Saturday, 9 February - 11:00 PM

We've made it to Vasco and - contrary to what everyone has told us about it - it doesn't suck! In fact, right now I am in the most comfortable bed I've been in all month. My hosts are great too - an older couple - and also in the house are their son, his wife and their 1 year-old son, Arrov. Very nice people!

This morning our Margao hosts took us to a temple on top of a huge hill. We climbed lots of steps...







... but it was really cool. After checking out some of the local sites, we had lunch at the same Canapé and then headed to Vasco. I chilled out a bit here with the family and we shared photos. Their eldest son lives in San Francisco where he is a classical guitar major. He used to be an engineering major (surprise!) at a very good school in India, and it's a pretty huge deal that his father allowed him to give that up to pursue a music degree.

I met up with the rest of the team at the Three Kings church where we watched a breathtaking sunset.



District Governor, Bazil D'Souza joined us up there and it was nice to get a chance to talk with him. I didn't realize he had been a high school teacher for 25 years. While talking to him about my experience in India, I got all teary. He said, "Jenny, you are always a welcome guest. Please come back any time."



We all went out for an awesome dinner at a place called Sinatra's (ha!) I talked a lot with a woman named Elizabeth, a District Governor visiting from British Columbia.

Now I'm tired and need to sleep. Tomorrow is "Polio Sunday!"

Saturday, 9 February - 8:00 AM

Just two days left. I can't believe we've been here for a month. I'm definitely ready to go home, though. It's funny. All along, people have been saying that once I got to Goa, I wouldn't wanna leave. And for as beautiful as it is, it's just a little too Western for me. If anything, it's been a great transition place. If we had left directly from the district conference, I think it would have broken my heart.

Yesterday was good. We stopped at Audhut's office and I was able to check my email before meeting up with the rest of the group around 10:00 AM. Our first stop was to this place nicknamed "Bigfoot" - a replica of an ancestral Goan village. It kind of reminded me of one of those museum witch tours in Salem, MA. Interesting, but a little too hokey.


Fake villagers.


Real Goan host (he rocked!)


Traveling in style.


Applying for a job.

At the end of the tour, you can pay five rupees to buy some incense, say a prayer and make a wish while touching the big footprint...


Misty lights her incense.


Bigfootprint.

... my wish was that I could live my life with an Indian perspective when I return home. That I not forget all I have learned while on this trip.

After Bigfoot, we stopped at a little chain café called Canapé. It was the first chain restaurant we'd been in all month. I ordered a small vegetable pizza. It did not disappoint.



Our hosts then dropped us off at this amazing resort called Nanu - right on the beach. It was, of course, owned by a Rotarian.


"Toto, we're no longer in Bijapur."

We spent four hours there, free to use the pool or the beach. I walked up and down Betalbatim beach, collecting shells and wading in the Indian ocean. Perfect.









We made a good presentation at the evening Rotary meeting and they had a fun dinner at their hall. They even hired a DJ! As I recall from the district conference, the Goans really like to party. I ducked out a little early with my host's wife and daughters. When we got home, the eldest daughter did some awesome Mehendi on my other hand. I hope this one lasts until I get home.



Today we're leaving for our final destination in Goa: Vasco.

Thursday, 7 February - 10:00 PM

Just had dinner with my hosts and then they took me for a drive around Margao. The husband, Audhut, spent a year and a half in the U.S. for college. Mostly in Michigan, but also a little bit in Texas.


New hosts in Margao.

At dinner, he kept trying to get me to use a fork. I assured him I was doing quite well with my right hand - just as his wife and daughters were - but he himself used a fork. I am trying to figure out if he is really pro-America or if he thinks we are all a bunch of retards. Hell, at this point even I don't know if we Americans suck or not! I guess it's a little bit of both.

I'm finally starting to get a little eager to go home. I think it's because we're in a different place. During the earlier weeks, our environment was so drastically different from what we were used to. I loved the adventure of it all, even if the conditions sometimes were not so comfortable.

While we were out driving around tonight, Rajani called to see how I was feeling. She really is awesome and I hope we get to see her again before we leave.

I can't believe I am actually in bed by 10:00 - this is truly a first!

Thursday, 7 February - 7:30 PM

Today was good. We left Mapusa around 10:00 AM and headed off to a town called Bicholim. We visited a Rotary school for like five seconds...



... a church with a cool fresco ceiling...



... and then stopped at an artist colony where we went to two different pottery places. I found an awesome, handmade Ganesha wall mount.





After the pottery stops, we drove out to a huge farm that grows produce and plants for pharmaceutical supplies. We toured the farm and then hung out, played drums and ate food.




"... I just wanna bang on the drum all day"



Misty finally rejoined us after three days in the hospital. She looks great and it's good to have her back. I'm just sorry she missed Mapusa and the elephants.

It was tough saying goodbye to Alpana, Sujit and the rest of my Mapusa hosts. They were really awesome. Little Anuj gave me a rose, and Sujit laughed and said that "My son will have no problems with the ladies when he grows up!"

