In a typical work day, I often feel as if I'm defending myself, my country, my educational background, and my expertise...

I haven't updated this blog in I don't know how long...

Since I've been very overdue in updating my blog, I thought I would upload some recent pictures! I've included some pictures from recent trips to Goa (a nice seaside escape from sweltering Mumbai!) and from everyday life in Mumbai. Enjoy!

I turn the big 30 in two weeks. By 30, some folks plan to have made their first million. Others plan to have gotten masters degrees, gotten married, or had the first kid, etc. I didn't really have any particular ambitions for 30. But, I can now reflect and say I have some understanding of the business world, mastery of a couple languages, and a larger view of the world...

I spent a month in the States for the holidays, which partially explains a two-month absence from blogging. It was great to be back and visit family and friends.

The more I soak up the Indian culture, the more I feel like an outsider. I don't mind it-I actually enjoy being different. It's fun to talk to friends about how cultural and societal norms in the West can be radically different from those in India...

Just when I promised my husband I would start writing about the wonderful things about life in Mumbai (there are--we really are having a blast), I have to write about another "shocking" news story from the papers...

Sometimes I wonder if my husband and I really need a cook to prepare our dinner every night. That is, until I cook myself. Whenever I cook I find worms in the vegetables and other bugs in the rice and lentils. I don't enjoy cleaning, scrubbing, and disinfecting to remove the bugs. Ignorance is bliss...if I don't prep the food, I don't know what I'm eating...I'll pay big bucks to have someone else do the dirty work for me!

They say 10,000 people move to Mumbai each day looking for work and a better life. In a city of over 18 million, that puts people just about everywhere. There are very few houses (known as bungalows here). If you are lucky and can afford it you have an apartment. If you are not and can't afford the rents on par with New York City prices, you live wherever you can.

One of the most frustrating and unexpected aspects of moving to Mumbai is not being able to communicate with the local population. Most visitors to India won't come across this problem if they stay in nice hotels and tourist destinations. Living here, however, is a different story. I'm missing more than the punch lines when I can't communicate.