Women and Fashion in Mumbai

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So the rumors are true.  People are conservatively dressed in Mumbai for both sexes.  The women are absolutely beautiful and the men are dapper across the economic lines.  So yes, if you are poor, you can still dress beautifully.

As you know by now, I am a magpie and I love color and patterns and prints.  I swear I must have some Indian blood in me.  The best way I can describe Mumbai in terms of buildings and outside infrastructure is shabby chic.  Sure you wonder how some of the buildings remain standing, and I am not counting the slums, but coloring the buildings are colorful signs, and colorful laundry left to dry in the sun.  Also what colors the landscape are the people in beautiful, colorful fashions.  Pictures and videos to come.

(This was the same in Puerto Rico as well.  I wish I could say the same for New York City.  It needs more color and I am not talking about the Times Square light show.  It is drab except for colorful window displays and some nice architecture.  Oh well.)

Back to the women and fashion.  Of course I had to buy some clothing.  However, I got way more than I initially set out for.

I have been dressing in western business suits when I met with the organizations and schools.  The suits completely cover me and the skirt sits right below my knees.  I do have a silk sleeveless top underneath (in bright colors) but I always put on my jacket inside the car before I step outside.  I do not take the jacket off until I am back inside the car.  (BTW, the suits are Tahari, the only ones who fit women with breasts and that are not hand made.)

After I establish a relationship and am asked to come back, I ask everyone what they would like to see me where.  I offer them my Indian outfits by showing them a sample photo of me in one or the western business suit.  They prefer the Indian outfits because the parents and students are more comfortable with them, even in the A/C.  Indian outfits trump western wear when I teach in the government schools next week.  There is no A/C.

For those of you who are concerned about slutty children’s clothes sold in the US, you could move to India.  It is difficult but not completely impossible to find that type of stuff sold in Mumbai.  On a side note, you get what you pay for.  I do not see slutty children’s clothes in Manhattan.  However, Manhattan also lacks a Wal-Mart and Target.

I mention that for a reason.  Before you send me hate mail, listen.  Mumbai has many of the same US and UK stores.  These stores do not dare to carry any of the inappropriate outfits for anyone, including children.  What do I mean by this?  You will not see the complete collections at Burberry, Forever 21, and Tommy Hillfiger in Mumbai.  You will only see the collections that match the culture of Mumbai.  Therefore, the stores that you complain about in your neighborhood that carry slutty children’s clothes cater to the American culture.  So when you complain that the stores in the US carry slutty clothing, take a look at your neighbor.  That should answer your question.  Stores only want $$$$$$$$.  End of story.  So if a big enough group of people change their ways, you will see a shift in what the clothing looks like.  By the way, you should check out Bergdorf Goodman and SAKS in Manhattan for children’s clothes.  Also, I like the stores in the 70’s and 80’s along Madison Ave.  The clothes are gorgeous.

If you still don’t like the clothes, take a sewing course at your local college.  Most are very reasonably priced, much more so than Jo-Ann Fabrics.  It will not hurt you to learn a new, useful skills.  I am 4’10” and am going back to NYC to continue my FIT sewing course.  I will save tons of money learning how to alter my own clothes.  Our potential kid will be screwed with Micah and I being so “wonderfully tall.”  Yes, it is necessary for this US legal midget to learn how to sew.

Back to the Mumbai women.  So everyone knows about the saree.  However, some of the sarees have midriffs.  I am going to ask why sleeveless shirts are not accepted but midriffs are accepted.  Hopefully someone will give me that answer tomorrow.  Tight clothes on the upper body are not tolerated but you can wear leggings given that the shirt is long.

You may think, it is 97 degrees!  Aren’t you baking?  Right now the humidity is low.  I was outside today shopping like a mad woman!

I requested to shop in an outdoor market and my driver looked at me like I was nuts.  He said: “Ma’am, the people that shop there are low class and some are crazy.  Why would you want to shop there?  Not to mention that the quality of the items is very low.”  I replied, “I want to an experience a Mumbai crowd and check out the items.”

Well, he pulled off to the side of the road and tutored me on how to shop at an outdoor market.  He told me to have 2000 rupees in a convenient place (meaning, never open your purse.)  He also said to never take out my phone either.  He said that I am smart that I do not have a large western purse.  I have a secure passport holder big enough for an iPhone and credit cards and cash.  Most women do not carry purses with them and if they do, they are small.  I am so tired of getting smacked in the head with big purses in NYC.  They are so not needed.  Plus, they lead to back issues.

