tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55340692011-04-21T17:12:18.569-07:00Namaste and hello everyone! Welcome to my new web log. I'm at the University of Pune in India on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for one year. I'm studying several subjects at the graduate level, living in a dormitory with 94 other international students, getting a good feel for the culture, seeing and learning as much about this incredibly diverse country as I can, and having one hell of an experience. Thanks for visiting and I really hope you enjoy the updates! -Colin p.s. anyColinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1085895425911707942004-05-29T22:07:00.000-07:002004-05-29T22:39:01.896-07:00

It's around 10pm on a Saturday night. I am home, alone. Some of my best friends (Jason Hamm, Doug Collins, Chris DiCarlo and Kyle Allen) were here in town this weekend for a get together. We played ping pong, cards and whiffle ball baseball just like we always have. It was wonderful to reconnect, bond and relax with my lifelong buddies. They are gone now, back to their homes, in and out of town

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1081836917966507112004-04-12T23:15:00.000-07:002004-04-12T23:43:12.170-07:00

After 17 months and 1 week, I have finally returned to good old Merced, California, USA. The trip home through Singapore and Australia was fantastic. It was sooooo good to see my brother Jamie in Mount Gambier, Australia, catch up with him and see what his life is like over there. Jamie is last year’s SEABL (South East Australian Basketball League) Most Valuable Player and it was really great

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1074319547742219452004-01-11T08:30:00.000-08:002004-01-16T22:07:10.513-08:00

Sawadi Krup! (namaste in Thai) After 24 hours of bus, plane then bus, with lots of waiting in between, I have arrived in Bangkok, found a hotel, showered, shaved and am about to get some grub before I completely crash. I left Pune by bus yesterday at 9:30pm and arrived at the Mumbai airport at 1:30am ish. My flight was to go at 5:45, but due to fog over Dhaka (Bangladesh), it didn't leave

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1073468262713198982004-01-07T01:37:00.000-08:002004-01-16T21:57:49.390-08:00

OKey Dokey, Here we are in 2004. I have been here for 14 months and 3 days now. On Sunday I am off to Thailad for 3.5 weeks, then back here to India for 5 weeks, then home to Cali via Singapore. There is a small small chance that I will skip through Australia and visit my brother Jamie on the way home. My doing so depends on how much extra it will cost and whether or not Jamie is actually

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1072101439932969422003-12-22T05:57:00.000-08:002003-12-22T06:13:59.513-08:00

Namaste! Mom has come and gone and we had an amazing trip together. The north was amazing with its wild colors, dry landscape and rich and proud culture. The south was just gorgeous and was much more relaxed. Mom has since returned home, stopping by the Netherlands on her world tour 2003 to visit Jamie boy. It's nearly Christmas time, my studies are over, and I am filling my time doing things

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1070025968363505362003-11-28T04:50:00.000-08:002003-11-28T05:26:41.750-08:00

Okay, it has been a while as usual. At the moment, I am with my mom, Nancy, in Thekkady, Kerala. We have been having a great time. Our hectic shedule looks like this: Nov.14 - Mom arrived at 2am. We got luggage, got back to Pune in a taxi by 6am. Breakfast with Nalin and Leah. Nov. 15 - visiting friends in Pune. Lots of eating. Nov. 16 - fly to Delhi, did some quick sight seeing, got stuck

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1068482039418629962003-11-10T08:33:00.000-08:002006-05-15T12:07:42.190-07:00

Yes. I went around Pune telling people in the local language of Marathi that my name is penis. My friend Sonal bought me a Ghandi topi - (Ghandi hat) - These hats look just like what the employees of In-N-Out burger would wear, only they are light purple. So she gave it to me because I really wanted one, and I went around wearing it. The locals loved it. Then, Avinash, a Maharashtrian from the

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1067341969800347602003-10-28T03:52:00.000-08:002003-10-28T03:53:31.710-08:00

So many Gods, so many holidays. Holiday season is coming to a close here. I suppose the best thing to do would be to be in India from August to early November, then head back to the USA for Thanksgiving and Christmas, then maybe hit Europe for New Years. It seems like each time I sit down to write, another festival has just finished. This time, the Indian New Year - Divali - has finished. Its

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1065770487126372682003-10-10T00:21:00.000-07:002003-10-10T00:45:14.903-07:00

Bummer. I was i the middle of typing this and Explorer just quit. All my windows just disappeared in a flash. No warning message, no nothing. Never seen that before. So i have switched PC's and will try again. The last few weeks have ranged from CRAZY busy to quite relaxing. Our Hostel Committee decided to go ahead with a party as a mixer for all of our students in both the Gents and Ladies

