Wha?

I have absolutely no idea what this is. Actually, that is not entirely true. I know it`s some sort of food. A lot of food. But that`s it. I went to the market. Saw it. Thought it looked utterly fantastic, fabulous, outrageous and outlandish. And just had to take a picture of it.

Cheeeeeese!

This is cheese dosa. The shell is made out of lentils and is like an extremely thin pancake or crepe. It is folded but you can see that it`s so big that it can`t fit on the plate. There is cheese on the inside and outside, but you can have other things as well. And it`s served with the brown and white sauces. I was actually surprised by how much cheese there is in some Indian cooking. I mean, it`s not as much as in Switzerland or France or even America (or as good either), but it`s still much more prevalent than I thought. Well, you know me, I`m all about cheese so that is perfectly fine with me.

Do Not Put Maple Syrup on This

This is tomato utapa. It`s basically a thick pancake filled with tomatos, onions and herbs. It`s served with 2 very common sauces. The brown sauce is warm and thin. The white sace is cold and creamy. At first, I didn`t like the white sauce, but we`re cool now.

Chicken Soup`s Got Nothin on This

This is masil pav. It`s a chickpea stew that is always served overflowing out of the bowl. I don`t know why. It`s served with 2 rolls. Like a lot of other dishes, it`s also served with a handful of chopped raw red onions and a tiny piece of lime on the side.

Mumbai`s Big Mac

The most popular fast food you can get anywhere on the streets of Mumbai is the samosa pav, aka Bombay Burger. A samosa is a fried ball of thin dough that can be filled with just about anything. It can be served with a number of sauces. The one at school is filled with potatos, peas, onions, and spices. Then it`s put into a roll. You dip it into a spicy green sauce. It`s fried so it`s not very good for you but as a quick, filling snack between classes and at a price of only 7 Rupees, how can you say no?

P.S. Whenever you see "pav" or "S/W", at least one roll is served to eat your food as a sandwich. Learn this because there are no explanations of foods in most menus. Usually, if I see something interesting, I`ll ask that person what it is. If I am feeling extra-adventurous, I just point and hope for the best!

Time to Eat

This is our school cafeteria. This picture is deceptive though because it looks like it`s very bright and almost no one is there. In reality, it is often very crowded and quite dark, which is a shame because I like to eat with a little more light. Plus, forget about getting that food you see advertised in the picture. Most of it is Indian, with some grilled cheese sandwiches, omelets and Chinese food thrown in. The cafeteria, like almost all restaurants, does not give napkins with your food. In fact, many times you gotta fight to get one. Instead, there`s always a sink somewhere to wash your hands. Which is much more economical, yes, but there`s rarely soap so if you`re eating something oily with your hands (which is often), you ain`t gettin that off so easily. Also, in India, it is very important to specify if the food is veg or non-veg since so many Inidans are vegetarians. Ice cream bars are even labelled "100% Veg" so there is no doubt. Although plenty of places do serve chicken (and to a lesser extent, lamb and fish, though almost never beef), I find myself eating meat just about 2X a week here, and that`s usually on the weekends. Can you imagine me, the carnivore extraordinaire, cutting back so drastically? Wow, I must be so Indianized now. Who knew?

Gimme a T!

The Tiffin man brings me dinner 4-6X per week. Tiffin is very popular here. You get a full fresh-cooked meal delivered to your home or place of business.

The pictures show you how they work. The food comes in a thermos that keeps your food warm. In each thermos, are four stainless steel bowls. 1 contains rice. 1 contains 4 pieces of roti, a thin bread. 1 contains a vegetable like okra or potatoes or cauliflower. 1 contains dal, a spicy vegetable stew which comes in unlimited varieties.

Most of the girls in the hostel use the Tiffin service. Every night, around 8pm, the thermoses are dropped off by the security desk on the ground floor. Whenever I feel like it, I will pick mine up, which I can identify by my room number, F3. When I am done, I just leave the thermos in the hallway and the maid picks it up every morning. Then the Tiffin man comes later on, picks up all the thermoses and refills them for the next dinner. You pay at the end of the month.

Tiffin--healthy, cheap, tasty and filling. Mmm mmm... just how I like it!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chai!

