A fest of a different kind. Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish I knew how to adequately describe my experience on Thanksgiving day.  Maitri runs a health camp one Thursday a month at the rickshaw slums.  It just so happens that this month it was on Thanksgiving.   

Arriving early, the first thing we saw were the rickshaws (they refer to this area as, "the garage") 

Behind 'the garage' was our tent.  The small shack to the left of the tent is Maitri's permanent structure, where the examinations would take place.

I love this poster.

The majority of this population are immigrant workers, so health camps like these are very important!

Just outside the tent a woman was cooking lunch in a small fire inside her the hut.

Everyday, all day, men take out their rickshaws, hoping for some kind of work.  Work is hard to come by and when it does it is no more than about Rs./ 10-20 a day.  About 40 cents. 

There are so many children and all of them were playful and respectful.  This little boy was naked except for the shirt he is wearing.  Most of the children had very dirty clothing or none at all.

This little boy was so cute!  He was hamming it up for the camera.  Look at his feet.  He is able to walk but I have to wonder what his life would have been like had he adequate healthcare as a baby.

Men waiting outside the tent.  I asked a member of the Maitri team where the women were?  He said that HIV, TB and other communicable diseases are so stigmatized, especially for women that they don't seek or receive treatment.

Brochures with HIV/AIDS information.  I learned however, that 80% of immigrant workers are illiterate

Maitri team

The children loved having their pictures taken!  They were in and out of the tent trying to get our attention all day.  At one point they started to sing us songs.  Adorable!!

Lots of little boys- not a lot of girls.

This woman came to show us her baby.  She is so cute and little yet you could tell there was something wrong with her.  It was sad to see.

More little boys trying to get our attention.

We were asked if we would like a tour of the community.

This is where a whole family lives.

As we walked further into the slum it was evident that there were little resources.  Including running water and toilet facilities. 

This was kind of random.  A beautiful marble slab was just laying in the dirt and garbage.  It is SO beautiful.

We weren't very far into the slum when our guide told us that we should turn back.  With the unhygienic conditions it was not safe to continue.

   You can't see it in this picture but his stomach was swollen from malnourishment. 

This was AMAZING!  I was so impressed by this man from the, Indian AIDS Foundation.  They were there in partnership for the health camp.  He started a magic show and suddenly there were people from the community enthralled with his tricks.  It was brilliant because he had everyones rapt attention when he did a trick that turned a magic wand into a huge banner in which it had HIV/ AIDS information and the importance of getting tested and prevention!  I was just so impressed.

I called my mom later in the afternoon to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving and I went on and on about this magicians best trick!!

Daily life.

Ajay (ah-jay) and Mintoo are the go-to guys for Maitri.  The 3 of us girls have little crushes on both of them!!!  They walk around holding hands, all the men do as it is a cultural thing.  You NEVER see a man and woman holding hands.

This little boy stole my heart!!  He's just so cute with that hat!!  All of the other children wanted their pic but not him.  I had to sneak this picture!

I pinched the cheeks of one of the little boys and he pinched mine back.  It was so precious!! 

The kids were just so fascinated by us- as were we, by them!!

Picture inside the shack where the Dr. met with patients

Entrance

The migrant worker program is headed by, Piyali. 

Family inside the slum.

The children followed us out to our car where they proceeded to wave and tap on the windows to say goodbye.  

When we got home Sarah and I were exhausted (Liz was a hummingbird as usual)  My energy was zapped and I went home to take a nap.  I wondered later that evening why I was so tired.  I think the emotional stress was too much.  I have never seen anything like that slum in my life.  I am so blessed.  I can't believe how blessed I am.  All the little things I squabble about seem so trivial compared to these people.  Thanksgiving has a new meaning for me and for that I am grateful.

Goa'n to Mumbai!

While all of my dear friends and family were shivering in the Autumn air, the 3 of us headed to the beach town of Goa (by way of Mumbai).  And so, we find our 3 heroines boarding a plane to paradise.  

Arriving in Mumbai was surreal.  I mean, how many people do you know that have been to BOMBAY?!

We were only spending the day in Mumbai so at the airport we hired a cab to drive us around.  We were congratulating ourselves on our supreme luck but upon arrival learned out driver spoke NO English.  I think it would have been easier to use hand puppets!  We made it work, thanks to our wise and so prepared, Liz!  WIth the assistance of a guide book and a plethora of locals that spoke English and Hindi we made it (just barely) to some of the hop spots.

Harding? Party of 3?

And away we go!

In Delhi the autos are green and yellow.  Bombay, black and yellow.

The drive to the city center was about 20 minutes in which we went over this amazing suspension bridge!

 

I assumed Mumbai would be very dirty but in reality it was very, very clean.  This surprised all of us.

 

This pic was taken right on the coastline.  The Ocean is on the right.  Doesn't this pic almost look like it could have been taken in California? 

The design of the buildings are vastly different to those in Delhi.

The guide book directed us to a small restaurant in which we got breakfast.  Eggs benedict, potatoes and chicken sausage.  The food was delish but the service S L O   W.....  But, I can't complain.  The food was good and the bathroom clean!

After breakfast and a complicated conversation with our driver that included many locals, we headed to, The Gate of India.

Just outside the entrance was this beautiful tree!  Every tree had these drooping branches.  It made them almost seem fairy tale like.

More Mumbai architecture 

It was boiling hot.  We only stayed long enough to take pictures.  Didn't even inspect more closely. SO HOT!!!!

A lot of the buildings had a European flare. 

Big Ben??

Driving along Marine Drive which at night is referred to, "The Queens necklace".

Suddenly I find myself in, England!?

