I.J.Emily: Giving Thanks in Goa

I wanted to do a Thanksgiving post about all the things I’m thankful for, but the holiday really snuck up on me this year. Probably because it’s still well over 80 degrees every day, and I haven’t seen turkey in any form in this country. The interns in the office do have American holidays off, so we all took a trip to Goa over Thanksgiving. Goa is famous for its beaches. We live on the coast, but (as you can see from the first few picture below) the local beaches aren't really designed with the western tourist in mind; they are very crowded, and the water isn't safe to swim in -- most people stay fully clothed.

This trip was the first bit of traveling we had done -- it was about a 14 hour drive. We traveled overnight on a bus, thinking it would be easier to sleep in than a train because it’s air conditioned. Let’s just say one of the things I’m thankful for is that we made it back alive. Once at the beach, we had a great time. We rented mopeds and biked around. As if learning to drive on the wrong side of the road wasn’t difficult enough, we also had to dodge the cows which were all over the road. Again, we all survived with no major injuries and had a great Thanksgiving dinner on the beach. (Red snapper cooked tandoori style.)

I did miss my family a lot -- there’s definitely no place like home for Thanksgiving -- but living here makes me constantly aware of all I have to be thankful for. I don’t know why, when so many people in the world are suffering from lack of money and love and hope, I’ve always had an abundance of all of them. I am, indeed, very thankful.