Shame on me!

Yes, yes, shame on me! Just realized I haven't posted anything for 2 months! 2 months! Can you imagine?! I feel like I have just arrived in Mumbai... but actually it has been already 4 months of my stay here... and 4 more to go!

So now time for some lame excuses - why haven't I been posting? I remember when I first arrived and everything was just sooooo shocking, soooo new, sooooo different... and I just had to share all these soooo things with someone...obviously Indians wouldn't understand, so blogging was a good way of expressing myself...

And then I haven't even realized when from the first stage of the cultural shock (being super excited and super happy) I slowly moved to the next ones - initially complaining about every single matter to finally settle down and start calling Andheri flat "a home"... or doing other things Indians do - saying "I am from Mumbai", bargaining with rikshawallas, recognizing different Indian dishes and passing comments on them like: "I love punjabi food" or "Can we have aloo paratha for lunch?"

I guess this is when things around me stopped being shocking and when me seeing an elephant on the street (yes, it really happened, he was just walking next to my riksha!) was not anymore exciting enough to blog about it:P In such moments I would just think to myself: "It's India" and it would be a good enough excuse for all the weird and random situations.

Well, last 4 months of my life have definitely been the months of some biggest challenges, craziest things I have ever done, most scary moments, sweetest people and the most surprising events!

Good 4 months of my life!

Plastic and newspapers!

I have already shared the story about Indians keeping everything in plastic; however packing everything in newspapers is actually even more exciting!

Surprise number 14

When you buy anything on the street you have 80% of chances you will get it packed with newspaper. Bread, fruit, vegetables, pastries… Even when they deliver snacks to the office they usually bring them in big boxes, so that whoever wants to eat can come, take some, pack in their piece of a newspaper and have it. First days I was really disgusted and I was just not eating...but you cant keep avoiding… it’s India, what to do? ;)

Appreciating small things

When your every day is a constant hustle, when you have to struggle to have running water at home, when you have to figure out every day how to get to the office, when you sweat like nothing after having a 5 – minutes walk… you really start looking at the world around you from a different perspective. I didn’t even notice when I started appreciating small things in the way Indians do. Now you can often find me saying: “What a nice weather!” or “The food was amazing!” or “There was almost no traffic on my way to the office” or “I caught a rick immediately after I got out of the house!”
Interesting! I really don’t know what is happening to me in this country!!! ;)

Excuse me Madam!

“Excuse me madam, come here madam, have a look madam, only 50 rupees madam, madam… madam… madam!” This is what I remember from the first shopping adventure on my own! I was so proud of myself: I went to Bandra by train and found a proper shopping street (Linking Road). And then I went mad! These crazy people started with “Madams”, were dragging me into their stalls, wanted to show me everything, wanted me to buy anything from them! I even had to have a look at men’s underwear! Shopping which is supposed to be a pleasant activity (especially for me!) was like a nightmare, after 1 hour I was so tired that I decided to go home :)

However, I have quite an impressive list of achievements in terms of what I bought and for how much ;) My bargaining skills are improving every day, I can easily name negotiating techniques which are working best with these people!

Sandals
Initial price: Rs 495
Actual price: Rs 270 (15.80)

Kurta
Initial price: Rs 450
Actual price: Rs 250 (14.60)

Earrings
Initial price: Rs 100
Actual price: Rs 40 (2.30 PLN)

Obviously, if I were there with an Indian I would get these things for lower prices as well but as for a gori I managed pretty well ;)

And now – the most annoying thing! I almost wanted to shout when it happened for the first time! As I wanted to buy shoes I had to try different types and sizes… and I forgot customers’ servicing is taken very seriously in this country… not only will they make sure they have a proper size and color but they will be themselves putting shoes on your feet in case you want to try them! I was honestly feeling very awkward – having someone to put my shoes on…. Guess I am still not used to Indian standards!

Such moments...

