Let the Learning Begin!

It has been 5 days since I arrived in my new, South-Asian home. Classes for me start on Monday, but my education definitely began from the moment I stepped off of the plane and into Mumbai's crowded streets.

Things in India are very different from anything I am accustomed to. Having visited the African countries of Madagascar and Mauritius Island, I had some idea of the potential for cultural shock upon my arrival. Amazingly, a lot of my assumptions about what it would be like in India have been correct so far. But that does not make their reality any less shocking!

The traffic is an unreal free-for-all, with horns constantly blaring, motorcyclists cramming their way into tiny pockets of space between cars, and pedestrians tempting fate at every corner by stepping out in front of buses and leisurely walking across the street. The scenes on Mumbai roads are so intense, so overwhelming that I could not possibly begin to explain everything that is simultaneously contributing to this seemingly chaotic, yet somehow organized dance between the city's inhabitants. This is definitely something I will have to get used to!

Another thing that I came prepared for, but did not fully appreciate until I experienced it is that everything in India takes time. An example of this is that the second day I was here, the staff from the school's international student office took another student and me to the Mumbai Police Station to register as foreign nationals. The office is in south Mumbai, so this took quite a while. In addition to taking a rickshaw to the train station, the four of us had to jump on a moving train and push our way onto the crowded car, only to stand smashed between other passengers for nearly an hour. After that, we took a taxi to the station and walked up to the Foreign Registration Office. After standing in line for a few minutes, I presented my documents to the woman at the counter, and was promptly informed that my paperwork was incomplete! It seems they had recently changed the requirements for foreign registration..... So, after two hours of traveling, we had nothing to show for our efforts! Admittedly, I was a little frustrated at this. But the journey did give me a chance to see South Mumbai, which is the more "touristy" section of the city, so that was nice. At any rate, yesterday, we made the long and arduous journey back to the station. I had stayed with some friends in North Mumbai the night before, so I left for the South at around 7:30am to arrive at the Station around 10:00am. The others in my group were supposed to meet me there, but were running "a little late" and didn't come until around 11:30. From there we went through the registration process, and arrived back at school by 2:30 in the afternoon. Needless to say, I was more than ready for a nap that afternoon! At least I am finally registered, and won't have to deal with any of that again....until next year....

I want to apologize for my lack of pictures in this post. I realized a few days ago, that despite my incredibly meticulous planning and list-making, I neglected to pack my USB cord for my camera. I should be able to get a replacement fairly soon, but until I do, you are forced to suffer through a few pictureless posts. I'll make up for it later, though. I promise!

I also promise that my future posts won't be as long and detailed. So much is happening here that it is difficult to pare my stories down to a few sentences. Suffice it to say that I am sure I will never run out of things to tell you all, so you can be sure to expect plenty of frequent updates on my part!