Mumbai: first stop Santa-Crus

Santa-Crus where Bea lives appeared to be slightly to the north from the legendary Bandra, both being in the north of the Greater Mumbai area. The flat was located in the same building with a bank on the ground floor, so gates getting closed by night and a guard at those.

Once I entered the apartment I got astonished - it looked like a proper flat! This one was not provided by AIESEC and probably that was why.. Bea was sharing it with the two other girls all working for NGOs. The spacious living room had got a gorgeous bureau with a big round mirror and two oval ones on each side and with lots of drawers accommodating mysterious girly possessions. A TV, sofas with covers, some paintings on the walls, an antique round vase on the floor, a small table with an issue of “Good household” on it and a thick book with a photo collection. All those details make up for a notion of a proper room, a one that has been habituated and somewhat taken care of. The living room was continuing into a dining room with a big round table and another massive oldish cupboard. The latter with its encrusted doors looked like a perfect place for the girls’ accessories and small things – all those stones, chains, beads and glitter looked great in the combination with the massiveness of the cupboard. And the pictures of the Swedish Royal family fixed on it organically fitted the piece of furniture.

The kitchen was characterized by Bea as microscopic and it was. So was the bathroom too. Yet, they also had the laundry room housing a washing machine (a real one, with no manual intervention!), drying stand and lots of clothes with all sort of destinies… The girls’ bedroom was spacious enough for three people.

Not only was it great to be in a proper flat inhibited by the people like yourself after quite a travel; but also I was happy to know there are ways of existence alternative to those that we, AIESEC trainees in Delhi, know about.