We’re about 60 hours in to our stay in Mumbai and man oh man am I feeling optimistic. Jet lag’s a b*tch, as usual (it’s currently 3 AM) but even that can’t bring me down.
Malawi felt so foreign at first, but here I see all sorts of similarities with our past posts (especially Manila). It still feels new, but also comforting and familiar at the same time if that makes sense. I had forgotten, too, how much I enjoy this initial stage when everything is new and fascinating and doesn’t annoy me yet. :) I find it all very intoxicating. The challenge of figuring things out is stimulating, the discovery of cultural nuances is delightful and the hunt for new friends is full of possibility. That being said, I’ve done this enough times to know that I’ll hit the wall at some point in the next few months and be sick of figuring things out, annoyed by the culture and certain I’ll never have any close friends here. Just you wait; but for now I will revel in the excitement of it all.
Here are some of my random first impressions.
- Internet: I had high expectations for internet here given what a tech hub India is. So far I am underwhelmed. The Consulate has loaned us a portable internet device but it doesn’t work consistently. I think it’s the same problem we had in Lima where there’s too much concrete in the building to get a good signal. So that’s frustrating but hopefully I’ll make progress on it in the next few days.
- Weather: It’s the tail end of rainy season here. It typically rains each night and then there are 3-4 short downpours a day. They come really fast and furious so if you’re out and not prepared, you’re pretty much screwed. But they end quickly too and clear up the haze so I’m cool with it for the time being.
- Air Quality: There’s definitely some haze but the air quality is better than what I expected. There isn’t a nasty smell in our area. Granted, I’ve only seen a small section of the city and it’s rainy season so that helps clear the skies but still, I’m hopeful!
- Showering/Drinking Water: The tap water is bad. Like really bad. Like keep-your-mouth-closed-when-showering-or-you’ll-get-sick bad. We’ll see how that goes, especially with a 6-year-old who doesn’t like to follow rules consistently. There are also individual water heaters for each shower where you have to push a button to get hot water. We had this in Malawi and just left it on all day. Here they want us to turn it off. So you need to turn on the heater about 20 minutes before you want to shower. I keep forgetting and go to shower only to find cold water. That will take some getting used to.
- Noise: Noise levels have been better than expected. Funny how it’s all relative to what you’ve experienced in the past. We have dehumidifiers and air purifiers going in most rooms, so there’s always white noise in the house (am used to that from Lima and Manila). There also isn’t as much honking as I anticipated (Lima was way worse). Again, it’s early but I’m heartened by what I’ve seen.
- Traffic: Traffic is unregulated and slow. No one bothers to follow lights or use lanes. I will definitely NOT be driving here. It’s very similar to Manila’s traffic. I am grateful that it’s not disorganized and AGGRESSIVE, like we had in Lima. That was some very stressful driving. We intend to get a driver at some point but I need to figure out what my car usage needs will be first. In the meantime, I’ll be trying Uber.
- Dress: Clothing is very conservative here. Indian women never show their shoulders or legs. I am told Westerners have a bit more leeway and that a good rule of thumb is to either cover your shoulders or your knees. Depending on how much attention I attract, I may have to modify my wardrobe quite a bit. Right now I own almost exclusively sleeveless stuff and most of it is low cut by Indian standards.
- Spice: I’ve had 2 restaurant experiences thus far, so not much data collected yet. However, I ordered an egg, cheese and chicken sausage croissant from Starbucks and wouldn’t you know it, it had some kick. Manageable, but still. I wouldn’t have expected a breakfast sandwich to have a bonus spicy sauce on it. We also ordered pizza and despite writing ‘no spice’ in the comments, 1 of our 3 pizzas arrived with a spice level of 5/10.
- Meat: Meat options are strange here. I miss beef already. I may become a vegetarian here out of lack of good meat options. :(
- Delivery Culture: Mumbai has a HUGE delivery culture. Pretty much everything you want can be delivered on short notice. There are lots of apps to facilitate this or you can place orders through texting or whatsapp (very popular here). I haven’t had any deliveries yet (seems intimidating) but I don’t think you tip or pay a delivery fee. And many places don’t have order minimums. So you can order a quart of milk and someone will bring it by that day. Crazy, huh?
- The Head Bobble: The head bobble is really a thing. And it’s VERY confusing. In our welcome materials it says that a head bobble (side to side, not a nod) can mean any of the following:
- Yes
- OK
- Great
- I guess so
- Sure
- Why not?
- I’m listening
- I understand
- I appreciate your sentiment
- But here’s the kicker, despite the meanings listed above, it does NOT always mean is that they agree with what you’re saying. That’s gonna be a tricky one to nagivate.
- In summary, I think my biggest learning curves will come with Dress, Spice, Meat Options, Deliveries, and the Head Bobble. Most everything else seems familiar. Hope you enjoyed hearing my initial impressions! Will write more in the days to come and share some pictures too!
