Namaskar

After two weeks without internet access, I am finally able to blog about my summer. To start with the basics: I'm in India living with 6 other students from Yale/the rest of the world and interning with Dial 1298 for Ambulance through AIESEC. With all that has happened since I showed up at the end of May, I'm not sure if I can fully describe the way I felt upon arriving for the first time. I've only been here two weeks and I feel like I have masala flowing in my blood. I can't get over this place.

I am so privileged to see Mumbai from many angles unapproachable by transient tourists or lifelong Mumbaikars planted firm in their own segment of the city. I spend afternoon 'cutting chai' breaks at the slum stall across from my office - the same general area featured in Slumdog Millionaire. I live in a quiet, middle class neighborhood where I pick up fresh vegetables from the produce stand outside my flat each day. At the same time, I am experiencing the world of South Mumbai - one of the most privileged communities in India and the world - through the ever connected yale network. I've taken auto rickshaws, trains, taxis, and private cars. I've had sugarcane made before me on the street for 6 Rs and I've spent 600 Rs on one item at the poshest rooftop in the city. Everything about the city is filled with extremely vibrant contrasts. Mumbai is a throbbing mass of people, colors and smells which seem to fill every inch of the thick air. Each morning I wake up surprised to find that the city has survived to riot through another day.