It isnt a newly discovered place or anything and most travellers think that they have got their Goan basics right.But thats true for a traveller and not a Goan resident. Normally when you think of Goa you think of the beaches, the flea markets, the booze and the nightlife. I thought of that as well before coming to this place. I have been to Goa before but back then I was at an age where I wasnt too excited about the above mentioned things. Now when I am of that age and do look forward to these things I ended up making the trip with my family (by family I mean just my mom).It was a I-wanna-go-there-and-now-no-matter-what thing. I was stressed out of my mind from my work life and it was the Diwali holidays. Being the not so festive family this combination worked well we headed out to Bodiem. Bodiem is a typical Goan village in North Goa (about 20 kms far from Mapusa) where my Mom's close friend stays and where we stayed as well for a short while.
It is really something else drawing knowledge from the locals and basically assimilating into their culture. During our very short stay there I got myself acquainted with many of the village people. My Mom's best friend Mini (that is what she is known as in Goa. Her actual name is Meenakshi) likes to use terms such as 'The Village' and 'The Village People' which is quite funny knowing that many of the house owners are based in big cities and a considerable number of foreigners form part of this 'quaint'(as everyone calls it) village. Well techinally she is right with her usage of such terms and that is how I shall be referring to them as well.
I got my first lesson on Goan basics on our drive from the airport to Bodiem. It was a 1 1/2 hr long drive and that did get me through to level 2 atleast. Mini and her sister-in-law were our teachers. For starters Goans do not pronounce the 'm' in most words. That is why Bodiem is pronounced as 'Bodee-ay' and Panjim is pronounced as 'Pannjee'.If you dont pronounce them as such people will know that you are an outsider. Secondly Goans love bombill. They eat it in all their meals. Thirdly Goans are not extremely proud of their bakeries contrary to popular belief. But they definitely love their patties. And finally foreigners are referred to as 'white people' here. Okay so what if they are referred to as that in many other places in the world? We are talking about Goa here.
So thats all you will get in my Goan basics session otherwise I will have to charge. Once you get these right you are all ready to set off to Goa. Of course you need to know many other things before you actually do that. So go crazy in this crazier place but at the same time do get a taste of the rural side of Goa. Like they say, Its someplace else.
