On November 9th we arrived to Saraya in Sangolda, Goa... ready for a new experience: working in India in exchange of room and meals it is like volunteering but not necessarily with people in need. We found Saraya in www.workaway.info, workaway is a way to help others, meet people and learn new things... Again, get out of the confort zone! Saraya is an Eco Farm Stay, with mud houses and tree houses to rent, a restaurant, an art galery, an organic farm and many plans to explore other things. Thanks to Deeksha, Saraya tries to utilize all wasted materials in a very creative away.. Deeksha is a former architect that got tired of corporate construction and decided to follow her dream.. build Saraya. Deeksha and her sons, Zora and Siddhu, started their amazing project last year and they opened in December. The progress is amazing but still, they are open to sugestions... that's one of the reason they got into the workaway platform. They can use the travelers knowledge in several ways and they get to know great people as well that are motivated to help, teach and learn.
After almost two months travelling, we were very excited about this new adventure, we needed a break... we wanted to work, learn new things and obviously we were very curious about the people we would be able to meet. Usually, in this type of activities, there are a lot of travellers and it's easy to make new friends and learn from their experience.
When we arrived, there was no one outside so we shyly got in, trying to find someone... when we got in, we saw the restaurant surrunded by a lot of green trees and plants, as we walked in we passed by the art galery and we were able to listen some voices... a few steps ahead we saw a bunch of young people relaxing in a colorful sitting area... we introduced ourselves and Siddhu lead the presentation... We met all of them but we couldn't memorize the names. Siddhu said we had to meet Zora, he was the one in charge.. we quickly found him walking around and he nicely showed us the place until reaching the dormitory that was located on the back side on the top of the trees.. at this moment, our excitement was in a peak... the construction was really cool and none of us had ever slept on top of a tree.. as we walked in, we saw 10 or 11 mattresses on the floor covered by mosquito nets, the mattresses were surrounded by backpacks and piles of clothes... some more organized than others. Zora left us and let us settle... Since the dorm was full we would not be able to sleep together, not even close... we got mattresses in the opposite side of the dorm but it was ok, we were there to work and have fun, sleeping together was not our main concern.
We had lunch with the volunteers but we were actually starving for some work, so as soon as we finished lunch, we asked for tasks. We both went to the backyard to clean all the grass from the ground, Deeksha, wanted the ground to be brown so that they could start building the yoga center. We dug with all the energy that we could and at the end we believe we did a good job, we could definetly see results. It was a hard task but we loved it. Next day we got the same task so we got up early in the morning to do it so that we didn't get the hot sun on our backs.
During the second day, all the volunteers were excited and talking about a party in Shiva Valley in Anjuna, it was the opening night and they all insisted for us to go with them. We were super tired from digging, our hands and feet were hurting but we couldn't say no to them... we got a motorbike and simply went with Agata, Mateusz, Marie and Josh (the other volunteers showed up at the party a bit later).
We were a bit reluctant about the party because we had been in the place next door the week before and we were a bit affraid of the corrupt police but the party couldn't have gone better... great music, great people and amazing sunrise.. we stayed at the beach until noon and we ended up sleeping at Agata's house (friend of Agata and Mateusz). The great thing about parties is the facility to connect to people so we easily connected to all the volunteers... something that made the following days really nice.
We got back to work on Thursday, but this time we didn't work in the backyard. I cleaned part of the Kitchen and was in the restaurant during the afternoon shift and Pedro cleaned the area around the kitchen and made it a much more pleasant place. For kika, even without many customers, it was a bit stressing... she had never worked in a restaurant before and was really affraid to fail but everything went ok. For the following three days we were given the night shift at the restaurant.. that way we would have the same schedule and people that had been working on the cafe for a long time could take some rest. Everything went perfectly except one night that we forgot the glass bottles in the freezer and they ended up exploding.. we felt really bad about it so we gave Deeksha the money of the tips to compensate.
On our second week we started different jobs again, we both helped Jamila (cook) cutting vegetables for lunch and washing the dishes. I initiated my work at the farm and Pedro helped Munna on the Mudd Houses, inserting coconut tree leaves on the roof. We both felt like we were learning a lot and giving value to so many different things... for example:
- While cutting vegetables, we noticed how they use vegetables that don't look that great... most of the vegetables would have gone to the trash at our home but at the end the food was great and super tasty... maybe we are being brainwashed by corporations in a way to buy more and more even when food is still ok.
