Almost A Local...
Yesterday I got a taste of the beautiful weather that is coming to India in November and December. Bright, blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and a cool offshore breeze from the Arabian Sea. I went for a run along Bandstand (the boardwalk that runs in front of my hotel) and then lifted in the gym before heading out to run some errands and grab dinner.
I stopped by the DVD store first, the bank, and then wanted to grab some food from my favorite Thai restaurant in Bandra, Thai Ban. The cab driver, however, did not know where it was and we wound up getting a little lost. I directed him so that I knew I was at least in the general vicinity and then got out to walk. I stopped a guy on the street and asked him if he knew where the restaurant was, or if he knew where Gold's Gym was (which is right across the street). He was on his way to Gold's, so we walked together. From Bombay, he works in IT and does quite a bit of traveling. We chatted about this and that, and then I asked him his name. It was Chaitanya. So, here's the cool thing about that...the way that I remember people's names when I first meet them is to associate them with someone else I know by the same name. Well, when I first came to India, that didn't work so well. Unfortunately, I didn't know any Soumyadip's, Jignesh's, or Akanksha's back in the US. Well, when Chaitanya told me his name, I was very excited because I already knew a Chaitanya! So, remembering his name was a snap.
However, my favorite part of our walk through town was when we were crossing the street and a cab came flying out of nowhere, hurtling towards me as fast as the little clunker could go. I calmly held out my hand (signaling him to stop), and he screetched to a halt a few inches from where I was crossing. Chaitanya burst out laughing and said, "You know!" One of the little tricks I've learned here is that you can't meekly cross the street, hoping that a cab will stop for you...because they won't. You have to defiantly hold out your hand, letting the cab know who's boss. I know, it doesn't make much sense because basically, if the scenario were to play out, I'd lose...but somehow it works.
It made me feel like a real Mumbaiker.
Much love to my family who are all in NYC right now, getting my little sister settled into college. (Hopefully, they didn't buy her any pink toothbrushes.) Good luck, Pookie.
...and some big announcements coming this week...
Yesterday I got a taste of the beautiful weather that is coming to India in November and December. Bright, blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and a cool offshore breeze from the Arabian Sea. I went for a run along Bandstand (the boardwalk that runs in front of my hotel) and then lifted in the gym before heading out to run some errands and grab dinner.
I stopped by the DVD store first, the bank, and then wanted to grab some food from my favorite Thai restaurant in Bandra, Thai Ban. The cab driver, however, did not know where it was and we wound up getting a little lost. I directed him so that I knew I was at least in the general vicinity and then got out to walk. I stopped a guy on the street and asked him if he knew where the restaurant was, or if he knew where Gold's Gym was (which is right across the street). He was on his way to Gold's, so we walked together. From Bombay, he works in IT and does quite a bit of traveling. We chatted about this and that, and then I asked him his name. It was Chaitanya. So, here's the cool thing about that...the way that I remember people's names when I first meet them is to associate them with someone else I know by the same name. Well, when I first came to India, that didn't work so well. Unfortunately, I didn't know any Soumyadip's, Jignesh's, or Akanksha's back in the US. Well, when Chaitanya told me his name, I was very excited because I already knew a Chaitanya! So, remembering his name was a snap.
However, my favorite part of our walk through town was when we were crossing the street and a cab came flying out of nowhere, hurtling towards me as fast as the little clunker could go. I calmly held out my hand (signaling him to stop), and he screetched to a halt a few inches from where I was crossing. Chaitanya burst out laughing and said, "You know!" One of the little tricks I've learned here is that you can't meekly cross the street, hoping that a cab will stop for you...because they won't. You have to defiantly hold out your hand, letting the cab know who's boss. I know, it doesn't make much sense because basically, if the scenario were to play out, I'd lose...but somehow it works.
It made me feel like a real Mumbaiker.
Much love to my family who are all in NYC right now, getting my little sister settled into college. (Hopefully, they didn't buy her any pink toothbrushes.) Good luck, Pookie.
...and some big announcements coming this week...
posted by Steven | 5:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home