I spent 17 days abroad in Goa, India taking an engineering ethics class this past winter. It was an eye opening experience to be fully surrounded by such a rich culture. We studied at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science(BITS) - Pilani campus and it reminded me of a campus out in California with its palm trees and stone architecture. BITS is the #1 private university in India and the acceptance rate is less than 1%. We stayed the first week on the BITS campus in the dorms and met some of the students there. There was an adjustment period as there was no A/C, hot water or normal bed mattresses to sleep on. But, we were getting the full BITS experience as these were the same accommodations given to students attending BITS.
Hinduism has been around for over 3000 years and visiting a Hindu temple was a must see for me on this trip. We visited the Shri Shantadurga Temple which glorifies the Hindu goddess Durga. This temple is significant as Durga brought peace to the war between the gods Vishnu and Shiva. I had the chance to meditate inside the temple and I could feel a strong energy unlike anything I had felt before. This was my favorite part of the trip and it peaked my interest to continue to explore the history and traditions of this complex religion.
This is outside of the Shantadurga temple. No shoes are allowed in the temple as a form of respect.
Getting around Goa was also a challenge. The price of anything in India usually can be adjusted and my negotiation skills were honed on this trip. Everything from taxi cab rides to food was up for debate. Similarly, the driving conditions in India were unlike anything I had seen before. The horn is every driver's way of saying "I'm here! Please don't hit me!". We drove on the wrong side of the road, backed up on the highway since we missed our turn and almost hit a moped every trip. I learned to pray and close my eyes for most of the journey.
Basilica of Bom Jesus
Church of the Immaculate Conception
We had a chance to visit the Basilica of Bom Jesus and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church. The Bom de Cathedral is historic for being the first Catholic church in south India as it was built in 1605. It is famous for still holding the body of St. Francis Xavier that has not decomposed. He is one of the few saints for this to happen to which makes this church a travel site for Catholics.
It would be wrong to talk about Goa and not talk about the beach. Goa is famous for its white sandy beaches and they lived up to the hype. We visited both Bagmallo and Baga beach while we there. The waves were great and we even had to share it with the occasional cow! The weather was also spectacular as it was sunny and 75 everyday we were there.
Soccer or football as they call it in India is my favorite sport and naturally I sought out going to an Indian professional football match. My classmates and I talked our professors into making it a cultural activity to go to the game. Everyone bought jerseys and we went to the FC Goa vs Jamshedpur game. The stands were rowdy and got even rowdier as the game went on since FC Goa won 2-1!
Kartik (left) and Ritik (right) from the BITS Cricket team were great coaches. They gave me the game ball to keep!
On our last day, we learned how to play cricket from the BITS Cricket Team. We picked random teams and our two professors, Dr. Koola and Professor Curry, were the team captains. Unfortunately, I was on Team Curry and we were defeated by 4 wickets by Team Koola. The real fun began when we had batting practice after the game. I was a pitcher up til sophomore year of high school so naturally I wanted to be one of the bowlers. Once I figured out the straight arm bowling motion, the game changed. I had six bowl outs in 7 balls. A bowl out is when I bowl the ball, the batter misses the ball and the ball hits the wicket. A bowl out is analogous to a strikeout. I even bowled out both of the professors! Cricket is definitely something I will look into playing back in Texas.
Overall, this trip was an incredible experience that I will always remember. The people I met and the things I saw have impacted my outlook of the world. Until next time India!