October 2007Hi everyone...Hi to Ratchel, Adriana, Amy and to my readers...
This is Satya, from India. I feel very happy to be the student blogger for this month.
First of all, I thank the BBC team for giving me this wonderful oppertunity. I haven't expected this.
Before going to the introduction part, I have to tell you all about my language. I have started learning English just 4 years ago. So, I'm not an expert in the language. I commit mistakes very often. Please take pains to correct my language. I always welcome them.
Well...Adriana and Amy....we really miss you. Amy...I enjoyed reading your posts. You are just a few hundreds of kilometres from here. I think of meeting you someday.
Adriana.... your last post is heart touching. I'm looking forward to see you on the comments page.
And now, my introduction. My name is Satyanarayana Reddy Padala. But I love people calling me Satya. Satya means The Truth. I'm doing my engineering in GITAM University in Visakhapatnam. The city is also called as Vizag. It is situated in Andhra Pradesh State.
Tomorrow, I am going to Chennai which is 800 km away. I will be spending this whole week there. A technical symposium is being conducted in IIT. I'm going to participate in the Robotics event. So, a little busy these days. I hope that I could get internet facility there so that I can blog from there. The tragic part of the story is that my robot is not yet finished. Let us watch the show. posted on Monday, 01 October 2007 | comment on this postThe power of GANDHIGIRIInternet Centre near to my room
October 2*
9.03 IST
Hello Rachel and everyone.
It's raining heavily outside. I Just had a cup of hot tea and rushed to the net centre to blog. I have a very little time today as I have to go to Chennai this afternoon. The fabrication of my robot is not yet completed. Even then, we are starting for Chennai.
Today is the birthday of the Father of My Nation, Gandhi. I'm not going to give you an introduction about him. Instead, I'm going to narrate you an incident which shows the impact of Non violence ( we call it Gandhigiri) in our country.
The other day, I was waiting for the bus pass at the bus station. It was my third day of waiting*. Like me, there were many students waiting for the bus pass . But that day, a group of students came there with a lot of flowers in their hand. I have been watching them for the last three days. They have been coming in the morning, waiting for the bus pass and going home with empty hands. But today they all looked calm. Everybody* was watching them curiously. They had* entered into the Manager's Chamber and placed all the flowers on his table. They have given him a greeting card. On it was written
As you have been suffering from a disease called corruption, we pray to God to make you healthy. Get well soon
And the next day, they all got the passes......
This is just a small incident to show us all the power of Non violence and Peace.
Rachel... sorry for I could* not allot much time to your homework.
I will do the vocabulary part some other day. Now, I'll try to answer the questions you've asked me.
1.What all I know is that we should use singular numbers when we talk about age. I don't know the reason behind this.
2.I think I should have written that sentence as I'm looking forward to seeing you on the comments page.
3. How can I correct the sentence I have started learning English just 4 years ago? I guess it should be I started learning English 4 years ago
Well... replies to reader's comments :
@ Ana from Poland : Ana... many would think that Satya is a female name. Even Amy too thought like that. Anyways...I really like the name. I really feel that my name suits my character ....lol
@Naheed from Pakistan : Hi brother... Thanks for your warm welcome. You will definetely be reading more about India...This time, something about the villages in India and how a person coming from the village leading a sub urban life...so on... Looking forward to seeing you here.
@Antonio from Belgium : Thanks Antonio for your advice. Keep writing comments....
Well...that's it for today...
Hope to see you tomorrow...I'm not sure whether I can write any posts this week. I hope I can get the internet facility in IIT Chennai.
Lots of kisses to Owen...
signing off
Satya...
_______________________________
* Is it October 2 or 2nd october or october 2nd ?
* Is everything okay with the sentence "It's my third of waiting"???
* What's the difference between everybody and everyone?? Any rules??
* I guess I really had problems using perfect tenses ( present, past)... can I use 'had' there???
* Where should I use "could" and "can"?? What's the difference between these two sentences
I could not get that
I cannot get that
Sorry for asking these many questions....
posted on Monday, 01 October 2007 | comment on this postDay 1 in Shaastra 2007Internet centre somewhere in Chennai
October 3
Hi to everyone. Finally I arrived here. Today, I would discuss about my journey from Vizag to Chennai.
