View Marie-Helene Duprat's profileToday is May 19, 2014, in Bangalore. We have just shifted to our new flat. But why should I talk about today? Because today is actually a very special day: we are going for a trip to GOA!
GOA is a 14-hour trip by bus. I have never travelled that long on bus, and I have never been to GOA! I am very excited!
But it’s not so much about GOA I am excited; it’s Helen Mum, whom I am going to meet tomorrow!
I have always been restless, from my very childhood, while expecting Helen mum’s arrival. This time, as usual, I would not sleep for the whole night, waiting for the sun to rise (though, of course, the mosquito bites discouraged me to sleep as well). After so long now without seeing her, I would feel the warmth of her hug. Normally at home no one hugs me; it’s only mum who hugs me, and no one else.
Well, I have always wanted to go on a tour with Helen mum. But in my past it was not possible, because I did not “qualify” to go on a tour with her, either because my school marks weren’t good enough, or because I happened not to be in her group. I cried when I could not go with her to Chitwan and Pokhara. But today, it’s real: I am going with her!
So, early that morning I packed my bags with cloths and toiletries. Our bus was to start at 5 o’clock, but we got a message saying that it was delayed until 7 o’clock, so I grew more restless. Finally the time came, and Naren, Shankar and I hired a tampo to go to the bus station. We bought some food stuffs like chips, peas, peanuts and fried chicken, in case the bus would not stop for dinner. But once at the bus station, we had to wait again for 2 extra hours before the bus finally showed up! When the bus arrived at 9 am, I was the first to climb on it and claim my seat, and I finally started to feel relaxed. Within half an hour we had eaten whatever we had brought and got prepared to sleep, but, of course, I could not sleep! So I read a whole book on GOA and its specialties.
Next morning, we arrived at GOA, and we were all looking very tired! Still, the trip wasn’t over yet. We had to take another bus to go to PALOLEM beach, which was an extra 2-hour drive… In the overcrowded bus, it was burning like hell! An old fat lady was occupying half of my seat, squeezing me to death. And the same emotional song was played over and over again the whole way…. All I could do was to cry inside and look out of the window.
Finally, we reached the place. After half an hour of searching we found the hotel booked by Helen mum, where we would stay for the entire week. We freshened up, went for lunch, then to the beach, where we spent the whole day, as we didn’t expect Helen mum to arrive before late at night. We had our dinner at the beach and came back to the hotel to wait for mum.
I waited until 12 o’clock to greet mum and hug her. But to no avail, she didn’t arrive that day. She had missed her connecting flight at Mumbai and was thus held back there. She appeared the next day in the afternoon without warning. I was so surprised and shocked to see her that I could not react. Later I hugged her and I felt very good and my excitement increased all the more. We went for lunch.
Rajendra and Marie-Hélène
We had so many things to talk about, and we did not even feel the time go by. We had our dinner by the beach that night. The following day, Shri dai came from Pune, and that was special for us, because we had not seen him for a long time. The actual fun came after Shri dai’s arrival, because he is good at joking and gives more ideas about anything than anyone could ever have.
After that day most of our routine was similar every day: having breakfast at our hotel in the morning; then, go to the beach and sit on the sacs; play cards the whole day, while Helen mum would read books; and then, in the evening, we, the boys, would play football. Many people there came to play football with us and that was lot of fun.
After playing football we would go for a swim, while Helen mum would go for a walk on the beach. One day, we, the four boys, went for a boat trip, and we saw beautiful dolphins coming up to the surface of the sea to breathe; it was really a magnificent sight. We also went to a small island, which was very vegetative and full of birds. We really enjoyed it.
For the dinner we were usually going to our hotel. Even though the hotel’s food was coming very late, it was better than in any other places around, according to all of us. During the dinner and breakfast we talked about lots of things. Each day, we had new things to talk about and we exercised our brain to give ideas.
Each one of us had different and unique ideas to share. We talked about many things like politics in various countries, the economic status of different countries, SEA students, how to emotionally understand SEA students, plane crashes, religions and what there could be after life etc. – lots of fun topics including many requiring lot of knowledge. Also, I could learn more and more every day just by sharing guilt and confessing my wrongdoing. I found peace flowing out of me the whole week’s stay in GOA.
I loved the whole trip and I was able to somehow meet my short-term plans and make a new beginning.
Well, this trip to GOA was a very huge experience for me, which allowed me to become aware of so many things. It was a time full of emotions like frustration, sadness, excitement, fellowship, happiness, peacefulness and most of all love among us. This trip has renewed our love for each other and good thinking about others.
I heartily thank Helen mum for this trip and Shree dai for his wisdom. I will never have this trip faded away from my heart and my mind. Because it was the most precious experience of my life. I wish we could have times like this more often, so that we could express ourselves to the fullest and we could have, if we have wrong feelings, someone loving to tell you that it is wrong. This is the best trip I ever had. Thank you Helen mum, SEA and all the people who were there.
But the trip back to Bangalore was very boring. Our seats were not good and we had to suffer a lot. The bus was stinking and there was no window, but I was happy that we returned safely and with lots of memories with me.
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SEA Népal - Solidarité Enfance Asie 
Rajindra raconte avec beaucoup d’humour et d’émotion son séjour à GOA. Il en gardera assurément un souvenir indélébile. C’est un plaisir de le lire.
Merci Rajendra !