Hooray for Hyderabad!

Hello Everybody, may I (Ethan Stranger) be the 1st to say that after a long Winter Break:

So you’re probably wondering on my status (so far) while surviving this ongoing pandemic, well let me tell you…I’m outta of the States & have (once again) stepped into a new world (and by new world, I’ve literally landed in the heart of India itself, Hyderabad). Since last summer, I’ve been living here (alongside my Family  &  dog, Chewie), when I first arrived, I only had a month to settle in (for I spent all of July in Juneau, read my World’s Greatest Grandpa post for more info), so I have to admit it was quite a wild time for me. 

When I returned to Hyderabad, I had quite high expectations and was hoping to either find work (paying or volunteering) or something to do with my spare time - I wanted to start getting prepared for the challenges of life that I have to face growing up. As I refused to study online (because it’s just stressful and, to be honest, really hard for me to do because of some learning challenges that I’ve got). After a while, I finally managed to find this animation academy (Pixelloid) where I could study something that I’m passionate about (in person and in English!): Animation and character design. 

Check out these simple projects I did: Pictures: Above & Center Below)

While I had high hopes that my time over there would be better than the time I studied at this animation academy in Kathmandu, Nepal - which wasn’t a good experience at all. Over time, I began struggling to keep up with the courses (due to the fact that they were given in Hindi with some light explanations in English & also, regrettably, not making a single new friend), thus I decided to withdraw because it wasn’t working out for me. 

Looking back, I feel that I learned that studying overseas isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do in this crazy game of life. Also, that I shouldn’t be afraid to speak up, in a positive way, when something isn’t working our for me, no need to drag things along. Right now I’m trying to find me something to do (more work-related, but as you might be imagining, the Pandemic ain’t making it easy). I’m not going to give up though (for I know that there are opportunities for me in India, I just need to keep looking).

Besides all of that, I have taken this time in exploring more my surroundings (at first around the area that I’m staying in) before eventually exploring more of the outside (especially with friends from my Dads work), one perfect example is when (back in October of 2020), I was invited by two friends of my dad’s to go to “Ramoji Film City” (which is kinda like the Indian Version of Universal Studios, which I also went to, but that’s another story), overall I had a blast while over there (even though we didn’t have time to go see all the sights, see the pics, Center: Below) What I didn’t like was that these three grown-up Indian men wanted a photo with me and my Dad’s friend - which, I have to admit, made me feel confused and uneasy, is it normal to ask for anyone's picture when you’re out and about? What do you think?

  

Plus check out these “Creature-Feature Pics that I’ve taken” 

To be honest (having lived in Nepal), I wasn’t truly expecting to see “Orange-Skinned Lizards, Snakes, Camels or giant snails/slugs (I was already familiar with seeing Stray Dogs, Rats, Peacocks & Monkeys). Here’s a little taste of what I’ve seen over the last couple of months…

So Judging by the pics & what I’ve been during up (so far) in India, I guess you can say that I’ve been having a good time (despite the pandemic), to be honest, this is actually my 2nd time here in India (my parents & I went to India back in 2015, you can see the pics of me with the Taj Mahal (Pictures: Left & Right), however my current stay in India is an entirely new experience than compared to the one I experience back in 2015 (mainly cause I’m living here for a while)  

And of course…The food was spicy (as it always is here in India cause that’s their cultural way)

I once tried an Indian Cookie (added with tiny flakes of silver foil) which is believed to be  good for your health (something like that) 

Ethan Stranger Signs off!