We, a group of 3 students, designed the robot ( actually...I should not call it a robot. It should be called as a manually operated Gantry Crane...okay that's a different issue). We started yesterday at 12 O' clock. But the train started at 3 O'clock. I slept all through the journey because I did not have sleep the other night ( In fact, there were no girls in my compartment. That too made me feel sleepy). When I woke up in the morning, we were in Chennai Central railway station. We waited for more than an hour at the railway station. Finally, at 6.30 , the IITians came to receive us. There was some problem regarding the accomadation reservation but got solved within a few minutes. We got the accomadation at the Mahanadi Hostel inside the IIT campus. There is no event today. So, we have ample time to complete our robot.
I asked people about the chances of getting access to net. They said that it would not be provided to outsiders, but would be available outside the campus. So, I walked for nearly half an hour to get to this net centre. I'm not sure that I will blog tomorrow. Because, tomorrow, there are many events in robotics. I thought of uploading the photos of our project. But, no time today. I try to do it tomorrow or day after tomorrow.
Well...some replies to reader's comments:
@Paulraj from India: Vanakkam( hello ) Paulraj. Your city is nice. I think of visiting the city today. I'll discuss about that tomorrow.
@Nikolus from Bangladesh: Hi...Nikolus... Welcome to this wonderful site. You'll learn a lot here.
@Marianna from Slovakia: Thanks Marianna... I hope for a good performance here. Your comment is energetic and jocular too....
@Ana Paula from Brazil: As today, there are no events, I could not write about them. The Robotics events start from tomorrow. I will wrtie about them and even thinking of uploading the pictures too..
@Adek from Poland: Adek...nice to see you here. After all, we are human beings. We should love other human beings too.. So, I ask you all to follow GANDHIGIRI.
@Jarek from Poland: Thanks for the comment. English is an interesting language. Here, you commit as many mistakes as you can so that others will correct you. Don't feel shy to speak and write English....
Well...that's it for today...
Rachel...why can't you upload the picture of Owen?
signing off....
Satya...
Life is creative
posted on Wednesday, 03 October 2007 | comment on this postJust a small wire!!! The same internet centre somewhere in Chennai
3.50 pm
Hi Rachel and everyone...
Finally, my Robot is a big failure here. And the reason is just a small wire. A small wire from the supply got burned during our trial. And that made the difference.
Still, we are happy for arriving here. Because, we learned a lot here. After all, failures are the stepping stones of success.
Well, from tomorrow, I will be free. Just attending a few seminars and participating in on-the spot events and visiting this city in the evenings...I'm not going to reply to the comments today as I've very limited time in the net centre ( actually, net access is costlier in Chennai. They charge you 20 bucks for just one hour).
Rachel, I've just read your posts. I liked the way you celebrated Chris' birthday(or should I say unbirthday?). These are the small things which make the life beautiful...aren't they??
Oh...I'm running short of time. I'll see you all tomorrow.
May be...tomorrow, I will be writing my experiences with my robot and how we met a man in Ritchie Street...and so on...
Naheed...I read your posts but I've not seen your picture there. It's nice to see you people writing comments for my posts...
That's it for today...
signing off...
Satya...
Life is creative... posted on Friday, 05 October 2007 | comment on this postJust woke up...The same internet centre near IIT
October 6
6.12 pm
Hi to Rachel and everyone...
After sleeping for more than 10 hours, I woke* up now. I have decided to spend this day sleeping in my room. My friends had* gone to watch another Robotics event. So, I stayed all the day alone in my room. Sometimes, when I stay alone, my thought process gets accelerated. I become more* philosphical.
In this post, I'm going to discuss about myself a little bit....
I was born in a small village called Balabhadrapuram somewhere in Andhra Pradesh state. I did my entire schooling there. I'll write about my childhood experiences ( playing in the farms, bathing in rivers, how we stole examination papers before the exam, etc.). I sat for Engineering entrance exam after completing my intermediate and somehow got a seat in GITAM. This is my third year of engineering. One more year to go and I'll be an Engineer.