Without question, the most popular drink in India (and many other countries as well) is chai. It is a very sweet tea that is mixed with milk and spices. Often, you will see men dipping bread into chai as a snack. The small glass that its served in is shorter than my middle finger and its width is narrower than the length of my pinkie finger (granted I have pretty long fingers!) But considering the huge amount of sugar in it, a small glass of it is all you need. In fact, if you do not drink it right away, a layer of sugary skin forms on top of it. If that`s the case, just scoop it out with a spoon. Though completely harmless, I don`t like to drink it cause it feels so weird in my mouth. Other than that, chai tastes so goooood.

Hey Stella!!---#2

Round 2 of answers. (Check out the first answers I posted back on August 8.)

1. How`s wading through all that water? Actually, monsoon season is now finally over. It`s been dry since October began. It`s been replaced by temperatures from the mid 80s to mid 90s everyday (that`s low to mid 30s for my non-American people) and sun. It`s so nice because to me, sunshine makes everything better. And I`m so glad I can just walk around in a t-shirt, unlike many others at this time of year. It`s gonna be a cold hard slap in the face when I get off that plane in Switzerland in December. Luckily, Roland will have my winter coat for me when he picks me up. :-)

2. Sweet, so that means no more Crocs, right? Ummm...well, see, the thing is...they are mighty comfortable. Everyone in India wears sandals all the time so why not me and my Crocs. There is just no need to wear any other shoes.

3. How`s school? Well, the 1st session was tough those first 2 months. We had a hardcore schedule and so much work. Especially since everything was brand-spanking new for me. But I really enjoyed learning even though I ended up drinking more coffee in one month than I had previously drank my whole life. We started 2nd session on October 1. I`ve got HR, IT, multinational strategic management, and international finance. Plus, we visit 1-2 Indian companies a week.

4. Is India really that cheap? As long as you eat at local restaurants and shop in the markets, it`s very difficult to spend up to $10/day on food. During the school weel, I barely spend $5 on food per day--and that`s 5 very weak American dollars! Local trains within Mumabi are very cheap as well. However, housing in Mumbai is very expensive because like New York there are too many people and not enough space. Plus, if you are a foreigner doing touristy stuff, do know that you will get charged sometimes 10x the rate as Indian citizens. But sometimes a student ID helps lower the cost.

5. OK, all this sounds so lovey-dovey and that`s great. But what annoys you about Mumbai? Pushy people. Everywhere. They will not wait until you get off the elevator before they get on. They will easily cut in front of you in line at the restaurant or in a grocery store. And there`s no such thing as personal space. Oh no. They are all up on you. I guess all this is because there are so many people, you just gotta push. So push I do. Cuz otherwise, you will never get off that elevator or you`ll never eat.

Pray the Cushiony Soft Way

This is the inside of St. Thomas Church in South Mumbai. Look at these chairs! How comfortable does that look?!? No hard pews here, oh no. Just big, soft, tall cushions that put you that much closer to God. And they`re pretty too!

Siesta

Like many countries around the world, afternoons are break time and little activity actually goes on then. Post offices, medical clinics, small shops, and small restaurants are closed during this time. Here in Mumbai, manual laborers, all of whom are men, take a nap wherever is most convenient. This is usually on a quiet street, maybe underneath a tree, and if not, under some newspapers as seen in this pic. I think naptime is generally an hour or two. What do you think? Would naptime work in the West?

Mooove On Over

Sorry, that title is really lame. I know, I know. But this pic just sooo called for it, no? The 4 cows are chillin in an actual lane of traffic---crazy midday traffic! And everyone`s just gotta deal and switch lanes. Cows rule!

U Sure U Hafta Pee?

This is the toliet in the Prince of Wales museum. While many places here have the toilets I am used to, others still use the hole in the ground technique. Which in one sense is ok cuz it`s not like I sit on public toilets anyway. But on the other hand, I better make sure my targetting is on point. As Leah, my roommate said, "we`ll probably have thighs of steel by the time we leave here."

Another thing is that many Indians do not use toilet paper. In every bathroom there is a bucket next to a faucet. You fill that faucet with water and use your left hand to clean yourself. Hence, like in many other countries, no one uses their left hand to eat. Also with drains, pipes and the sewage system not really being on point in a lot of places, it is frowned upon to put toilet paper in the toilet. My roommate and I, the only girls on our floor to use toilet paper, learned this the hard way when a note was put on the back of the bathroom door warning us against that. Oops!

P.S. don`t my legs look all black as night and shiny in this pic? Love it!

And All That Flash!

