Saturday, July 9th (cont'd)
Bollywood
Hari picked Matt and I up from the guest house at 9:30 pm. I sat in the back seat while Hari, driving with one thumb constantly tapping the horn, played a game of chicken with the other drivers. There doesn’t seem to be any traffic cops here. Laws, red lights, lanes or courtesies don’t have a place in the game. The first driver there wins; it’s that simple. The honking is not to say that the other driver did something wrong. Everyone here knows it means, “I’m coming through here, move!” They are so much in the habit of constantly honking, they do it non-stop. Brandon said that if your horn stops working, your car is considered totaled. I believe it. It was a wild ride, but only compared to US standards. I must say that Hari’s reflexes are quite sharp and I felt perfectly safe.
We arrived at the club in Bollywood a little early; it didn’t open up until 11:30 pm. We went inside the hotel for an appetizer while we waited. Hari took care of getting us in; we were VIP stamped at the door. The dance floor was packed with patrons dancing to the beat of Hindi rock music. Since I can’t understand the words to most songs anyway, that didn’t matter. And Matt was gracious enough to translate some of the songs into English for me. He said his Hindi is getting pretty good after 3 months. He translated one song into “I want a Big Mac” and another into “If you really want to impress my family, bring a gallon of milk.” I guess I’m not going to learn the language from Matt.
We all had a great time. Matt and I were a bit of a novelty there. I’ve never been stared at so much in my life. Several of them spent the entire evening just watching my every move. Matt was kind enough to bail me out when one man was a little too delighted to see me. I think when I turned to him with that pleading look in my eyes, he had to help. And I may have threatened him a bit too. lol
One young man in particular was quite memorable. He waved his hand back and forth in a motion like a snake charmer, then circled it to point at himself as if he was trying to draw me in. I certainly didn’t mean to be rude or disrespectful, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
We were seated in an area that was sectioned off from the crowds, which gave me my escape from potentially being ‘hypnotized’ by the young Indian man. Matt and I shared some giggles over that one. Later in the evening as I was standing at the rail by our elevated seats, I look down and Mr. Snake Charmer is once again attempting to mesmerize me with his charms. Too funny.
We danced and partied until the club closed down. Matt disappeared to the restrooms so the rest of us waited in between the two exit doors. One man stopped to shake my hand and tell me he was so happy to meet me. I hadn’t met him. Lol
I had a lot of fun. I don’t really care for that level of popularity, but it was a great night.
Sunday, July 10th
After getting home at 4:30 am, I slept in today. I got a few things done at the house and decided to go to that wonderful grocery store. As I walked out into the heat, I started feeling a little queasy. I thought it was just the heat or me needing to eat. I stopped at the Spaghetti Kitchen for lunch. The food looked delicious, but unfortunately my tummy decided to revolt again. I took my lunch to go and decided to skip the grocery store. I was doing a pretty good job of self talk so I could hold down the water I drank. Mind over matter I told myself. I had the battle won until I walked past the smelly spot. Smelly spots trump self talk. I lost.
Monday, July 11th
I taught a Trade Plan class today. It was only 5 hours so I was finished by our normal 1:30 lunch. Before going home I went into the Palladium Mall to the new grocery store. I now have normal food: whole wheat bread, cranberry-pomegranate juice, Laughing Cow cheese. I’m happy about that.
Tuesday, July 12th
I taught class again today. Matt is leaving on Thursday, so we shared our last McD’s breakfast this morning. It has become a daily routine while the others take their regular ½ hour to eat the Indian food that the center brings in. I’ve learned not to eat Pappu’s breakfast because it’s followed by a trip past the smelly spot to get to work. By 9:30, McD’s egg and cheese muffin tastes pretty darn good. And it’s not spicey.
Wednesday, July 13th
I have the next 3 days off so I stayed at the apartment today to trade the Indian markets. My room is quite warm because the air conditioner has been out for two days. Pappu was cooking breakfast yesterday when I told him about it.
“One clock, fix” When I arrived home to find a hot room yesterday I called Pappu. “Tomorrow one clock, fix”
“No Pappu, I won’t be able to sleep. Can you fix it today?”
