july 12 mumbai
i only have 17 minutes left at the salvation army internet cafe so this blog entry is not going to involve any mental editing or spell check. the past 10 days have been a whirlwind. onita and i took a trip with her cousin and random extended family which covered amritsar (hasn't changed too much in a week), chandigarh (a "planned city" which basically looks like new jersey), shimla (mountains, cool weather, paradise compared to delhi), and dharamsala/ mcloud ganj (same + tibetans). we slept on lots of buses and trains and drove on terrifying mountain trails for ten hour stretches. then we returned to delhi for one day before heading to mumbai. mumbai is the best. i got my hair cut at a salon where hrithik roshan was getting a tattoo, and then we saw two more bollywood starts at a place called zenzi. that's three in two days. but now i am alone in south mumbai, without onita and her friends to point out bollywood celebrities for me. i'm probably surrounded by them right now at the salvation army and don't even know it. i'm staying in the dorm here until the ywca has an opening, so pray that i don't lose all my possessions (they're chained to the bed but who knows) or get bed bugs. but really it's not bad here. mumbai is my favorite city in india, probably because it is really modern and has many of the comforts of home, such as no cows on the road. oh, and everyone was lying, it's no that hot here. it hasn't been too rainy yet either, but it's not officially monsoon season for a few more days, so i'll reserve comment. i am now being glared at by this internet cafe employee. but i start at akanksha tomorrow, so updates soon!
