The global connections continue

One of my mom’s best friends from home, Trish, has an Indian ex-sister-in-law named Ameera, who lives in Mumbai. When Trish found out I was going to be there in Mumbai, she told my mom, “Ashley MUST reach out to Ameera! Ameera is the most welcoming and warm-hearted woman, she would love to meet her and will take such good care of her.” We exchanged phone numbers and were texting back and forth upon my arrival in India, but it wasn’t until about my 4^th week here that we actually met up. She invited me over for dinner and said her daughter, Aditi, who happens to be my age, will be there. I went over to their house for dinner that night and I walked in the door and INSTANTLY felt at home (it could have been because they have 3 dogs 🙂 or that their house is absolutely gorgeous… either way, it was very comforting). I can’t really explain it, but for me there was an instant connection with both of them. It felt very natural. They were both so warm and welcoming and it felt like I had known them for years. We sat around and drank wine and talked, and then their cook (yes, they have a full staff at home – this is really a thing in India) made us the most unbelievable Indian meal – maybe the best I have had yet in India. After dinner we continued to chat and one of Aditi’s friends, Shivani, came over for some wine. Maybe it was the wine speaking, but Aditi made the mistake of inviting me to Goa (very popular and touristy beach town in India https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/goa ) for the weekend with she and Shivani. She said they were leaving that Friday and coming back on Monday and they had a place to stay (one of Ameera’s friends, an older couple from London) and I should definitely come. Turns out, my stay at the Yoga Institute was up that Friday anyways, and I would have to settle up with them again if I was going to stay longer, so I figured, the timing was perfect and I should take them up on the offer for a beach weekend! I had been wanting to get to Goa and it was on my list of places to visit in India, and what a better opportunity than to go with these two girls –both very familiar with Goa, knew all the fun restaurants and spots, had a place to stay and seemed super fun!