India.
It is so different here than I expected, although admittedly I did not have a clear picture in my head of what I would find when I finally got to Goa. Instead I am astonished that things that I could never have imagined a week ago are so commonplace here! I arrived on this continent for the first time six days ago, and the first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane in Goa was how differently the air smelled from anywhere else I have ever been. Its funny, but before I left for Italy when I was 18 my sister told me to pay attention to the different scents wherever I went, and that thought has really stuck with me. I think that our sense of smell is much more powerful than taste, touch or sight, how you can smell a certain food or animal or flower and be instantly reminded of people, places, a moment brought back from childhood. That is what is amazing me here, is that the air is heavy with spices and foods and exotic perfumes as well as the heavy, musty smell of rain and earth, and yet none of it is familiar! Everything is brand new to me!
I was on my guard when I landed in Goa, ready to be haggled and bothered and ripped off, seen as easy prey by the locals, keeping my eyes wide open for men who would be trying to take advantage of me, beggars, pickpockets, thieves… But it was exactly the opposite! I walked out of the airport and straight to a stand that said TAXI, told a group of sweaty, smoking men I needed to go to Agonda Beach and instantly they were all smiles and handshakes, helping me with my bag and giving me the exact price my friend had told me to ask for. It was an hour and a half drive down tiny jungle roads to the beach, and as I had been traveling for 68 hours straight I was barely coherent, but I somehow managed polite conversation with my driver while I stared out the window at passing coconut trees and little shacks, herds of cows, women wearing bright saris and signs advertising all sorts of foreign things. Agonda Beach is really lovely. It is a tiny little town consisting of one road about a mile and a half long that is more dirt than pavement, and all along it are guest houses, little restaurants and shops that sell only a few things each. The beach is a crescent of white sand in between two hills, with palm, banana, mango and coconut trees on one side and the dull blue of the Arabian Sea on the other. Herds of cows roam everywhere here, and at midday they go to the beach wading into the water to cool off, before laying down in the shade of the trees for a nap. Packs of stray dogs roam around, whining and following you until you pet them behind the ears, and huge grey and black pigs root around in the bushes.
The people are all incredibly open and curious so far, I haven’t met anyone who has tried to hassle me for money, nor have I been bothered by leering and catcalling men. In short, its exactly the opposite of everything the guidebook told me, although I am in the south of Goa, where woman can wear shorts and tank tops and not have to worry like they do in the more northern, conservative states.
The yoga is great and my body feels amazing. I am beginning to gain a more in depth understanding of what yoga actually is, the history, the philosophy, the science behind it and the way you must live in order to call what you do “yoga”. The asanas are the least important of all the eight limbs of Ashtanga yoga, and it’s amazing how much I am learning! Its hot and humid and I sweat more than I ever have before during practice, and as I have been here less than a week I am feeling a little stiff and sore, but honestly not nearly as bad as I expected.
Every morning at 6:20 we have a pranyama and meditation class until 7:45, followed by a two-hour asana practice before breakfast. Then we are back an hour later for our philosophy lecture and a talk on ayuveda. This is fascinating to me, and I cant wait to go deeper into the 5000-year-old medical science of India! During our 2.5-hour lunch break the other students and I have been eating a quick Indian lunch like roti or papad masala and then going to the beach for a swim and then to study. At 3pm we are back for anatomy and our afternoon asana class. By 6pm I am tired and have just enough energy for a banana lassi while we watch the sunset and make small talk before passing out. Its great. I like it here.
