Tuesday, March 13, 2007

w00t

Yay, i just passed my SCWCD exam, so im finished!

Im quite happy i passed, and with a decent grade as well (78%, passing mark is 63), my teacher says i could have gotten way higher marks, but he always keeps bragging on about how easy SCWCD is. Im just glad i passed!

Well, i might do a post tomorrow morning or even tonight, but this should be one of my last posts from shimla

See all you guys in a few days again!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

My day off

Today i decided that even though i have an exam to prepare for for wednesday, i could take some time off. And boy did i need that! Together with some mates from training i went to see the viceregal lodge (all the way across town), which was very nice and interesting, and yes, i did bring my camera, and got some nice pictures along the way.

The highlight of today, and probably my entire stay in india, was lunch. On the way back from the viceregal lodge we stopped at the Cecil hotel (the local 5 star) for lunch, which was probably the most expensive meal ive had in a month, i could have eaten from that for a few days, but it was so worth it. Just sitting there in the lounge with my club sandwich and propper ice tea made me forget all the stress and worries and slight discomforts of the past weeks, it was probably the most luxuious hotel ive ever been in.

So now im back in my hotel (which just doesnt look the same after i spent an afternoon at the cecil), sitting in the hallway to get an internet connection, but im pretty happy.

ah well, back to the books now, ive still got that exam on wednesday!

Friday, March 9, 2007

Starting to count down

The last few days ive noticed myself saying "just one more week and ill be back in holland" increasingly often. To be honest the high pace of going through the material is kind of wearing me down, and the prospect of very little free time (and very little to do in the little time i do have) isnt helping either.

On top of that, my teacher insists on going over every single page of the book, doing every single code example and highlighting every single line, which is really getting on my nerves, im starting to think id be better of just studying on my own (thats what you get with all these education reforms focussing on independent study)

All in all the novelty of being in India is starting to wear off, im getting tired of only eating chicken every day (cow off course, is NOT done, and most indian people really dislike pork as well, and you dont try the fish when you know the nearest ocean is a thousand miles away), and living in a hotel for an extended period of time isnt really all that much fun.

Its probably just the annoyance speaking, but right now im really happy knowing that in just one week (and time can really fly over here) ill be back home in holland

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Keeping busy

Well, what can i say? i have been pretty busy, and will be for the next week and a half. Because we took just a bit longer then expected on SCJP (due partially to the delhi-shimla move) we have to go through the SCWCD material at two chapters a day, which is pretty fast

on top of that, the internet connection at the training center and hotel have been unreliable at best, so it might take a while for me to post next time.

And its nice to read all the comments!

See you guys!

Monday, March 5, 2007

One down, one to go

Well, the first certification is in the pocket, this morning i passed my SCJP exam, with an 81% score (passing grade is 59% and above), and im pretty happy with that. Now i was expecting to have a bit of time for just relaxing, but as it turned out, i kinda miscalculated the time, and as it turns out, ill have my SCWCD exam no later then wednesday next week(im flying back friday next week, plane leaves at 1:30 AM, so ill need to travel to Delhi on thursday), and we have only just started today

So it looks like ill be pretty busy, i just hope i can keep sunday free to do some sighseeing around shimla, as i havent had that chance yet, and except for sunday, i wont anymore. But at least im glad i passed my SCJP, which is supposed to be the most difficult sun exam there is.

Well, im gonna try and get some dinner right now (its 7 pm here), so see you guys!

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Halfway there

Thats right, my stay in India is halfway over, and to be honest im getting quite comfortable here. The hotel in Shimla is great, i havent had any trouble with food yet (some hasnt been that great, but i havent been sick), and yesterday, to offset the absence of BBC television, i purchased a magazine featuring my favorite brit (yes, Jeremy Clarkson, host of Top Gear) along with some chocolate cookies and stuff.

So all in all im getting quite comfortable, the drives along the mountain roads dont disturb me anymore, this morning i actually found myself thinking that the cab driver was going a bit slow, he could have easily driven faster.

Tomorrow the festival of Holi (festival of colors) is celebrated across India, im not entirely sure what the festival is about, but practically it boills down to people throwing paint and dye at each other and drinking lots of booze (and even some weird opium/water mixture i have been told). My teacher said though that it isnt very safe to go out on holi, as some indian people apperently lose control of their violent tendancies and start hitting each other with sticks (odd fellows these indian people you know?) and besides, i have to study tomorrow as well, as i have my SCJP exam on monday morning.

Ill see if i can post tomorrow, the hotel im staying in is experimenting with wireless internet, and even though they havent granted public acces, trying to keep your wireless secure with a hotel full of smart IT people (there are like 12 dutch guys here, and some brits as well, all for training in some computer course) is an excercise in futillity, so i should have internet acces.

See you guys!