24 hours of Mumbai

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Hey everyone! So the first 24 hours of Mumbai has been a success!! There have been some minor blips such as swollen feet and frizzy hair from the heat and humidity, but all in all it's really starting to feel like the start of an adventure! First of all I have to mention that the week before leaving home in Canada was great, I got to see so many people and spend some time with my family. But it was also filled with so much anxiety! I felt nervous, excited, and stressed all at once. Seems like mostly all the preparations went smoothly though, and it was really nice to leave on a high note (though I'll probably miss it more now!).

Then there was the actual travel, with Jet Airways. It seems to be quite a nice company, with lots of food and drinks (free alcohol too, which surprised me, and also contributed to my lack of sleep, as the guy behind me got a bit drunk and rowdy on the first flight, lol…) So that was around a 7 hour flight to Bruxelles, followed by a 2 hour layover, then another 9 hour flight to Mumbai (that had crying babies, a diamond man beside me, and a cute flight attendant which was just a bonus hehe). The whole time I was feeling sick with anticipation and nerves, which sort of surprised me because I've never felt sick from nerves, especially for travel. However, whether because of fatigue or a number of 'I'm a badass' songs, by the time I got there I was fine. I stepped off the plane to a huge wave of humidity and a strong smell of the memory of my grandparents luggage from every time they came back from India.

After a little confusion getting my luggage (there was sign saying baggage from Newark, another connecting flights to Brussels), I stepped outside to a huge mass of waiting people, so I took a walk around and finally found my uncle Nunni waiting, who had a sign with my name on it, as we've never actually met before. His mother (R.I.P.) and my grandfather were first cousins. Shortly after we were joined by Khanna uncle, who is my grandfather's friend from a long time ago, who really just came to make sure I made it alright, which was really nice of him.

So now I'm currently staying with Nunni uncle, his wife, little boy, and father, who are all nice. They have two apartments in a building in Goregaon East, one for living and one for working, so I'm staying alone in their office apartment. It's nice to be able to step away and have my own space for a bit, especially since jet lag has had me waking up and sleeping at wonky hours (I woke up at 4:30am today and started writing this lol). The internet connection isn't great, and they don't have A/C, but I'm really grateful that they're helping me out for the first few days. It'll be nice to have my own place though.

Yesterday Nunni uncle took me down to South Mumbai, because both Vaishali from the OMG Program, and the lady on the phone at the Foreign Registration office said I had to come in and register within 24 hours of arriving. So we drove an hour and a half down there to find out that I actually don't have to register! So that was fucking irritating, especially since my uncle took me all the way down there. So to everyone with a 6 month Indian student visa: YOU DON'T HAVE TO REGISTER AT THE FRO! Just register with the local police station so you can get a rental, phone, internet contract etc. Anyways, it wasn't so bad, because the office is right next to my school, so I got to see it! It was full of people when we went because there was admissions going on, so I couldn't even go in, but it was nice to see anyways. Then we went for a yummy lunch at this art gallery that I'll have to check out sometime. I tried going to the washroom in there though, and it was a squatter!!! Hahahah I don't know what they're actually called, but I saw them in the airport too… They're not real toilets, just sort of holes in the floor that you squat over and… well, go. Weird, I guess I'll have to try sometime hehe. Then on the way home we drove by the Gate of India and the Taj Hotel, which got me really pumped to see landmarks that I recognized! I'M REALLY HERE!!!! You know, it already feels like I've been here forever, almost like slipping into an old sweater, as some might say… hopefully this feelings lasts.

I noticed that there's quite a difference from South Mumbai to the North, well from what I've seen here in Goregaon East anyways. South Mumbai seems really clean and modern, while up here I've already seen a ton of street kids, stray dogs, and garbage heaps. I'm not judging of course, just noticing. I guess that class differences are reflected in space too here in India. On they way back I was half asleep, but it started POURING. The monsoon is almost here, so I have to mentally and physically prepare myself for that, but I don't really know what to expect so it might take some adjusting to. The rain that started could be described as 'raining buckets,' the drops were huge and the people walking around were soaked, but seemed happy about it (maybe people wouldn't be so happy to be soaked in South Mumbai? I don't know). We pulled up to the building where Nunni uncle lives, and there was a group of young boys, including his son Avi, laughing and playing in the rain and kicking up the puddles of water that had already formed, it was like a scene out of a Bollywood movie! My aunt Lovleen says that 80% of Mumbai's economy relies on the monsoons, so therefore I have come to the conclusion that the monsoon is like making love: a hot, fun buildup, followed by a huge release, resulting in fertilization. Hahaha sorry for the crude humour.



Anywayysss now the goal is to find somewhere to live! WISH ME LUCK!

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Photos

Mumbai
View from an apartment in Goregaon East, Mumbai.