Out and About in Goa!

Since the Monsoon season is now well and truly here we have learnt that a little rain never hurt anybody!!! except when your on the bike and then it blinds you. In fact it isn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. It always rains overnight and then usually first thing in the morning and at some point in the afternoon. If you can wait long enough you usually get windows of dry spells and then make a dash for it! David has been taking the boys from the house on walks to the river whenever it is dry enough. Occasions always enjoyed by all - as you can see usually enjoyed the most when it involves getting wet and muddy!!!! D says The walks have now come to an end. On one walk the boys asked if they could have a swim in the river. There was the risk of crocodiles but we were near houses so I thought it would be OK. The boys jumped in and sadly one disappeared under. He was the one who spoke no English and sadly I did not know how to ask whether he could swim in Hindi. If I had asked he would of said No. It was at that point I went swimming!!! All are well just no more walks.

There is far less to do during the wet season so we have been taking in the sites of the local area on our trusty bike. The island of Charao is really quite beautiful especially since now everything is very lush and green. We have also been to the local Miramar beach - which shared with some buffalo!

For a few days there hasn't been much rain at all so we decided to make the most of it and pay a visit to the historic Old Goa. Probably the most touristy area we have come across in Goa and it had some very beautiful old building which Zoe really enjoyed looking around! The most exciting part (for David) came on the journey home. As we travelled along the highway towards Panjim we were pulled over by the police. We should explain at this point that this is not uncommon here and they generally fine you for something (anything they can think of) and then send you on your way. David was asked for his licence and dutifully handed it over to be told it wasn't valid in India! This led to discussions about who owned the bike and then being informed we had to appear in court on the 29th!!! We refused to hand over documents as we would probably have never seen them again and rang an Indian friend who advised us to wait for him. So we enjoyed the sunshine at the side of the road while the police continued to pull over any vehicle that drove past - including bikes with about 5 people on and lorries with people packed in the back - all of whom paid and were soon sent on their way while we continued to wait. Finally after about half an hour the police called David to the back of the van and they did a deal!!!! We paid a fine for the invalid licence, Zoe had to sign to say it was her bike and had let David ride it illegally, which was another fine, and then the policeman told us we should be thankful because he was helping us out!!! We think the policeman made quite a lot of money that day!

Pune and back to Goa

Our second week in Pune we went to another children's home. This was a very different home as it has been up and running for 17 years. It has a great structure and people who know what they are doing. The best part is that they had a flat above the office where we could stay on our own for the week. It gave zoe a chance to cook her own curries! The house was made up mostly of street children and the children of prostitutes. Some have families and part of the programme is to help them become reunited. There was a girls and a boys house in the same area. The children did not watch TV but loved to play games and had long periods of worship and dancing. They were even treated to a few David sermons and story times! we had a art and craft time which was complete mayhem and left Zoe quite frazzled!!! We should explain that they don't really do art and craft so it was very exciting for them and they were all very loud and quite hyperactive!!!

The food in the house was true Indian and required us to eat with our hands, which caused much amusement to the children until they showed us the correct technique!!! We did have a treat each morning not just being opposite the mosque and hearing their many calls to prayer but an even earlier wake up as the water was not working in the boys house and they came to the flat to shower at 5 am!

After our week at the home we returned to adore India and went on a trip to the city of Aurangabad. While we were there we went to the mini Taj. This was built by the son of the man who built the Deli version. It was very grand and now we do not feel the need to make the long trip to the big one! As we were closer to the mountains we went to some 3rd century caves. After our time being tourists we we went to the village on the outskirts of the town. They are in the process of buying some land to build a church for the area. At the moment the church meets in a field. There was a big turn out for the service - obviously they hadn't been warned that David would be speaking!!!. Luckily there was a translator which made it easier for him and them! Some even came forward for prayer at the end!!

We are now back in a very wet Goa. When we first came back we found the clothes we did not take with us had gone moldy in the draw. So David fixed the broken washing machine and zoe washed!! The tiles in our room have gone mouldy and the roof leaks it so much fun here! But on a positive note the rats have gone!

St Peter's School and Adore India

Sorry Blog fans, we have been on the move again and have been very slow at updating the blog.

We have left Goa for Pune curtesy of a overnight sleeper bus. Like the name states it's a bus you sleep on. They have taken all the seats out of the bus and built compartments with beds in. The only problem is the bed was too short for David and he's not even that tall!! The roads were very bad and as we went though the mountains they seem to speed up for the corners. So after a night of very poor sleep we arrived in Pune in the early morning.

In Pune we are staying with another Brazilian couple. When we got over the initial luxury of MacDonald's and other fast food places such as pizza hut and KFC we decided we best do some work so we went to the school in Rupee Nagar, a slum area on the outskirts of pune. This school was set up by an Indian and his wife as there was no other English speaking christian school in the area. The school is now supported by the charity AdoreIndia (run by the couple we are staying with). It has now been open for 3 years and the school is growing every year, there are now 360 pupils!

Our duties at the school have included leading morning worship we even managed to teach them a new song (we should point out that most of the children don't speak English!!!) and they taught us a song in Hindi. Zoe has spent some time training the teachers as the teaching in this country is very different! The schools are like those from the Victorian era . As long as you have a good memory and lots of patience you'll be fine! David has taken to the nursery class especially because none of them speak a word of English so it is almost guaranteed they will find his jokes funny! The tiger impression has been a great hit, even managing to get the crying children (of which there are many) to pause from their wailing to wonder what this strange white man is doing! As art and craft is done very rarely here the excitement of making paper lanterns was barely containable, especially the boys!

Not only have we been he;ping with the education of children but we have been practical as well. Due to lax health and safety regulations in this country David has rewired the computer room and put electric ceiling fans in all the classrooms - it should be fine unless they need to user the computers or turn on the fans!