This is a HUGE market in the center of the city

It was like the same 5 stalls over and over again.

Lots of crappy junk food, spices, and live animals for purchase.

Woman outside of the market.

I was so excited to go and see the, Hanging Gardens of Bombay!!

Um....

Not sure...

This is, THE Hanging Gardens, right?

It was just a nice park in which families and couples were enjoying the afternoon.

SOSOSOSOSOSO HOT!!

This old lady and the shoe.

I had the rare privilege of visiting the home of the influential leader, Mahatma Gandhi. 

The outside was beautiful. 

I'm in Gandhi's house.  I'M IN GANDHI'S HOUSE!!!

The house is 2 floors, simple but beautiful.

Copies of letters he had written or talks he had given were displayed on the walls.  The most intense and interesting to me was one written to Hitler.  In the most loving, simple words he asked the leader to stop his path of destruction. 

To end our day we went down to the beach to watch the sunset.  The beach in Mumbai isn't an exotic beach.  It had more of a boardwalk feel to it.

It was fun to see the families out together, picnicking, playing etc...

Beach Beauty

Bombay beach scenes

Part II

GOA!!!

Mumbai was just a quick stop to our final destination, Goa!!  Goa is located on the coast of the Indian Ocean.  Thanks to the,  Lonely Planet guide book we took up residence at the Dora Florina!  The Dora Florina was the #1 pick in the guide book.  We were early in the season so we were able to get a room.

The hotel courtyard

The view from our private balcony.

Beach reading anyone?  They had books in, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese and... English.

The path down to the beach

Ta-da!  The little shack in the background had just been erected.  The shacks served food and anything else we may have been interested in (massage? mani/pedi?  Why not!?)  We were at the very beginning of tourist season and basically had our stretch of beach to ourselves.  

Lazy Daze

Indian Ocean

These beautiful women walked up and down the beach selling everything a lounging gal could want.  Jewelry, sun-dresses, bags...

Yep.  This is what I did for 5 days.

Behind me was jungle

Like I said, jungle.

And in front, THE Indian Ocean.  The water was so warm and the sand white and soft.

Our beach as seen from the Ocean

Massages every day. Heaven. 

Pineapple drinks with Lizzie! SOSOSO YUM!

Playing on the beach in, Goa is such hard work.

We watched the sunset every evening.  It was different and amazing every night!

Different night

And again, something different

Let's not forget the moon!

This pic has not been enhanced or changed in any way.  This IS EXACTLY as it was!

coiffed and ready for dinner!

This is what I look like with a tan.

Q T pies!  Love, love, love :)

I went all the way to, Goa to eat at...

We took a dolphin tour in which we were also shown some of the local sites.

Dolphin tour was very anticlimactic.  We saw 2.  Still, how many have I seen in the wild?

View from our private balcony.  The palms were LOADED with coconuts!!

Rent a scooter and ride it down the coast?  OK!

NOT!!!!!!!!!  I drove it down a little out of the way road and by the time I got off the bike (15 seconds, maybe?) The owner came back to drive in back for me, I was then instructed to sit down and the shop owner turned on her fan.  I was bright red, sweating bullets and shaking!  Wow. I am not a scooter kind of girl, tell you what.  We cancelled our reservation- not before getting a picture first!!

We went to this huge outdoor shopping market.  People were selling everything from jewelry to salted fish!

The men and women carry everything on their heads.  The best part is, this is a small load!

While interesting, this market didn't exactly appeal to us as all of delhi is a giant market.

Market scenes

Banana's and banana trees are everywhere!  I carried this umbrella everywhere in Goa and still got burned!!!

Lounging on the beach

Our shack had the best fruit!  I usually don't like watermelon as it is hard to find a good one.  Every one I was served at the shack was PERFECT!!!

Told ya.  Beach to ourselves!

Prawns and french fries.  Not sure why, but I haven't met a french fry in India I didn't like!  The prawns were HUGE and so tasty!!

This is the star fish, Sarah found.  I told her she should keep it but she decided to, "make a difference to that one."

This sunset was amazing!  What makes it even better is that this picture is NOT enhanced at all!!

On the first night Lizzie and I went out to the Ocean to swim.  The waves were so much more intimidating at night!  Even just up to our knees!

The hotel was so beautiful.  We had our own balcony!

As you all know I have had a very hard time with the food.  In Goa, Liz's guide book referred us to a place called, I-95

The food was just so.... we all wanted to cry.  The food.  The food.  Oh, the food!!  this is a goat cheese appetizer with beets!  I thought I was going to die it was amazing.

For dinner I had the, beef wellington!  The food was so good we asked to meet the chef.  All of us were over the moon!!

This is me... parasailing!  Yep, can you believe it!?  It was THE MSOT exhilarating experience of my life.

I'm sailing!  I'm sailing!!!

That's me!!

The ever ambitious Liz wanted to go see the Portuguese stuff.  It was interesting but off the coast the weather was hot and stagnant.  I just wanted to get back to the beach so I look less than thrilled in the pics.

After all the obligatory touristy stuff we decided to have brunch at the Marriott.  This was the view from the cafe.

It was rather weird to see this picture. 

More pictures away from the beach... :/

This was THE BEST hamburger I have ever eaten!!  It was moist and cooked perfectly with what I think was cilantro!  

It was such fun to live a decadent lifestyle on the beach!  Hence, my lobster!!

Our last day on the beach we decided to make sand mermaids.  Don't I look like the real deal?!  Hahaha!

Goa was a dream and I hated to leave- especially as I was finally starting to eat good food at regular intervals.  I would have to say I miss that the most.  Goa also signifies the end of my time here.  I only have less than a month left but am looking forward to going home.  xoxoxo