COUNTRY: India
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Community Healthcare
WRITTEN BY: Paige Hetherington
30th of November – 6th of December
Dev boro dis dium. Your November Antips volunteers have survived another week in Majorda (despite a bacterial infection and sleep deprivation).
I have decided to title this section: Random Musings
Queuing
I thing I will never be able to get used to is the queuing system in India, or rather, the lack of it. People cut in everywhere and I get really annoyed when they do, but the idea of queuing is probably foreign to them. I have been asked once so far is someone could cut ahead of me, but I’m not sure if it really counts since he had already half cut in and probably only did it because of the dirty look I shot the person who did it just before. I love queues. There are so neat and ordered, two concepts that aren’t very common in India, so I’m not sure what I expected. I won’t complain about a queue again… Or at least for a month.
Breakfast Time
I'm not sure if it's an Australian cultural thing or it's just something for the seven of us, but we always seem to be up for breakfast first (as was another Australian volunteer who departed this week). Most of our group is up by the time the clock hits 7.30 and we wait (sort of) patiently for breakfast to be ready. I will want to investigate this phenomenon more so hopefully we get some more Australian volunteers.
Contradictions continued
Last week I discussed some contradictions that had confused me in India and I have discovered some more. One is the fact that you can drive along any road and find some really nice houses and the next house will be a shanty. There are no 'rich' or 'poor' areas, people just seem to congregate where they can with what they have.
Haggling
I probably overestimated my confidence in my haggling skills last week. I think I cracked in a couple of minutes. I find it difficult to haggle when people tell me that it's their livelihood and that I'm their first customer (you'd think after the first time those lines would be less effective but it turns out I'm a sap). The advice I keep on getting is to walk away, but I don't think I have enough confidence in my acting skills to pull that move off effectively.
While on the topic of shopping, I am sad to mention that two of my recently purchased elephant pants have died, one to a hole in the leg and another to a serious case of hole in the crotch.
New favourite sentence
The phrase I seem to use a lot in India is, "No, thank you". Sometimes it starts with, "Hello" and is followed by "Sorry" as they continue to attempt to persuade me. It gets a little tiring repeating it every time you pass a shop or a stall.
Homesickness
Now that the excitement off the first week has worn off, I will admit to feeling quite homesick. It's worst in the quiet moments and the only way to deal with it is to keep busy. I miss my family and friends and my life back in Australia and I need to keep focusing on the positive aspects of the trip. I'll be home soon enough.
Accents and translation
While I do love meeting people from other countries I will admit that I am annoyed by one thing. I start thinking in the accent I was mostly recently exposed to. I've spent a lot of time this week talking to English volunteers so I've been thinking in an English accent a lot and I work in the Day Care Centre with a German volunteer so I get that accent as well. I really want to think in my own voice again. It is often quite hilarious to talk with the English volunteers as it sometimes is a challenge to figure out what words mean. The English volunteers often laugh as we call our shoes 'thongs' but I still laugh as one of the English volunteers asked for a plaster and it took a bit to realise she was asking for a Band-aid.
Smell
Smells in India often hit you in waves. You think you're okay then you drive past the fish market or enter the slums on a hot day. Every morning we get a lovely reminder of the different environment we are in as we drive past what can only be described as an 'Outdoor Butcher'.
Rubbish
There is rubbish everywhere in India. The bins are overflowing or broken and I've only seen a rubbish bin pick up once. I can never get over the fact that there seems to be more rubbish under signs that tell say you will be fined 5000 Rupees for illegal dumping of waste.
Coconuts
It seems that it is coconut harvesting time in Goa as we came back to camp one afternoon to find palm tree leaves scattered on the ground and coconuts dropping at random intervals. We were all very impressed by the skill of the coconut-tree-climbing-man (I never got around to asking his name) but I was happy to have an excuse to sing the only line I know of Put the Lime in the Coconut (that being the title).
Summary: Your blogger tours Goa and attempts to force her body into positions it wasn't meant to be in (before anyone gets any weird ideas, we started Yoga classes).
Day 6 – Saturday
Cow count: ? (I may have been sleeping rather than counting)
Day 6 was an excursion day and was a pretty big day for us considering we were out from 11am until 11.30pm (and most of us have been going to bed around 9pm). So after a very relaxing morning (and a sleep-in) we set off to a Spice Plantation to have a tour (‘we’ being the Australian Antips volunteers and four volunteers from England). It was a pretty interesting experience. We were greeted at the entrance with workers who gave us bindis, a lai and a lemon grass tea. We passed many spices, the names of applications of which I promptly forgot (but I do remember one spice was supposed to act like Viagra). I had personally hoped to see Saffron – which is the most expensive spice in the world – but unfortunately the climate in Goa does not support it. It was fascinating how some spices take fifteen years to harvest and some can only be harvested once or twice a year for a very small amount. One spice was located at the top of a tree and we watched a worker climb this palm-like tree and swing between them to demonstrate a harvesting, to say it was awesome would be an understatement. The tour ended with water and oil poured down our backs to help our muscles – I can’t say it did much than give me a wet patch on my pants. Before lunch, we were also supplied with a Cashew shot (that is approximately 42% alcohol) which was supposed to help with our appetites. I had about a third of my shot and I’m glad I didn’t have any more because it tasted like nail polish remover, and smelt a lot worse.
