On Monday, I went with Dennis to the Foreign Registration office to register me with the government so I wouldn't have a problem. I have to register within 14 days of arriving and of course Monday was the 13th day. After a 1 1/2 hour commute and after climbing the 6 flights of stairs, we made our way to the office. At first they told me that they didn't have proof that I was an American citizen (apparently a passport doesn't mean too much to them). Then after waiting for some time, I filled out the registration form (pretty much the same form as the visa form that I had already filled out). Then they told me that they didn't have proof of residence in India. I never knew that I needed it and didn't even have it because I was moving into my new apartment that same day. So it looked like I would have to come back that next morning with proof of residence.
After the second 1 1/2 hour ride back, I was exhausted! At 8:30pm, my head hit the pillow and I fell right asleep. Bright and early Tuesday morning, Dennis & I took the 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the registration office again. The woman at the office said that I just needed to fill out a new registration form and I would be all set. After filling out the form, I was on my way to print it off from the computer when the power went out. Just my luck! After about 20 minutes of waiting, I kindly asked one of the employees if I could do the form by hand. She said yes and I began filling out the form for the third time. After she finished stamping things in my registration booklet, and I finished filling out the form, the power came back on. Since the power came back on, she told me that I now had to fill out the form again on the computer....now the FOURTH time of filling out the form. A pain in the neck if you ask me! Finally after waiting for god knows how long, she handed me my registration booklet. After 5 hours of being in the office, I was oh so ready to get out of there! Dennis & I went back to school where he went to work and I was finally able to check my email. Dennis said that he still had work to do so Harvey, a student at the college, showed me how to get from school to my apartment via the bus. But being a bus in Mumbai, after 30-40 minutes it still didn't show up. So Harvey got his motorcycle and took me to the apartment that way. I've never been on a motorcycle before, so I was kind of nervous to ride on it, but it was so cool! It's like a convertible car, with the breeze blowing on you constantly....but no support or structure if you bang into someone haha
That night, Blanche, the woman that I'm staying with, brought me to all the local markets so I could get some food for myself. I definitely love the concept of the little markets. For your fruits, you go the fruit vendor. For your milk, you go to a little inside market (kind of like a convenience store). For your cheese and lunchmeat, you go to a cold storage place. And it's not like everything is far apart from each other either. The best part about it though, is home delivery. A lot of the markets and restaurants do home delivery....so you never have to carry anything around with you as you shop from one place to the next. So if you need milk, cereal, soap and cookies, just call up the market and they're able to deliver it right to your door. I love it! Last night, I bought about two heavy bags of groceries and they said that it was a lot to carry so they delivered it right to my apartment while Blanche and I continued shopping.
Wednesday, I had my morning cup of tea then some cereal and went out walking around. I still had to pick up some towels and hand soap too, even after all that shopping. Thankfully, I'm right near all the clothing stores, markets, restaurants and banks. I don't have to walk too far for anything. I'm really beginning to like this lifestyle! It took me a while to get used to how everything is and how everything's done around here (servants, maids, meal times, ways of shopping and bargaining) but it's such a calming lifestyle when you get used to it....besides the hustle and bustle of all the rickshaws and taxis of course!
Hopefully when I have more time free, I can pick up some salwar kameez outfits. They're so comfortable! Salwar kameez are outfits made of Indian fabric that consist of a long top usually having gorgeous designs, stones and details on them and baggy cotton pants. Since Mumbai can get so hot and humid, these kinds of outfits are perfect for the weather.
And except for rent, everything here is so cheap that I can afford to buy a few outfits and treat myself :) My grocery bill that night came out to be $1,140 rupees, which is only about $29! And all the groceries will last me about a few weeks. I already bought some tops which were about 100-150 rupees each (only $2.50-$3.75) and some pants which were about 200-300 rupees ($5-$7.50). It's great!
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