The past week has been relatively uneventful. I’m trying as best as I can to take care of everything I need before I move from India back to the U.S., and I’m slowly but surely checking things off of my list.
My close friend Kristin Wall also came to visit me. She’s en route from her Teach for America job in St. Louis, Missouri to a one-month volunteer teaching assistant position Chang Rai, Thailand, and she stopped through Mumbai for a week with me!
We’ve mostly been eating, walking, shopping, coffee-ing, and talking, with a minimal amount of touring, but primarily because the rains finally started up this week! It was beastly hot, and now, though it’s still incredibly humid, the heat has broken somewhat, with the beginning of the monsoon. It’s messy and wet, but it’s a relief from the heat!
School children after the rain
Cow in a raincoat... only in India!
I went down to the Gateway of India for probably my last time, and I did some shopping along the Causeway, to find souveniers for family and friends.
Gateway, before the rains started
I also went to Crawford Market to order glasses (in India, “specs”), contact lenses, and sunglasses (in India, “glares”). For about the cost of a pair of glasses or a year’s worth of contact lenses in the U.S., I purchased two pairs of glasses (frames and lenses), a year’s worth of contact lenses, and a pair of sunglasses (non-prescription). Oh, and I had a free eye exam. It’s things like this that I will really miss when I come back to the U.S.!
New sunglasses!
I went to see the new X-Men this week, browsed at Phoenix Mills mall, and enjoyed many relaxing hours of coffee at Barista, Moshe’s, and the Bagel Shop.
Coffee!
It’s been a very nice week, especially being with a great friend who I really missed this year. Being with her, I also get to see India through a traveler’s eyes, and it reminds me of all of the fun things that I love doing here. I’m hit with a small dose of early nostalgia, and it’s very odd to think that I have just about a week and a half left here. I’m not sure what to do with my emotions.
I know it was a hard move, coming to India, and I know it will be just as much of a transition going back. As I was when I started, I’m both excited and nervous for whatever is next.
