11th September

Managed to speak to Prof Sanpathi about my assessments. He says I can do the essays, but also sit the internal assessment. So my first week of October is going to be fun and games. Thankfully my new friend Nitin (not Natel as I had previously thought) is going to give me some old question papers to look over. He also wants to take me to the library at the British Consulate; apparently it is really good. He also told me a fairly interesting thing about the professor I don’t like: Raj Kumar. He said the University was made to take him on despite him not being a very good lecturer. He didn’t tell me why, he only said it was the government that had made it so. Perhaps Prof Kumar is a product of positive discrimination. Either way, he is an awful teacher.

I think I am getting a cold. It has been raining here for two days now pretty much non-stop and it is the sort of rain that soaks you in a sly way and you never dry fully. Not nice.

When I came back to the hostel, Amanda wasn’t here. She has gone to AIM I suppose. I feel really tired, so I may sleep.

Slept for two hours. I haven’t done that since being here. Very odd. To perk myself up I ran 5km; it felt good to be somewhere near my former standard of running. Now all I need to do is slowly double it and we will be back in business. Did a little bit of my essay as well. I have a plan and my introduction written. Now all I need to do is make proper detailed notes on everything else and find good quotations. I am hoping to have it done by the middle of next week so that I can properly focus upon English, but we will see.

Looking on the net, and apparently five girls have been stampeded to death in their school. I find this at once horrifying and amazing. How does a girl get trampled in her school?? Apparently they were in a collision on the stairs with some boys from another class, but jesus God that is not enough to kill a child surely? And why was it even allowed to happen? Why were these children running with such force that they were able to do this? It is just horrible.

I got bored and came to AIM, where I am now sitting with some ginger tea. I managed to speak to mum and Susan, Granny and Grandpa and Iain all in one go, which is pretty good going connection-wise. I also had an affogato (espresso with ice cream) so I feel it has been a good evening. Think I will call it an early night though, because it may be only half nine, but walking down our road any later would be a bit silly. It is a busy residential street, but the motorbikes do get bolder in their ‘almost-hit-and-swerve’ pick-up tactics.

There were two elephants on the road on the way back. I love seeing these things lumbering along next to the buses and autos…so surreal.