My long weekend in Hyderabad was originally planned to include visiting with family and doing some sightseeing. However, it was only after making plans for before and after Hyderabad when I found out just how many people there were to meet in the large city. Of course, knowing the size of my family, I probably should not have been so surprised :P
Hyderabad itself is a HUGE city - and of course, all of my relatives live an hour apart by car. I guess you could say I saw a lot during the rides (for the times when I was actually awake). The one area I really got a good look at (from the outside) was HITEC city. It stands for Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City. Hyderabad is a central hub for IT in India - the majority of the people in the city are either there for a computer-related job or are taking computer courses or are just looking for a job.
The buildings there are all really shiny and new, and really interesting looking. One of the most interesting buildings I saw in this city was on my first day there:
The other buildings are all very nice to look at, but perhaps not as unique in looks as this.
On the day of my arrival (Friday Feb 10th) I spent several hours with a friend of my father's from college, and his family. Shekhar Uncle is the one who took me around HITEC city. With him and Aunty, I had some very interesting conversations about health in the U.S. and in India. We discussed homeopathy, which is extremely common here. I also learned a little bit more about my dad from his college days, which I always find interesting (it can be a bit difficult to imagine what he was like at my age haha). I also met their extended family, who live in the flat just below theirs, and spent some time getting to know Kriti, their niece.
The next morning, I spent a few hours with with Soni Akka (telugu for older sister, like 'didi' in Hindi). She lives in a girls hostel, while taking some courses and looking for a job.
I spent lunch and early afternoon with Dharmaji Bhaiyya, Gayatri Bhabhi (hindi for sister-in-law), and their ADORABLE daughter, Preeti. She takes a bit of time to warm up to people, but once you let her show you her drawings and toys, she will be completely at ease. Any time I spent at Dharmaji Bhaiyya's place was spent with her. She calls me 'atta' (the tt part is kinda pronounced as 'th')- which is used in Telugu for Father's sister. She is very talkative, although she can get a little shy in front of the camera.
In the evening, I left to spend a night with some cousin sisters from my mom's side of the family. We stayed up late sharing stories (well mostly my stories from school), and joking around. Even had a chance to skype with my mom and brother, which was great :). That night, I had my first experience of the trip sleeping under a mosquito net.
it might look uncomfortable, but it is actually very efficient at keeping mosquitoes away... although it is a little weird to see them sticking to the outside of the net. The next morning, I woke up 2 hours before them (which is when I took this lovely picture), and spent my time writing posts for this blog :)
In the first picture, I am with cila and mila naani (sister in oriya, same as akka and didi), and in the second, with Arpita akka.
There is no particular reason why I use different languages for different people... I grew up with four languages (english, oriya, telugu, and hindi), so since childhood, I have been using whatever term I learned the names with.
Sunday mid-day, I went straight from meeting with these sisters to meeting my father's younger cousin and his wife and daughter. The daughter, Chinnu, is only a little younger than me, and Pinni (means uncle's wife) has a background in English. We were able to have very interesting conversations during my time there.
My final night and the next day were back at Dharmaji Bhaiyya's place. Not much to say about these days... just packed, relaxed, and spent some time with the fam before leaving.
Nothing interesting to note about the flight from Hyderabad to Vizag, except for two things:
1. Saw this fish building (not my own pictures, but I just have to share them) - the second is a bit clearer, from when it was being constructed, but gives you a really good idea of the shape of the building
2. Had to deal with luggage problems in the domestic airport. Apparently, the special extra baggage allowance for international visitors is only valid for 24 hours?? What about people like me, who have to travel with India? Plus, it is the people who will be in the country for a longer period of time who will have extra luggage, not the people only coming for short trips. It was all very weird. But hurrah for that being over.
Now I'm in Vizag! (aka Vishakapatnam)... meaning that I am almost completely caught up with my posts :)
Hyderabad itself is a HUGE city - and of course, all of my relatives live an hour apart by car. I guess you could say I saw a lot during the rides (for the times when I was actually awake). The one area I really got a good look at (from the outside) was HITEC city. It stands for Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City. Hyderabad is a central hub for IT in India - the majority of the people in the city are either there for a computer-related job or are taking computer courses or are just looking for a job.
The buildings there are all really shiny and new, and really interesting looking. One of the most interesting buildings I saw in this city was on my first day there:
The other buildings are all very nice to look at, but perhaps not as unique in looks as this.
On the day of my arrival (Friday Feb 10th) I spent several hours with a friend of my father's from college, and his family. Shekhar Uncle is the one who took me around HITEC city. With him and Aunty, I had some very interesting conversations about health in the U.S. and in India. We discussed homeopathy, which is extremely common here. I also learned a little bit more about my dad from his college days, which I always find interesting (it can be a bit difficult to imagine what he was like at my age haha). I also met their extended family, who live in the flat just below theirs, and spent some time getting to know Kriti, their niece.
The next morning, I spent a few hours with with Soni Akka (telugu for older sister, like 'didi' in Hindi). She lives in a girls hostel, while taking some courses and looking for a job.
I spent lunch and early afternoon with Dharmaji Bhaiyya, Gayatri Bhabhi (hindi for sister-in-law), and their ADORABLE daughter, Preeti. She takes a bit of time to warm up to people, but once you let her show you her drawings and toys, she will be completely at ease. Any time I spent at Dharmaji Bhaiyya's place was spent with her. She calls me 'atta' (the tt part is kinda pronounced as 'th')- which is used in Telugu for Father's sister. She is very talkative, although she can get a little shy in front of the camera.
In the evening, I left to spend a night with some cousin sisters from my mom's side of the family. We stayed up late sharing stories (well mostly my stories from school), and joking around. Even had a chance to skype with my mom and brother, which was great :). That night, I had my first experience of the trip sleeping under a mosquito net.
it might look uncomfortable, but it is actually very efficient at keeping mosquitoes away... although it is a little weird to see them sticking to the outside of the net. The next morning, I woke up 2 hours before them (which is when I took this lovely picture), and spent my time writing posts for this blog :)
In the first picture, I am with cila and mila naani (sister in oriya, same as akka and didi), and in the second, with Arpita akka.
There is no particular reason why I use different languages for different people... I grew up with four languages (english, oriya, telugu, and hindi), so since childhood, I have been using whatever term I learned the names with.
Sunday mid-day, I went straight from meeting with these sisters to meeting my father's younger cousin and his wife and daughter. The daughter, Chinnu, is only a little younger than me, and Pinni (means uncle's wife) has a background in English. We were able to have very interesting conversations during my time there.
My final night and the next day were back at Dharmaji Bhaiyya's place. Not much to say about these days... just packed, relaxed, and spent some time with the fam before leaving.
Nothing interesting to note about the flight from Hyderabad to Vizag, except for two things:
1. Saw this fish building (not my own pictures, but I just have to share them) - the second is a bit clearer, from when it was being constructed, but gives you a really good idea of the shape of the building
2. Had to deal with luggage problems in the domestic airport. Apparently, the special extra baggage allowance for international visitors is only valid for 24 hours?? What about people like me, who have to travel with India? Plus, it is the people who will be in the country for a longer period of time who will have extra luggage, not the people only coming for short trips. It was all very weird. But hurrah for that being over.
Now I'm in Vizag! (aka Vishakapatnam)... meaning that I am almost completely caught up with my posts :)
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