Life is just going to be one long downhill after monkeybaby

1 June 2011

SHIRA:

Hopefully there has been an apartment breakthrough, but I don’t want to write about it until there’s something definitive so, for now, if whoever is reading this could keep your fingers crossed for us, that would be great. 

We’ve moved to a new hotel after we were asked to leave our old hotel.  The reason they gave us is that they had to do pest control, but we suspect that we were the pests.  In any case, on to hotel number four.  It’s actually even closer than our last hotel and only a 5 minute walk from our work.  It also includes a television, and, for us, that means it’s high class.  Right now Jordan and I are watching an old Bollywood movie to which we like to add our own narration. [Jordan: High angst! Guys looking at each other, very, VERY crossly! Somebody’s pissed in the lassi!]

In other news, after two weeks of eating out almost every meal we are totally sick of eating at restaurants – especially because we have consigned ourselves to eating the cheapest fare we can find.  Now for a trip to the grocery and adventuring into the vast and yet unexplored world of Indian street food.

At work, two other North Americans have joined our crew.  We have learned that we arrived at a time of high intern turnover as soon Indians start college soon. Work is going swimmingly – I think I can speak for both of us when I saw that we both feel like we’re needed, we’re doing important (and urgent!) work, and we’re gaining a really fascinating insight into some of the contemporary issues and realities of Indian life.  I was worried that my lack of legal background would prevent me from feeling useful, but my research, writing, and organizational skills have been put to good use and my initial fears have been successfully assuaged.

One of my favorite things about where we work, though, has nothing to do with the projects to which we were assigned.  Every day we get tea two or three times a day delivered to our office as a normal part of the work day.  This is something I’m going to miss back in the US.

30 May 2011

SHIRA:

Things are going just fine.  I took my first “business trip” (if I can call it that) when I was sent to Pune in order to meet, share materials, and coordinate with another small Law / human rights advocacy group.  I went with one other intern and had a nice time.  I was hoping to see the synagogue in Pune, but they wouldn’t let me in despite my magen david necklace. 

We spent our first weekend here by visiting Elephanta Island.  About an hour by boat away from Mumbai, the island is home to some caves and religious rock carvings.  While visiting the caves there was a point at which Jordan and I became the attraction.  One person asking to take a picture with us quickly became an avalanche of requests for us to pose in pictures with other tourists. The island was also overrun with monkeys of which we (ok, Jordan) took about a bajillion pictures.  It was really nice to get out of the city for a little bit and experience silence and greenery. 

We are getting a taste for the food.  I finally had mango and it was delicious.  Our Indian workmates are scandalized that we’ve been drinking non-bottled (but purified) water and sauces which, as they like to remind us, are not cooked!  But we haven’t gotten sick yet – knock on wood – and it’s fun to be able to eat different things.  Also, I had my first “real” Bombay frankey and I actually prefer the New York version of Roti Roll.  I wonder if this is because the restaurant was unreliable and I plan on further tests. 

Life is hot but the rains are supposed to come soon and they’re rumored to clean up the air and cool everything down.  I am looking forward to them.

Now to find that apartment…

JORDAN: 
It turns out Mumbaiker hipsters listen to American blues music and generally disdain the lemming Bollywood culture. This was an interesting discovery. It’s definitely an underground scene, though: we went to an absolutely marvelous blues concert – beautiful musicianship and composition, I couldn’t have imagined these guys playing to less than major venues if they were in the states. World class. Alas, however, I would estimate the crowd size at the show at about a hundred fifty. We had no trouble sitting in the front row, out of four rows. The audience just isn’t here. It’s saddening for the sake of these musicians at the same time, though, that it’s inspiring to see guys who are world class play to tiny venues, make no money and on to the next town. Old school values.

The highlight of our trip to Elephanta Island was definitely Monkeybaby. Actually, there were several Monkeybabies that we saw, and yes, we could’ve just walked up and touched them. We decided to save Monkeymama some stress, though, as she was giving us the Monkeystinkeye. Pictures coming ASAP.

As Shira mentioned, white folks are a photo op. Folks literally stop you and ask to take a picture with you. Lots of them. It’s a bizarre thing. We feel like those guys dressed as cartoon characters at a theme park. We come from a country of immigrants from all over the world, which is relatively rare, so it’s very hard to understand their surprise at seeing someone of a different race. I suppose, though, that they’ve only ever heard of folks like us through newspapers and TV. Then all of a sudden, there we are: just like George Bush and Lady Gaga. Who wouldn’t take their picture?