Every 4 years the months of June and July become extremely exciting and action-packed as the World Cup kicks off, and I love it. As a soccer fan I get swept away with just about everyone else in all the excitement, drama, tension and celebrations. The start of this tournament has definitely been the biggest highlight of my weekend! Although, because most bars and cafes in Chennai close by 12-1am, I’ve only been able to catch a few games. Which is why I’m making it mission over the next few days to get the sports channels set up on the TV in my room and to map out the best 24×7 spots to go out and watch games on the weekends. I’m really excited for the upcoming games and knock-out stages to begin. This is the first major tournament in a while where there really are no favourites. Some of the best teams on paper have underperformed, while there’ve been a fair share of great performances from underdogs. It’s too close to call at this stage, and that makes it all the more fun. Below is a photo of me watching Germany vs. Portugal in what is clearly the busiest bar in town. How I managed to get a clear shot of the screen I will never know.

Overall I have to say my past week has been rather eventful. Between the World Cup, surfing some more, making a long overdue trip to my favourite Indian bookstore, and watching a live band, I’ve kept myself quite busy and entertained. I think it’s been a good balance of having things to do, yet not being overwhelmed over summer. Work is picking up as I started my main individual deliverable- finding the best location in India for IRCS to open it’s next loan centre. This is quite a tedious task that involves long hours of research, data recording and creative thinking. But it’s satisfying knowing that my work will actually be useful to the company and may actually guide a massive decision.

In the coming weeks I’m looking forward to meeting and interacting with the new, incoming interns, and planning (and possibly going) on a few trips to Pondicherry and maybe Kerala. Will keep you posted!

Oh also, some overdue photos of our temple visits a couple weeks ago- a candid photo of myself helping the lovely temple folks, and a photo of a really nice structure. Almost all the temples in Chennai have these pyramid-like sculptures towering over the doorway- they really are incredible: