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!! :)

Carnival

After about a month since Block D began ( At TU/e the school year has two terms with 3 blocks each (A,B,C - Term 1 and D,E,F - Term 2), the school closes for about a week for Carnival. Not knowing much about the whole thing, a random bunch of us went to the station center to see what the whole deal was about.







Tradition has it that the Christians celebrate for the last time before they begin their fasting period. Celebrated mostly in the south of Netherlands, the Carnival has of course taken up a more modern and fun filled version. So, basically beginning from Friday to Thursday (into the carnival week, but mostly during the weekend), people dress up in all sorts of costumes and go about the city center.There is a normally a parade which is more of a family business. Literally EVERYBODY dresses up in one costume or the other and goes to see the parade. Beer is sold in plenty and people basically have a good time. We watched the parade too and we acted like typical kids when the people from the floats threw candies at us. :)

We then ate something called the Oliebollen, a Dutch delicacy, made of balls of fried dough spattered with sugar powder.



It was hot and yummy..:D..then we being we, we went to a costume shop, tried out some of them and took pictures and came out!! :D...People go to other cities during carnival to watch a bigger and better parade like in Amsterdam or in Maastricht. The adults of course have a different kind of celebration. They still have their costumes, but they go bar trekking all over the weekend. So they basically form a big group and go from bar to bar and get crazy drunk...One of my friends actually said that they went as a group of about 130 poeple!! At the end of the night there were totally random people in their group whom nobody actually knew!! haha..

It was a good day for me too. I got invited by a Polish guy I met (my friend's roommate) to some kind of international students' dinner. I did go there! it was actually cool...:)

Next year perhaps I will get an actual costume!!

Space Box , Eindhoven First impressions

So, here I am living a completely new life, in a different country, in a different continent for that matter. So, after living all my life in India and about 2 and a half years in Canada, I am here now in the Netherlands since 2nd January 2009. I am doing my post Master's in the department of Applied Physics at the Eindhoven University of Technology.

I live in these small container like apartments called the Space Box within the campus. I like them, no matter what other people say or think, I feel they are quite convenient for me. The kitchen is a little small, but for the amount of cooking I do, I think it is more than enough!!:)...It is a completely furnished apartment.

Well, my first impression of Eindhoven was pretty good. People are friendly and most of them can speak in English. They are helpful and polite. The Indian population is pretty less when compared to N.America, at least in Eindhoven. I lived at the Hotel Corso for the first 2 days. The hotel is decent, but they charge 50Euro per day and is definitely not worth the money.But hey, I din't pay for it, so....

Couple of things that immediately struck me here was that the hotels and houses have extremely narrow staircases..its as though they want you to fall!! I found it extremely unusual. Talking about unusual, the Dutch toilets are pretty odd too...God only knows why they have this weirdly designed toilet bowls which forces one to see what they most certainly don't want to. Some people suggest it is this strong intention that the Dutch have to keep the land above water at all times....!!! I found it rather amusing actually!! :D

I came to the Netherlands on a Friday and so when Sunday arrived, I suddenly felt like the whole city of Eindhoven had gone to hibernate! It was completely dead. All shops, almost everything is closed on Sundays.

I moved to the on-campus space box on Monday. It had snowed like crazy Sunday night! I heard this has been one of the worst winters in decades. hmmm...when I went to Vancouver in 2006, they told me the same thing!! I wonder if it is me!Well, Anyways....New life, here I come!! :D