“Makeup? Makeup? Is good one. Pen? Is best pen.” “Is it all good?” I bantered, waving my hand around the crowded little stall filled with measuring spoons, tin cups, can openers, mirrors (which the shopkeeper called makeup), plastic waste baskets and of course, pens. The wiry Indian man smiled back. Benson paid for our items, I told the host of workers “Shookria,” and we walked down the narrow Mumbai sidewalk […]
Yesterday I felt like a prairie woman in a bonnet waving goodbye to her husband who was setting off in his wagon to tame a wild frontier and secure land, shelter, vittles. But really I was just standing in my driveway waving goodbye to Benson who was setting off in an Uber to travel to Mumbai and secure the keys to our Indian apartment, a mattress, bank account, local phone, […]
All together now – USA! USA! I cried when we landed. And then I cried when I saw our roommate. Then we went to church and I cried and wondered if the man sitting next to me was sort of weirded out. I know there are people who actually go through hard times in their lives – sickness, divorce, poverty, war – so I feel like such a pansy being […]
At a corner roadside stand a few blocks from where we’ll live, an old plastic pitcher of . . . maybe water? maybe juice? . . . sits on the makeshift counter, open to anyone who needs a drink during the trek home from work. I watched from my seat in the open-air rickshaw various walkers stop, pour liquid into their open mouths, replace the pitcher and continue walking. Nobody […]
Voodo leck a caddy bag? That’s what it sounds like. But say it so quickly. Would you like a carry bag? No, I would not like a carry bag, thank you. I brought my own. Then I proudly display my cloth bag, because I, ladies and gentlemen, have lived in Mumbai, India for three weeks and three days now, and I’ve learned some things. One of which is to always […]
We saw some winners and losers, folks. First of all, we met with an apartment locator with a name that sounded like Huevo but wasn’t Huevo (which was learned once he spelled it for us and I realized I was way off and was glad I hadn’t informed him that his name meant egg in Spanish), plus two other men, one in slacks and one carrying a motorcycle helmet. The […]
Continuing life in the land of opposites. Bamboo scaffolding climbing up the walls of rickety buildings; a persistent goat nudging his mom’s udders at the bus stop; a woman covered head to toe in black, guiding a blind elderly man clad in a white tunic across the dirt paths of their slum; three boys running over an expanse of rubble with a kite. Friday night we celebrated two weeks of […]
The city is growing on us. Barefoot rickshaw drivers; green parrots; the grandmother-made, sesame-seed-laden sweets Benson’s co-workers deliver to his desk wrapped in tissue. Despite these charms, this place won’t be easy. We’re learning that it will take work to actually live here. Work to purify the air indoors so we don’t breathe in too much of the pollution, work to dehumidify the apartment in monsoon season to keep our […]
India: 459, Ledbetters: 3 But oh how sweet those three points are! Last week felt like drowning. Before I put last week into words though, I need some distance between me and those soul-punching days which kept me trying to come up for air in a crowded, dirty, noisy country. For now, I want to focus on what happened over the weekend, because even though we didn’t deserve it, the […]
“Very nice sights,” Driver said again. Then he said about twenty-five other words with such a thick accent we couldn’t understand. He pointed to various spots on a map he’d unfolded. “I drive round, show.” Benson looked over at me. “You wanna drive around for a little bit?” I was still so shaken from crossing the street I just said, “Okay.” Benson nodded to Driver. “Okay, we’ll drive around for […]