After the tour we visited a place where we could either ride or bath with an elephant. I chose the ride elephant although I heard the bathing was quite fun. We spent some time exploring the markets and shops of Panjim (the capital of Goa) and most of it on the hunt for a toilet (which we eventually ignored due to the smell). It was a pretty cool experience to eat ice cream on the top floor of a shop in Panjim and just watch the traffic pass.
After Panjim, we waited on the beach for two hours for our cruise. I wandered off with some of the other volunteers and found one of the most delicious chocolate cakes of my life. One thing our time on the beach really helped me notice is how smoggy it is. I haven’t seen the moon or clouds yet and could only find one star. I actually find that I miss clouds, the skyline is unbroken and boring.
Before we boarded our boat, we lost some of our number to motion sickness. The cruise was interesting enough, we observed some traditional Goan dances, and danced ourselves. By the end of the night we were so tired we went straight to bed, so if I had any philosophical revelations, I can’t remember them and that might be a good thing.
Day 7 – Sunday
Cow count: 19
Today was an actual sleep in day since we have nothing planned for us. We wandered to breakfast around 8.30, bleary-eyed and stumbling. Sunday seems to be washing day and you could see volunteers trying to find air driers to hang their washing on. Eventually, we set off to Majorda beach and this was my first visit. I’m not really sure what I pictured a beach in India, but it wasn’t like that. You couldn’t describe it as picturesque with the smog and cow poo but I still think it’s great. There are shacks were you can buy drinks and lounge on chairs and eat as you watch the cows wander past. I haven’t been in the ocean for ages – which is a pity because I really do love it – and as a consequence I did giggle like an idiot as I was pushed around by the waves and went swimming because there is a simple and wonderful pleasure in just swimming around the ocean.
Day 8 – Monday
Cow count: 35 (with two casually wandering around the slums)
It was an early morning for our group as we started our complementary Yoga classes (we had to leave at 6.30am which meant poor Renee finally got some company as she has to leave for the Cancer Hospital at the same time). It was dark and we were all tired so I doubt we were the most enthused group. It was interesting enough (I feel I use the word ‘interesting’ too much but it just works so well) but it seemed to me that he sort of expected us to be really flexible already. Flexible does not describe me very well, I only stretch when reaching for my next block of chocolate and maybe my drink. Also, I felt slightly prejudiced against since there is a breathing exercise in which you have to curl your tongue and that is an ability I lack.
Day 9 – Tuesday (Public Holiday due to the Feast of St. Francis Xavier)
Cow count: 19
Day 9 was a public holiday none of us feel we deserved but enjoyed anyway (or tried to despite the heat). We began with yoga with hymns in the background as we were located right next to a church. The only eventful things that happened today was that I got sunburnt on one arm from getting distracted by my book while in the hammock, we went to Majorda beach to relax and I felt sad because I finished my book and didn’t know what to do with my life.
Day 10 – Wednesday
Cow count: 28
Public holidays are kind of annoying in the education system as children usually go crazy the day after. And go crazy they did. I’m glad they contained it until after their snack and then started yelling at nothing and cheering as a plane flew over. It was tiring.
Day 11 – Thursday
Cow count: 26
After re-reading my journal, I have found nothing interesting about Day 11. The most interesting note (that’s not very interesting) if that back in Australia I want to do more creative activities, the girls in the afternoon session today were all making Scoobies and I think the ability to make something like that is pretty awesome (I might try and take up knitting again).
Day 12 – Friday
Cow count: 40
Friday is a beautiful day, regardless of what country you’re in. I tried to teach the children “I’m a little teapot” this morning (as the theme of the month is ‘potmakers’), let’s just say I think it may take a bit.
But that’s not interesting. What’s interesting is that on the afternoon of Day 12 we set off for Anjuna for the weekend. After an hour and a bit of driving we were dropped at Anjuna and shopped around for a place to stay. We eventually decided to stay at UV Bar which was chosen purely for its location (right on the beach) and not its accommodation. We spent 600 Rupees for two nights, so beds like boards and pretty gross shower/toilets should really be expected.
After settling in (we spent as little time in our rooms as possible) we set off for some drinks and dancing. This was quite necessary as the only way to sleep in those beds was with a drink and to be very tired (especially with the dog fight, crows, loud voices and dripping toilet).
Overall cow count: 139
Next week on Adventures in Goaland: Your blog writer survives a weekend in Anjuna and tries with little success to motivate herself to go for a daily walk (sleep is usually preferred).
(If anyone is interested, it was the chocolate that was making me sick)
Paige Hetherington signing out (there are so many mosquitoes in the Rec Room, I need to go hide in my fortress)
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