Video produced/edited by Lani
Hello everybody!
On February 28th, we all arrived at Austin airport to go to India! We said goodbye to our parents and went up to the TSA check-in. It went very smoothly, and we had plenty of time to explore the airport before we boarded the plane to London. Most of us ended up staying at the gate and chatted. Before we knew it, it was 7pm, and we had to board the plane. We got on the plane knowing we had a very long day ahead. The flight from Austin to London is around 7 hours. Most of us were restless during the flight because we were looking forward to India. After a very long flight, we arrived in London. We couldn’t board our plane to Mumbai, India, or even reach our gate because the airport wouldn’t announce the gate number until 3:30 pm. We knew that it would be a very long wait because it was only 11am. We split into groups of three and explored the airport in London to find something to eat. Most of us decided to eat at the airport’s restaurant. We all ended up waiting in the lobby to find our gate number. When the clock hit 3:30pm, we finally got our gate number and hurried to it because the flight was at 4pm. We entered our plane on time. The flight was around 7 hours again, so most of us took the opportunity to sleep on the plane.
After 7 very long and uncomfortable hours, we finally landed in Mumbai! We all unexpectedly went to get our backpacks. We had our money exchanged into rupees right before we left the airport. We got greeted by our deaf guide, Amol. He suggested we go to our hotel first, and we did. We drove to the hotel and dropped off our stuff. We all realized that we were getting hungry, so we stopped by Sud Ama restaurant. The food is all vegetarian, with no meat in any of the dishes. Most of us got biryani, and really liked it. We were so full after eating a very good “brunch”. It was time for all of us to head to the deaf school.
It took the bus around an hour to arrive at the Rotary Sans Kardham Academy. We were greeted by a bunch of young students and a teacher. The teacher wanted to show us around the building. The academy had six floors, and we saw the first five. Every floor would have a different class for a different subject. They even have a program for those who have graduated from school, but they still don’t have the ability to perform basic jobs. The school strongly encourages learning English because it believes that writing in English plays an important role in our lives. After the tour, we finally see the kids. They had a small performance where they showed off their skills, like cartwheels or even harder tricks. They also showed us Mumbai’s traditional dance called Kholi. It was very fascinating to watch. After they gave us their performance, we all chatted with everybody. We also played games like telephone line, and it went pretty well. We were all having the time of our lives until the time was up. The school provided a small lunch for us. The food was a vegetable sandwich and a small coffee on the side with crackers. Half of us liked the sandwich, and the other half didn’t. We all still ate the whole thing anyway to show our respect. We took some pictures after eating. We said our goodbyes.
After saying our goodbyes to the teachers and students, we hopped on the bus and drove to the slums. In Mumbai, the slum is a city within a city. It was not originally there, but when people threw so much trash into the swamp, it formed a strong, stable structure for people to build a home on. It became famous because people create their businesses and homes on a “landfill”. It was very fascinating to see the slums because they are so different from a regular street. The streets are way more narrow and packed. Our guide had a friend who lived in the slums, so he knew his way around. It can be hard to memorize where you came from because the streets can look the same. We made it out safely, but the hardest part is crossing the road with a large group of people. The cars or motorcycles will not stop unless they absolutely have to, so we really have to be careful when crossing the road. We were satisfied with the slums, so we got moving to the next thing.
We moved to see a Hindu temple called Ganapatri Mandir. The temple worships a god named Ganesha. Ganesha is a god of knowledge. The temple didn’t allow cameras, so we left ours behind and went up to the gate to enter. We all successfully got through the gate. We found out that we have to take our shoes and socks off. After taking them off, we brought a “flower basket” to honor Ganesha. We walked up to the temple, and we got to be in the front. The small room is full of gold with Ganesha in the middle. There are some people who seem to work there who would sing in Hindi. The whole thing lasted about 30 minutes, which was way longer than we expected. After it finished, we realized we could eat something before heading to the hotel.
We went to Plastry restaurant, and it was a pretty nice place. We all mostly split the food with each other because we weren’t that hungry. The food is good overall, but it is a bit too spicy for some of us. After eating, we were exhausted from a very long day. We headed back to the hotel and crashed into our beds.
Good night! Or is it good morning?
Kaelyn