He dropped me off and I started to wander around.  You know?  I was hounded less here than in NYC in Times Square?  It was wonderful!  The weather was a little hot and I was dressed in my Indian casual clothes.  The streets were full of potholes but I loved the bustle of all of the people.  I did not see anything I wanted and I told my driver that I actually had a wonderful time.  I felt like I was beginning to become a resident of Mumbai.

I as then taken to a department store where I bought clothes that are stitched to me.  What does that mean?  I have a large chest.  Even in India it is hard to get ready to made garments for me.  That area ruins it.  So I have to go up a step and view fabric that are in pieces cut from a pattern.  They take my measurements and the clothes are stitched to me.  I think western clothes should go this way.  It makes SO much sense!  The colors and jewels are gorgeous and once WordPress stops giving me a hard time, I will post all of the pictures and videos.

The bathroom was disgusting and I am glad I took my own toilet paper with me.

Then I was escorted to the bridal room.  I tried on the pieces over my clothes of an Indian bridal gown.  Dammit!  I wish I would have known about this when I got married!  I would have never hired that witch who stole our money and I was left with my black sequin dress.  The Indian fabric was all hand beaded.  It takes 5 months to make the fabric and 1 month to make the fabric into a dress for the buyer.  I wanted one but Micah would have filed for divorce.  It was between $2000-$3000.  As we have not yet sold the house, it was out of the question.

Then the store owner said, “Would you like to meet the seamsters?”  Of course I said YES!  I look around for a door.  It is hidden behind a mirrored panel.  He opened it and a pungent smell hit me.  It was a 21st century live sweat shop.  All of the seamsters were men.  I asked if I could take a picture and he said no.  It was hot in there, well over 100 degrees but relatively clean.  The smell must have been body odor.

My first sweat shop!  My great grandmother worked in one in NYC in the early 1900’s.  I am still shocked by this and the smell has not left my memory.  Just think, one century ago, this was NYC.  Then the fire occurred and changed everything.  Unfortunately, the owners were not prosecuted.  That mirrored door scared me.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire)

All of that work for a cheap price.  I could not talk to the workers so I do not know how they felt about their job.

I then visited a store where the owner showed me how a Kashmir rug was made on his loom.  I will post the video when I am able to do so.  That same owner told me to keep quiet and not to tell my driver about the suit he will make for my husband.  You see, in Mumbai, the drivers get kick-backs from store owners and for whatever reason, this store owner did not want to participate.

Micah will be visited by the taylor on Monday morning to have his measurements taken at the hotel room.  In 24 hours, he will have a brand new, custom suit, all for $400!  It is a western man’s suit.  Men’s suits are a specialty and very difficult to make.

One other fun thing.  I asked my driver if there was a drive through in Mumbai since I have never seen one.  He had no idea what I was talking about.  He then called his brother and gave me the phone to talk.  His brother had no idea either.  I had to show my driver on Wickapedia on my phone what a driver through was.  He then had me write the words “drive through” on a piece of paper to research this new concept.  He was completely in awe.

Language, Research, and Knowing the Culture

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Everyone speaks English.  Don’t worry.  You don’t have to do anything different.  You can get everything you need and don’t need to bring much from home.

Two words: Bull Dung!  Yeah you heard me.  Offended?  Well click off this post.  If not, read on.

When I worked for a major financial investment firm a few years ago, I saw that many of my colleagues who had fancy business degrees did not go near the international calls.  I made them and enjoyed them.  If you were expecting everyone to speak English, you were living in another world.  Really?  Do you English speakers think that you are the world’s true majority?  Think of the millions of Chinese and Spanish speakers.  My limited Spanish was of real help because the firm’s clients’ English phone skills were limited but not their Spanish skills.  It would have been better if I knew French or German but Spanish was still accepted.  But yes, you had to get through the operators first to get to the person you wanted.  The automated ones were worse but somehow, were able to pick up my Spanish.  I started retaining simple key words and numbers in French and German very quickly to get past the machines.

I loved my international clients!  Loved, loved, loved them.  A knowledge of world history  and world current events was always a good ice breaker.  It is very difficult to develop a trust in five minutes.  I was dealing with very sensitive documents with some deals worth billions of dollars. I miss the financial industry.  It was such a rush.

Oh and the things that I discovered and learned at the time like the country of Lichtenstein (I want to go there so bad!),  wonderful dishes to make (sometimes deals did not close in a short amount of time), places to see, cultural differences, what raising children is like where they are from, etc.

