" 'Home' wasn't built in a day."

Post by: Beth

One of the most difficult parts in the beginning, for us anyway, about living in India was literally... living in India. We stayed in a hotel for a couple of weeks upon arrival, until we'd had time to look at apartments and pick the one we wanted for our stay. Once we found the proper apartment, it was time to move in (what an adventure THAT was!) and actually furnish it. It was essentially just a shell to start with -- exposed light fixtures, stickers still on windows, no kitchen cabinets initially, etc. Making our home here was quite a bit of work and we pretty much devoted about a month to making our apartment actually FEEL like "ours."

Many stories along the way are really comical. Things are just done differently here when moving into a new home, and you really have to drop all expectations of what you're used to in America... otherwise, you'll just suffer, and badly. Most of you probably saw the blog post about the internet "installation" that took place from our living room window. I'm not kidding when I say that this is how many of the processes went after our move. For example, a guy came to hang our bathroom light one day and after his installation, he motioned me into the bathroom to inspect the job. I flipped on the light and to my surprise, the light flickered constantly... on, off, on, off, on, off. I looked at the worker questioningly and he nodded his head from side to side, smiling with pride, asking "thik hai???," which means "ok???" in Hindi? I shook my head and said "No thik hai," and opened and closed my fists rapidly, to signal a flashing light. He said "on, off, on, off??" I said "Haan" ("yes" in Hindi) and he promptly began the re-install. Luckily, it went better this time and his proud smile was actually warranted. This was my daily routine, more or less, for about 3 weeks. Raja finally took to standing over and actually watching them do the job on the weekends .. literally just standing and watching and making sure no one left until lights didn't flash, curtain rods were hung straight, and cabinet doors actually opened and closed.

Eventually, little by little, the major things got marked off the list. We now had our kitchen cabinets and drawers.. we had curtain rods and light fixtures.. we also had proper living and dining room furniture. Then came the fun stuff... We spent hours and hours scouring art galleries, climbing over dusty antiques in Chor Bazaar, picking out the softest towels we could find in Shopper's Stop, communicating in broken Hindi & English in plant nurseries, drawing furniture plans, picking out wall hangings in home shows... And finally, things started coming together. We'd scheduled a major repainting of the walls and trims since so much furniture had come in and out, and the painting got done while Raja was visiting Delhi and I was still in America. So when Raja got back into Bombay, he did some last minute finishings by buying more plants, having the final drapes hung, making sure all of the artwork and hangings were hung, etc. When I got back and saw our apartment, it was much less a work-in-progess and actually felt like a real home! It looked like a different place and it's so nice to come home to now.

Since everything is finally all set (for the most part), we wanted to take some pictures to show our family & friends where we live. We still laugh about some of the things, all in good fun, but overall, we're really happy with how our work paid off. :)

Above: living room

Curtain pattern in living room windows

Art that hangs over the couch

Dining room area ... it's connected to the living room space


Bamboo is really easy to find here!

Kitchen... very traditionally Indian. Every cupboard, shelf, etc made by hand.. sloowwllly.. ;)

Hallway sink.. note the swan figure on the mirror. This must be quite popular in India, as the landlord was so proud of the "fancy mirror" that was installed here. We laughed, but it's not so bad once we're used to it. It sort of grew on us! ;)

Curtain pattern in bedroom windows

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

Post by: Beth

I never imagined that I'd one day be able to see the Mumbai Marathon, but here we were, getting up at 5:30am on Sunday morning to head to South Mumbai for the start of this annual race! CHIP Mumbai - the NGO for which I volunteer - had several of their team members running, so some of the staff & volunteers gathered to support them. It was such a cool experience to just sit and take it all in. Some participants walked a short distance and carried signs for organizations for which they'd raised money... many participants carried flags and anti-terrorism signs... other participants ran for the love of running and had been training for months to complete a half or full marathon. It was as chaotic and exciting as most things in Mumbai, and I feel so fortunate we got to experience this event.

(Above are some of the CHIP staff and volunteer members.)

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." -Dr. Seuss

Post by: Beth

I know it's been a while since we posted, but we have just been incredibly busy! I spent a month at home over the Thanksgiving holidays and came back to Bombay on Christmas Eve. Since I stepped off the plane, it's really been a whirlwind and we've barely had time to sleep! We're really enjoying our time in India, and I have to say that the city of Bombay continues to grown on us each and every day. Along with work, volunteering, and the usually daily tasks, we've been able to do lots of fun things... so despite the lack of posts, I do still have photos, and am happy to finally get to blog some of them! My posts may be a little shorter for a bit due to being so busy, but I'm sure some of you will actually really appreciate fewer words and more photos. :)


Recently, Kristen's sister, Kimberly (yes they are twins.. I literally cannot tell them apart) got to visit Bombay for about 10 days. For much of the trip, they stayed at the JW Marriott and this came with the great benefit of being able to wear a real bathing suit next to a swimming pool --- Believe it or not, despite the oceans and heat in India, this is a rare treat! We hung out for 3 or 4 days at the pool and it was so relaxing and nice. Raja and Beej even got to join us one day since they were off work for a holiday!

Beej's parents have also been in town visiting from the States, so one night was devoted to meeting them over dinner. A large group of us went to "Oh! Calcutta," which is a traditional Bengali restaurant in South Bombay. The food was great and seemed never-ending, and it was nice to meet Beej's family and spend time with friends.

