Hotter Than...

Omg it is HOT here in Goa. And HUMID. Ok that is nothing new in India.. but I forgot the immensity of the heat. Maybe it is worse for us because we live in a desert region and have no humidity. Then again, I think it's just dam hot. Even the Indians that we have met here are in agreement. The heat index has been b/t 105 - 110 the last couple of days.

We stayed out by the ocean for maybe an hour yesterday.. and I think I got a bit dehydrated. I kept worrying about Maya, but obviously forgot to keep myself totally hydrated. I've been dealing with mega stomach pain today, and I'm assuming it was the heat. Can't spend much time outside today, as it is again - so intense. We spent quite a bit of time at the pool in the early morning hours, and then retreated to the AC! Now I'm trying to talk myself into taking my malaria drugs. They make me super-dizzy, and I'm getting very sick of feeling like I'm walking on a moving ship for a couple hours post-pill. I think this happened the last time we came to India, and we both stopped taking the pills. Not sure we can rationalize NOT taking them this time, as the mosquitos are definitely biting. Blech.

So Goa sounds fun eh? Haa.. it is actually fantastic. We're still loving the beauty and relaxation. Tomorrow we are finally going to hire a driver and leave the resort for a few hours. Had planned to do this today.. but alas, my stomach refuses to leave the resort.

We're planning to explore Old Goa.. and maybe another beach or two. We've heard that the entire area is breathtaking, so we can't miss seeing it. There are some temples and churches I'd love to see in Old Goa.. but we'll have to ensure that it is safe. I've read stories in the newspaper the past few days regarding protests and issues at both the temples and the churches. We'll have to see how it goes.

Maya is still having a wonderful time. She has met some little 'friends' at the pool today. :) She is quite social, and tends to startle the Indian families by walking up to them and starting conversations. She gets that from her father though, as he has startled a few people himself (women mostly.. they obv are not used to being spoken to by strange men..haha)!

We met a couple of very nice Indian families today - one of which is from Kolkata and has an adopted daughter from one of the Kolkata orphanages! They even visited ISRC at one point. According to them, Kolkata only has 3 orphanages that are 'safe' to adopt from. It was very interesting to hear them describe their domestic-India adoption process. They thought that their wait for their daughter was long.. until they heard that Devika is 14 months and their daughter was 40 days old at the time of coming home!

It will be interesting to transition from Goa to Kolkata. So far this trip is definitely nothing like the last trip. Even the traffic and towns nearby are nothing like 'normal India'. We are constantly reminded of the (bizarre to us) class issue in this country, though. We've witnessed some rude scenes between some Indian families and their servants that they have brought with them. It is such a foreign concept to us. I seriously feel almost like we're on an old plantation with slaves. For one thing - the grounds remind me of a huge plantation.. and the groundskeepers wear dark overalls with white t-shirts and straw hats. Pair that with an Indian man yelling at a servant/nanny/Ayah/whatever.. for not seeing that his child was climbing on a balcony fence (directly in front of HIM btw) b/c she was busy with laundry.. etc. It's an interesting glimpse of a very different culture.

Speaking of which.. the stories in the newspaper are almost mindblowing. Yesterday I read about a village woman who was admitted to a hospital due to severe burns on her hands. She was accused of being a witch by someone in her village.. and their 'test' was to make her grab a silver coin from a boiling pot of oil. If she was burned - she was a witch, if not burned - she was not a witch. Hmmmm.

Anyhow- Sorry, no exciting photos today! I've been using my pro camera, and I shoot RAW images, which are not upload-able into the laptop I'm using. Hopefully I'll have a few interesting snaps from Old Goa tomorrow.

Until then..