But still, Engineering is not my passion.
I love interacting with people...I love writing....I love reading... and one day, I wish I would be a writer*...
After completing my engineering, I want to do Post Graduation in Management. So, I'm preparing for CAT exam. Good grip over English language is essential to get good percentile.
Well...Rachel...answer to your question...
Normally, present tense is used to make a narration more dramatic or vivid. Am I correct???
Replies to a few comments:
@Paul Raj from India : Hi...I have not yet visited Chennai. I'm busy here in the workshop. I'm leaving on monday morning. I wish I could get some time to visit this place...
@Naheed from Pakistan:I watched your photo...Naheed. The other day, I had some problems using my browser. So, it could not load your picture... You look good....
@Chaitanya from India: Thanks Chaitanya....keep visiting this site....
I'm running short of time now...
That's it for today...
signing off...
Satya...
Life is creative...
___________________________________________
* Tell me whether I'm correct in using those words in that context....
I thought of asking some specific questions but could not get time to do it...
posted on Saturday, 06 October 2007 | comment on this postBack in Vizag...Hey...Rachel and everyone...
I've just came to Vizag. Many interesting things happened at IIT. After writing my last post, I went back to the campus to watch other events. I was watching curiously when one of my friends came and told me that one of the co-ordinators had scolded our friend. We immediately rushed to the spot to check it out. Within a couple of minutes, students from our state gathered and stopped the event. I was just watching it as I hate such kind of moves. The event got suspended for three hours. People say that the IITians had* showed some partiality towards the students from IIT. Okay, as this is a sensitive matter, I'm not going deep into it.
We have spent the remaining days watching all the robotics events. As the events continued till midnight, we had no time to visit the city. On my way to Vizag, I spent one day at my village. It is really a refreshing one. There is no internet connection in my village. So, I could not blog from there.
So, many of you are waiting for my post on "stealing examination papers", aren't you? I would do it next week because I will be busy all this week as we have lab internal examinations ( i'm very poor at labs).
Some of the readers have asked a question:
If I wished to be a writer (Rachel... is it correct to use 'wish' like this?), why did I chose engineering??*
Well... in India, writing is not a profession ( atleast at the starting level). In India, it's the Engineering that fetches the job easily. At the extreme condition, Engineering would help me become a sci-fi writer.
Rachel...answers to your questions..
1.I wish I had not eaten so much for lunch....
2.Owen, I wish you would stop ....
3. I wish I had a fast inter.....
4. I wish I could be the blogger...
Naheed...I speak Telugu...originated from Sanskrit... I would write about the food items sometime later....
Navata...thanx for visiting this site....are you a student???
Sorry for being selective to the comments...I would reply to all the comments this weekend...
till then... keep visiting ...
Bye for now...
Adriana...A kiss to you from India..
Satya...
Life is creative...
____________________________
* Rachel...I still find problems using the tenses... could you teach me about the tenses...and how to use them...
*Please reframe the last sentence to make it better.... posted on Tuesday, 09 October 2007 | comment on this postGood Bye...Hi Rachel and everyone...
Finally, it's the time to say good bye...
I still had many stories to share with you...but no time... Any ways, it's been wonderful talking with you all all through this month...
Rachel... you have been a nice teacher... Thanks for your suggestions... I would definetely follow them to improve my English.
All the readers... you have been very friendly... Thanks for your wonderful feedback...
I have been suffering from fever. So, I could not write more now. I really feel sad to end this month's blogging with only a few lines....
I wish Dima would give me another chance to blog for some other month....
Satya....
Life is creative... posted on Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | comment on this postThe man with decency and decorum The E-learning Resource Centre in the campus
October 10
Hi Rachel and everyone...
Today, I'm going to write about a Professor in my first year...
Well...writing about him is really a tough task to take up.