Anyway, what does this have to do with my current music education research?  Everything!  You are told that everyone speaks English in Mumbai.  Well, it is true in a loose sense.  Hundreds of languages are spoken in India and English is the connecting language between all Indians.  However, I have an American accent.  When you speak to an Indian who has a British-Indian accent while they speak English, some of them have trouble deciphering your American accent, especially on the phone.  There is a lot of: “can you repeat, please” and “could you speak more slowly” and “I am sorry, I am not used to an American accent (refer to the first two phrases in this sentence.)”  I think it would be a lot worse if I had a thick Boston, New York, or southern accent.

Speaking loudly, slowly, and enunciating is not offensive.  People do no have the time to be offended here.  You will instinctively know when it is appropriately to do these things.  They are probably as fascinated with me as I am with them.  I have so much to learn from them.  Their insights are amazing.  And yes, I love the variation of a British accent here.  So musical.

This next part will be repeated in an India, music education post but needs to be spoken about here too.

After the trouble with speaking to people on the phone with the schools, I decided to do a non-structured interview where I took notes on the computer, a round table discussion, if you will.  I DID NOT whip out the computer right away.  It was normally introduced after 15 minutes of discussion.  This was EXTREMELY effective and the people I met felt very comfortable around me.  I did not spring the video camera on them (maybe one organization knew about it in the emails) until I established a relationship with them.  Video cameras are intrusive.  I then came up with the policy that I will create interview questions that they will approve and will video tape the interview.  They will have the final say about the video before i post it to the blog.  This makes people even more comfortable and for this type of research, it completely works.  That is why the media has not posted yet.

Better yet, I started the conversation talking a little bit about myself and deluged a lot of the information (and some Hindi words) to let them know that I have done my homework.  That is when the conversation took off lightening fast.  Sometimes, I would sit back and listen and not take notes.  The places where these conversations went were amazing and totally unexpected.  I could not have predicted some of the twists and turns.  I can’t wait to share them with you later on.

Mentioning the Bollywood movie 3 Idiots is a great conversation piece!  It definitely reflects the Indian culture even though it was made 6 years ago.  It even leads to discussions on how Bollywood effects children’s exposure to music and hearing loss (more about that in the research portion of my blogs later.)  I even talk about the Indian chick lit novel that I am reading, not the novel itself, but how the author works in a high powered financial job during the day and writing chick lit is her release.  So yes, getting to know your client through pop culture is great.  They are impressed that you took the time out to care about getting to know about their culture.  Also, you may learn a thing or two.

As I have mentioned before in a another post, reading British chick lit has also helped me.  The British idioms that you learn in those books help with speaking to people in Mumbai and understanding them when they use them.  Some are not so popular in America.  Many people were shocked that this was my first trip abroad.  Reading and seeking knowledge helps.  I can’t stress that enough.  Hit up your local library and get started!  Delve into genres you are not comfortable with.  It will help if you ever do research like this.

Knowing the history, going back to the time of Christ is very important as well.  It helps explain so much about what is going on today.  Bombay is definitely not an exception to this.  This is how I am able to pick up Hindi.  Some of the words have British influence and some are Latin based thanks to the Portuguese that held control hundreds of years ago.  The Muslims also held control as well except my Arabic is pretty much nonexistent.  It also helps you understand the culture too.  Take a step back and look at America now and think about how the history from a couple hundred years ago shaped today’s society.

I must also mention that having someone as a translator with you (my chauffeurs) has been wonderful.  I was finally able to get the charger adapters.  My hotel is woefully inadequate in that there is no tourist store to purchase the necessities and the mall across the street is not much better.  I was able to get awesome chargers for $10!  My chauffeur was tipped well for his efforts.

Also, don’t look down your nose at the blue collared workers.  Strike up a conversation with them.  They love to share what they know and a lot of times, it was dead useful information.  They will also go out of their way to help you.  I have three chauffeurs that fight over me for my business.  I am a great client.  🙂

Off to my next interview with another organization.  Loads more to come.

Post scrip: This monolinguistic culture in America has got to go!  A high school diploma should only be given to those who have mastered 2 languages with English being one of them and the second one being of the student’s choice.  I am guilty but at least I have moderate Spanish skills to get by.

 

 

 

India: The Prologue

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Please note that most of this blog post was written in September and I am adding more information while I am Mumbai which accounts for the weird grammatical tenses.  However, I do not give away anything as this is told chronologically.  This was a difficult post to write for many reasons.  One reason was the permissions from the schools.  Two, is the fact that my research focus has changed over the time that I have obtained information.  There are no books and nothing on the Internet where all of the information is nicely packaged.  I am putting all of this together from scratch.