After Bicholim, we made our way to Margao and met our current hosts for tea at a hotel. We also met up with Radhika (our original Mumbai host and GSE coordinator). My current hosts seem very nice. They have a huge, modern house and two daughters, ages 11 and 15.

I think we are gradually being eased back into our own culture by visiting Goa last. I just came up to find my first shower curtain! Once again, I realize how much I take for granted back home.


Hallelujah!

Things in Goa seem so Westernized. I think back to places like Dharwad and Ilkal - all the women and kids wearing Indian clothes. Here they're wearing jeans! They have A/C and normal toilets and showers. On the way back to the house, my host said that even he experiences a little culture shock when he has to do business outside of Goa.

I guess it's pretty much like me calling certain areas of New Jersey "the sticks." I've never been to any really remote areas of the U.S. I think I ought to make that my next priority: seeing more of my own country and not just the pretty parts.

Hey, you know what I haven't seen in India? Wall-to-wall carpeting. One more thing to stop taking for granted.

Thursday, 7 February - 12:40 AM

Had a very cool day today. We met up with one of our original escorts, Ajay, and he spent the day with us in Old Goa. We visited some more Catholic churches and then tried to do some bird-watching, but there were no birds to be seen. We had lunch at an awesome restaurant owned by a Rotarian.

After lunch we headed to a spice farm where we got to ride a camel and an elephant!





Elizabeth and I gave an elephant a bath...



... and then the elephant gave me a bath!



After a long (wet) ride home, we all stopped in to visit Misty at the hospital. She is doing better and is able to eat solid food again. She's had it really rough this trip. It sucks, too, because she is the only one who never gets cranky or complains about anything. She's always so positive - even when she misses three days of Goa, stuck in a hospital bed.

We made a presentation to the Mapusa club tonight and it was really a lot of fun. Anuj loaned me his Mighty Morphin Power Rangers bracelet (the green one, because it's my favorite color) for good luck.


I have the power!


My AWESOME Mapusa hosts!

They had a great dinner for us afterwards.


I heart chapati.


Mapusa's beautiful Inner Wheel.

I packed all my stuff when I got back home, as we are leaving tomorrow morning for Margao. Unfortunately, I am wide awake. Must have been all the Thums Up I drank. [Buuurrpp]

Wednesday, 6 February - 6:30 AM

Wow! Yesterday turned out to be another of the most amazing days on the trip!

I woke up feeling weak and wobbly, but got steadily better throughout the day. I had breakfast with my hosts, Sujit and Alpana, and Sujit recommended that I skip the team's activities for the day and rest up until I felt better. So I went back and chilled in my room for a couple hours.

It turns out that Misty and I have the same thing, although I have a considerably milder case. She came down with the fever the same night as me, but has been so sick that her hosts took her to the hospital. They diagnosed her with an intestinal infection and also gave her a chest X-ray, as her bronchitis is still pretty bad.

So I'm thinking it was something we both ate or drank at the conference. Misty does not drink alcohol, so perhaps it wasn't the crappy wine I drank Sunday after all. In fact, the booze may have saved me from getting sicker by killing off the bugs. Yay, alcohol!!

Around 11:00 AM, Sujit took me to their family farm (lots of people here seem to have family farms) where they grow bananas, mangoes, cashews and all kinds of other stuff.


Coconut trees.


Future cashew nut.

We ran a couple errands and stopped to visit Misty at the hospital. She was so dehydrated that she took 14 IV bags! We came back to the house around 12:30 and I took a small nap. Alpana came in around 1:30 and we sat and chatted for a while. She's really nice!

I had lunch with Alpana and her in-laws, who also live with them. They're in their 70's and very active. They also speak very good English. Their daughter lives in Boston, so they have been to the U.S. several times. I enjoyed talking with them, and had a very nice afternoon at home.

Around 4:00, Sujit took me to the bank to try and get my ATM card back. Once again, it was retained so they had to keep it and send it to some main branch for investigation or something. I don't know what or why it happened, and the beautiful thing is... I really don't care! It's out of my hands so it's not worth worrying about.

Sujit apologized, and I just smiled and said, "No problem!" He laughed and said he was glad to see I had adopted an Indian perspective on the situation.

After the bank, we got to see the entire Carnival parade... by walking down the inside of the parade route! It was quite memorable! As we were walking, Sujit turned to me and said, "I do not think we are supposed to be here. But no one has stopped us so they must think we belong here!" It was pretty funny.


Watching the parade...


... from the inside!

We bought some fruit at the market (mangoes and chickoo)



and then went over to Baga Beach and walked for a while. We talked about all sorts of great things - from religion and marriage, to morals and karma. Sujit is a very laid back, awesome guy. Very open, and he has a great laugh.

After talking with him about the GSE program, my thoughts were confirmed. It's not supposed to be a vacation - the whole point is to understand a different culture from the true, inside family point of view. All along on this trip, my favorite times have been spent getting to know my host families. It's not about shopping or sightseeing or clubbing at the beach.

All of a sudden, my JOY returned and I was back in India!


