First Days [en]

First days in India are find, staying at the Sinde’s, got a mobile phone.

So far, so good. Everything is fine. I’m staying at the Shinde’s despite the puppies, but the internet cafe is a bit far away. The good news is that they have broadband, so I will be able to upload some photos and videos once I manage to get an FTP program installed.

I have a mobile phone and will post the number in the comments to this post as soon as I have managed to figure out what it is again!

Coup de barre [en]

Fini mon livre. Bruits de chiens.

J’ai fini l’unique livre que j’avais emporté avec moi. Dans la pièce d’à côté, un chiot jappe plaintivement. Il s’est probablement trainé hors du tas que composent ses frères et soeurs de porté. Le sol dallé est froid.

Les deux labradors vont et viennent dans l’appartement. Les seuls autres occupants humains du logis dorment.

Safe in India [en]

I have arrived safely in India. More news later.

Just a note to tell everybody that I have safely arrived in India. I’ll be taking a coach to Pune this afternoon. Expect more news in a few days, including my cellphone number!

Gros stress [en]

Stress pré-départ.

Deux jours de gros stress avant le départ. Finir mon inscription pour la HEP, y compris la lettre de motivation manuscrite écrite l’après-midi avant mon départ pour Genève. Quasi pas mangé, peu dormi, sur les nerfs, limite de craquer, bagages faits en une heure et demie… Je me dis “plus jamais ça”, comme à chaque fois, et chaque fois, ça recommence…

Milan-Mumbai, Time Unknown [en]

Scenes from the airplane.

The sea below looks like a piece of cloth, delicately textured by the waves.

I forgot all about taking my Lonely Planet guide with me. Actually, ‘forgot’ is not the correct word, as it seems to imply that I intended to bring it along at some point. It just never even crossed my mind. I wonder if I’ll miss it.

Each time I fly to India (I can say ‘each time‘ now, can’t I?), I catch myself wondering about the pieces of land we are flying over. I look at snowy mountains and plains, at strips of land squeezed tight between the seas. I wish I had a better map of the world in my head. I wish I knew the route the plane was flying.

We’ve been flying above the sea for a long time now, and the sun is shining bright. A nice change after cold and rainy Switzerland.

Calendrier de blogueurs [en]

Un calendrier 2004 de blogueurs et blogueuses dans lequel figure l’auteur de ces lignes.

On l’attendait depuis 13 jours au moins, le voici enfin: le calendrier #echoes 2004.

Direction le mois d’avril pour voir votre dévouée serviteuse ornée de ses jolies bottes.

Avec, en prime, les anniversaires et bloganniversaires des différents protagonistes. Nos sincères félicitations au maître-d’oeuvre Kitof.

1,2,3 Soleils et Kali Nagin Ke Jaisi [fr]

1,2,3 Soleils et Kali Nagin Ke Jaisi ont la même musique. Qui est coupable de pompage?

Chers lecteurs, je me permets de solliciter votre culture pour tenter de répondre à  une question qui me turlupine. J’ai demandé à  mon copain Google, mais il n’a pas été capable de m’aider.

Connaissez-vous la chanson 1,2,3 Soleils, chantée en 1998 par Khaled, Taha et Faudel?

Cet été, j’ai eu la surprise de l’entendre un soir dans un restaurant. Je l’ai reconnue tout de suite, bien sûr, car elle m’avait accompagnée durant tout mon séjour à  Calcutta. Passé l’étonnement d’entendre un tube Bollywood dans un restaurant tunisien, j’ai brutalement réalisé que ce n’était pas tout à  fait la même chanson…

La question est la suivante: qui a pompé qui? Les dates semblent jouer en défaveur des indiens (ce qui n’est pas une grande surprise): 1,2,3 Soleils a été enregistré en 1998, alors que le film Mann date de 1999.

Je semble donc avoir répondu à  ma question. Comme quoi, s’adresser à  son lectorat semble bien la meilleur manière de résoudre ses problèmes! Un doute subsiste, cependant: et si la musique 1,2,3 Soleils et Kali Nagin Ke Jaisi provenait d’une source traditionnelle? (On peut toujours rêver…)

Si vous savez quoi que ce soit concernant cette histoire, ou bien qui a écrit 1,2,3 Soleils… les commentaires sont à  vous!

Preparing for Departure [en]

Leaving in a week to spend a month in India.

In a week from now I’ll be on my plane to India. A bit apprehensive, as I was last time.

As always with unpredictable India, I have no idea how much I’ll be posting from there, and how often I’ll get to check my e-mail. It might be pretty often. It might be every couple of days. It might be once a week.

I’ll be staying over there for four weeks (Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, in particular), and finally meeting Anita, who courageously volunteered to come and pick me up at the airport.

Virus Disguised as XP Update? Or not? [en]

I got an e-mail about an XP update, apparently from Microsoft. I’m wondering if it is for real (I don’t run XP) or if it is a virus in disguise.

Here is an e-mail I got this morning from [email protected]:

Window Update has determined that you are running a beta version of Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1). To help improve the stability of your computer, Microsoft recommends that you remove the beta version of Windows XP SP1 and re-install Windows XP SP1. If you cannot remove the beta version, you should still reinstall Windows XP SP1.

Windows XP SP1 provides the latest security, reliability, and performance updates to the Windows XP family of operating systems. Windows XP SP1 is designed to ensure Windows XP platform compatibility with newly released software and hardware, and includes updates to resolve issues discovered by customers or by Microsoft’s internal testing team.

The maximum download size is approximately 3 MB, however the size of the download and time required may be less for computers that have had updates previously installed.

To minimize the download time needed for installation, setup will only download those files which are required to bring your computer up to date. Windows XP SP1 includes Internet Explorer 6 SP1. Anti-virus software programs may interfere with the installation of Windows XP SP1. Please disable anti-virus software while installing the service pack.

Just run the file winxp_sp1.exe in attach and make sure to restart your PC after installation will be completed.

’©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement

I don’t run Windows XP.

Being suspicious in nature (yes, about certain things), I can’t help but think that this is a pretty cleverly disguised virus. I might be wrong, though. Does Microsoft send out this kind of e-mail?

If you have similar experiences to share or an opinion on the subject, I’d love to hear from you.