A trip to India for my husband was imminent.  It was not a matter of if but when.  It was postponed a couple of times in 2014.  One, for our move to NYC from Baltimore, two, his brother’s wedding, and three, bad timing at his workplace.  Finally, he got the green light to go. This raised the question for me to accompany him.  The summer would have been perfect because it was right after our move to NYC and then I could focus on employment after the trip.

He found out in August that we would be going to India for sure in November.  I said: How sure?  Sure enough to buy you a ticket if you want to come.

I started thinking to myself, what would I do in Mumbai by myself?  Yes, my husband and I would be staying in the same hotel room.  He already works long hours and they would get longer in India having to work with New Yorkers and Indians on a 9.5 hour time difference.  I was told that by being a woman, going out at night by myself was out of the question.  Also, traffic is a menace, especially in a city of 20 million people.  The hotel is close to his office but far from everything else a tourist would want to go.  Like Cinderella, I have a curfew which unfortunately is twilight to be back at the hotel.  She at least had until midnight!  I must plan accordingly.

The wheels started to turn and I finally realized what I wanted to do.  I am not a fan of cruise ships (unless I became a working musician on one) or all-inclusives.  I actually want to see the people and the culture in action.  But how can I do this in a place where I am not familiar with the culture or its primary language which is Hindi and where I know absolutely no one?  Unfortunately for me this time, my intermediate Spanish does not count.

Well, there are two things I am interested in and have some knowledge.  One is fashion where I am a neophyte and two is music education in which I took few years off from teaching (music, K-12) to explore other careers although I still do research as a consultant.

I therefore Googled: “what is music education like in India” and found only a handful of articles that addressed the subject.  The other results focused on how to teach traditional Indian music in (western) classrooms.  I was somewhat surprised by this at first but after sinking into a deep trance revisiting the dusty files in my mind about what I have learned about international music education and world music in general, the surprise wore off.  I realized that all I knew about traditional or classical Indian music fit on the point of a sewing needle, let alone how western classical music is viewed in India.

To be fair, the music education degree requirements are vast and dense.  Generally in the US, your undergraduate music education degree will leave you qualified to teach band, chorus, strings, and general music for grades K-12.  You are a jack of all trades and a relative master of the one (or maybe two) that you had the most time to put into during your own K-12 music training.  World music and international music education, if you are lucky, barely gets mentioned but at least it piques your curiosity.  Like me, you can set it aside and deeply explore that seed of curiosity on your own time and terms.

Thus, I decided that I wanted to see how music is taught in India (don’t start laughing yet until you read more about the word India).  (I am not affiliated with any university or organization so this is my own research project.)

I contacted all of my Boston University professors.  Only one was able to give me help as the rest have no contacts or experience working in Mumbai.  Professor André De Quadros grew up in Mumbai and was able to put me on the right path after an hour-long phone conversation in-between flights for him and pit orchestra opera tech rehearsals for me.

That conversation was enlightening.  I had to fine tune my research skills in my head as I spoke to him.  I was a little rusty but quickly saw a sheen and I was back to my old 2003-2009 (with a little bit from 2010-2014) research self.   I perform research as a consultant but there is always a goal in sight and things are pretty well defined for what I have to do.  I am building this project from scratch.  He pointed out many things in that short amount of time including:

1.  (After much laughter from Professor De Quadros).  India is a large country geographically that has about 2 billion people.  There are myriads of subcultures that live in this country.  Retry your focus to Mumbai.  Even then, Mumbai in itself has many different subcultures so you can’t lump everything together and say that this is what music education is like in Mumbai.  I must be specific to what I saw and where I saw it.

2.  What do I really want to do, see, learn from watching the music classes?

3.  I need to find English speaking schools to an extent where I can communicate with some of the adults.  The students do not necessarily have to speak English or understand very much of it.

4.  He gave me the names of two private schools he recommended.  I will name them when I have observed their programs.

5.  See if I can talk to either one of my husband’s employees or a hotel worker about seeing a government school music program in action.

6.  Traveling around Mumbai is a great challenge due to traffic.

7.  He agreed with me that not much is written about music education in India.  Sure, there are many lesson plans that incorporate traditional Indian music in music education classrooms in the US, but there is not much research about music education in India from any standpoint.

8.  See what I can find out and call him when I get back.

It was only then that I realized that I would actually being doing an ethnographic music education research project.  The word “ethnographic” is used VERY loosely.  I want to see music classes in action and maybe teach a few of my own.  Hopefully, I will be able to record these lessons on video and take pictures of the environment.

