Spring Break

7am Spicejet flight to Delhi, 4 hour drive to Agra, 7 girls navigating India without any supervision. I feel like a local. We visited the mini Taj and caught glimpses of the real Taj Mahal from the other side of the river. We sat at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, King Fishers in hand, Taj in the background, and everything was perfect. On our way to dinner we got a tuk tuk, and little did we know that would be the most memorable ride ever. Lala, our tuk tuk driver, insisted on fitting 7 girls in his tiny auto, and next thing we know, we are zooming down the narrow streets of Agra with potholes on both sides. Half of our bodies were hanging out, but Lala kept his cool the whole time. Us? Not so much.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. I actually had butterflies, it kind of felt like a first date. No pictures, no words, nothing can do justice to the beauty, size, WONDER of the Taj Mahal. A symbol of love built by Shah Jahan for his wife after her death. I felt like a peanut in front of this huge thing, the real thing.

After a bouji night in Delhi and some sightseeing, Holly and I made our way to Goa, aka paradise. How can I describe Goa? Magical, fun, blue water, white sand, go with the flow, unreal. Our days have been spent exploring the different beaches along the coast of this small state full of European tourists and friendly native Goans. We made our way to the very top and naively thought we could walk along the beach back to our hotel. Let’s just say I felt like I was in a scene from Cast Away. We went jetskiing with our new friend Papou and had mojitos at sunset with another new friend, Khan, who runs our favorite beach shack.

Last night we went to the Saturday night market in Anjuna. I have never ever seen such a thing. I’m pretty sure we walked in silence, eyes wide, and jaw dropped the majority of the time. There were so many stands selling the most beautiful clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes, and food!! I wanted to bring everything home with me. To add to this surreal experience, there was Heather. A Canadian woman who moved to Goa with her Indian husband a few years ago. We stopped to ask them where they got their food and ended up having the most amazing conversation. The amount of times we have explained to people “we’re studying public health in India, Argentina, South Africa….” is impossible to count. Then there are those times when you tell someone who is actually listening, and is so intrigued, that it all feels worth it. They asked about our lives back home and told us they were so impressed by us, and it weirdly felt so good to hear. After a month in India, trying to make a place for ourselves here, it took one conversation for us to really feel like we’ve been doing it right. We exchanged numbers after taking notes of all of their restaurant/beach/yoga studio recommendations. It’s crazy how life puts people like Heather in our path.

Much love from Goa, Argentina SO soon ahhh!

XO

E

TAJ

Susnet in Goa

Saturday Night Market