More thoughts

Tuesday I had some kind of courage in lab today. Moumita planned a 13-hour day for us in lab. And that was if everything ran smoothly, which is an anomaly in research. So I was all “no.” I wasn’t exactly that sassy, but instead figured out a way to cut the day in two. It was a proud moment. Then I talked to Sir about adding another project to my workload so I am not always waiting around for PCRs to finish. After brainstorming, we decided to test cholerae growth under different environments such as different concentrations of bile in the media (the project I’m working on now), different lake’s water from around Kolkata and starch concentration. All concentrations used try to mimic the actual situation. For the different bile concentrations tested, I found the actual different percentages of bile found in the human intestine! For starch concentration variations, we will boil a potato to mimic actual food consumption. I have a dilemma about taxis. I have almost entirely given up on buses. Because: you’re packed in so tightly by the time you reach your destination you are drenched and grumpy, you have to be on guard for pick pocketers constantly (Michael got his cellphone stolen today), and the total trip including waiting time can take 15-30 minutes longer than a taxi. The problem with a taxi is it cost roughly $3 per trip, $6 a day and therefore $42 a week, besides my exorbitant rent this is my single most expensive expense. I could hire a driver. But: I would need to either leave at the same time every day (it’s not possible to know when I’ll finish work) or buy a cellphone to call the driver. However in the end it would be cheaper than taxis. But am I really going to go to India and hire a driver? Really? Thoughts? Wednesday None of the workers in the canteen speak English. I rely on Moumita to translate my order to them. Almost invariably, my order will be wrong. It makes me wonder how much Moumita actually understands me. I came in before everyone else (as usual), worked like crazy and finished all of my experiments at 3:30. Instead of letting me leave early, Moumita put me to work doing little tasks like filling tip boxes and making solutions. I have no problem doing these things, but it’s really no motivation to work hard and be efficient. I taught Sreelupa and Moumita how to play solitaire. Now they fight over the computer when they have a free moment. After work, I decided to go to the mall near my house to buy some groceries and walk around. I have been tearing through books and ran out of all the reading material I brought and have since bought. I went to the bookstore and bought Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. It’s about India’s independence—I hear amazing things. I’m so excited! I went to a sports store and bought a jump rope. Besides the bike ride in the village, I haven’t done any sort of exercise since I left the US. I think my muscles are atrophying. In reality, it’s 115 degrees in our apartment and it was probably just an impulse buy. I’ll be very proud if I use it. I went to Big Bazaar to get some food and forgot Wednesday is sale day. The store was so packed I could barely move. When I saw the line, disorganized and 7 x a million people thick I put down my basket and left. Instead, I walked the distance from the mall to the crossing stopping at all of the vegetable and fruit stores lit by candlelight. I pushed my way to the front and stood next to the serious business mothers. A smile at them was all it took for them to all help and fight with the shop owner over lower prices for me. It was awesome. For dinner, I ate a mango the size of my head.