Living in an Internet-Free World

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for me to adjust to while living in Kodaghalli has been the slow Internet connection (or oftentimes, lack thereof). In the US, there is a plethora of ways to connect to a relatively speedy network: your computer, your smart-phone, your local library, etc. While the Internet is important for connecting to a global marketplace and expanding social networks (which is why Ubuntu is trying to establish local wi-fi connections in the villages and teach computer skills), there is also something freeing about not always being connected for once. After my evening classes are over, I have a gap of free time that for once cannot be filled by email or status updates or video-watching marathons. This has allowed me more time to read (a book that has been sitting in my bookshelf for a year now), to write a journal (and actually keep it going for longer than two days) and to socialize with the local women and children (instead of staying in my room and chatting with people half a world away). Rather than trying to keep up with the rest of the world, I get to just enjoy it.