*Getting picked up from the airport in Goa by a personal driver (he had a sign with my name on it! I felt so special) and taken to a VERY nice house… For some reason I didn't fully connect that Aduth and Anju are wealthy, I mean they own a 5 star resort so I should have known but, I didn't think about it. Their house is beautiful! It is three stories, has all marble floors, is very spacious and clean. The room Tara and I shared looked like a very nice hotel room with a bed, our own tv, an amazing view and a bathroom. They even had white sheets… That is unheard of in India! We were welcomed warmly by Aduth who was just eating dessert when we arrived. He fed us "Naturals" ice-cream that is made with fresh in season fruit, sitaful (custard apple) and coconut.
* They have servants. So when we got up in the morning the first thing we would be asked was "Chai?" by Omesh (my favorite, very sweet servant) then after Chai we would be served breakfast. The first morning we got Goan style scrabbled eggs (eggs with lots of tomatoes, capsicum, onions, and spices in then) and endless toast. Then Anju asked if we would like South Indian breakfast, yes was the obvious answer. We enjoyed idly with sambar and chutney, and dose with aloo masala for the rest of our breakfasts. SO GOOD!
*I totally enjoyed Aduth and Anju. They are lovely! Very welcoming, easy to talk to, and enjoyable to be around. Over the dinners we had with them we talked about our families, learned some history about Goa, and I got to hear more about what Rapid City was like when Aduth lived there. Anju took us with her to Cida de Goa (their resort) several times so we could take advantage of the swimming pool and lawn chairs there. It was so much fun to get to know them a little bit.
*They took us to their grandkids birthday party, which was a showing of "Bugs Life" on one of the lawns of Cida de Goa, where they had chat for dinner, a ton of sweets, popcorn and lots of drinks (milkshakes and juice for the kids, beer for the adults.) We got to meet two of Aduth and Anju's sons and their wives plus lots of friends and kids. It was very fun! Bugs LIfe will now forever be associated with a bit screen in the lawn by the ocean. Can't top that.
*We went on a tour of Goa which included Dona Paulo Point (a great view of the whole cost line), Miramar beach (where there are a few look out towers from the Portuguese), a Shiva Temple, The St. Francis Xavier Basilica (I'm not sure how I feel about that), and the St. Francis cathedral (big with a lot of gold decorations.) Old Goa has a very strong Portuguese influence and it was fun to get to wander around.
*I have already written about out lovely little room. It was a great place for us for the four weeks of Tara's training. The yoga shalla was just one house across from us and the beach was a 5 minuet walk away. The shalla was an open air building with a compact dirt floor. It was so cool to be able to hear the world around you (and occasionally get a visiting animal) while doing yoga. I got to join in the morning asana classes and it was a perfect way to start my days. Then I would spend the day on the beach and Tara would come join me in between classes.
*We met so many wonderful people. Everyone was nice, fun to be around, and welcomed me ion the group with open arms. It was so awesome to have everyone be so nice and I came away with lots of new friends (and invites to go visit them. Explicitly that Tara and I need to go to Oktoberfest in German) (most of my new friends are German)
*I love the beach. We played in the waves, layed in the sun, found sand crab, muscles, and sea stars. It was awesome. AND, contrary to what any of the Indians say, I have a tan!
*I went to see the fruit man every other day… Fruit for breakfast everyday is awesome! Apples, oranges, wonderfully sweet pineapples, the best papaya ever, passion fruit, mud apples, and (my new favorite) sitaful. Best breakfast ever. Then the bread guy would come by at 5 to sell me fresh rolls for 3 rs and the supermarket sold all natural peanut butter. I love peanut butter, we went through 4 (medium) jars in a month… and a jar of sunflower seed butter… and a tiny jar of cashew butter. Hey I just switched to being vegetarian and snacks with protein aren't that easy to find.
*I have found a love for yoga. I am more flexible and a tiny bit stronger after 4 weeks. I found some really tight muscles in my hips and can, finally, do a head stand. Tara is leaving Goa with a teaching certificate, I am leaving Goa knowing how much I enjoy yoga and lots of knowledge just from being around during the training (and reading through Tara's yoga anatomy book. Man it is cool to see all the muscles that you use in yoga.) Tara has promised to continue to teach me as long as I will give her fed back so she can practice teaching. That is a super sweet deal from my side! She is getting to be a very good teacher already and I am going to do every pose perfect with a private teacher who wants to be sure she practices/remembers all the adjustments.
*Booking our train tickets was easy. Way to easy for India… Tara and I left the travel agency with a lurking feeling that something had to go wrong because that was way to smooth… Nothing went wrong! I'm still shocked. Where were you guys when we were trying to get out of delhi?
*Our bus ride to Hyderabad was… ummmmm… well the Night Bus from Harry Potter comes to mind. It was a sleeper bus so Tara and I had a bunk to ourselves with curtains so it was actually semi private and we had room to stretch out and sit however we wanted. The roads in India are rather curvy and bumpy and you can tell that doubly so in a bus. Also the accepted way to drive involves lots of slamming on the breaks (because traffic will randomly stop and people cut you off) followed by flooring it. from our bunk it was a bit like a carnival ride. Thankfully neither Tara nor I ever get car sick, but if you did this bus would not have been good for you! It stopped a couple of times (I think when we were crossing state borders) and police men came onto the bus and checked all the beds. No idea what they were looking for, they would just smile at us and close the curtain again. Tara and I would giggle as the bus would take a big corner and we would grab onto what even was nearest so as not to fall off the bunk. When we tried to sleep you had to have plant your self rather solidly into the bed so you didn't roll all over the place. We took some cat naps and tried not to fall out of bed.