After the opera and a bout with the flu, I was ready to tackle the first part of the research: the literature review and contact with the two schools.

After a VERY quick scan of ten articles: some online newspaper articles from India, some from music education journals, I learned or was confirmed the following:

1.  Music education is scarce in India and Mumbai.

2.  The guru-shishya tradition is alive and well in teaching music, especially traditional Indian Classical musical instruments.

3.  Everyone is interested in increasing the presence of music education in Mumbai, the government, the people, the educators, everyone.  There is very little said if that means Western Classical music or traditional Indian Classical music or both.

4.  There is a high interest in electronic music.

5.  Music is very important in Bollywood.

6.  In relation to the total population in Mumbai, very few people are receiving music lessons or music education.

(There is more but this blog is not the research paper.)

Loads of scenarios popped in my head as to what the music education scene looks like in Mumbai based on the small amount of information above.  One scenario that I envisioned was a fusion of Indian and Western Classical music in vocal and instrumental ensembles.  What would that look like?  How about musical theater?  What would an American or British musical infused with Bollywood look like?  (Cue the Indian laugh track now.)

While I was getting the courage to cold call the schools in India, I browsed their websites.  (I will give the links to their websites if I get permission to do so).  I was looking for information to use to help give me a more clear picture of how music is valued.  It is vastly different from school to school and not many schools mention music.  The differences are contained within Western Classical music although a few schools mention that some Indian Classical music is taught.  Most of the music curriculum is vocal which lead me to believe that money and access to instruments was an issue.

In the meantime, I rejoined the National Association for Music Education (http://www.nafme.org) as an Associate member just for the information.  The editor is still there.  She is amazing.  I remembered speaking to her about my master’s thesis a decade ago.  She was excited about this project for me and said that it would be quite an addition to the music education literature if I do a good job in presenting the information and obtaining the research.  Ella is well-traveled and had many useful tips for my first trip overseas.  Her well wishes meant a lot to me.  She has read a lot of brilliant research pieces in her day.  I hope to impress her.  Yes, I plan to submit an article for review once my research is finished and it is written.

It was only until now that I realized that I have never seen anyone post their stream of consciousness while tackling a new research project.  I know that many students are curious as what it is like to tackle one.  Now, they will have a clue.  The caveat is that I am doing this for myself and am not affiliated with any university.  I have done a case study that was ethnographic in nature before over the course of 5 yeas with my master’s thesis.  http://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/898/browse?value=Gnibus%2C+Melissa+Helene&type=author

I know that I am leaving this blog post hanging in the air.  My goal is to keep a daily blog.  It will take a lot of perseverance to maintain this goal.  There is much to write about with my experience in Mumbai.

My pantyhose adventure in Mumbai

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Today I visited Furtados School of Music.  I walked up the stairs and noticed a shoe collection of all different sizes, styles and types at the top of the stairs.  Instinctively, I added my own to the collection and walked around in feet covered with panty hose.  (I was dressed in a black Tahari skirt suit complete with jacket.)

Panty hose or socks that can tear easily are clothing items that should never be worn in Mumbai.  Many places request that you take off your shoes.  As an American, your mind jumps to religious reasons for this request.  That answer may have been true hundreds, if not thousands of years ago but is not true today except in religious places and some homes.

It is for hygiene reasons.  Yes, I know what you all are thinking.  Hygiene?  But is it not more hygienic for your feet to be covered?  Not if you are trucking through the sludge and whatever else comes up from the sewers during Monsoon season.  Mumbai is generally dusty and smoky as well.

Sorry ladies, it is time to shave your legs if you visit Mumbai.

 

A friend of mine wondered what the comment of shave your legs meant if you were wearing pants.  Many women wear capris and cross their legs.  Now, if they are in  a culture where hairy legs are acceptable, then my comment is moot.  But, if they are in a culture that does shave their legs, then the hair will show.

Muslims in India

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As I was about to depart to Mumbai, Micah started getting travel advisory emails from his workplace stating that this is one of the largest Muslim holidays.  Apparently from what I have read on the news is that there is tension between the Hindis and the Muslims.  If you read about the history of Mumbai, you would know that it was occupied by the Muslims hundreds of years ago but the influence and the Muslims still remain.  Mumbai is not very affected.  It is the financial capital of India.  People were telling me that you may see some strife in New Delhi.

