First impressions

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Some first impressions of India: The men seem to be raised to be aggressive at times and also openly leacherous. Women always wear something flowing and conservative with sandals. Each looks like a princess to me. Beautiful, thick black hair, dark skin and those royal, colorful clothes! But men dress quite Western.


Everyone always likes to be in a crowd. This is the only place I've ever seen people standing around at the beach, fully clothed in large groups. Whether in or out of the water! As a single white woman, I'm never alone for long before some guy invites himself to join me. Obviously, it doesn't matter if I care or not.


There's so much time to relax and do nothing, it's now bordering on boring. Our tough daily routine consists of the following: sleeping late, drinking tea in the cafe downstairs, maybe doing an errand (changing $ at the ForEx, buying soap or books), relaxing at the beach til sunset, then eating dinner and having drinks with our neighbors.


They are.... Keith, an ex-pat from England, late 50's, prides himself on having nothing to do and living cheaply (you go, Keith!) and Sue, a Scot living in Turkey, working as a tour reservations agent. She's a little more ambitious, taking a computer course in nearby Margao. She likes to travel and loves to do it alone ("I don't have the patience to wait for someone else.") There are some crazy characters here like John, the old racist Danish guy who throws water at dogs and children to keep them away.


Mike has adopted as a friend the skinny, dirty female cat downstairs who I like to call "Dusty." The name certainly suits her. He's been contributing help by setting up water bowls around town for the strays and bringing food back for Dusty after dinner. I think Mike is one of the most sensitive people I know.


Highlight: pan-handling Lalani drag queens!!??!!


Note: Dusty is now getting worm medicine (thanks to Mike) and is looking much healthier. But she lost another tooth...

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