A few minutes later the doorbell rings. Pappu enters and picks up some things around the house and puts them away. He starts to leave and then says, “Tomorrow one clock, fix”.
At 3 o’clock today, I called Pappu.
“Tomorrow one clock, fix”. I’m glad it rained today and cooled down the air.
Priya graciously came by the house today to help me communicate with the help. I wanted to tell the maid that the kitchen is so dirty that I won’t use it. And I wanted Pappu to know that he didn’t need to continue to make fried eggs. It was awesome just being able to communicate with them. Priya is awesome.
The Bombings
Priya called this evening to let us know that three bombs had exploded in Mumbai and we should not go out. One was right behind her Dad’s office. She said he was fine, but he wasn’t able to leave the area. She was in her car. I got a text from her later; she and her Dad were both home safe. We were both glad we rescheduled dinner for tomorrow night.
As the news filtered in, I learned that the bomb explosions were very near us. One was 9 miles north, the other two were 3 and 5 miles south. The death toll has continued to climb the last few hours and I’m sure it will through the night. Right now 21 people are dead and 113 injured. I am praying for all of the innocent people (and their families) who were killed or hurt tonight. I haven’t been able to check on our OTA friends yet; the cell phone lines were over-loaded and we couldn’t make calls. Matt said he thought there was a PTW scheduled and all of them would be at the center working. Let’s hope so.
The news reports are saying it’s a terrorist attack. They are comparing it to November of 2008. They targeted business and shopping areas to the north and south of us. When I looked on a map, it appears they skipped right over the Palladium, one of the biggest malls in Mumbai. The guest house, Online Trading Academy and the Palladium Mall are all here in this compound. I had to run a few errands at the mall this afternoon. I arrived back at the house at 6:30 pm. The bombs all went off between 6:30 and 7 pm.
I’ve been asked if I still feel safe here. I do. Maybe I’ve lost my mind, but I’m not worried. This place still feels like it did yesterday, or the day before.
Click here for my pictures:
Bollywood
Hari picked Matt and I up from the guest house at 9:30 pm. I sat in the back seat while Hari, driving with one thumb constantly tapping the horn, played a game of chicken with the other drivers. There doesn’t seem to be any traffic cops here. Laws, red lights, lanes or courtesies don’t have a place in the game. The first driver there wins; it’s that simple. The honking is not to say that the other driver did something wrong. Everyone here knows it means, “I’m coming through here, move!” They are so much in the habit of constantly honking, they do it non-stop. Brandon said that if your horn stops working, your car is considered totaled. I believe it. It was a wild ride, but only compared to US standards. I must say that Hari’s reflexes are quite sharp and I felt perfectly safe.
We arrived at the club in Bollywood a little early; it didn’t open up until 11:30 pm. We went inside the hotel for an appetizer while we waited. Hari took care of getting us in; we were VIP stamped at the door. The dance floor was packed with patrons dancing to the beat of Hindi rock music. Since I can’t understand the words to most songs anyway, that didn’t matter. And Matt was gracious enough to translate some of the songs into English for me. He said his Hindi is getting pretty good after 3 months. He translated one song into “I want a Big Mac” and another into “If you really want to impress my family, bring a gallon of milk.” I guess I’m not going to learn the language from Matt.
We all had a great time. Matt and I were a bit of a novelty there. I’ve never been stared at so much in my life. Several of them spent the entire evening just watching my every move. Matt was kind enough to bail me out when one man was a little too delighted to see me. I think when I turned to him with that pleading look in my eyes, he had to help. And I may have threatened him a bit too. lol
One young man in particular was quite memorable. He waved his hand back and forth in a motion like a snake charmer, then circled it to point at himself as if he was trying to draw me in. I certainly didn’t mean to be rude or disrespectful, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
We were seated in an area that was sectioned off from the crowds, which gave me my escape from potentially being ‘hypnotized’ by the young Indian man. Matt and I shared some giggles over that one. Later in the evening as I was standing at the rail by our elevated seats, I look down and Mr. Snake Charmer is once again attempting to mesmerize me with his charms. Too funny.