Here`s a little taste of Hindu architecture for your viewing pleasure. Everything is so decorative, so beautiful. I especially love the pink temple. It stands out so well against the dark building and sunless sky. Couldn`t you just see Mattel advertising to a replica to little Indian girls as Barbie`s Dream Temple? Of course, Barbie would look A LOT different! And her name would probably be changed to Shilpa.

Water Water Everywhere...And You REALLY Don`t Wanna Drink It.

Welcome to Banganga Tank, home of the annual Banganga Festival that takes place every January here in Mumbai. Ritual Hindu bathers come here for the sacred healing power of the water. To be honest, the water looked really dirty to me, but as its source is supposed to be the Ganges River, I`m not surprised. Unfortunately, the Ganges, as holy as it is, is also known to be one of the most polluted rivers in the world. But the Banganga Tank still looks pretty from afar, no? And with a great name like Banganga, how could you go wrong?

Mosque in the Sea

Swimming? Boating? Paddling? Nah, just plain old walking. That`s how you get to Haji Ali, the mosque in the sea. Haji Ali was a Muslim merchant from Mumabi who died on his way to Mecca after giving up all his possessions. According to legend, his body floated all the way back to Mumbai. The mosque is in desperate need of maintenance but that would mean shutting the whole mosque for some time and few people like that option.

During high tide, and especially during monsoon season, it is impossible to get to the mosque because the walkway is under water. Along the walkway, you see plenty of people selling things, and that`s fine. But what is hard to see is the many physically deformed people, mostly men, laying on the ground chanting for what seems like hours, even days. That was really, really tough.

The Wheels on the Cart Go Round N`Round

If you`re in the business of selling something, how do you get your product from the distribution center to your place of business? Trucks are may be too expensive, so how bout a cart? It`s common to see men using all their strength to push and pull these carts on the street, right next to insane traffic! You can transport fruit, kerosene, clothes, anything. And there`s little fear a car will hit you.

Business on the Street

Mumbai is the biggest city in India that attracts more than 1000 new settlers everyday. The population is estimated to be anywhere from 12-18 million people. No one knows for sure because lots of people are never counted. Anyway, people come because you can make money here. And you don`t need a lot of space to do it. Look and see a shoe repairman who has squeezed himself into the tiniest corner of the street to run his business. Or, the typists who spend all day outside typing important documents for people. The typists can read, write and type in English, Hindi, and several other Indian languages. All these businesspeople spend all day working, hear all the loud noises and watch all the people push against each other. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qwZBqCfJxw to hear and see a street market.

Beauty Expanded

This is the inaugural issue of Vogue India. I picked it up to read on my train ride to the museum. Although I am not really a fan of Vogue (although I was told to try the French version, which is supposed to be excellent) and have been trying to wean myself off fashion magazines in general, I thought, "Hey, the very first issue, why not?" Although it is not the first American fashion magazine here in India, I applaud Vogue for it`s new venture. I can`t figure out though, why the blonde, Australian model is front and center of the cover. Don`t get me wrong, I believe all fashion magazines around the world should show all types of models no matter what. But for the very first issue, I think it would have been best if the cover focused a wide spectrum of solely Indian beauty. Now that I`ve been living in India for 2 months, I have an idea of what Indian beauty means in general, but that`s a whole `notha topic!

Sights & Smells That Can Bring Tears to Your Eyes

I first arrived in NYC with my mother just a few days before I started college. I remember my mom`s reaction when we got out of the cab: "Eeeww. There`s bags of garbage everywhere and it`s so dirty. You`re going to stay here for four years?!?!" I tried to reassure her by saying that all big cities had a lot of trash and dirt, including Chicago. She was quick to point out that Chicago was significantly cleaner and I quickly replied that while this was true, especially since Chicago has alleys while NYC doesn`t, it was also significantly smaller. In any case, she grew to like NYC more and more with each subsequent visit. I don`t know if she`d ever like Mumbai though. Mumbai is a lot bigger and a lot more crowded then NYC, and oh so a lot trashier. Mumbai is so filthy and the smell is sometimes so bad, that it stops you in your tracks. And sometimes, you literally do have to stop in your tracks in order to avoid the animal or yes, human waste on the ground.The picture above is the very extreme and rare, yet, around town, I have seen that mess enough times that I`ve lost count. The city tries its best, I suppose, although there`s a lot more I think it can do. Ultimately, with so many people who don`t care enough, it`s difficult. How do you make people who already live in such a dirty town feel personally responsible for their own mes?