Gateway of India / Taj Mahal Palace

"Cooking may be as much a means of self-expression as any of the arts."

Post by: Beth

NOTE: 3 posts so far today... trying to get caught up before my trip home where I'm sure I'll take many more photos! :) This is the first of three.. keep scrolling for the others.


For every challenge presented to us in India, there is a unique experience that serves as a balance and keeps our little life here moving in a forward motion. The chance to make friends and learn more about the area has brought along the opportunity to try different things, and I hope to take advantage of these more and more during our time here.

I'd been planning to visit the city of Powai as one of my friends, Sarah, lives there. Sarah and I met at an American Women's Club coffee morning and shortly after, she came to Bandra for an afternoon to visit and see the area. We immediately planned a day's trip for me to Powai, which is about an hour away by car. A few days before my scheduled trip, Sarah emailed me and said she'd found out about a Rajasthani cooking class that would be taking place in the hotel next to hers, on the day I was planning to go see her! We enrolled right away and were excited to see how this would pan out.

When we arrived, we learned that this class only had 2 people, so we would be able to receive pretty personalized attention. We met our chef, Bhairav Singh Rajput , and he was immediately welcoming and so friendly, despite the high designation of Master Chef and a long list of accomplishments under his belt. We got started right away, with a book of about 7 recipes he was going to make while we watched, helped, and asked questions. All of the dishes were authentic Rajasthani dishes, and it was so much fun to watch how many spices and flavors he used in the recipes. He made a small portion of each dish so we could learn, and Sarah and I got to try everything as we went along.

After about 2 hours of cooking, we'd made small portions of all the dishes and it was time for lunch! We were carried to the bar area where a mixologist taught us how to make a traditional Rajasthani cocktail, and Chef Bhairav cooked our lunch. After the cocktail lesson, it was time to eat, and Chef Bhairav came out and sat with us and chatted while we ate. All of the apprentices, waiters, and assistants were so nice to us during our lesson and meal, and it was a great experience. They offer a different type of class each month, so maybe we'll get to go back and learn a different style of cooking as well. :)

Here are some photos from our day:

"Who can feel poor when the sails are full and the spirit is full?"

Post by: Beth

A couple of weeks ago, I got to see the famous Gateway of India, which is a major landmark and tourist site in Bombay. I'd heard Mr. Gupta talk of this, and he kept asking me if we'd seen this yet. I had no idea what the big fuss was all about (I'm not entirely educated on landmarks in Bombay, but I'm getting better!) and I'm not big on major tourist attractions, museums, famous statues, etc. Needless to say, I hadn't seen this Gateway of India. That all changed when we got a Facebook invite (thank you, Stacie!) to "take an evening boat tour, complete with drinks and dancing, launching from the Gateway of India!" I may not care much for huge tourist traps, but I certainly am up for any "evening boat tours." I immediately badgered Raja into texting our friends, Beej and Kristen, to let them know that I simply was not missing any "evening boat tour" in India. Luckily for us, they're flexible, and they were up for the boat, so off we went on a Saturday night, all the way down to South Bombay and the great Gateway of India.

We boarded the boat after meeting with friends for dinner, and I was very excited and actually impressed with this Gateway of India. It's a huge arch located on the waterfront, and is the monument that earlier people saw first when arriving to the (literal) lands of Bombay. It's quite impressive in person. Unfortunately, I can't really prove that since being on a moving boat didn't lend itself to still pictures of such a lit up monument at night. In lieu of any of my blurry photos, here's a professional shot so you can see what it REALLY looks like.



Before too long, the boat pushed away from the dock and we were coasting along the waterway. Gorgeous night, and after we'd traveled for a while, it was so pretty to look back on land and see all the lights sparkling from the city. The land pictures turned out a bit blurry of course since we were constantly moving, but at least one turned out decently enough to see the view.


It was a great trip... The boat took us out about an hour, turned around and came back to land to drop off anyone that wanted to return to the city, and then followed the same path back out again for those that wanted to continue. Of course we stayed on, and we had a great time.

Also notable and very exciting for me: I got to see Orion's Belt, which (if you're not familiar) is a constellation also known as "The Hunter" due to the sword hanging from a "belt" made of 3 bright stars in a line. Of course no pictures because it's just impossible to take a flash digital photo of a constellation, but it was really amazing to see and I'm glad Raja knows his constellations well enough to point it out to us. One of the best parts of being that far out in the water is all the stars that are visible... It makes you realize what you sometimes miss by living in such large cities.

After we arrived back at land, everyone was hungry and some of our friends that have lived here longer knew of a place to get food so late at night. The place was called "Bademiya" and its a roadside restaurant well known for late night eating. It's been in business for almost 70 years and is a local favorite. Several men bring around tiny paper menus with all of these rolls and kebabs listed. Each one is either a meat, a vegetable, or a combination of the two, wrapped in a thin type of bread similar to a roti. I was a bit unsure about whether this was okay for me to eat or not, so I only took a few bites, but Raja and Beej had their fair share. The workers make these rolls and kebabs really, really quickly and they have a system down that apparently works pretty flawlessly night after night. From the little bit I had, the rolls were actually pretty good, and Raja definitely didn't leave any to spare so he can vouch for them.

These nights are so fun... Where you just see all kinds of things that are so different from what I've seen anywhere in the States. Sometimes I really miss the U.S. and the familiar... what seems normal and simple, but India definitely has its charms. :)