Tag Archives: india

Why I’m Learning a Second Language and How I Began This Journey

As an adult, I can make an effort to learn a second language like I’d always wanted. The global lockdown provided plenty of time to devote to this daunting task, and the Enneagram 8 within me was up for a new challenge. After all, when else will I have time to undertake an enormous journey such as this one?

One more thing I should mention – I began dating my now-boyfriend-of-3-years, Monish, just two months before this lockdown began. The important thing to note about Monish? He was born and raised in India, having moved to the United States in 2017, and he is trilingual as he speaks English, Hindi and Gujarati. Not only did I already have a previous desire to learn a second language, but now I had an opportunity learn one that my new boyfriend and his family speaks – a SUPER win! In case you haven’t gathered this by now, I was beyond motivated and ready to get this language-learning-party started!

But… Where to begin?

India Trip: Day 3 – Exploring New Delhi (March 16, 2022)

We made our way up the steps and as we walked through the entrance, which was shaped like the mouth of a rakshasa, my eyes became filled with wonder and grand curiosity. I was in awe that I was finally entering a temple in India, especially one so iconic! As we made our way through the narrow hallways of the temple, we found many different colorful idols as well as art forms which depicted stories from the Hindu epics. Dad briefly explained some of the stories to us, which I plan to learn more about via the Hindu books that I bought days before in Mumbai.

India Trip: Day 2 – Meeting the Parents (March 15, 2022)

We awoke mid-morning after a full night’s sleep and began to frantically get ready for the busy day ahead. First on the list were our salon appointments that we were on the verge of being late to, so breakfast was scarfed down in a hurry just moments before we rushed out the door. We scurried down the street, hailed an auto and made our way to the salon. Upon arriving, Moni notified the salon staff that we needed to leave no later than 12:30pm as we had a flight to catch that afternoon…

India Trip: Day 1 (Part 2) – Exploring Mumbai (March 14th, 2022)

As Moni and I laid there for a moment, allowing ourselves to fully become awake, we began to notice sounds from the streets below as Mumbai was also beginning to wake up. We ate breakfast in the house prepared by Auntie, then Tanvi walked us down the apartment building and up the street so that we could catch a ride in an auto (also known as an auto-rickshaw) to take us to Westside, a clothing store local to India.

India Trip: Day 1 (Part 1) – Arrival (March 14th, 2022)

We landed at the Mumbai airport at 2:30am. By this time, we had spent about 18 hours total in flight (14 hours from Houston, TX, USA to Doha, Qatar then another 4 hours from Doha, Qatar to Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). Both myself and my partner, Monish, were incredibly exhausted, hungry and…