There are some moments in your life that opens a new chapter, like 18^th birthday, your wedding, moving out from your parents’ house, etc. In India you tend to celebrate much smaller events which somehow bring you one step forward. You can’t imagine how happy I was after getting my SIM card (2 weeks of waiting!). You can get one of these within 5 minutes, paying some 5 PLN in Poland but getting one here was like a huge thing, I had to submit a few different documents, my pictures, etc… together with this SIM card however I got my safety, independence and freedom. I could start traveling on my own, not being worried about what will happen if the driver doesn’t know the way. I could just easily call someone then and ask them to explain the way in Hindi. Also, I could finally set meetings, go out on my own, being in touch with my friends all the time! Big thing! And now, after almost 2 months in India I got my bank account opened! Another operation that took me maximum 20 minutes in Alior Bank in Warsaw was being processed here for so long! And I can’t even name all the documents they needed me to submit. When I finally got my ATM card and all the documentation my bank assistant came to congratulate me on the same!!! Can you imagine?! Again, this account and this card mean so much, they again mean independence and freedom to manage your own expenses on your own! Good feeling, finally I will go and do some shopping!!

Found online!

I have just found this list online and was laughing trying to check whether I have become Mumbaiker already ;) My YES/NO below!

In reference to Gigis you know you are becoming a Parisian when.. here comes the How do you recognize becoming a Mumbaiker. The idea behind is that you certainly recognize that you adapt some habits and mindsets. If you live and work India and especially Mumbai this happens really fast, once you are over the culture shock you get used to certain things. If not you will leave the country soon.
So here is my list of how to recognize becoming a Mumbaiker

- everything beyond 30km/h is speeding NO
- 0.1m² is lot of space in a train YES
- you bargain everywhere YES
- if you sneeze, don't expect somebody to say "Gesundheit, bless you.." instead you say sorry YES
- you start liking Kinfisher YES (Kingfisher is my favourite brand now!!!)
- there is no need to use a blinker/ indicator/ side mirror, just horn LOL YES!
- you get new a perspective towards waste and pollution YES
- you are shaking your head like an Indian YES
- you start your sentence with "Hey Boss.." so much YES!!
- you can squeeze your lips to call a waiter etc. NO (will never do that! yaak!)
- 100 Rupies (2EUR) is expensive for one meal YES
- you don't consider guys holding hands and hugging as gay LOL YES
- you jump off the train while it is still running YES (really!)
- you can recognise stations by the smell (e.g Bandra) YES
- you finally pay the prize for an auto,taxi shown on the meter without discussion YES
- you have a bit of orientation in the city YES (still a bit though!)

I guess I am almost there!!!

Human dignity

How can you talk about human dignity when your restroom is just next to your bed and your bed is just next to your kitchen and all these is actually placed on the street, where thousands of people are driving their cars every day, traveling with rikshaws, walking by. How can you talk about having basic privacy when you brush your teeth, comb your hair, eat your dinner, sleep, feed your babies being watched by random pedestrians or travelers, when “your bed” is just there, just on the street but you only lie down after 9 pm, when the traffic is less and you will have to collect your stuff before 7 am when it starts getting crowded again.

Coming to India I was told I should expect poverty and a gap between the rich and the poor. I was thinking, I am not from the richest country in the world either, so shouldn’t be that shocked. However, things you can see here are really scary and you can’t by any chance prepare yourself for what you will see here. No one can really say how many people are living on the streets (especially in Mumbai this number will be huuuuge!) because no one is even able to track how many people are there in the country. Not everyone was born in hospital, not everyone is officially registered, not everyone officially works. Therefore if Indian government gives statistics about the size of the population they can never be accurate… neither they are able to say how many people are homeless. Most of the Indians I was discussing economic situation with said that the biggest issue hindering this country from growing even faster is its population. No matter how much effort you put into providing social services you can’t really feed everyone, educate everyone, and give work to everyone.