Mai Mumbai me rahate hoo!

Greetings from Mumbai!

As this is my first official update, I would like to share with you the cornucopia of sounds that grace my ears each morning as I awake with the bustling metropolis formerly known as Bombay: crows squawking, horns honking, children laughing, Mosques calling, trains chugging, whistles whistling, dogs barking, roosters crowing, planes taking off, planes landing and auto rickshaws motoring - not to mention the guy downstairs who coughs up a lung or two every hour on the hour (that's what pollution will do to you!).

All of this, before 7am :o) It's a wonder anyone gets any sleep around here! Luckily, I have found a measure of peace in this Indian wake-up call - it reminds me that I am Mumbai. I call this place "home" now and am loving every minute of it (even the sleep-less ones!) Here is a picture of what lies outside my window!

My first week here as been a whirlwind of excitement, adaptation and masala chai! Originally, my roommate, Amanda, and I were supposed to arrive in Mumbai on the same night. Unfortunately, she is having major visa trouble and is still in the United States. Until she is able to get here, I am staying with three other women in a two bedroom apartment in the same building where Amanda and I will eventually live. My temporary roommates, Jessica, Michelle and Alexis are so wonderful and they've been fantastic hostesses during my current displacement!

I also started work this week! Each morning before the work day starts we meet for a Bible reading and prayer. Then, we have individual "stillness" time until 10am - a time when each of us can clear our thoughts and direct our concerns for the day to the Lord. It is my favorite part of the day and a huge help in centering my focus on justice.

Part of my position here will entail attending church conferences and engaging with local congregations to share with them God's heart for justice. This past Tuesday, I attended my first conference in Mumbai! It was a really neat gathering for the youth of the city with the aim to change Mumbai from within by mobilizing young Christians. The music was great and the crowd was on fire for Jesus! It was so encouraging to see so many young people living God's love in a city that so desperately needs it.

As far as culture shock is concerned - I suppose it's not all too shocking! I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to travel to Mumbai last year with Crossroads - that experience has given me a great frame of reference for what to expect this time around. Mumbai can be very overwhelming, and if not for my previous trip, I doubt I would be able to adjust as well as I have so far! One funny thing that I encountered during my first week involved a trip to the movies!

As Mumbai is essentially the NYC of India, there are many Western amenities available - including mega shopping malls complete with Pizza Huts, coffee shops, book stores and cinemas! Last weekend, Michelle and Alexis and I took a trip to Oberoi Mall to see "Sherlock Holmes" - seriously, a movie with both Jude Law AND Robert Downy, Jr. (just what I needed after my first few days in a strange city - some good lookin' Brits with witty sarcasm)! When we got to the ticket counter we told the clerk that we need three tickets together but that we were going to pay separately. Of course, he gave us three tickets- and we each paid on our own, but our seats were not together. That's right. You heard me. Our tickets were not together. In India, you have assigned seats at the movies!

Naturally, we voiced our concern to the clerk who seemed rather aloof to our complaint and told us it was fine since the movie was not sold out - we could sit wherever we wanted. Great! After getting popcorn and drinks the three of us found ourselves to the theatre that was showing our picture and it was completely empty! Even better! The whole theatre to ourselves! As it got closer to show time, however, the theatre did start filling up - but it was by no means "full". After the singing of the national anthem - that's right; Indians sing the national anthem before movies (much like Americans would sing the Star Spangled Banner before a sporting event), a group of young men started meandering down the row we had selected. It became clear that we were in "their" seats. They were pretty adamant about sitting there (even though the entire theatre was essentially still empty) so we apologized and graciously relocated to a row a few levels down.

Again, after getting situated in our new seats - another group of people came sauntering down our row and we once more found ourselves being asked to "kindly" move. Oy! Finally, after that move we found a place that was not to be occupied by anyone other than us! The movie was really good and it was nice to relax in an air conditioned room, in comfy, semi-reclinable movie theatre seats! The most shocking part about the experience wasn't necessarily the fact that there were assigned seats - but that everyone was so anal retentive about following their seating instructions on their tickets. In a place where there appears to be chaos everywhere one from the west would expect order, a capactiy for rule following actually shows up during a leisure activity!

Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for me and support me financially as I continue to embark on this year long adventure! As I get settled I will be sending updates about my work and stories about the new culture I find myself trying to blend in to.

Love,

Jamie didi