A storms a-comin' to Mumbai and it's called Hurricane Portman.
In my infinite attempts to diverge from the norm, I've chosen to take a trip to India through my school (Ithaca College) as a last hurrah before entering the real world (rather than the usual backpacking trip through Europe). While unfortunately I am not yet a rich prince of the Maharashtra and cannot afford to bring anyone else with me on my journey I offer you this consolation prize; a blogging of my adventures. I shall be spending three weeks in Mumbai, a week on the fabulous beaches of Goa, and tentatively some time in Singapore and Japan.
The first week I will be absorbing the culture of India through music, film, museums, mosques, and more. My professor has set up several excellent speakers for us to meet and learn from. The second week I will be doing service work at ADAPT, a sort of school for children with varying levels of disabilities, where we are also staying during our time in Mumbai. Finally we will escape to the countryside for a meditation retreat. After that I intend to take a train to Goa, a former Portuguese colony with world famous beaches.
Currently I've just left I-Know-Somethings-Going-To-Go-Wrong-With-Getting-There mode and entered Shit-This-Is-Really-Happening mode, where I will probably uncomfortably plant myself for the next week. From what my professor and everyone else has told me India is no walk in the park. It will be hotter and more humid than any climate I've ever experienced. In Mumbai I will never experience quiet, there is constant street noise and traffic and even late at night I will hear wild dogs roaming the streets and the incessant whirring of my ceiling fan. On top of that it is the heart of Monsoon season right now. I'm told monsoons don't work like in Forrest Gump where it rained all kinds of rains for three months straight, but rather it will be a normal, sunny day and then out of nowhere torrential downpours will come and I will experience rain like I've never experienced it before. I imagine it will be something like if God downed a bottle of Ipecac. As a cherry on top there will be the threat of disease. Don't worry too much, I've been vaccinated for Hepatitis, Polio, Tetanus, and Typhoid and I've got some preventative Malaria medication. However, I still can look forward to the threat of Rabies and Dysentery or even just general "Delhi-Belly" (see the "Colon" part of the title). Perhaps toughest of all to deal with will be the impoverished of Mumbai. From the moment I get off the plane I am told I will be mobbed by people asking to carry my bags whom I should absolutely NOT let carry my bags. Furthermore, everywhere I go on the streets poor children will be begging me for money a la Slumdog Millionaire, and to give it to them means supporting the guys who take out their eyes because "Blind singers make triple" (Sorry, I just watched Slumdog yesterday in "preparation" for the trip). This will probably be the toughest thing to deal with; well, that and the disease ridden tap water that I can't touch even when I'm super dehydrated (which should be all the time).
Regardless of all of the above craziness that I will encounter, and the fact that I don't know a word of Hindi yet, I refuse to be fearful. Nervous, yes. Fearful, never. After all, if a billion Indian people can handle India, I'm sure I can too. Besides, being afraid would be of no help to me. I'm taking this trip to experience new things and see another side of the world so I am prepared to take the good with the bad. I'm focusing on the one-of-a-kind sites I will see, the new things I will learn, and the exchange rate that will be oh so kind to me. So buckle up everyone, because I'm going to India! And if you're reading this, you're coming too.
