Goa

We are couchsurfing here in Panjim, Goa. Our host is very accomadating and kind. We have been staying at his riverside house with a couple of other girls who are travelling. We have our own room and private bathroom. Its been much more than we expected! Daniel, our host is also a mango biodiversity conservationist. He has grafted several varieties of mangos from the Goa region onto his trees on his property, and intends to increase his collection. He also has a large variety of fruit and nut trees on the property.
We have tried to see the city today, but haven't been very succesful, maybe this evening. Tomorrow we are going to check out an organic Spice Plantation nearby. Hopefully get to interview and chat with the owners. We've planned our trip around visits to organic plantations and farms, and hope to get a larger, wider perspective of what Organic Farming and food sovereignty is like in India and be able to combine that with what we have seen with Navdanya.
Some things still need to be planned, and we are squeezing in visits to the beach and to the temples, etc. as well.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon on a beach in North Goa, where we "hiked" to a fresh water swimming hole and mini waterfall. The night we arrived we went to a beautiful beach right near Panjim, and cooked a fish that Daniel and the girls had caught earlier that day. We stepped into the water just a bit. Goa has been a sigh and gulp of fresh air for us in terms of no-stress travel. Nobody harasses us or even approaches us while walking or travelling. People are very helpful and calm. Even the streets are calmer and quieter! We can't tell if this is from the beach or just a Goan trend. Whatever it is, we like it!
Our stopover in Delhi went fantastically with friends of Hannah's from UPeace. They showed us the city, took very good care of us, and let us in on some Delhi secrets. We plan to meet back up with them just before I fly home. We didnt make it to Agra, because our day that we planned it, Friday, it isnt open to public...silly us, so we will have to get there just before I leave.
Amritsar was amazing! The golden temple was just gorgeous and so peaceful! The history in Amritsar is so rich and really made it feel special to be there. We went to the Wagha Border ceremony and that was interesting. I dont think I would go again...it is a lot of men yelling and showing their testosterone is running, but it was an experience. Such a change to be in the south!
We are trying to plan and book the rest of our time in India to make sure we see and do everthing we want and need to; get to farms, organizations, interview people, visit offices, see the sights, meet up with friends and have fun!
I hope to be able to visit an SOS Children's village in the north after Diwali. I will spend Diwali with Meera and we should be able to solidify our arrangement. I also hope to be able to hold some sort of workshop for the children while we are there. We hope to be able to go to Rajastan with Abhyudai as well, but we will see how that pans out. Our next 2 months will be super busy, but I think everything will work.

Chandigarh

We have found the most organized and clean city of India I believe! Chandigarh roads have lines on them and the cars, autorickshaws, cycle rickshaws, buses, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes and pedestrians seem to obey their lanes and the lights! The streets are lined with large trees and green grass and there are many parks and gardens. The city is divided into Sectors that are 1km squared blocks that were thought to contain everything for living. The city is one of the first or the first planned city of India and it shows! There is less caos and although the city is more spread out, it is more peaceful.
Yesterday we spent the day at Sukhna Lake, which has paddleboats that we didnt ride. Then to the rock garden/amusement park and then to the bougainvillea garden. We were pretty pooped after all that. We ate an amazing meal at this really fancy Italian restaurant. We kinda blew our budget on that, but I think it cost us each 6$, so a relative splurge. Today we went to check out the Tagore theatre, and it was a nice, wooden building, but unfortunately there are no shows on tonight. Then we went to the rose garden and smelled the roses and took lots of pictures. We had planned on going to the city museum and the art gallery, but both are closed on Mondays, so our not so well planned plan was ruined.
Tomorrow we head up to Amritsar. We hope to arrive there fairly early and be able to go to the border closing ceremony at the border with Pakistan. Then on Wednesday we will visit the Golden Temple, and Thursday morning we are off to Delhi. We fly to Goa on Saturday. We had thought of going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal on Friday, but it is closed on Fridays, so we will just sightsee in Delhi and catch the Taj on the way back up.
I got my sandals fixed from a shoe maker on the road and today we bought umbrellas. I forgot my raincoat at the farm, so I am without rain protection from the monsoon rains (which were supposed to stop on the 15 of September but dont seem to be letting up much).
Today we ate lunch at a Food Stop outside the Art College and our table was overrun with young students who "secretly" took our photos while we ate. We have contacted 3 farms down south. One in Karnataka, and 2 in Kerala, and it looks like we will be able to visit all 3 if we plan our trip right. 2 are organic farms, one of which is a spice and coffee farm, and the third is a Shakti farm. They grow their organic produce within the jungle so as not to deforest but rather reforest the jungle. That will be neat to be able to compare with the work that Navdanya does.
I'm still hoping to hear back from a few other gender and womens focused NGOs about possible visits, but haven't heard anything yet.

The past week...

So I haven't written in awhile...and there is lots to tell. I dont have the photos with me right now, so that will have to wait.

Krishnas Birthday was last week. We celebrated it at Sheela's house. We went there first thing in the morning, had chai and some snacks, and then walked to temple. We sat and listened to chanting and waited for people to arrive. Then we did the walk through to "greet" Krishna's statue. Then it was time to eat. We all went outside, like at a church picnic, and had a wonderful meal!

Then there was dancing, and then we headed back. We were some of the few people who danced, but everyone expected us to!

I went to Rishikesh the next day. The others stayed back for the course that was being held here. I spent the weekend relaxing at the Ashram where Meera works, and visiting with her. Nina, Hannah, Rachel and Matt arrived on Monday and we stayed in Rishikesh until yesterday. We came back for the Sunday market at Mona's.

Nina and I have been ill...Nina has been to a doctor twice now. Once for a diagnosis, and once to change the antibiotics that she thought might have been too strong for her. I wasn't as sick as her until yesterday. We went to a couple's house for lunch and afterwards I fell really ill. I made it back to the farm with Vanessa and Rachel, with only one emergency stop. I took some of the antibiotics that I had brought with me, and slept, and this morning I feel much better.

It was really nice to visit with Meera up in Rishikesh. We also saw Elivan, a visitor to the farm. It was Meera's brother's birthday while we were there and him and his wife and daughter drove up from Mussepor for dinner with us all.

Hannah and I were supposed to go to Piyusha's farm yesterday, but due to the circumstances, we have postponed that. I'm not sure if we will go at all because of how I am feeling. We have promised Mona we will be at the Sunday Market again next sunday, and then that same day we plan to take a bus to Chandigar, then up to Amritsar, then Delhi, and on the 25th we have a flight to Goa! We'll spend about a month down south...hopefully visiting other organizations and projects, but also to see the sights and the beaches!