Tomorrow I will tell you about Hyderabad. I love the family we are staying with and have had so much fun with them so far.
* They have servants. So when we got up in the morning the first thing we would be asked was "Chai?" by Omesh (my favorite, very sweet servant) then after Chai we would be served breakfast. The first morning we got Goan style scrabbled eggs (eggs with lots of tomatoes, capsicum, onions, and spices in then) and endless toast. Then Anju asked if we would like South Indian breakfast, yes was the obvious answer. We enjoyed idly with sambar and chutney, and dose with aloo masala for the rest of our breakfasts. SO GOOD!
*I totally enjoyed Aduth and Anju. They are lovely! Very welcoming, easy to talk to, and enjoyable to be around. Over the dinners we had with them we talked about our families, learned some history about Goa, and I got to hear more about what Rapid City was like when Aduth lived there. Anju took us with her to Cida de Goa (their resort) several times so we could take advantage of the swimming pool and lawn chairs there. It was so much fun to get to know them a little bit.
*They took us to their grandkids birthday party, which was a showing of "Bugs Life" on one of the lawns of Cida de Goa, where they had chat for dinner, a ton of sweets, popcorn and lots of drinks (milkshakes and juice for the kids, beer for the adults.) We got to meet two of Aduth and Anju's sons and their wives plus lots of friends and kids. It was very fun! Bugs LIfe will now forever be associated with a bit screen in the lawn by the ocean. Can't top that.
*We went on a tour of Goa which included Dona Paulo Point (a great view of the whole cost line), Miramar beach (where there are a few look out towers from the Portuguese), a Shiva Temple, The St. Francis Xavier Basilica (I'm not sure how I feel about that), and the St. Francis cathedral (big with a lot of gold decorations.) Old Goa has a very strong Portuguese influence and it was fun to get to wander around.
*I have already written about out lovely little room. It was a great place for us for the four weeks of Tara's training. The yoga shalla was just one house across from us and the beach was a 5 minuet walk away. The shalla was an open air building with a compact dirt floor. It was so cool to be able to hear the world around you (and occasionally get a visiting animal) while doing yoga. I got to join in the morning asana classes and it was a perfect way to start my days. Then I would spend the day on the beach and Tara would come join me in between classes.
*We met so many wonderful people. Everyone was nice, fun to be around, and welcomed me ion the group with open arms. It was so awesome to have everyone be so nice and I came away with lots of new friends (and invites to go visit them. Explicitly that Tara and I need to go to Oktoberfest in German) (most of my new friends are German)
*I love the beach. We played in the waves, layed in the sun, found sand crab, muscles, and sea stars. It was awesome. AND, contrary to what any of the Indians say, I have a tan!
*I went to see the fruit man every other day… Fruit for breakfast everyday is awesome! Apples, oranges, wonderfully sweet pineapples, the best papaya ever, passion fruit, mud apples, and (my new favorite) sitaful. Best breakfast ever. Then the bread guy would come by at 5 to sell me fresh rolls for 3 rs and the supermarket sold all natural peanut butter. I love peanut butter, we went through 4 (medium) jars in a month… and a jar of sunflower seed butter… and a tiny jar of cashew butter. Hey I just switched to being vegetarian and snacks with protein aren't that easy to find.
*I have found a love for yoga. I am more flexible and a tiny bit stronger after 4 weeks. I found some really tight muscles in my hips and can, finally, do a head stand. Tara is leaving Goa with a teaching certificate, I am leaving Goa knowing how much I enjoy yoga and lots of knowledge just from being around during the training (and reading through Tara's yoga anatomy book. Man it is cool to see all the muscles that you use in yoga.) Tara has promised to continue to teach me as long as I will give her fed back so she can practice teaching. That is a super sweet deal from my side! She is getting to be a very good teacher already and I am going to do every pose perfect with a private teacher who wants to be sure she practices/remembers all the adjustments.
*Booking our train tickets was easy. Way to easy for India… Tara and I left the travel agency with a lurking feeling that something had to go wrong because that was way to smooth… Nothing went wrong! I'm still shocked. Where were you guys when we were trying to get out of delhi?
*Our bus ride to Hyderabad was… ummmmm… well the Night Bus from Harry Potter comes to mind. It was a sleeper bus so Tara and I had a bunk to ourselves with curtains so it was actually semi private and we had room to stretch out and sit however we wanted. The roads in India are rather curvy and bumpy and you can tell that doubly so in a bus. Also the accepted way to drive involves lots of slamming on the breaks (because traffic will randomly stop and people cut you off) followed by flooring it. from our bunk it was a bit like a carnival ride. Thankfully neither Tara nor I ever get car sick, but if you did this bus would not have been good for you! It stopped a couple of times (I think when we were crossing state borders) and police men came onto the bus and checked all the beds. No idea what they were looking for, they would just smile at us and close the curtain again. Tara and I would giggle as the bus would take a big corner and we would grab onto what even was nearest so as not to fall off the bunk. When we tried to sleep you had to have plant your self rather solidly into the bed so you didn't roll all over the place. We took some cat naps and tried not to fall out of bed.
Tomorrow I will tell you about Hyderabad. I love the family we are staying with and have had so much fun with them so far.
So much fun to read this, Keeley. I am still smiling. Love you tons, Cara
ReplyDeleteNow if only I can post this......
Success with posting!!! Please let Tara know that I have enjoyed her posts very much, too. Isn't it funny how the iPad has its own words, spellings, etc? I have written (actually I didn't think it was I who wrote after reading it later...it was the IPad trickster) some very interesting things.
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