So I was asked to write about my experiences and points of view on India so far. At first I had no idea what I could write about because there has been so much, and the days since we’ve moved from Kochi have all kind of blended into one. So I guess what you’ll be reading about is what we do on these blended days.
 |
| Our first place to stay |
 |
| The extremely common Beach Cow |
Personally one of my favourite things to do is go down to the chai shop called Little World. The owners now know us and its always a warm feeling when you first walk in and sit down. Most times we go there as a family to just talk and reflect on what we have all done during the day. As more days go on our activities become very much the same from the last day. Bowen does school with Dad, Mom talks about going to the beach early, but doesn’t make it there until much in the after noon most times, and I Skype home, or look in the shops.
It’s a really different feeling lately having our own house. Each of us having our own beds and rooms that we can go to when we need time to ourselves is a really nice change. The first few months of this trip we’ve been living a lot like how the locals do, which is right on top of each other most times.
I’ve found that being out here, and surrounded by traditional medicine practices, and getting my own experiences through them is extremely inspiring. Meeting the people who practice these medicines and meditations is really inspirational for me to continue learning about all the different healing practices there are in the world, and get more into natural medicine when I go back to school. All of the people who I have talked to who are these healer types are really supportive of my choice to start by studying acupuncture, which is a huge relief since I wasn’t sure if that was quite the right way to start my career. Most of them actually started theirs through acupuncture as well so its interesting when I get the chance to talk to them about their experiences.
Anyways, enough about myself. I’m sure everyone also wants to hear about the rest of the Tompkins Family since we haven’t written here for quite a while.
We’re finding that Wi-Fi in India is not nearly as well put together as it is in Asia. The connections that are advertised as “Hi Speed” are no where near what you would expect, and most times you can’t even load a website on the computer. The spotty connection on top of the extremely frequent power outages really make us realize how lucky we are at home, and how decent our own Wi-Fi really is. Its a weird thing to feel grateful for, but when you find somewhere with a solid connection, it can be a very calming feeling.
 |
| Bowen being a beach goof |
Bowen and I have gotten back into skim boarding that we used to do in Portland and Mexico. We’ve become friends with the one guy on the beach who rents them, and gives us a deal because we’ve given him so much business. With all the time we have on our hands with the boards we’ve learned how to actually ride waves on them! And the locals love to watch. They always come and ask to try, thinking it must be easy. Usually it ends in them falling into the surf, beer in hand with the accompanying polo shirt and jeans, only to laugh it off and say “it must not be my day”. The Indian tourists think we must be some kind of celebrity-surfers from California or something, because we are bombarded by them wanting to take photos with us and the boards. Some people come running down the beach, cell phone in hand, just to record us once as we go by. Thats got to be the weirdest thing for both of us, even though its been a month of it. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to sweaty indian men putting their hands all over me just for 1 picture.
 |
| Palolem beach huts |
Mom and Dad seem to have gotten very used to the life we’re now living, as they go out almost every day, getting groceries and anything else we might need. It feels now like we’re actually locals here. Some shop keepers know us by name, and visa-versa. It makes it feel more like home when you walk down the street and people say hello to you. It’s like Bolly-Inglewood.
 |
| People love getting their photo taken |
It’s become kind of a strange feeling though, I mean here, it feels like all the days have just been 1, and that I still have lots of time in India left, but when I look at it, its counting down quickly. So far it has been my absolute favourite country we’ve been to. The people have given me more than I could ever ask for or imagine, and I’m grateful for that. We might have to leave the comfort of this house before Christmas, which none of us really wants, but it might also open up another area for us to begin to feel at home at. I’m grateful for my time in India, and I can see myself coming back sometime in the future. Hopefully it won’t have changed too much in Goa, because I think this is where I’d like to come back to.
No comments:
Post a Comment