Goa is beautiful. We are staying in South Goa, in an area on the beach near Margao. This is not a very populated area, and we are often the only foreigners on the beach. The nature around us is amazing! And alongside our hotel and a few others, mixed in with the beach houses, are the original fisherman's huts of the real people who live and work on the beach. Beach dogs are friendly and happy, and there are wild pigs and water buffalo. And thousands of crabs scuttling into the sand. We had a group of students wake up before light today just to walk out on the beach to see the sunrise. This is a lovely place to end our time in India, and it's a good transition from some of the intensity of urban India. We will certainly be relaxed--hopefully--when we get back to campus on Monday.
The downside? It is very humid here! The humidity shimmers in the air, making it hard to breathe sometimes. Even early in the morning, it's brutal. We have been swimming in the ocean or the pool pretty much every opportunity we have.
We visited a small city today, and walked around in the center, experiencing a real (non-tourist) slice of Indian life. It was interesting. The streets were uneven, and the transitions from sidewalks to curbs to pavement were especially treacherous. One spot had about a 3 foot step up, with a grungy moat about 20 inches wide between pavement and sidewalk. The shops were tiny and unorganized. This is the only place we've visited that hasn't had a swarm of street vendors instantly appear at our side, trying to sell us anything from magnets with the Taj Mahal to handmade scarves to leather bound books. The vegetable market here was really grimy and intense. However, there were a lot of amazing local fruits and vegetables, including some I couldn't identify. We did buy some fresh litchis, still on the branches, and small local Goan mangoes. The litchis were amazing and many students tried them for the first time.
One of the interesting things about this region of India is that while there are still many roadside shrines and little niche devotional temples built into the walls of the buildings, most of them are Christian. We have gotten so used to seeing Ganesha, Shiva, and Hanuman shrines that we almost don't notice that the shrines here are for Mary or Jesus. What is especially interesting, though, is that some of the Christian shrines are decorated with the same kind of offerings as the Hindu shrines: garlands, flowers, and little pots of incense. There are also quite a lot of churches, clearly outnumbering the temples in this area.
Most of the signs here are in English, more so than in everywhere else except Mumbai. Not all of the English is perfect, and we have noticed some fun (and funny) ways of putting things. For example, we saw the Vile Taxi, and the Vapid Taxi. We saw a three-wheeled tuk tuk called "The Body Gourd." A luxury highrise named Okay Okay Towers. The Booti Beauty Palace. Intimate brand drinking water. And on.
I think students will start out on the beach early tomorrow before we get going. We have some serious tanners amongst us, and I swear that several students are several shades darker just since we have reached Goa. We have a busy day tomorrow, and in between our class activities, a busy day at the beach. We only have two more days here before we start our long journey home.
The downside? It is very humid here! The humidity shimmers in the air, making it hard to breathe sometimes. Even early in the morning, it's brutal. We have been swimming in the ocean or the pool pretty much every opportunity we have.
We visited a small city today, and walked around in the center, experiencing a real (non-tourist) slice of Indian life. It was interesting. The streets were uneven, and the transitions from sidewalks to curbs to pavement were especially treacherous. One spot had about a 3 foot step up, with a grungy moat about 20 inches wide between pavement and sidewalk. The shops were tiny and unorganized. This is the only place we've visited that hasn't had a swarm of street vendors instantly appear at our side, trying to sell us anything from magnets with the Taj Mahal to handmade scarves to leather bound books. The vegetable market here was really grimy and intense. However, there were a lot of amazing local fruits and vegetables, including some I couldn't identify. We did buy some fresh litchis, still on the branches, and small local Goan mangoes. The litchis were amazing and many students tried them for the first time.
One of the interesting things about this region of India is that while there are still many roadside shrines and little niche devotional temples built into the walls of the buildings, most of them are Christian. We have gotten so used to seeing Ganesha, Shiva, and Hanuman shrines that we almost don't notice that the shrines here are for Mary or Jesus. What is especially interesting, though, is that some of the Christian shrines are decorated with the same kind of offerings as the Hindu shrines: garlands, flowers, and little pots of incense. There are also quite a lot of churches, clearly outnumbering the temples in this area.
Most of the signs here are in English, more so than in everywhere else except Mumbai. Not all of the English is perfect, and we have noticed some fun (and funny) ways of putting things. For example, we saw the Vile Taxi, and the Vapid Taxi. We saw a three-wheeled tuk tuk called "The Body Gourd." A luxury highrise named Okay Okay Towers. The Booti Beauty Palace. Intimate brand drinking water. And on.
I think students will start out on the beach early tomorrow before we get going. We have some serious tanners amongst us, and I swear that several students are several shades darker just since we have reached Goa. We have a busy day tomorrow, and in between our class activities, a busy day at the beach. We only have two more days here before we start our long journey home.
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