When I signed off my last blog post, I was at the airport heading to Ahmedabad for the weekend to attend a few wedding events. To say that a lot has happened in the last two weeks would be quite an understatement! To begin, Anna, Hayley and I had the most incredible weekend filled with colourful wedding outfits, insanely good food, dancing, and more dancing.
Although we desperately wanted to stay in Gujarat to attend the rest of the wedding events during the following week, our time eventually came to return to Mumbai and to our internships. The last two weeks of my internship at Gateway House have been even better than the first. I’ve spent most my time working through my project on India in the Indo-Pacific and have been lucky enough to get some guidance from some experts in the subject area. But the highlight of the last two weeks at work undoubtedly came on Tuesday with my first Gateway House event!
To celebrate the launch of Gateway House’s new paper on the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, an event was organised alongside the Australian Consulate-General and a visiting trade delegation from South Australia. Among the numerous diplomats in attendance was the New Zealand Consul-General in Mumbai, Graham Rouse. It was a great opportunity to not only see a bit of diplomacy in action, but to hear more about the India-Australia partnership and get an idea of where the India-New Zealand relationship can be improved.
Outside of work, the last two weeks have been filled with many evening adventures with the group. Whether it be late-night walks to the ice cream store down the street, rooftop dinners, or playing cards and ordering Gulab Jamun for dessert, there hasn’t been a dull moment. Okay, maybe except when I got sick this week for the second time since we arrived.
Aside from all that, the last two weeks have meant finally becoming more comfortable with our surroundings here, even if ever so slightly. Though I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a local, the busyness and chaos of Mumbai, the food, the sounds, and the stares from curious onlookers have all begun to seem a bit more normal – just a part of our daily lives here.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next update 🙂