One year in Mumbai

Yes, we have now lived in Mumbai for over a year! And what a year it has been! After a long holiday in Norway and Greece, and now starting our second year- I look back, and be sure, dear reader, things are quite different this autumn than it was last year.. So, what comes first to my mind when I think back to:

August 2012: Chaos! We arrive in Mumbai, and it is Overwhelming. We are still in a hotel, because the apartment is not ready after all. It is raining all the time and I wake up some mornings thinking: What have we done?! One day, at a traffic light, there is an elephant next to our car! I learn that there really are a lot of cows in the streets in India, and sometimes also an elephant.

September 2012: We see the amazing colorful Ganesha festival, and I learn that Indians are very including. We move into an apartment = new levels of chaos. I learn that 11 am Wednesday does not necessarily mean 11 am Wednesday here, that the best meat is in a shop 2 hours drive away, and I discover COD. Oh heaven!

October 2012: The Powai Explorers is up and running, and I learn new things like why the Jains do not go out after dark,  how to wear your belly with pride and what a sudrah is.

Powai explorers on tour:-)

November 2012: I found "my" NGO. We celebrate Diwali and go to Goa for the first time. I realize that learning Hindi will be a big challenge and I write my very first blogpost. Yeeey!

Desember 2012: We have wonderful Christmas parties and lunches with new friends, and I hunt for Christmas decorations. I learn to try to bargain hard and long at the markets. I have some moments I will never forget, and some funny Indian moments in Malaysia.

A moment I can not forget

January 2013: My Greek in-laws are visiting. We go to Dharavi. I learn not to take no for an answer, and I learn to be more pushy when standing in a non-existing- ladies-washroom-line.

Kids in Dharavi

February 2013: Friends from Norway come to visit and we have a guru next door. NRK visits the NGO. I learn the names of all the kids in my class, and I learn how to make Dal and fresh lemonade- Indian way.  

NRK at the NGO

A Guru next door... 

March 2013: My parents are visiting. Our library is born. The crazy Holi-festival is on, and I learn not to wear my usual clothes during this holiday. I also learn that everything I had ever heard about FRRO is true.

Our NGO library is born! Yey!!

April 2013: This month I learn what a pineapple bush looks like and how cashew nuts are harvested. The backpackers are visiting. I learn that April is a steaming hot month in Mumbai, and that indoor activities also can be nice.

The cutest pineapple plant..

May 2013: A month filled with joyful parties and sad goodbyes. I am on an emotional roller coaster this month,  dear reader: NGO summerparty, 17mai, a wedding... I learn that I have made many really good friends in Mumbai, and that it is going to be sad to leave - even though only for 2 months.

A wedding in India

NGO summerparty:-)

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my first year in Mumbai, dear reader. I am ready for the second one, and you are heartily welcome to come along. Stay tuned for more tales, and thanks for popping in.