Today, I passed the famous Mosque, Haji Ali Dargah, in my personal car.  It is quite beautiful and very crowded with people praying and visiting.  You could see it from across the water.  I would have stopped but I was on my way to Mehli Mehta, a non-profit music organization in South Mumbai.

Then I went to the mall across from my hotel to get swimming goggles and adaptable chargers.  I saw a few store keepers lock their stores and face Mecca.  It was moving to see other shoppers go about their business and not be inconvenienced by this.

Marco, Polo. Fish out of water? Only my fin. Does that count?

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India!  More like: Mumbai!   I have been waiting for this for over a year since Micah first mentioned to me that his company will be sending him there.  For the past 2 or 3 months, every twentieth sentence included the word India.  Come to the past 2 weeks and that was reduced to every third sentence.

This is my first international trip.  Unlike what Nordstrom Visa thinks, Puerto Rico does not count.  (They attempted to charge me fees while I was there, the nerve!)  Many people were impressed that the first overseas trip that I am taking is to Mumbai.  I have never even been to Canada or Mexico!  However, I have lived in major cities like Boston and New York City.  Not the suburbs mind you, in the city proper, including Manhattan.  That is an important distinction which I will get to later.

The longest flight I have ever been on was a 12 hour flight to Hawaii from NYC with a stop-over in Dallas.  The first leg was not bad but the second leg was horrible.  The seats were so uncomfortable that I wanted a back and bum transplant straight away!

The Mumbai flight started at 7:30 pm (EST) on October 31, 2014 at Newark Airport and ended at 23:14 (IST: Indian Standard Time for those who are familiar) on November 1, 2014.  It was probably a total of 20 hours with a two and a half hour layover in Brussels.

On arrival to Newark, we were treated like rock stars by Jet Airways.  My husband was flying Premiere Class and I was in Economy.  (His company paid for his ticket.)  They gave me upgrades immediately including: Priority Boarding, Priority Security Check-in, Priority Luggage Pick-up in Mumbai, and access to the Virgin Club Lounge.  Nice!

We hung out in the lounge until we had to board the flight.  Boarding was smooth.  No Southwest cattle-style drives here.  My seat partner was absolutely lovely!  She was born and raised in Mumbai and was telling me a little about the customs.  She thought my project was needed which was nice.  She was also helping me with my Hindi.  I learned the customary phrases (with hand movements) and then tested myself on the Berlitz program on the back of the plane seat in front of me.  Yes, they had Berlitz!  I was so excited!

My seat mate’s experience in the US was interesting.  She stayed in NYC and Minneapolis and said that Minneapolis was very jarring.  She could not believe how slow the pace was and that people actually knew how to drive.  NYC, she said, is a lot like Mumbai.  I will have to see for myself.

The movie I watched was a Bollywood film called the “3 Idiots.”  I highly recommend it (especially for you education and engineering folk) and will be on the lookout for it in Bombay.  (Yes, many people still call Mumbai Bombay.)  It is a comedy and the main characters kissed at the end.  (It is unusual to see any sexual contact on a Bollywood film.  Normally, the characters will get to that point and then break into song and dance.)  It was made in 2009 and was very popular in India.

Not much English was spoken on the plane.  I was immersed in 4 dominant languages: Hindi, French, Dutch, and German.  You would have never known that children were on the flight.  They were quiet and busy with their projects at their seats.  Yes, we were the minority on this flight.  Instructions were give in three languages.  The crew were all multi-lingual which made me feel real inadequate.

The plane quickly landed in Brussels.  All of the blonds passed through immigration and only the brunettes were left in the terminal side of security to wait for the plane to be cleaned so that we could continue on our journey to Mumbai.  I was so excited.  I remember applying for a job as a school teacher there in 2007 in an international school.  I got a phone interview but nothing more.  Terminal B is nothing to write home about but I will describe it to you in a few sentences anyway.

Boring!  I was expecting lavish shops and better chocolates to be sold in the Duty Free store.  I could get all of this in NYC.  Security was also high.  Micah’s bag set off the store detector and it took a 5 minute search to see that there was nothing in it from the store.  The nice thing was that most of the stores took USD and they did not charge you an extra fee for the exchange rate.  We got back EUR from USD purchases.  Another disappointing thing was that the only large coffee shop was a Starbucks!  Starbucks?  I wanted out of America not back in it!  Boy it was full too.  Oh well.  Thanks for contributing to the US economy folks.

