I am sorry that my blog has been silent for a while now. The two first weeks of the year there was nothing to write about and then there was a lot to write, but I was to busy. The last five days I could have written because I have not done anything, but then I needed to do nothing for a while to get back to life. I was a bit exhausted, I guess. Stig came on Monday and then we went to Patnem, a beach in the south of Goa. We are staying in a bamboo hut on the beach with a restaurant four palm trees away and literally doing nothing but sleeping, reading and eating.
Now I have finished my program in IDEX and I have no organization organizing everything for me any more. It feels OK. So it is time to sum up my stay here in India and write something enlightened about Travelling and Learning and Exchange and Change; or let us take the clever words another time. It takes to much thinking which is not possible in 35 °C.
On New Years Eve I was patrolling the turtle beach in solitude together with Kathrin. No people, no drunken people and no fire works. Just a few stray dogs accompanied us at the beach. We figured out during the night that the world might be a better place without humans. If there should be humans about one million would be enough and they should live in small groups divided from each other by vast areas of forest. We solved some world problems that night. A perfect way to spend the first hours of the new year.
And then there was about ten days with lots of time to write, but nothing to blog about. I guess that a good blogger always can find something to write about. The clue I have heard is to keep your readers busy and always have an updated blog so they keep visiting it. I guess my blog is not like that because after these ten days I did not have the time because I was in Rajastan in the North-West of India for a week and then I was walking the beaches of Northern and Middle Goa for a week.
Visiting Prakash's home in Rajastan
Sunday morning the 9th of January I had my breakfast together with the staff in the camp when Prakash told me she was going home for a one week leave. That would be my last week in the camp and I would miss having Prakash around; always happy and dancing and giving me a shower while she was watering the grass and flowers in the garden (we had a small or lets say big water fight the other day). So she said that I should come with her to her family’s village in Tonk in Rajastan and I said “yes, I would love to come with you”. “What”, she said, “you come?! Very hard; 22 hour train, no seat reservation but woman compartment, no problem, and 3 hour bus, public bus”. I replied that if she could manage I guess that I would manage too and if she would invite me I would go with her. So we went!
The seat reservation and the travel were no problem, we sat in the women's compartment and had lots of space. But it was a long journey I realize now, as I have spent the last days relaxing to get my energy back. And then it was the language; How to talk together with no common language? “Me small English problem,” Prakash always said. Well, I have a Hindi problem. “Me nahi Hindi samje, sirf tola tola Hindi bolo. Me suno, suno Hindi, lekin nahi samje.” We managed in English, but there was no one to ask to explain if there were things I did not understand.
Prakash's village is a small cluster of houses in the middle of flat farmland as far as the eye could see; shining yellow fields of mustard seeds between fresh green wheat, vegetables and some salad plants of which we could not find the English name. In Prakash's home lived her brother with his wife and two children, her father and her uncle with his wife. As Prakash described it: “big house, big property, but small family”.
When we arrived there was first some practical things to settle; where is the toilet? “No toilet, bathrom not finish, open field, no problem.” I could use their neighbours western toilet during the day, but in the evening it was not very polite to visit the neighbour for this so then it was the open field. No problem! And then there was another thing that was difficult to understand. Why would they serve me my food alone? Could I not eat together with them? “No, no, I eat later”, Prakash would answer when I asked her if she would eat together with me. “You hungry, so very fast make food, you eat.” Hmm, but I would rather eat with them. Would it be impolite to ask for that? I do not know, but for dinner the second day I insisted that to to eat with them was better. “OK, no problem. Come, come.” So from then on we sat together on the flour in their kitchen. I have always been slow at eating my food and now I would begin my meal together with Prakash's brother and the two children and then finish together with the women who ate after them. I was very happy with this solution. I never really understood when they had breakfast, so this meal I still ate alone when ever I got up from bed.
The whole journey lasted from Monday to Sunday, but four of these days were spent travelling so I only had three full days together with Prakash's family. The first day we went on an excursions to a national tiger park, Rantambore, where we actually saw a tiger and we visited a Hindu temple. The second day we drove for five hours to get to the two cities Pushkar and Ajmer, where we saw a temple and a mosque, rode on a camel for ten minutes and visited some family of Prakash. For me it was a bit strange to drive for so long time and when we first got there we just went quickly into the temple, sacrefied and prayed and then we left again. I guess I did not understand much of what we did there, but there was no one to ask in English either. To visit a modern, new Hindi home was very nice and a new thing for me to see too. The mosque was a myriad of all kinds of people. Lavely and I hold hands the whole time we were there. I am not sure if the 11 years old girl was looking after me or if I was looking after her, but I guess both of us looked just as lost and curious as the other. The last day was just spent looking around in the village, visiting the governmental primary school and to fly kites with the two children in the family.
Walking the beaches of Goa
Isabel got an idea one day; she wanted to walk all the beaches of Goa, from north to south. She and I shared room the eight weeks in Goa and our programs in IDEX ended at the same date. Then she would begin walking and I had one week before Stig would come here. I did not have any plan for this days, but I could not really decide if I should join her. As I already have written the beach is not my favourite habitat, but I like walking. I ended up joining her for seven days on a low budget beach expedition. It was fun to see how each beaches have a different image and attract different kind of people: alternative, old hippie, party, middle aged Brits escaping winter, Russians, Indian tourists and so on.
We had some small, fun experiences during our walk like being thrown of the bus because the conductor was convinced that this was the place we wanted to go to (which it was not). We also had two really nice days visiting some friends of some friends of Isabel who has lived in Goa the last seven years. Unfortunately is it the last day I remember most. We walked for four hours in burning sun and 35 °C. When we finally arrived our last stop and got a room I spend my evening shared between the bed with fever and running to the toilet. I guess I should not complain to much cause it is only my second day in five months which I wish I could have spent in bed.
Sunday the 23rd of January was spent in the IDEX camp again getting updated on all the gossip we had missed the week we had been away. It was really entertaining. The next day I picked up Stig at the airport and we went to Patnem, a quiet beach in the south of Goa. I had booked a beach hut here on recommendation from some other volunteers. Ridiculously expensive, but I think it is the nicest place I have seen in Goa:-) And we did not spend money on anything else as we spent all our time in the hut, sleeping and reading, only going out for a swim or for eating and a chatting in the restaurant. So now I am ready for travelling south to Kerala; for a houseboat trip on the back waters and hiking in the Western Gats.
And by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR / NEUE SAL APKO MUBARAK HO / GODT NYTT ÅR