Friday, October 5, 2001: Urdu lessons and rain!

Good morning!

Let's talk about the weather, shall we? Weather in Hyderabad over the last few days has been quite unpredictable, and I have gratefully accepted Ahmed's loan of an umbrella for those hit and run monsoon rains. It seems that city drainage consists mainly of roads becoming canals for the rainwater. PVC pipes spout off the rooftops onto the streets and sidewalks making every excursion a water-fun obstacle course. But at the same time, I come from the liquid-sunshine state of Oregon where it seems to drizzle for more than half the year. I certainly prefer this downpour and then clear skies motif over the drizzle, and it is still warm enough for me to wear a shirt and shorts.

Today I sent off some proposals to the PeaceBike Board members to discuss in their upcoming meeting on October 18. I also got some accounting done and posted a new PeaceBike Birthday page. Yes, the journey was officially two years old on Sept. 25th, 2001! The page is good and includes a thoughtful and wise article about what we can do for peace in the wake of the recent attacks on the US.

I spent about an hour with the City Lodge hotel owner, Ahmed, going over basic questions in Hindi/Urdu. I soon became the lecturee of the lobby with four guys all coaching me at once. I keep my tape recorder with me and am recording during these lessons in hopes that one of us (my recorder or myself) will learn this language. I have thought about just indexing the recorded phrases and then just letting the recorder talk for me....005....greeting...018...do you have meals available? etc...

At the cybercafe (I have been a recent devotee of Saikiran Cybercafe), I have made a number of friends - Gopal (the boss), Prakash, and Ramesh. Ramesh and I have made up a plan to visit Tolliwood tomorrow. Most of you have heard of Hollywood and some of you may have heard of the Bombay film industry called Bolliwood. Well, here with Telegu being the state language and lots of people wanting movies to see, comes a third "iwood"...Tolliwood.

There are many studios in Hyderabad and a newer one has become quite an attraction...Film City. But with admission prices, transportation time out and back, and a good chance of rain we decided to go to Film Nagar, closer to the city center.

Tomorrow is Tolliwood,

TAD