of the way at the train station. The sewage is carried not in pipes, but in canals by the road side, etc.
My mom asked me if there were a lot of polution... the answer is: yes, you'll see it, you'll smell it, and its likely that you'll touch it too.
I finally started taking photos. I'll put them online soon. Getting the files to the hotel's computer is a bit of an hassle.
Other than that, I went to church yesterday, and to their Men of God and Women of God meeting. We played some team game, and then there was an exortation to do something that brings us out of our comfort zone this week. I know that being here was already something, but I'm thinking of something more discomforting... I'll let you know about it.
Its weird being at church... everyone comes to introduce themselves to you. You're kind of a star. Many don't even speak English, or barely do. It was a bit hard to have a conversation with anyone. One thing that was true from what a brother told me is the men/women divide. Girls on their side, guys on theirs... very little mixing. There is one sister (for sure) and maybe a second one with whom I did more than introducing myself. That's good in a sense, since I was challenged to focus on building strong bonds with brothers.
Before that, I met a brother at Mumbai Central station and we went shopping... except for the fact that the mall was closed. So, we went to the Hadji Ali instead... Many people, hindus too, come to this Muslim holy site. It is built on the Arabian Sea, and it has a little bridge going there.
On Friday, I had news from my allocation: I'll be going to either Mumbai or Chennai. So, there is some progress. The sad news is that I won't be in their eSecurity team, which I would have been perfect for. It turns out that they have some kind of policy in place that says that I should be put to customer billable functions. So the security job is gone. Anyway, they know that I like design, and they're working on putting me on a new project, so that I can have a chance of contributing at that level, which is welcomed... I don't feel like starting my career as a maintainer.
Other news, I have a cold. My troat is sore, and my noze is leaking fluid like crazy. Nothing too bad, I bought some medicine from one of the many "druggist" close to the hotel.
Posted by ma at August 20, 2007 2:37 PM in Life
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