A Week to Remember

Namaste Friends!

I had the most amazing week traveling with my friend and fellow volunteer Dayana.  Our travels began in Goa and I now understand why so many people travel to India to relax on the Goan beaches.  The four days we spent in Goa could not have been more wonderful and relaxing.  The hotel we stayed at was a small boutique hotel with great food and service and it was only a short walk to the beach, countless restaurants, and great shopping. 
Our first day consisted of visiting the sights and beaches of North Goa.  The first event of the day was a dolphin cruise on the Arabian Sea.  Dayana and I had so much fun soaking up the sun and taking in the sights from the boat with the wind blowing on our faces (it was 95 degrees most days in Goa!).  The best part of the ride was that we actually saw about 10 dolphins. 

Day two was kind of a long one because we drove about 1.5 hours to south Goa and while the area is pretty, there is not that much to see there.  After stopping at several temples and churches and sitting on a bus for 6 hours we were wishing we had stayed at the beach and skipped the tour.  Luckily, the last event of the day made the heat and boredom of the day worthwhile.  We ended our last full day in Goa on a Paradise boat cruise that had a dj and dancing.  Dayana and I had a blast dancing the night way under a full Goan moon! 

I am not going to lie, the best part of Goa was the food and on Friday night we actually had two dinners! After eating potatoes and chapatti's for 2 1/2 months I definitely know how to eat anything that resembles meat or vegetables.  On Friday night when we returned from the cruise we got changed and went into town to grab a drink before dinner at our hotel.  We ended up at the Jazz Corner watching some great traditional dancing (which Dayana took part in!) and we found cheeseburgers on the menu.  We could not resist ordering them because it was the first time we saw beef in India and they were amazing!  The problem arouse when we arrived back at our hotel and had the eat the massive dinner we ordered.  By the time we went to bed we swore we would never eat again (which lasted until lunch the next day when I went back for another burger!)

We spent our last morning in Goa on Candolim beach.  We woke up at 6:30am (late for us) and went to the beach to watch people running and doing yoga before swimming in the incredibly warm Arabian Sea.  When it was finally time to leave Goa we were ready to cancel our flight to Mumbai, but since we already booked a hotel we decided to make the trip and check out the city.

                                                                             GOA Photos

We arrived in Mumbai around 7PM on Saturday to see the city lit up from afar. The city is beautiful and looks like NYC at night and the old Gothic architecture is incredible.  Our love of Mumbai did not last long when we arrived at our hotel.  The hotel was nothing like the photos and it was not in a very good area so we stayed long enough to find a new hotel (one that was almost 3x as expensive because it was the weekend and everything was booked) and then got out of there.  Our second hotel was much much better and it was worth the money to be safe and in a very clean room in a quiet area.

Although we were not in the best of moods because of the whole hotel situation, we woke up early and set out to explore Mumbai.  We found a walking tour in my Lonely Planet book and started at the Gateway of India which is right across from the Taj Hotel and on the Arabian Sea.  The area is beautiful and it was so relaxing walking around the city and exploring it at our own pace.  We found this great cafe on our walk and stopped in for some coffee and pancakes and then went to the Prince Whales Museum (I forget the name in Hindi).  We spent about 3 hours exploring the museum, loving all the beautiful artifacts and history.  The pieces were mainly from India, Tibet, and Nepal and seeing the overlap in the cultures was fascinating.

After we left the musuem we continued to explore the area and began looking for a place to have lunch.  We were having difficulty trying to locate a restaurant in the area so we were standing on the corner with our lonely planet book, definitely looking like tourists, when a women from NYC stopped us and asked if we needed help.  She proceeded to direct towards an amazing Thali restaurant and bought us lunch.  We could not have been more grateful for her kindness because we were beginning to wish we had just stayed in Goa and she saved the day by showing us around.


                                                                   MUMBAI Photos

We were only in Mumbai for one full day and we left the next morning for Patna, the one place I was determined to go while in India.  We arrived on Monday afternoon to our hotel and had both lunch and dinner in our room because the hotel management asked us to (all very weird and we felt uncomfortable).  The next day we set out to find St. Xavier's School because I went to Patna to find the place where my Great Uncle, Father Dan Rice was buried.  Father Dan was Jesuit Priest and lived in India for about 40 years and died in 1991.  I grew up always hearing how amazing he was and all the great work he did in India and that is why I decided to come volunteer here.  I was not sure what was going to happen when I arrived at the school and told the priests I was Father Dan's great niece but I was determined to find out where he was buried.  When we arrived at the school and found our way to the office it took me awhile to explain why I was there, but once the fathers realized who I was, they welcomed us with open arms. 

