Mumbai City of Dreams and Life of the Struggling

Mumbai is way different than one can imagine.  The lack of wifi puts everything in a difficult position, being American your phone is your company and a vital part of your lifestyle.  Being in India the comfort of your phone is snatched from you.  Of course soon I will get a sim card for here but until then the emptiness is waiting to be filled.  Life on the other hand here is exactly as expected.  Hot and humid days sometimes overpowered by heavy monsoons that flood the city.  The weather is completely stereotypical and predictable to say the least.  The streets are crowded with as many people as they can fill and then some.  The poverty here is heartbreaking also.  Looking at the beggars and poor children is something that really provokes your mind.  The food is always either too spicy or too sweet, I no longer expect the perfect median.  The family here is extremely welcoming and helpful.  Trying their best to make their home mine and understanding with patience that the change is difficult for me.  Still everyone constantly asks with their stereotypical head nod (you Indians know this head nod i'm talking about) "Which do you like better huh? India or Amereeeca?".  This question replays in my mind over and over again which do i prefer?  Of course the easiest solution to every problem I've encountered here is America but then again I can't help but know that as soon as I leave I'll miss every bit of the smelly, stinky, crowded, loud, obnoxious, humid Mumbai that troubles me.  This I believe is the attraction everyone has to the city, the struggles are expected and great but is the pull greater?  Big enough to keep me here longer?  Or will it break me and send me back to the easy comfort of America where I'll be mended?  Only time will tell.

hours to be gone

Leaving for the airport in one hour, just a few before leaving for India!  Whooo!

Shopping

The shopping you have to do before going to India is about the same amount as the shopping you plan to do in India.  Shopping for family, friends, acquaintances and yourself is difficult, especially when you are busy because you are leaving for India.  Online shopping is the best, quickly get it done anywhere and it'll be delivered soon, and in packaging that's, well, easy to pack!  But then you don't know exactly what your getting and you also have to look at shipping costs!  I have so much to do and so little time I have yet to shop and I have a mere three weeks left to do it!  Honestly, it's a struggle.  Returning anything will not be an option for me!  Today I plan to get some shopping done not only for myself but also some family.  Then...packing is another story.

VINE

I cannot wait to vine my trip in india!  I only wish longer videos were allowed!  But nonetheless vining in india should be amazing.  Short little clips of my trip are going to make it memorable when I come back!  Cant wait!  Here I come Mumbai!

Mumbai Thoughts

I honestly don't know if I can wait anymore.  It's 15 days until finals and then after that 6 days till I get on a plane to India.  How is anyone supposed to concentrate with those deadlines on anything?  So many things to accomplish in the time left.  I have to lose 10 pounds, shop and pack for india, study and ace finals, finish my math review video project, finish my tile painting for school, read and get tested on a stupid book for English and study for all exams! WOW! So much to do in so little time and yet I wish that time would just hurry on up!  15 days till finals and we have yet to start reviewing in any class!  What will I do?

Chai Addict

Are you  a caffeine addict?  Well I cannot say chai is the same but its definitely not a herbal tea.  Chai is a tea that is similar to coffee.  Chai is a specialty in India.  It is said any woman that can make chai is a successful woman.  Indians take pride in their tea but they have every right to do so.  I have had my mothers tea many times, I've made tea myself also, I've tried tea at others houses, and at restaurants but no tea is the chai in India.  The first thing I'd like to enjoy when I reach Mumbai is CHAI.  It's better than coffee, chai latte.  Now imagine a caffeine addict going five years without coffee, impossible right?  Well that's what I've been doing, the impossible.  Now yes I have had tea in the past five years but it wasn't anywhere near real chai.  There's a difference.  Now I'm just wondering, when I do get to India, I'm definitely going to miss Starbucks and McDonald's coffee.  This is where I'll hit a bump in the road.  When I'm in the U.S. I miss real chai but when I'm there I miss coffee and fast-food.  There's no winning but I'll find some median, hopefully soon.

Mumbai Movie Mania

So I've been watching tons of  my old Bollywood favorites lately.  Each making me more Mumbaisick than before.  Missing Mumbai is one of those things I've been doing for around five years now, I finally get to go and it's almost unbelievable.  So far I've been watching a lot of movies like "mere brother ki dulhan", "Namaste London", and "outsourced"; the movies I can relate to when I go to India being an "NRI"(non residential indian).  Sometimes, well most times, I feel the need to just pack everything and move there!  Maybe in the future Mumbai will be my home and thus this blog.  If I do have Mumbai in my future I'd like it documented.  I'd like to remember how I was feeling before, during, and after.  Visiting India is very different than moving there but why not experience it?  Life is full of risks and this is one I'm willing to take.  So for now I'll stick to movies and a two month visit but soon I'll be planning a home there, you never though.  Nothing is set in concrete!  I'd definitely like to go to a movie theatre there though, I'll be putting that on my list of things to do there.