The next leg was a seat change for me because I wanted an aisle seat.  Insert much needed but not received bum and back transplants.  To distract myself, I played “Ticket to Ride” on my iPad and “Bejeweled 2” on the back of the seat.  “Bejeweled 2” does not float my boat.

My seat mate was also Indian but was male.  There was not much verbal exchange because he was middle aged.  According to my Indian customs book, Indian men tend not to interact with women they do not know or are not in business with and I was not offended.

I was treated well on the plane getting additional food and treats from the staff.  I found out later that they thought I was an ex-Pat because I was wearing traditional Indian clothing.

The bathrooms on the plane were immaculate for the entire trip.  I guess I have a fascination because women’s bathrooms in the US tend to be disgusting in public places.

Micah’s plane experience was different than mine.  He was served first class food, could stretch out horizontally and sleep, and was given pajamas!  Jealous!  However, no one talked to each other.  I would gladly have the back pain for stimulating conversation with other people.  I wonder if this is a parallel to the social statuses in Mumbai.

Before you ask, why was I in Economy and Micah in Premiere, remember that Micah’s company paid for his trip.  We had to pay for my airline ticket.  Micah’s was $8000 roundtrip and mine was $1500 roundtrip.  We would get there at the same time and in a very slightly different manner (accommodation-wise only).  Hmmm.  You do the math.  Apparently, this arrangement is popular and was the reason why I received all of Micah’s perks.

We finally landed!  It was one LONG walk to immigration.  I live in Manhattan and love to walk so trust me when I say that it was LONG.  Micah and I were escorted on a golf cart.  The airport is gorgeous!  The public art along the walls is something to be mentioned.  I wish I would have had my camera out.  I will try to take pictures on my way back.  Some of it was politically charged as in the slum and pollution problems that Mumbai suffers from.  It was done in a tasteful and artistic fashion.

BTW…yes, I said slums.  I am not condemning.  The people of Mumbai call it that too.  Watch YouTube.

Immigration and customs were a breeze as was luggage collection.  Our driver was waiting for us.  We stepped outside the doors and smoke hit us in the face.  So the Weather Channel was not lying!  When it says 96 degrees Fahrenheit and Smoke for the forecast, they are not kidding.  So this is what pollution is like.  No, NYC is not polluted like this!  It was surreal.  The smell was not as bad as I was expecting.  I have a keen sense of smell too, like a Bloodhound.

It is about 00:01 at this point.  The light pollution was high but nothing to record on the camera.  There are plenty of YouTube videos that you can see about that.  I was not expecting the copious amount of palm trees lining the highway.  They soon gave way to a scene that looked like a cross between the Bronx and LA.  Old and new.  Shabby and wealthy.  The highway was almost pothole free, much better than the BQE where you can get whiplash.

We turned into the hotel and our car was searched via post-9/11 standards where the airports were doing this for a while .  They looked under the hood and in the trunk and scanned the van with a wand.  The security was hired by the hotel.  We passed through the gates and proceeded up a long, winding road to the Westin.  We were to do nothing.  Everything was handled by the staff.  We passed through a metal detector and checked in.

I did not eat since we left Belgium more than a half a day ago.  The food in the “luggage class” was horrible.  Even the native Indians did not eat it sending it back and calling it crap.  That made me feel better.  It was not me and my aversion to spicy food.  I also learned that Indians are very particular about their vegetarian diets and get a little spicy if served something non-vegetarian.

There was a 24 hour restaurant open in our hotel.  It is 3:00 at this point (I switched to non-US time just so you know).  I was surprised to see beef burger on the menu and had to order it!  Wow!  A beef product in Mumbai?  I questioned it and our server looked away bashfully.  It was OK.  Then I was worried that I was going to have a stomach issue for eating fried food so late before bed.  No.  It must be a NYC and Baltimore issue where they do not change the oil.  I have yet to have any indigestion problems so far knock on wood.  No Delhi Belly yet.

I fell asleep straight away having only taking a couple of naps on the plane.  I did not suffer from jet lag at all.  It also helps that I have loads of trouble sleeping anyway so I feel quite normal!

On Sunday, we had a wonderful brunch buffet and headed out to do a little sight-seeing and shopping with our hired driver.  He was excellent!

The shop keepers treated us well and the treatment that we received in Jackson Heights was identical in Bombay: first class all the way including food and drink offered on a tray as you shopped!  Is this normal?  I must ask.  I thought by dressing as an American tourist (shirt with sleeves, jeans, and shoes) that the store keepers would ignore us.  No sense in that!  We were wined, dined, and hounded.  No, I do not want the $2000 ring.  Yes, I know that you will not charge us taxes or fees on our credit card but I can get this type of ring in the US.

