So about one week after we arrived, they came and hooked up the internet. A guy came by and left a long telephone line, a telephone and a router/modem was installed. And the internet worked fine... for a while.
Then suddenly one day, it went out. So me (Neal) and our roommate Kyle went out to investigate. By following the line we realized that it had been cut off at the other end where it goes into the wall on the other side of the street. At first we suspected fowl play... Did the neighbors disconnect us so that they could steal our internet?
(A view of our phone line from the other side of the street.)
No we further investigated and agreed that it was the wind. But now we had a choice to make... wait another 4-5 days for the internet guy to come back, or just do it ourselves and be done today. We chose the latter. So we strung out the line and I threw it to Kyle. He then found out that the line was originally connected to a dark corner spot in a catacomb where all the wires connected to the main line.
At first one may assume that we were in great danger. There is a giant power line nearby. The wires all come together at this one spot with a big hub. But actually they all were phone lines, which are only 24 volts (enough power to feel like a small battery on your tongue).
Now this is when things got interesting. Our investigation now came to a point where we had to decide which spot on this crazy mother board was our spot for our internet and phone line. The board was the biggest joke, a bunch of random wires going everywhere. And actually the corner where it was located is the spot where all the local men decide to take a whiz.
(This is the corner space where the main connecting board was, the perfect spot to take a leak.)
So imagine this, we are leaning on this dirty wall, covering our faces, and staring at the biggest knot of a phone line board that you have ever seen. I have to leave ever minute or so because the smell of urine is so strong. Random Indians are walking by us in this dark spot and going to get their bikes from the spot where they parked it in the "dungeon of doom". Yet we stayed focused....
After further investigating we found that our line had probably pulled free from a spot where the copper wires were very short and yet looked very shiny and fresh. So we stripped the wires, re-secured the line and reconnected them.
So you already know the result... We ran up stairs and looked at the modem. SUCCESS! We were so excited. We felt like super geniuses. I jumped up and down. We beat the system. Still connected to the world. This is how you survive in India. Small victories= great success. So we celebrated with ice cream.
(Oh did I mention that it went out again the next day. We found out it wasn't the wind that had cut our line, but big tall giant trucks coming from the car shop next door had clipped our line. So we just hopped up on the wall again and tied the line up higher around another line. Once you experience something new here, you find a way to adjust the next time.)
Then suddenly one day, it went out. So me (Neal) and our roommate Kyle went out to investigate. By following the line we realized that it had been cut off at the other end where it goes into the wall on the other side of the street. At first we suspected fowl play... Did the neighbors disconnect us so that they could steal our internet?
(A view of our phone line from the other side of the street.)
No we further investigated and agreed that it was the wind. But now we had a choice to make... wait another 4-5 days for the internet guy to come back, or just do it ourselves and be done today. We chose the latter. So we strung out the line and I threw it to Kyle. He then found out that the line was originally connected to a dark corner spot in a catacomb where all the wires connected to the main line.
At first one may assume that we were in great danger. There is a giant power line nearby. The wires all come together at this one spot with a big hub. But actually they all were phone lines, which are only 24 volts (enough power to feel like a small battery on your tongue).
Now this is when things got interesting. Our investigation now came to a point where we had to decide which spot on this crazy mother board was our spot for our internet and phone line. The board was the biggest joke, a bunch of random wires going everywhere. And actually the corner where it was located is the spot where all the local men decide to take a whiz.
So imagine this, we are leaning on this dirty wall, covering our faces, and staring at the biggest knot of a phone line board that you have ever seen. I have to leave ever minute or so because the smell of urine is so strong. Random Indians are walking by us in this dark spot and going to get their bikes from the spot where they parked it in the "dungeon of doom". Yet we stayed focused....
After further investigating we found that our line had probably pulled free from a spot where the copper wires were very short and yet looked very shiny and fresh. So we stripped the wires, re-secured the line and reconnected them.
(This confusing web of intricacy is actually where our internet line connected.)
So you already know the result... We ran up stairs and looked at the modem. SUCCESS! We were so excited. We felt like super geniuses. I jumped up and down. We beat the system. Still connected to the world. This is how you survive in India. Small victories= great success. So we celebrated with ice cream.
(Oh did I mention that it went out again the next day. We found out it wasn't the wind that had cut our line, but big tall giant trucks coming from the car shop next door had clipped our line. So we just hopped up on the wall again and tied the line up higher around another line. Once you experience something new here, you find a way to adjust the next time.)
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