We danced and partied until the club closed down. Matt disappeared to the restrooms so the rest of us waited in between the two exit doors. One man stopped to shake my hand and tell me he was so happy to meet me. I hadn’t met him. Lol
I had a lot of fun. I don’t really care for that level of popularity, but it was a great night.
Sunday, July 10th
After getting home at 4:30 am, I slept in today. I got a few things done at the house and decided to go to that wonderful grocery store. As I walked out into the heat, I started feeling a little queasy. I thought it was just the heat or me needing to eat. I stopped at the Spaghetti Kitchen for lunch. The food looked delicious, but unfortunately my tummy decided to revolt again. I took my lunch to go and decided to skip the grocery store. I was doing a pretty good job of self talk so I could hold down the water I drank. Mind over matter I told myself. I had the battle won until I walked past the smelly spot. Smelly spots trump self talk. I lost.
Monday, July 11th
I taught a Trade Plan class today. It was only 5 hours so I was finished by our normal 1:30 lunch. Before going home I went into the Palladium Mall to the new grocery store. I now have normal food: whole wheat bread, cranberry-pomegranate juice, Laughing Cow cheese. I’m happy about that.
Tuesday, July 12th
I taught class again today. Matt is leaving on Thursday, so we shared our last McD’s breakfast this morning. It has become a daily routine while the others take their regular ½ hour to eat the Indian food that the center brings in. I’ve learned not to eat Pappu’s breakfast because it’s followed by a trip past the smelly spot to get to work. By 9:30, McD’s egg and cheese muffin tastes pretty darn good. And it’s not spicey.
Wednesday, July 13th
I have the next 3 days off so I stayed at the apartment today to trade the Indian markets. My room is quite warm because the air conditioner has been out for two days. Pappu was cooking breakfast yesterday when I told him about it.
“One clock, fix” When I arrived home to find a hot room yesterday I called Pappu. “Tomorrow one clock, fix”
“No Pappu, I won’t be able to sleep. Can you fix it today?”
A few minutes later the doorbell rings. Pappu enters and picks up some things around the house and puts them away. He starts to leave and then says, “Tomorrow one clock, fix”.
At 3 o’clock today, I called Pappu.
“Tomorrow one clock, fix”. I’m glad it rained today and cooled down the air.
Priya graciously came by the house today to help me communicate with the help. I wanted to tell the maid that the kitchen is so dirty that I won’t use it. And I wanted Pappu to know that he didn’t need to continue to make fried eggs. It was awesome just being able to communicate with them. Priya is awesome.
The Bombings
Priya called this evening to let us know that three bombs had exploded in Mumbai and we should not go out. One was right behind her Dad’s office. She said he was fine, but he wasn’t able to leave the area. She was in her car. I got a text from her later; she and her Dad were both home safe. We were both glad we rescheduled dinner for tomorrow night.
As the news filtered in, I learned that the bomb explosions were very near us. One was 9 miles north, the other two were 3 and 5 miles south. The death toll has continued to climb the last few hours and I’m sure it will through the night. Right now 21 people are dead and 113 injured. I am praying for all of the innocent people (and their families) who were killed or hurt tonight. I haven’t been able to check on our OTA friends yet; the cell phone lines were over-loaded and we couldn’t make calls. Matt said he thought there was a PTW scheduled and all of them would be at the center working. Let’s hope so.
The news reports are saying it’s a terrorist attack. They are comparing it to November of 2008. They targeted business and shopping areas to the north and south of us. When I looked on a map, it appears they skipped right over the Palladium, one of the biggest malls in Mumbai. The guest house, Online Trading Academy and the Palladium Mall are all here in this compound. I had to run a few errands at the mall this afternoon. I arrived back at the house at 6:30 pm. The bombs all went off between 6:30 and 7 pm.
I’ve been asked if I still feel safe here. I do. Maybe I’ve lost my mind, but I’m not worried. This place still feels like it did yesterday, or the day before.
Click here for my pictures:
No comments:
Post a Comment