This day was truly one of extremes, so fitting for India! After the washing machine had broken, the landlord sent his caretaker. The caretaker does not speak English. Not a word. In fact, he doesn’t even speak any form of creative communication methods, instead just smiles and nods his head to everything I say. I tried my best to communicate that the machine had broken, spewed out black smoke and dumped nearly all the water on our kitchen floor, using every visual aid I could think of but he just nodded and continued to try to figure out why the machine wouldn’t start. I pointed to the fact that I had unplugged it from the wall and for the first time I did not get a nod but instead a frown! Anyway, he finally reached the brilliant conclusion that the machine was broken and they would replace it today. By the time we came home, dirty from a long, exhausting day, the machine was still there and had dumped even more water on the floor! Time in India is a unique concept. It basically means whenever. Maybe.

We quickly made our daily water run and then headed out to see some other areas of Mumbai. Hanna had found a neat walking route south of Mumbai that included the Gateway of India, something I have longed to see since I was little. We decided to take a taxi and negotiated a set price before entering the cab. A little over an hour later, we reached the beautiful structure, built from 1913 to 1924 to commemorate King George V’s visit to India in 1911. Behind the gate, steps lead into the Arabian Sea, in front a long road or ramp was supposed to lead up to it but was never built due to lack of funding. So, it kind of just sits there. Nevertheless, it is as spectacular as I always imagined it to be! Right across from The Gateway of India stands the beautiful Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

We started walking down the street and noticed boys jumping into the dirty waters of the Arabian Sea. As we continued the walk, we became increasingly aware of people staring at us and taking pictures of us. This continued the whole day, creating a sense of anxiety as we navigated our way through the streets. Nevertheless, we still immensely enjoyed the beautiful walk and managed to find some block printing blocks along the road.

Mumbai has some phenomenal architecture, including the famous High Court, built in 1962. After walking 3.5 miles in sweltering heat and humidity, we decided to call it quits for the day and to return to the apartment. Opposite the High Court was a long row of taxis, just waiting for fares. We must have asked every one of the drivers if they knew the address to our apartment and all, except two, said no. We went ahead and chose one of the drivers, negotiated the fee and got in for a ride we will not soon forget!!

At first all seemed well, and we seemed to be heading in the right direction until he suddenly turned left and headed down a back street leading to slum area. Hanna and I were at this point pretty worried and it turned out he needed to stop for gas. We were asked to step out of the car while they filled the tank and we waited a few very nerve wrecking minutes until we could return to the vehicle. Then we continued on what turned out to be a 2.5 hour long trip constantly stopping because the driver did not know the way after all! Every time he stopped, Hanna and I were captive subjects of extreme curiosity of everybody around us. Every time he stopped, I wondered if we were about to be dumped somewhere in Mumbai. When we finally arrived, the driver had the nerve to ask for more money because it had taken so long. Needless to say, we only gave him the agreed amount and quickly left the cab.

The drive home was however so intense. The poverty in India in unbelievable and people live under such incredible circumstances! I saw plastic sheets spread over the side walk which housed a family with kids and a pile of trash which turned out to be someone’s home. I witnessed a man sitting on a broken chair with rags around his arm while blood had soaked through the dirty rags. Kids, naked, playing in the dirty gutters. And the smell is indescribable and never ends! And yet, in the midst of all this ugliness and filth, everybody is cleaning their floors with a handheld broom. Such irony and pointlessness and yet apparently also so important.

Constantly, we were faced with hundreds, thousands, of people living in ways beyond the wildest imagination, begging and trying to survive another day by any means they can. And right next to the worst of the worst are beautiful new buildings ready to house the fortunate.

By the time we reached the apartment, the intense ride home and the heat had taken its toll and we had to work hard on picking ourselves up emotionally so we would be prepared for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning we do not drive by any more, we enter this world.