Introduction to Hyderabad journal

Well, been here just over the 3 month period and decided to start up a journal as the experience of living here in India is just too amazing not to record.
So, how to begin:
The highs & The Lows
The Highs have been so many, I wake up every day with the sun shining in my room; there is a feast for my eyes every day as I travel to and from work; the weekends are wonderful; my landlady's cooking; the opportunity to live here and explore my life journey...............in fact there are so many to list.
The Lows are; the condition of the street dogs - i have shed many tears; the auto rickshaw drivers that think I'm an ATM!!!; the HUGE mother of rats; the beggars; the pollution............not too many really.
The city of Hyderabad:
I really love this city, I've fallen in love with it. To begin with what has struck me was/is the beauty of the natural surroundings of the boulders and the sagars (lakes); they are AWESOME. Ok the boulders are not as magical as in Hampi but they are still stunning; it's such a shame that contractors/builders are hacking them up to build on the land - these boulders are ancient - pre-historic..........There are lots of lakes scattered around the city, very pretty to look at: full of sewage and rubbish unfortunately.
I haven't really explored that much yet except for a few places around the city and the usual Jubilee/Banjara Hills area, however what I've seen so far - i truly, truly love.
Golkonda Fort was another awesome place of interest, I need to go back though as I went with my students and had to cut the trip short due to a student of mine feeling ill: plan to go when Dunc visits.
Hussain sagar, which divides the two cities of Hyderabad & it's twin: Secunderabad is beautiful, I thought the buddah in the sagar might have bigger though. My expectations were higher for the buddah, it's still a gorgeous spectacle daytime and at night. Apparently the sagar gets really smelly in the summer...........
Salar Jung Museum was a bit disappointing really and it's on the list of 'things to do' in Hyderabad. Coming from an angle of comparisons with other major art galleries/museums in Europe - the way the art was displayed was a 'sin', they were just balancing on a nail on the wall in a space with very low ceilings. They had a copy of the Mona Lisa there and it was not displayed to it's maximum potential, that's for sure. I even saw a beautiful old mirror being 'painted' with gold paint at the time of the visit!!! my special soul sis Jane is guilder - she would have been having kittens if she saw that!!
Charminar was soooooooooooooooo exciting! I need to go back there! I was in a car and was just driven around and viewed the surroundings through the window: planning to visit with Dunc and probably many more times.
The slums:
For some reason the drive through the slums on my 1st day to work fascinated me and to this day, it is my favorite drive. It's amazing to watch, it's a network of shacks/tent constructions/concrete rooms that are homes for families. Goats are tied up to trees outside the homes, dogs are rummaging for food in the skips, kids are doing their morning 'poos' in the street, men are fixing their auto rickshaws, women are pleating their daughters hair, teenagers are brushing their teeth and combing their hair outside, the hairdresser is waiting for his next customer, just so much going on and for that 5 mins it takes to drive through this particular slum area I am drinking in the sights with my eyes - I don't really want to talk with my passengers that I'm travelling with, I just want to look out and see what's happening in the slum area.
The Shopping Experience
So many yummy shops in Hyderabad, loving 'Fab India' & 'InHabit', there are some really nice kashmir handicraft shops - bit pricey though, the malls are very same/same...........GVK/In Orbit/City Centre - very exciting for the 1st timer but they all get a bit dull after a while. i treat them as useful places to get ur food shopping and any other 'quickies/essentials'. Once I get my scootie, I'll be able to explore until my hearts content as I've seen a few 'one off' shops but haven't stopped at them yet.
The Living Experience
Alright, now where I live is actually 5 mins from work - so in that respect it's perfect but there are 'buts'............
Tolichowki is the name of the area and it's a bit of a dump and very, very busy/crazy. It is a predominantly muslim/local area, which I really don't mind at all, except when I go out on the streets to walk to work or just walk to the shop - it's very unusual for locals to see a western woman walking around - maybe I should cover up? Don't get me wrong I love my room and the building it is in; if only it could be moved to a different area. I love my living arrangements and of course the cost of my room - cheap as chips, my landlords family are the sweetest people. They cook gorgeous healthy south indian food for me, they wash my clothes, they care generally for me as one of their family - I feel very attached to them now and respect their religion/culture and of course their peace. I just wish it was in another area, I've been checking out other areas around town and I really like 'film nagar' area; there are lots of greenery, things to do and also it's very near work but feels very, very different from Tolichowki. I might make some investigations over the monsoon period (as I move out of here in Mid November).
Work
I am so blessed to work in this job, I love it. I am so proud of my students, my heart swells when I think of the work they have done in the last term since I've joined the campus. They have came on 'leaps and bounds' with their work; I am constantly nagging them to 'do this and do that' and they are such good girls - they never give me any cheek, they take every negative vibe I give them as a positive jibe. The preparation is tough, I work very hard to prepare class work for them - it's paying off though. They will be fantastic Interior Designers by the time they complete their 3 year degree. (I hope I'm still here to see their graduation as my contract is 2 years). I'm still on my probation period, another 3 months of probation and then I'll know if I;m being kept on as a full time employee...........fingers crossed.
Traffic
The traffic in Hyderabad is MENTAL! Apparently it's worse in Mumbai, now I've been to Mumbai and I don't remember it as crazy as it is in Hyderabad. There are no rules it seems, traffic comes from all directions and they drive bumper to bumper honking their horn constantly. I am so surprised that there are not more accidents on the roads that what I've seen since coming here. If there is a wee space or gap; u can bet that someone with their bike/car/auto/bus or truck are trying to edge into it! The pollution is harsh here too, at 1st I kept a scarf over my face as the air is heavy with fumes, now I don't which is worrying as I don't seem to notice it now.........should really cover up again?

Ok, so this is the end of this wee blog...........this was a bit of a 'catch-up' blog, now for some gripping thoughts in the next blogs............ciao for now