A Goan Vacation

Back from Goa, and it was everything I was promised it would be.  As you may know, Goa is the state directly South of Maharashtra famous for its beaches and tourism.  It is the vacationing spot of India, and attracts more foreigners than anywhere else in the country, spare possibly the Taj Mahal.  While the majority of India was under the control of the British, Portugal claimed Goa as its chief port leading to a strong Christian presence in the state.  This Portuguese/Christian background along with the tourism-centered economy differentiates Goan culture from the rest of the country, and made for quite an interesting and enjoying week.

We stayed at a quality resort only a few minutes from the beach, and spent hours swimming and relaxing each day.  Though I have missed a good Minnesota winter, I took solace in the thought that I was enjoying weather nearly 100 degrees warmer than back home.  Oh, and we saw dolphins.  I do not think that anyone would deny that’s pretty cool.  On the cultural experience front, we took several short trips around the state to visit several of the tourist hot spots.  The coolest place we saw was the Basilica Bom Jesus (which to our Brazilian and Portuguese friends means “Good Jesus”).  This beautiful cathedral is best known for housing the body of Saint Francis Xavier.  His remains are extremely well-preserved (holy influence, according to the church) and are only put on display once a decade which, unfortunately for us, is set to occur next year.

Apart from beach-going and sight-seeing, I experienced one aspect of Goan culture vastly different from that of any other place I have visited in the past six months: nearly half of the people around me were white.  Now, I do my best not to notice race, but in India, Caucasian means foreign and it is always interesting to be around people who view India through a lens similar to mine.  Another interesting difference was the abundance of small, side-of-the-road businesses selling traditionally Indian goods to all the tourists.

After three days of enjoying beach paradise with great food (and my first time whipping out the Frisbee since Northfield!), we took the train to a Pune Rotarian’s beach-front property in Maharashtra where we stayed for two days.  Unfortunately, we missed our stop and had to take a three hour bus and an hour car ride to get back to the house.  The property was nice enough and we were all drifting off to sleep when our bed gained another occupant.  I felt the little nails climbing on my shoulder and neck and woke all the guys with a yell as I hit the rat back onto the floor and tried to suppress my disgust.  Needless to say, the four of us all braved it out and decided to pack into one bed for safety.  Our final day was notably better, and involved running around on the beach, tossing the disc, and exploring some small villages and a fish market.  I could not have asked for a better week.

As for Pune, the biggest news came in the hours before departing for Goa.  I walked out of my room in the morning and immediately given a six hour warning that I was moving back to my first host family.  Packing up all my belongings and putting the finishing touches on the last blog post filled essentially filled my day until I left for Goa.  Now I am back in my first house in the same room with the same bed and the same family, and I like the familiarity.  Also, I now live about one-third as far from everything as I used to and I can walk some places.  Life is pretty good.  Another update soon, have no fear.