Pluba Does India!

We waited for two years for our first family visitor to come to India. Madre and Kell always said they would come, but we had given up hope that the time would ever come. (Kell still chickened out). Madre decided that she wanted to come check on me while I was doing chemo. So off she came. 

I told her that maybe she should come another time when I can actually get out and explore the country. (Not really fun to come and just sit inside with the drapes closed for your holiday). But she came anyway. We were excited to have her arrive. 

Her flight landed at 0200h in the morning, so I ventured out of the apartment for the first time in two months to go pick her up. I knew that she was going to be a bit stressed exiting the airport into the throngs of people standing there waiting for their family members. (I have to admit it was odd to be outside)
 

In between hanging out with me at the house, the two Muggles loved taking her to the pool and to the Consulate to eat or see what our life is like working abroad. Lady Hiva and took her shopping a few days too. She was able to experience India in all of the glorious ways it presents. 

In a whirlwind tour of south Mumbai, they were able to see the old Victorian architecture and iconic places in the city. With the driver leading the way, they jumped out and took photos of several places. I was proud of the progress that they made!

We put Madre to work! I had a big conference that I had been planning (but did not get to attend because I am house bound). But the whole family helped me stuff welcome packets for all the attendees. Below you can see that it being on the other side of the world was a bit rough on the jet lag transition! HAHA

One of the days Pluba was able to be a surprise visitor at the Muggles' school. They had to guess who she was through a series of questions (that I made up for her). The kids all thought it was funny that her favorite food was sugar! HAHAHA 

Madre saw all of the rikshaws on the street, but we always had a driver or Uber wherever we went. But one night the kids and I took her to one of the high end malls in Mumbai in a rikshaw. It was the craziest ride we have ever been on. We darted and weaved and sped through traffic. HAHA...not sure she will want to do that again. 

We took her to watch hand looms for rugs and sari making as an art. 

These two wanted to show what they will look like when they are taller than Pluba someday (the way they are growing it will not be very long). 

Koala Bear loved that she could paint nails with Pluba! 

Pluba was able experience the best of India customer service. She had a facial and a pedicure done in the comfort of our home. The spa comes to you! 

While Pluba got a pedicure, these two crocheted. Koala Bear was really intersested after she learned to finger crochet lei's out of yarn. But when she learned how long it would take to make anything bigger, she quickly decided it was not for her! 

One of the days I arranged for Lady Hiva to take Madre on a tour of Dharavi-- one of the largest slums in Mumbai. It is also a very industrious community. Over 2 million people (estimated) live in the 2 square mile area. They make a living recycling rubbish and anything else they can make with their hands. 

Above are bars of "soap" made from the dregs of liquids and oils from restaurants. People use it for laundry detergent etc. 

Above is a barrel of plastic that was fished out of the dump, broken down and sorted by color. It will eventually be sent for processing into another itemm. Hundreds of people are involved in this process. From picking the plastic, to sorting, then cleaning and breaking it down. Below are bags that are waiting to be sorted still. 

This is the community river. 

The leather tannery. 

The winding alley ways and homes that are built haphazardly over the years. 

We were proud of Pluba. She tried all the food we ate and made. She ate Chinese, Italian, Thai, Indian and many other things while here. We know it was well out of her comfort zone, but she still tried it! 

During her trip she was able to see what life is like for us in India. She saw the juxtaposition of India's economy--the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. We are glad that she could come and were all a bit sad when she left so soon! Maybe one good thing about having cancer and doing chemo is that Pluba came to visit!