It was our first day in GITAM. We were in class having a formal introduction with each other when he entered the class. He was tall and thin having a bald head. The damage to his hair seem to be unnatural. He stood on the dias adjusting his spectacles. Looking up ( probably focussing on some point on the ceiling!), he started uttering a few words.We didnot understand even a single word. At first, I thought he was speaking in some Latin or French language. I'd quickly gone through the syllabus brochure to look whether we have any such Foreign Language Programmes and I could not find any such things.Suddenly, I heard two words from him...Decency and Decorum. From those two words, I thought he was an English Professor. But how can one become an English professor with that accent?For the next one hour, he was giving a lecture on something which was beyond our imagination..we tried to guess the topic on which he was speaking...and they proved to be wrong the other day.The next day, the ma'm who come for Engineering Graphics told us who he was....
Surprisingly, he is the Head of the Department of Chemistry.
The next week in our Chemistry lab, he asked all of us to do water to water titration. At the end of the day, we ended up having hand pains...
And do you know how we commute from our rooms to the college...
Have a look at this picture...
okay...that's all for today...
Satya...
Life is creative... posted on Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | comment on this postOperation Pendulum...Hi Rachel and everyone...
What do you think of the title?? Firstly, let me tell you how I came up with this title...
The other day, I was reading a novel called Five Point Someone. This "Operation Pendulum" is the title for one of the chapters in that book. That chapter describes about three students from IIT who attempt to steal the examination papers. So, I thought that this title would be apt for this post.
We were standing beside the Computer Lab. We got a confirmation from Gopal that noone was coming. He had been there for nearly 10 minutes to check out whether any teacher was coming near to us or not. In fact, it was 6 O' clock in the evening. So, we were sure that no teacher would come there. Murali climbed on to the window and opened the window glass. We could see the box containing the question papers. It was kept on the top of a shelf. He tried to pick up the question papers but his hand was too short. So, we asked Gopal to do that. He carefully picked one question paper from the box and got down. We immediately got that photocopied. We were dancing on the roads when Mohan stopped us and told
" The papers in the box are of a limited number. Even if one copy is missing from the box, the teachers will definetely get a doubt. So, we have to place the copy in that box."
We looked at one another. It was already 7 O'clock and the night watchman would have started his rounds. Murali started crying. We were silent for another 10 minutes. Suddenly, Gopal said,
"Let's do it. We'll place the paper in the box."
Somehow, we got the confidence. In the next minute, we were at the gate. I walked straight into the school and looked for the watchman. He was sleeping at a corner. I picked a stone from the ground and dropped. The stone dropped making a big noise. And, the watchman got up and cried, " Who the hell is that?"
I approached him with a gentle smile and said, " Hey..I forgot one of my notebooks in the class room. Can you please come with me?"
He accepted and accompanied me to the class room. Immediately, my friends, who were watching the entire scene somewhere in the bushes, ran to other side of the building where the Computer Lab was located.
I searched the class room for more than 15 minutes but could not find my book ( actually, it was safe in my house!!!). I said to the watchman that I had misplaced my book somewhere and came out.
At the junction of the road, my friends were standing. I asked them whether they have placed it safely or not.
They all screamed...
" We placed it ra...."
* * *
And do you know what we had done the next day??? We prepared slips( small papers on which the answers are written for an exam) and copied from them. How busy we are????
Satya....
Life is creative...
_______________________________
* Rachel...I've been looking for some better way of wishing "hi".
I tried to post pictures of my trip to Chennai. But this blog is not accepting pictures more than 200 KB. I'm looking for some alternative...
posted on Friday, 12 October 2007 | comment on this postReplies...Hi Rachel and everyone....
I'm free today...So, I thought of replying to the comments of the readers.
Before that, Rachel...I wrote the Operation Pendulum article following your suggestions... At first, I wrote without even thinking about grammar and then checked it for any grammatical mistakes. Sadly, I could not find any such errors ( I'm sure that there will be errors). And Rachel...you made my mouth watering. There is a reason for not writing articles about the food items in India. I'm living in a small room along with a friend in Vizag. I totally depend on Hotels for food. To be frank, outside food is really a horrible one. So, whenever I go to my village, I eat a lot.
Well...let me start the replies...
@Naheed from Pakistan: So sweet of you Naheed. Whenever I post an entry, you'll be the first person to comment. People like you make me post the entries daily. I read all the posts you've written. So...what are you doing now? Looking forward to seeing you here...
