Hey all,
Two full days in India! It feels like it's been forever.
Last night, we experienced the nocturnal life of Mumbai, where people don't stop hustling and bustling (much like NYC, the city that never sleeps). We ate dinner on a couch around a table, on top of a roof! What felt like a hundred flights of stairs definitely payed off.
This morning, we took cabs to the western railroad which took us to the Dharavi slum. The traffic is crazy (there are no lanes), and the trains don't have doors. The ladies got to sit in the women-only car! Krishna, our guide, ran from one car to another trying to give both genders directions.
Dharavi was incredible. It's its own little world. We first walked through the more industrial side, where we saw a lot of mini factories recycling and recreating items with used plastic. We also saw the garment industry, where they use design stamps dipped in hot wax to create tons of patterns on different colored cloths.
The most terrible thing was that the view from the slums is the richer area of Mumbai. It was saddening to see glass skyscrapers from the roofs of run down shacks. But, people aren't always suffering. Most were smiling at us and waving. There are lots of job and business opportunities, and the community is closely knit.
Next we went to a more residential area, and got to see the living conditions of Dharavi people. We walked through narrow alleyways past doors and doors of small homes. Adorable children would say little words in English to us, like "hi" and "bye".
We went to a library and met with a lot of young adults who live in Dharavi. We split up into two groups, one working on computer software and one just chatting and teaching English. Their English was very good, and everyone had such a fun time getting to know each other. There were many giggles during games and lunch.
After our long goodbye, we walked through the pottery area of the slums, went to the Reality Tours office, and guzzled cold coke, which was extremely refreshing in the sweltering heat!
In a few minutes, we will be gathering for reflection time, and then we will go out to dinner.
Much love,
Lucy S. and Nicole
Two full days in India! It feels like it's been forever.
Last night, we experienced the nocturnal life of Mumbai, where people don't stop hustling and bustling (much like NYC, the city that never sleeps). We ate dinner on a couch around a table, on top of a roof! What felt like a hundred flights of stairs definitely payed off.
This morning, we took cabs to the western railroad which took us to the Dharavi slum. The traffic is crazy (there are no lanes), and the trains don't have doors. The ladies got to sit in the women-only car! Krishna, our guide, ran from one car to another trying to give both genders directions.
Dharavi was incredible. It's its own little world. We first walked through the more industrial side, where we saw a lot of mini factories recycling and recreating items with used plastic. We also saw the garment industry, where they use design stamps dipped in hot wax to create tons of patterns on different colored cloths.
The most terrible thing was that the view from the slums is the richer area of Mumbai. It was saddening to see glass skyscrapers from the roofs of run down shacks. But, people aren't always suffering. Most were smiling at us and waving. There are lots of job and business opportunities, and the community is closely knit.
Next we went to a more residential area, and got to see the living conditions of Dharavi people. We walked through narrow alleyways past doors and doors of small homes. Adorable children would say little words in English to us, like "hi" and "bye".
We went to a library and met with a lot of young adults who live in Dharavi. We split up into two groups, one working on computer software and one just chatting and teaching English. Their English was very good, and everyone had such a fun time getting to know each other. There were many giggles during games and lunch.
After our long goodbye, we walked through the pottery area of the slums, went to the Reality Tours office, and guzzled cold coke, which was extremely refreshing in the sweltering heat!
In a few minutes, we will be gathering for reflection time, and then we will go out to dinner.
Much love,
Lucy S. and Nicole
