First Impressions

Monday November 26, 2012

It’s a funny thing. The Indian head wobble. So far I’ve interpreted it to mean, “Absolutely,” “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” and “I have no idea what you are talking about.” When I’m in a cab lost and circling through Mumbai with a driver that can only say in English, “Here? Sleep?” and it’s 2:30 in the morning and three policeman are head wobbling at me when I show them my supposed address, I sigh. Then I head wobble back.

With my team of three policeman, my “Here? Sleep?” cab driver, and a kind stranger, I make it to the apartment and am greeted by one of two volunteers, Sarah.

The next morning I met Amanda, the other volunteer, and Sigalith and Cibia, staff members of the Gabriel Mumbai Project. I had lunch for $3 and explored the local produce markets.

Tuesday November 27, 2012

Today was my first day in the slums located in Kulva, an area of Mumbai. We took an autoricksaw, walked across the tracks, and trekked by children, donkeys, and vendors. We made our way to the classroom.

Here is an autorickshaw:

The room, smaller than my San Francisco bedroom, held twenty or so children ages 4-10 and their teacher. They were learning to write “One, Two, Three.” Some of the younger children were struggling to write “o-n-e,” while Vanita, a precocious seven-year-old, was counting to one hundred and rattling off her English phrases. The program is meant for children before they go to the government-run schools. It is a time to reinforce their English reading and writing. We didn’t stay too long but long enough to sing the “Hokey Pokey,” and belt out a few other songs in Hindi and Marathi. I’m curious and eager to get a better sense of the lives of these children and their families.

Afterwards, we got henna done at the mall. Yes, I took this picture.