@Chandra from India, Gujarat - Dahod: Chandra...thanks for the suggestion. This is not a bad thing about our country. It is a problem everywhere. Anyways, I try to follow your suggestions...
@Ana Paula from Brazil: Actually, I missed a point there. The titration we did is water to water. How can we look for a colour change when water reacts with water?? I would tell you another story about the same Professor.
One girl was so curious to find out what actually happens when gold is dipped into the mercury. She took out her gold chain and dipped into the mercury and immediately, the colour of the gold chain turned into some colour ( I can't remember the colour). She then asked the Professor for a solution to the problem. He scolded her like anything and lectured for nearly an hour about what happens when Gold reacts with mercury and then dipped into some other solution and got her gold chain back shining...
@paulraj from India: I'm not a good photographer, Paul. I got that picture from a friend of mine. I have taken many pictures during the event. I tried to post them but their size is large. I'm looking for an alternative to make their size small... My village is 150km from here. It is between Vizag and Vijayawada. No pretty gals in the train....sad to say this...
@Seacloud from Vietnam: Thanks for the comment. Keep visiting....
@Virginia from Hong Kong: Hi..Virginia...I, at last, posted the long awaited special issue. Hope that will entertain you. There is a special entrance at the front through which girls will enter the bus... keep commenting....
@LUU HUYEN TRANG from VIET NAM: I guess there is no membership for this blog. Anyone can come here and write comments. For writing posts, you should participate in the blog competition...
@Susan from HoChiMinh City-Vietnam: Susan, actually, it is a global problem. How can I pronounce the name of your city???
@Tanya from Moscow, Russia: Thank you very much Tanya for your blessings and adding a tag line to my name. Satya, The superman.... how is it???
@Yvonne from Germany, NRW, Ahaus: Yvonne... I guess many of you have misunderstood my sentence. Actually, if my engineering does not fetch me a job, atleast it would help me to become a sci-fi writer. This is what I mean. I don't want to be a writer of specific type.
@Myen from Vietnam: Thanks Myen. Keep reading...
@Ndeterewio Nahumu from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Hanging from a bus is a routine thing here.
@Rocio from México: Thanks for the comment...keep writing more and more...
@Maria from Russia: You are really lucky... I can't imagine people having a good time in buses, that too in peak hours...
@hello_loc from Vietnam: Thanks for mentioning my stories as funny. You can look at life as a funny thing. Even the sad part of your life can be looked as funny. After all, laughing keeps you healthy...
@feroz jalal from berkeley ca usa: Welcome Feroz...from Afghanistan...How is the life now in Afghanistan?? Looking forward to seeing you here often...
I would reply to the remaining comments whenever possible...
Bye for now...
Satya...
Life is Creative...
posted on Friday, 12 October 2007 | comment on this postHappy Days...Hi Rachel and everyone...
I have the day off. After sleeping for more than 12 hours, I got up in the noon and gone for a movie with my friends. The title of the movie is "Happy Days". It has a feel in it. It was about 7 engineering students and their experiences, love ( Hey...may be in my next posts, I would write about my first love!!!) and emotions. I really enjoyed a lot.
Tomorrow is Sunday. But I don't think I'll get time to blog. I have to write record for Thermal Engineering Lab and prepare for viva. Luckily, FM lab internal is cool. I even answered the viva.
After a long time, I checked out my personal blog. I read my old posts. It was like reading a diary.
Anyways..I'm getting sleep now.
Bye...
Satya...
Life is creative and a bit sleepy today... posted on Saturday, 13 October 2007 | comment on this postholidays...G'day Rachel and everyone...
I won't be able to blog for the next 4 days as I'm going to my village to spend my holidays there. We are given holidays on account of Dussera. It is a 9 day festival. It is celebrated all over India. I'll write more about the festival when I come back, this time, with some pictures too.
Rachel... Though the Robot looks complicated, it is based on a simple "nut and bolt" mechanism. It took nearly one and a half month for us to complete it.
Well... I've checked the errors you pointed out...
