First Impressions

As I write this on our balcony, it is 9pm on Tuesday evening here in Mumbai, or more specifically, our suburb Bandra West. Although the sun has set nearly two hours ago, the clouds in the sky reflect the incredible amount of light pollution given off of this amazingly enormous city that never sleeps. From our balcony we have a great view of the neighborhood (see attached picassa album). To the east and west we have large apartment buildings and to the south we have a glimpse of the Mumbai skyline -- probably only 2% as the skyline continues on for miles to the south. Coconut trees wave in the wind, birds fly over head -- mostly crows, but sometimes herons and today I even saw a parakeet -- and we are virtually isolated from the city.

The one exception to our isolation is the street noise. Unlike American drivers, Mumbaikers (pronounced Mum-bikers) use their horn to alert the driver in front of them to their presence. A few short taps on the horn means "just to remind you, my car is right behind you." A few longer horn notes means "keep me in mind as you turn left in front of me." The vast majority of horn uses are happy exchanges between people. Every once in awhile someone gets mad and lays on the horn, but this is really rare. Since the city never seems to take a break, ear plugs are definitely a must for light Western sleepers such as ourselves!

One piece of conversation that always comes up with us is the amazing contrasts you see all over. For example, on the commute to school we drive along a creek that flows into the ocean. On the other side of the creek sits one of the major slums in the city (not Dharavi for those of you who watched the documentary "Slumming In") and alongside our side of the creek sits some of the most expensive real estate in the entire world. Across the street from our school Bharat diamonds is building a trading hub that will employ 60,000 people, next door to that is the American Consulate under construction, and up the street is the Asian Heart Institute, highly regarded as one of the world's top cardiac hospitals. And all of this literally right next to a slum. It's quite overwhelming as you think about it and really puts you in your place. Interactions like these happen all the time here.

It has been great to really get to know the other new staff and the administrators, who have done everything possible to make our transition run smoothly. Workshops and discussions about culture shock, medical adjustments, the unique school culture, "third-culture students," technology integration in the classroom, and educational philosophy have been both inspiring and interesting. While Rachel's room is still going through some last minute cleaning and updating, I have spent some time in the band room and tried to do some organizing, make it more space-efficient, and tidy up the music library. The familiar routine of getting ready for the school is an odd parallel to our unfamiliar new lives in Mumbai and while it is comfortable to get down to work, I feel like exploring the city more. We'll have a lot of time this weekend for that.

With that I will sign off and post. We have enjoyed reading comments and so please keep them coming. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Take care and root for the Twins!

~ Reid