Sunset at Baga Beach.

When we got back home, Alpana taught me how to make paneer and it actually seems pretty easy! I am totally gonna try it when I get home. It's one of my new favorite foods.

I hung out a bunch with their kids. They have a 12 year-old daughter named Rujuta who is absolutely brilliant. She's a dancer and an artist. She also writes poetry and devours college-level literature, and her command of language and emotion is eons beyond any 12 year-old I have ever met.

They also have a 5 year-old son named Anuj, and he is hilarious. He reminds me of my nephew, Nick. And for as quiet and studious as Rujuta is, Anuj is goofy and rambunctious. He did sit and read me the story of The Elves and the Shoemaker, which was pretty awesome.




Rujuta and Anuj.

We all had dinner together and then later in the evening, Alpana did some incredible Mehendi on me. She said she loves to do it and has been practicing since she was a little girl.





When she finished, she let me do some on her, such a brave woman! Mine wasn't quite as good as hers, and it seemed to evolve from a sea monster, to a turkey and then a peacock. Alpana was a very good sport.


Guess who's who?

I finally got to bed around midnight, but it was so worth it. And for the first time in over a week, I slept through the night. Yesterday was the first day in over three weeks that I didn't see any of my team members (except for when we visited Misty) and the best part is, I felt totally safe, content and happy... surrounded by my newest family.

Tuesday, 5 February - 7:30 AM

Well, I had my first bout of India illness for sure. I could feel the "fever chills" when we set out for the evening's events. Fortunately, the driver was able to bring me back to my host's house around 6:00 PM, and I climbed into bed. A couple hours later, Alpana (my host's wife) came in and took my temperature. It was 101° and the diarrhea was non-stop.

As if she somehow knew, Poonam called me from Gadag to see how I was doing, so we chatted for a bit and I told her I was sick. She said she wished I could get back to Gadag so they could take care of me. I tossed and turned all night, with horrible chills and bizarre fever dreams. My hosts actually have a TV here in the bedroom, so I watched a little TV. I woke up this morning covered in sweat, so I think my fever has finally broken.

Just took a shower and am feeling weak and wobbly - probably pretty dehydrated. I'm actually feeling hungry for the first time in a couple days, so I guess that's a good sign. Not sure what's on the agenda for today... maybe visiting some Rotary projects? I suppose if I had to be sick, I picked a pretty good time. Souvenir shopping, clubbing and lounging on the beach really don't interest me too much. Ah well.

Monday, 4 February - 4:00 PM

Just got back after our first bout of sight-seeing in Goa. Rajani, one of the Indian GSE team members took us all around. She's really awesome. A gorgeous, 30-year old lawyer with a super-bubbly personality. Rajiv has a huge crush on her but sadly, she's engaged and will be moving to Australia with her new husband this summer.


Rajani and Rajiv (in his glory)

Goa is the only state in India that wasn't settled by the British. It was settled by the Portuguese and so there is a lot of Portuguese influence in the architecture, music and religion - hence the large population of Roman Catholics and their cathedrals. Our first stop was to one such cathedral,



and then we went to the High Court of Bombay where Rajani practices law.



After that, we went up to this beautiful overlook called Dona Paula and absorbed the beauty of the Indian Ocean.







On our way back to the car, we saw a tiny, starving street puppy. Rajani - the animal lover - stopped and bought some biscuits to feed it. She's really the first person I've seen even acknowledge the street dogs.



We stopped at an ATM to get some cash and for some reason, my card was retained. It wasn't supposed to have expired until March 1. I have to go back to the bank tomorrow and can hopefully recover it.

We met up with some of the Goa Rotarians for lunch and I just had a little bit of rice. My stomach is still quite queasy from yesterday's escapades. In fact, I had my first bout of diarrhea since I got here. It probably was the Gobi Manchurian. And the booze.

I think we're leaving again around 5:30 to do more sight-seeing and to visit a beach. Rajani wants to take us to a club tonight, but I think I will skip it. Clubs aren't really my scene and I just don't feel 100%

I dunno. Goa is definitely beautiful, but it feels like when we left Hubli - we left India. I really feel like I'm in another country. Which is okay. But for me, it's been more about the beauty and the hearts of the people in India and less about the vacation aspect. It's cool though. It was kind of like my first trip to Sedona: even though I went on to Tucson and California afterwards, for me, the trip seemed to end when I left the beautiful people I met in Sedona.

If I could, I think I would go back and spend the remaining days here in Gadag. I got a text message from Mohan this morning via Rajiv's phone. He wanted to let me know that I was always welcome to come back to India and stay with his family. God, I would love to come back with Wolf someday.

I can't believe I'm homesick for a place I've only just been to! I dunno... maybe I haven't just been there this one time. Maybe Poonam was right the very first time we met, when she said she felt like she already knew me. I can't explain this - it's like Sedona all over again. That familiarity... as if I'd been there before. I miss my "family" so much it's tearing my heart out. What the hell?

Man, my stomach feels really crappy. Maybe I'll try to sleep for a little bit.