1. I asked them whether they had placed it correctly or not.
2. And do you know what we did the next day ( you should give me some explanation about it!!!)
Many readers guessed that I was desperate for the marks when I stole the exam papers. Actually, we did it only for the sake of fun. I can't remember the reason for it. And for your information, I was the topper in the class when we did it. I stole the exam papers when I was in class 10. In the final exams, where the paper comes from the state capital, I stood first in my mandal ( it is a group of 5 to 10 villages).
Something about my first love...
I'm not writing about it now but a small disclaimer....
Mine is not a happy ending story. The fact is that I have never talked with her. This story has happened when I was studying Intermediate or Class 12. I will write the full story when I come back from my village.
That's all for today,
Satya...
Life is creative... posted on Tuesday, 16 October 2007 | comment on this postOnly for your eyes...Hi Rachel and everyone...
I've just arrived after enjoying a lot in my village. Today, I have trucks and trucks of things to share with you. But, I have very little time to blog as my semester examinations are fast approaching. First of all, I'll share my love story with you...
Finally, it was in her hand. Her eyes were moving along the words. She did not know that it was written only for her eyes. I wasted nearly a hundred page note book to write that small piece of letter. I wasted nearly two hours of my valuable life to write that small piece of letter. And finally, it was in her hand. I did not know how I got the courage to do that. Slowly, I remembered our first meeting...
***************************
It was my first day to the college ( intermediate studies). I was waiting at the bus stop. It was raining heavily and I was already late to the class. More over, I had to report in the hostel too. I was looking for the bus desperately and suddenly I felt the presence of an Angel beside me. I immediately turned to my right. She was beautiful. I looked at her eyes. They were charming. I was looking at her eyes when the bus came and she got into it. I was still looking at her...
I saw her the next day, that too, in my class.
"How lucky I'm" , I thought.
And from that day, I had been watching her. Days, weeks and months passed by. Still, I was just watching her...
But one day, I decided to propose her....
*********************************
She was still reading it. After a few minutes, she gave back the letter to me and told, " Sorry... I'm already in love with ....."
I was trembled... shocked...depressed....felt inferior to everyone...lost hopes on my life and finally... decided to end my life...
**********************************
I was on the terrace of my hostel. One inch front, and I would be no more. I became philosophical. I started thinking about my parents, my ambitions and ....the chicken pizza. It was in my room. I can't resist my temptation and so I went into my room and ate the pizza.
" And now, it's time to die", I thought.
I was going to the terrace when I suddenly saw her. She was beautiful...I haven't seen her till then. She was sitting in the visitors' room. Her eyes were charming...I think I fell in love with her....
***********************************
And, please don't ask about her. After that incident, somehow, I became a Universal lover... loving human kind.... After all, life is very small...
Satya...
Life is creative... posted on Tuesday, 23 October 2007 | comment on this postWant some photos...Dear friends and Rachel...
During my holidays, I went for a boat ride in the river Godavari. I took some cool videos using a mobile phone camera and got that videos stored in a DVD. And now, when I started uploading in Youtube, an error message occured asking to change the format of the video. I'm looking for an alternative...
Happy birthday Rachel...Why did you keep it as a secret??
I have just started reading your articles about gerunds and infinitives. I think it takes a couple of days to read all the articles as they are a bit tricky. Actually, I had nothing to post here today. I have been suffering from fever, head ache, cold and cough. I afraid I have only a few days left in this month for blogging here. And I cannot blog on 28,29 and 30 th October as I have mid term examinations.
Let me do the home work ....
• Rachel went on talking about gerunds and infinitives for 3 weeks!
It means Rachel continued talking about the same thing.
• After doing gerunds and infinitives, Rachel went on to talk about vocabulary.
It means Rachel started talking about a new subject.
We can generalise them in the same manner.
That's all for today...
Signing off
Satya
Life is creative...
posted on Wednesday, 24 October 2007 | comment on this postNew Student BloggerThank you Satya - and welcome Leila!
From tomorrow we have a new Student blogger: it's Leila from Finland. Hope you'll come back to read Leila's first blog.
BBC Learning English team posted on Wednesday, 31 October 2007 | comment on this post | October 2007
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