I guess it helped that I used all 20 Hindi words that I know.  I enjoyed listening to the workers speak in Hindi.  There are so many cognates thanks to the British occupation that I could understand tiny bits of their conversations.  The Latin in Spanish also helped since there are Portuguese words and influences from when they occupied Mumbai a few hundred years ago.  Reading Hindi script?  Probably not in this lifetime for me.  It is pretty to look at though.  The shop keepers also helped me with my Hindi while we waited for things to be brought to us.

(A side thought: for some reason, I keep translating everything I hear into Spanish and spoke in Spanish a couple of times.  What is wrong with me?  Wait, don’t answer that.)

The fashions are gorgeous!  The magpie in me was salivating but I kept it under control.  I am having a skirt and shirt made to me.  More in the Fashion section of India blog.

Of course, the bathroom photos that I posted on Facebook were taken in one of the shops.  What got me about the photos was not the actual toilet but the use of the words “Indian Restroom” and “Western Restroom.”  If perceived incorrectly and looked at very quickly from just the door signs, it could remind (especially) an American of “White Restroom” and “Colored Restroom.”  No, it was just the type of toilet system.  I am out to lunch on what I think of the “gravity toilet.”  No, I did not try it as the next available restroom was the “Western Restroom” and I did not “save any” for the “Indian Restroom.”  I did wait in line to take its picture.

Back at the hotel, I found out that there are no pharmaceutical products sold.  There is a short path to the mall.  Crossing the street is like playing Frogger.  Again, the heightened security through metal detectors to gain entrance.  We emerged from the hallways and entered the mall.  It was warm.  I looked to the left and found McDonald’s.  Yes, I had to have it.  Please see the attached picture.  The portion sizes are small.  There are no medium and large sizes.  I have been eating so much less and not missing it at all on this trip.  Of course, no beef or beef products are served.  The french fries were good but the chicken nuggets were soggy.  There was no sweet and sour sauce either as the guy looked at me like I was an alien for asking for it.  I tried three different sets of words but none were successful.  We shared the table with another couple.  Table sharing is the culture in this country.

Man was the mall crowded but well-managed with a rhythm that flowed.  The service was quick and accurate.  English was spoken with great clarity.  Security in the mall was also high.  I am wondering if this had anything to do with the Taj bombing a few years ago.

I was looking for better shampoo and conditioner which I found at the body shop.  Whoa!  High prices for that and wonderful quality to justify it.  It is much better than the hotel shampoo and conditioners.  I am not spending 22 days using that crap.

I went straight to work and made it my duty to start the blogs the next day.  I had loads of emails to write and phone calls to respond to.

I was excited when I got a text from the president of Mehli Mehta, one of the non-profit music organizations that I will be observing.  She wanted me to play the clarinet for a couple of minutes to help the kids take their nap.  Mozart Clarinet Concerto No. 2, second movement will be used for that task.  I wish, wish, wish I could record it but the permissions were not obtained.  I had to go easy on asking for permissions for recording.  I will be recording that organization next week and hopefully will be able to repeat it again.

Thanks to my husband’s wonderful co-workers, I was able to easily obtain a SIM card which makes calling in India so much easier and much cheaper.  I was also invited to dinner with one of them on Tuesday night at his house!  I am so excited!

In general, people are dressed in a conservative manner.  Please see my FashionBlog  section for more of this.

Did I mention how polite everyone is?  It is a little jarring.  I am used to the entitlement culture in the US.  Yes, it is that big of a difference and you need to visit Mumbai to see for yourself.  Everything is “Yes, Ma’am, no ma’am.  Please let me get that for you ma’am.”  Whoa!  I wonder after being in the US for so long, if I could actually get used to this.  However, if I did not seem to be a rich American, would I get this treatment?  I would tend to think yes but I am not sure.

British chick lit(erature) also helped me with my transition.  I use British idioms a lot in Mumbai. The way people say no and yes is completely different.  They mean what they mean but are used in a Indian-British way.  It is hard to describe.  I will refer to you my Indian culture book later.

I tend to do well with understanding non-American accents so that is not a problem for me.  I love the Mumbai accent.  It is a musical variation of the British accent.  Both are pleasing to the ear.

One last comment, even though security is high, it is not annoying like it is in places in the US where security is high.  They are efficient.  I cannot comment if it is more effective though.

I am getting errors for uploading photos.  When Micah comes back, they will be uploaded.

Off to my first preliminary interview/visitation.