I don't know what I expected, but I definitely did not imagine that everyone would know who he was and would be so wonderful to us.  The priests made us check out of our hotel and let us stay at the school and then drove us around for the day so I could see Father Dan's grave and all the Jesuit properties in Patna.  I spent the first portion of the day crying because the stories they told me were so amazing and moving.  

After a wonderful day, the priests had a little dinner party for Dayana and I and made signs to welcome us.  They made me promise that I would come back in April so they can take me to the villages where he lived and I am in the process of making those travel arrangements right now.  I cannot wait to go back          

so I can learn more about him and I can take the information and photos back to my grandmother.

                                                                           PATNA Photos

Love you all!

Allie

Trains, Pancakes, and Mela

 Namaste Friends!

It has definitely been a crazy and exciting 2 weeks!  Following Republic Day some new volunteers arrived and we decided to go on an excursion into Delhi on the train.  The train ride in, while hectic, cannot compare to our ride home.  On the way into Delhi we managed to find the women's section and had an uneventful r2 hour ride into the city.  Once in Delhi we walked around Connaught place, bought some gifts and grabbed a bite to eat.  We headed back to the train station around 3 to ensure we arrived at the orphanage before it closed at 7pm and waited for our train to arrive.  The Delhi train station is incredibly busy and in order to find out which platform your train is arriving on you need to listen to the half Hindi half English announcements over a barely audible loud speaker.  When your train is finally announced you need to run to the platform before it leaves the station and jump in whatever car has space or you will miss the train.  Due to the lack of time allotted to passengers to reach the train, we were unable to find the women's cart on the way back of Faridabad and ended up in a cargo car filled with men and boxes; we were the only women in the car and we were initially terrified.  We relaxed a little as the train started and then men left us alone but when we reached the next station people rushed into the car and it was so crowded that we had to sit on boxes stacked 5 feet above the floor.  I do not recommend sitting on boxes on a crowded train by an open door to anyone.  Also, my anxiety grew when we got to the next station and so many people tried to get into our car that men were actually hanging out of the train and holding on with only 1 hand.  Since I was so close to the door I was certain that the man who held onto the hand bar closest to my head was going to fall because he kept losing his grip and would let go and then grab on again.  When we finally got to our station we found out that the platform was on the other side of the train and we were certain that we only had two options, jump on the tracks or miss our stop.  I am not sure how any of us made it across 20 people in less than 3 minutes so we could get out of the train but I know I had to jump boxes and push/kick people to get out in time.  I can guarantee that it will be a few weeks until I work up the nerve to take the train again.

Our next adventure for the week was our pancake making endeavor.  On Sunday we made 300 pancakes for the girls from scratch! I found an eggless recipe online that made 10 pancakes and multiplied the recipe by 30.  It was definitely an experiment to make the pancakes because I was unable to find a measuring cup so I had to convert all the cups into ml and I used a water bottle to measure out the amounts.  Surprisingly the pancakes came out really well, but 1/2 into the batter I became convinced that there we were not going to have enough so I made another batch with bananas.  When it was finally time for breakfast and I began distributing pancakes, it became abundantly clear that we were going to have batter for at least 150 pancakes left over.  The girls were not a fan of the new taste.  Dayana, two other volunteers and I, ate pancakes for breakfast and lunch and we were trying to figure out how we could finish the batter without making ourselves sick from eating so many pancakes.  Luckily, when we arrived at dinner we were told to finish making the pancakes because the girls would be eating pancakes and chapati for dinner.  When we finished making the banana pancakes I felt horrible as I passed them out to the girls because they were forced to take one and I new that very few actually liked the taste (the banana pancakes were delicious though, they tasted like banana bread!)

Finally the crazy week ended with a trip to Surajkund Mela.  On Wednesday we traveled to the huge crafts fair that is held every February just outside of Delhi and spent 6 hours with 30 of the older girls shopping, watching traditional dances and eating.  The day was long but wonderful and I was able to find some great gifts! 

The one unfortunate thing that happened during the week was that Neeha left the orphanage. I actually found out after she left which made me really upset, but her last day at the orphanage she spent most of the morning in my room with her friends taking pictures.  I went out a few days ago and developed all the photos I had with her and made an album that could be sent to her grandmother's house so she can remember our time together and some of the girls she was closest with.

Love you all and miss you!
Allie