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1064294716397086502003-09-22T22:25:00.000-07:002003-09-22T22:25:16.180-07:00

Well, I had the goal of updating this site once a week so I am going to do it even if at the moment I can't think of anything special that has happened. So I'll just do a category-wise quickie: School - I am not excited about my classes. Time is running out in the semester and the only class that is really holding my attention is International Relations - fascinating stuff. Hominid Evolution

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1063290248805184712003-09-11T07:24:00.000-07:002003-09-11T07:57:59.986-07:00

Wow. The 10 day long Ganpati festival just finished. Ganpati, also known as Ganesh, is that extremely popular elephant-headed god that is hugely popular with Indians, especially in Maharashtra and Pune has the biggest celebration of them all. Around this time every year, the 10 day celebration begins. Here is what happens around here during this time: At home- Most good Hindu families go out

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1061881267062461232003-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:002003-08-26T00:01:07.113-07:00

Just a quick note... there were some bomb blasts in Bombay (Mumbai) which is about 3 hours away. I am here, safe and sound in Pune, no problems. Bombay has had problems like this on and off probably related to Jammu and Kashmir troubles. So this sort of thing will continue I am sure. BUT Pune is safe and all is well here.

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1061450567406566642003-08-21T00:22:00.000-07:002003-08-26T00:54:19.933-07:00

Overview Whew, time is moving. Classes take up about 3 or 4 hours a day but effectively tie up 9am to 3pm. I am healthy, been working out, lost a few kilos thanks to my morning jogs with Bobo and a tiny bit more restraint shown in my eating habits. Festivals come and go, really interesting things happen everyday but I am so tried at the end of the day, that I am not finding time to update.

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1059744346623113602003-08-01T06:25:00.000-07:002003-08-01T06:25:46.610-07:00

Well, it happened again. But first, let me mention the very cool international students festival I went to last night. Each semester, Symbiosis - a very large chain of Indian schools, some ranging from school age up to MBA programs- holds a festival. They have many, many students from North Africa, the Middle east, and South and Southeast Asia. I missed the food festival, but the dance

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1058878026446852402003-07-22T05:47:00.000-07:002003-07-22T06:07:47.203-07:00

Well, it was only a matter of time. Diarrhea comes and diarrhea goes. But sometimes, if you eat at lots of different places, and you get lucky, you can get amoebic dysentery! I wasn't feeling very well for a few days. Upset stomach but not too bad. They yesterday it hit me... BLAM! I won't go into the symptoms because I bet many of you aren't accustomed to discussing your bowel movements in

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1058340577077136802003-07-16T00:29:00.000-07:002003-07-16T01:44:28.006-07:00

Well, I am back in Pune. My holiday went from late April until mid-July, and it is so good to be back "home." My second and final semester begins soon. I ended up spending some time in Delhi, Punjab, Nepal (on one of the most amazing treks), Kathmandu - Nepal's capital, and then back to study more Hindi in Mussoorie in the north of India for 2 weeks. As a quick summary, I'll say this: 1)

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1058339840630529282003-07-16T00:17:00.000-07:002003-07-16T00:19:57.930-07:00

Two nights back it happened again. The same drunk man from Yemen who was here in this internet cafe a few months back giving me a hard time returned, full or liquor again, and also full of good, non-sensical rage against America and the war on Iraq. Here is an exerpt that I typed as he spouted in slurred, but decent English for the whole cafe to hear: "Down with USA, down with the White House.

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1057167599822105012003-07-02T10:39:00.000-07:002003-07-16T00:35:23.560-07:00

I decided to spend my precious time on this list of questions and answers probably because I have lots to Hindi homework to do. Procrastination :) I get lots of different questions from folks back home, and I know I probably haven't answered even half of them. If you think I should add any to this list, let me know. Common Questions 1) Who are you? Answer: I am Colin. 2) Is it true that

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5534069.post-1057081479401067432003-07-01T10:44:00.000-07:002003-07-01T11:04:28.053-07:00

Okay, today is July 1st, 2003 and I am testing out this free internet posting service for the first time. If this works, then I will kiss the huge and impersonal updates I do goodbye, and then just do more frequent updates here that anyone can check whenever they are curious. Moving from push to pull technology... because I care. ;) I am in Mussoorie, Uttaranchal right now for 10 more days of

Colinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12796119458529633481noreply@blogger.com