Potluck at Anna's

There is an Introduction day for international employees. It was day long workshop and was quite nice and fun. But I honestly did not think I would end up making any friends out of it. haha!! boy was I wrong! I think I formed most of my friends here so far out of that single day workshop!

Four of us girls out of that group are also Pilates buddies and one of them organized a Potluck at her house (Anna and Ivan). It was awesome! I had made vermicelli kheer (Thank God it turned out decently well!). Initially I felt a bit odd, but after food everybody was goofy enough and we had complete fun at all our guessing games!! It was gezellig! Gezellig is one of the typical dutch words to describe something pleasant and comfortable. :). Thanks Anna!

Fighting Loneliness

I decided to do something before I turn crazy. Thank God for for small favors!! The sports center is 5 mts from my home. Ahem!! and my ambitious schedule -

Monday - Badminton class
Tuesday - Pilates
Wednesday - Swimming class
Thursday - Badminton
Friday - Gym
Sat/Sun - Biking

Well, as ever, I am good at planning lets see how far I stick to this plan. So far I manage to do 3-4 of these things every week. And I must say, man! the days I feel a little low, it feels pretty good after working out a bit. Swimming classes are almost a rewind of my swimming classes as a kid. The entire group that started with me (and after) can actually swim now! I am still stuck with the float!! :D..But I am like hey! whatever! whenever my body gets comfortable with the water. No pressures!!

Badminton classes are awesome!am actually learning to improve my game and the Pilates classes are stretching me out in places where I din't even know you are supposed to stretch!! haha!! My muscles ache and I enter the lala land the second my head sinks into the pillow. I am finally sleeping well!! :)

Water Problem in Eindhoven???

The funniest thing happened to me the very second day I started my life in the space box. I began my program in January' 09 at TU/e which happens to be a exam month here. So courses were beginning only in February. I got up leisurely in the morning and happily went to the bathroom, and I was thinking to myself, while I was brushing, Ah! the luxury of being in a country were the water comes out of the tap just so easily. I decided to keep the tap open all the while I was brushing, just out of whimsy, and there, in just in a few seconds as if to slap me back to senses, the water stopped abruptly!

It snowed the very first week I was in Eindhoven and the temperature reached its lowest ( about -10 to -15 deg C) in decades (This keeps happening to me. When I was in Vancouver for the first time, they said the same thing!). I thought there was something basic wrong! Probably I had turned off the knob of the water pipe or something. I did not have water the entire day!! About 4 plumbers came home that day and they had no idea why the water was not coming. I did more investigation of the pipes than them all!!

They actually told me that I had to find out if the the two apartments right below me had similar problems and only then could they do anything. I tried and they were empty!! So no water that night too!I actually had to borrow water from my neighbors in large dishes (I got reminded of my childhood in Chennai, we collected water in large pots and would use it more dearly than oil!). The next day they figured the pipes were frozen and they heated it and within few minutes I had water ( The funny part is the plumber who actually solved the problem did not even enter the house, the pipe connecting to the house underneath was frozen at that junction).The problem haunted me on and off for almost 2 weeks until finally they insulated the pipes better (and the temperature increased! )an so far so good!! It was almost as though nature was playing games with me...:)...

I realized how much we take things for granted! and how much such things affect my life. The first two times the problem occurred, I simply got so upset. Then I realized that I shouldn't be a slave to my circumstances! Water or no water, I have to be sensible and not act as though the world would end( Told myself the "Imagine the kids in Somalia" dialogue!!) and I survived after all!! :)