Matthew

Our time in Mumbai has come to a close, and it is time to move along to Bangalore, IT capitol of India! I was wondering what the airport was going to be like as the only other Indian airport which we flew into in Calcutta which was definitely a hole in the wall by Western standards anyway. Mumbai had a brand new airport however, and was very clean and comfortable. I was hungry as we had to wait at the airport over lunch. I decided to be brave and adventurous and try a hotdog from the hotdog stand.

The first thing I noticed while walking to the stand was there was a big cricket match on. I did not catch who was playing. The television was right in front of the hotdog stand and there was probably a group of around 10 gathered, eyes staring intently on the television. Of the about 10 people, the three airport security guards who were of course “keeping the airport secure” were completely lost in the intense cricket action. It made me chuckle. The final out in the match was recorded and thankfully the crowd of people broke up and there was now space to get to my hotdog stand! After browsing the menu, I decided to go with the Classic New Yorker. It was the classic American hotdog with ketchup, mustard, and relish along with some Indian pepper on top. I went over by Paul and Boyd and some others in the group to sit down to eat lunch, and discovered my hotdog was made of chicken. No beef or pork products, as we are in India. It was different, but it was relatively tasty, and filled me up enough for the upcoming flight.

We got through security and finally they called boarding for our flight. A bus met us at the gate to drive us out on the airfield to our plane.

Once in Bangalore, it was about a half an hour drive to Asha Kiran School where we will be staying during our time in Bangalore. We met Rita and Prem, who gave us a quick tour of the school, and made sure we had the right accommodations. I met Nirup, who is one of the coolest kids I have ever met. He always has a smile on his face, and is very friendly and outgoing. I look forward to hanging out with Nirup and the other kids at the school. It is nice to be settled into where we will be staying for the upcoming week, and now it is time to see Bangalore!