Beginnings in Bombay

Foreword:  For my elementary teacher friends, or friends with elementary age children, you will "get" the introduction!  If you fall outside of their of those categories, find a child and ask them to explain to you what they know about Jack and what they know about Annie, the main characters from Mary Pope Osborne's incredibly popular series, Magic Tree House.

In preparation for our trip to Mumbai, I did what I do best:  I read!  From Frommer's and Lonely Planet India travel guides, to Shantaram and A Fine Balance.  I surfed India Mike and spent hours on the New Teacher Orientation webpage to learn all I could possibly learn about our new home.  Like Jack, I needed to be prepared for what I was about to experience.

On many occasions during the last 5 days, I have feel much like Jack and Annie...swept up and tossed into one of Morgan LeFay's adventure books
     The wind started to blow
     The tree house started to spin
     It spun faster and faster
     Then everything was still
     Absolutely still...

Unlike Jack, however, in this amazing, fast paced land, there is not always time to stop and open up the book again to help me understand what is going on!  Once you arrive, India is "in your face!"  We heard that expression repeatedly during orientation at the recruiting fair, however, here is simply no way to prepare yourself for all that awaits you.   While I am very pleasantly surprised at how well I am adjusting and accepting, there are a few things for which I simply did not have schema!  These are just a few things that were "unknown"  for me.

Traffic:  I had read about this, but Holy Cow!  The streets are jam-packed with buses, vans, taxis, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, people, cows, goats, beggars!  There are no lanes and size definitely matters when it comes to traffic in Mumbai!  They turn right from the left lane, across several other vehicle and the horn never stops honking!  It is simply a friendly way to let others know you are coming!  Rick and Larani experienced their first rickshaw and taxi ride.  I'm still waiting for mine!

Monsoon:  Our first day was a lovely overcast day with no rain.  Since then, it hasn't stopped! My Grandma Derryberry would call it a "gully washer!"   However, it does not slow anyone down!  The streets are just as crowded during a downpour as any other time.  I am thankful for our Teva's and Croc's, as it is not unusual to wade in water calf or knee high!  I do LOVE falling asleep to the pitter patter of the rain on the windows!  Makes for excellent sleeping!

Crows:  Speaking of sleeping, I have learned that I can be lulled to sleep by the caw of a crow!  There are hundreds of black crows in the trees outside of our flat and they caw all the time!  You often see where street vendors will dump their days remains for the crows to eat and there will be a black spot 30 feet deep full of crows!  There are no sea gulls, even though the Arabian Sea is simply 3 blocks away, but the crows make up for them!

Light Switches...

Need I say more?

Outlets:  I am not accustomed to turning on my electrical outlets!  Each 220 outlet also has a switch, which you must turn on, in order to have electricity.  Plugging in the computer to charge without turning on the outlet will result in a dead computer!

 Turning on the Geezer ( and I NOT talking about sexually arousing the old man!):  In order to have hot water, you much flip yet another switch!  This turns on the geezer (new vocabulary for small hot water tank).  Give it 10 minutes or so, and you will have all the hot water you need for your shower, laundry or to wash dishes.  Just have to remember to shut OFF the geezer!  Always easier said than done!

notice the beautiful marble floors!

Humidity:  Don't get me wrong,  I knew it was going to be hot and humid and it is!  There is a wonderful breeze blowing off of the Arabian Sea and even I have needed a light sweater on a few occasions.  However, our flat had 3 dehumidifiers in it, which have been plugged in and running nonstop since we arrived.  What I didn't realize is that you would have to empty your dehumidifier 3x per day during monsoon!  That is a lot of water in the air!

Look Right:  In India, cars drive on the opposite side of the road that we do in the US.  Therefore, when you cross traffic, you must "look right", stick out your hand in front of the approaching van, taxi, rickshaw, bicycle, bus, etc, and step confidently into the street.  Not there yet, but getting some good modeling from the folks who have been here a while!

Jet Lag:  This is my first international travel.  On occasion, we have driven across time zones and many years ago I traveled to Hawaii.  In my mind, I thought I would be exhausted and just need to sleep for a day or two to catch up. But, no, that is not the case!  They say it takes one day for every hour difference between your origin and your destination.  That means 9.5 days for me!  At this point, I am up at 5 (this morning 2:30, which is why my blogs are getting caught up!), take a 30 minute power nap in the afternoon and go to bed between 9 and 10.  That may not sound too unusual, but this girl loves her sleep!  Getting up at 5 a.m. is NOT a part of my routine!  Even Tully and Larani are generally up between 5 and 6!  Tully has fallen asleep with his head on the dinner table on several of our evening outings!

and finally, Visiting Cards:  Look at the picture on the left.  What would you call these?  Business cards?  Yes, in the US.  Here, they are called "visiting cards."  Every store, shop, restaurant, business has them and we are accumulating quite a selection.  The important things about the visiting card is the phone number.  Now, in the US, you might call and order a pizza to have it delivered on a Saturday night.  Here, in Mumbai, if you want a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough at 9:00 at night, you simply ring the closest Baskin Robbins, tell them what you would like, and it will be delivered to your door in a few short minutes!  Whether you need groceries, a drying rack, food or dessert, just ask and it shall be delivered!

Like Jack and Annie, we are finding many treasures here in Beautiful Bombay.  If the first 5 days are any indication, we may just not ever go back to Frog Creek!