- Also while cutting vegetables I thought about the times I used to seat in the kitchen watching my mom cooking while we talked but I never helped that much.. only moral help... same with my grandmother, that cooks for the entire family on Sundays and I always arrived a few minutes before lunch... maybe helping them a bit more was not that hard...
- While washing dishes we thought about the arguments we had before because none of us wanted to wash dishes... now we were in Saraya washing piles of dishes and with a smile on our faces... maybe, washing dishes is not that hard...
- Pedro had worked on a restaurant before but I hadn't so I never gave the proper value to tips.. here at Saraya we are volunteers so in theory there is no stress or preasure but anyway, we made so many efforts to receive the customer in a proper way... even when the kitchen was slow or something wasn't right we tried to keep a smile on our faces so that the customer had a pleasent experience and getting a tip at the end was a way to know that our work was appreciated... it was a nice feeling that we will think about next time we go to restaurants..
- At the Eco farm, we never use toxic products.. everything is natural so we got to learn some tips on how to maintain the plants like putting dried leaves on top of the dirt/plants so that the water doesn't drain, make insecticides from natural ingredients like lemon and ginger... And obviously we learned basic stuff like planting and transplanting...
Also, on the second week, we had to say goodbye to Agata and Mateusz.. we got really attached to them but Goa is small so we will meet them for the Tuesday party at Shiva Valley again... there, we decided that we will definitely meet in the south of Goa.. this friendship has to go on! :)
In Saraya, we met amazing people that live their lives in different ways... for example:
- Deeksha - the owner of Saraya, is a force of nature and very charismatic.. sometimes she gets stressed but it's only because she loves this place so much that wants everything to be perfect. It's hard or almost impossible to say no to her and talking to her is super inspiring.
- Deeksha's mom (Nanny) - we can definitely see where Deeksha's charisma comes from. Such a nice lady... she baked very nice cakes and taught me how to make a delicious soup.
- Zora, one of the sons.. a great soul and very easy going... with him everything is ok and listening to him talking just calms us down. His tone is soooo nice!
-Siddhu, the other son.. he doesn't really work at Saraya but he is always around. He is still studying but his passion is music... he plays guitar, jambe and many other instruments.. he is building a small studio to become a producer.. we believe he will definitely make it and for sure he will be successful.
- Agata and Mateusz, a couple from Poland. They are both artists, Agata likes to paint and makes henna for living (she lived in Portugal for one year). Mateusz is a web designer but this are just their main acitivities... they are good in cooking, photography and they have a nice website (www.masalka.pl ) .. actually, we think they are good in everything and they should be an example for young people... we connected with them fast and after leaving Saraya we plan to spend more time with them.
- Arrushi, she is definitely not a typical Indian girl... natural "crazy" but nice crazy... she is a lovely person that wants to discover more things in life.. she studied all her life and her parents have the normal Indian expectations but she needs more.. her side of the room is always a mess but if it was organized it wouldn't be Arrushi's... she offered me a traditional peace of clothe that I plan to wear in a nice ocasion! We will definitely miss her.
- Jason is a goan portuguese guy that actually speaks a bit of portuguese. He is always smiling and walking around... even when we were a bit more tired if we saw Jason, his smile would wake us up. He plans to go to Portugal one day and hope we are there to receive him and show him around.
- Josh from UK, very easy going person.. more reserved but very nice to talk to him... everything is fine for him, he likes to work in the morning, read his books and hang around. He had travelled for one year now and intents to travel for 2 or 3 years more.
- Josh from Ireland, is the youngest of the volunteers, only 19 but a very hard working guy. He is always happy and willing to help. He is also travelling south when his friends arrive so maybe we will meet him again.
- Marie, a french girl that is tired of the monotony of corporate jobs. She worked with me in the farm and was really nice to talk to her.
- John, an Australian guy that LOVES Saraya... he was here before and now he is back for a few months.. he does a little bit of everything and ends up managing a little bit as well. He tries to motivate the volunteers all the time and never says no to a beer after work.
- Bala and Hanna, the cutest couple I have seen.. Hanna actually works in Saraya has a chef and also takes care of the garden. Bala does a bit of everything, he is almost like the happy handyman.
- Jamila, the typical Indian lady that at the beginning tries to show that she is very tough but she is a butter heart. Even without speaking English, we were always able to communicate and laugh together. At the end she couldn't hide the sad face when she understood that we were leaving and for us even just for writing this we are with that weird feeling on the throat...
- Mushkan and Abbi, such nice kids... Mushkan is a sweet little girl that likes to take pictures with the volunteer phones and Abbi is a very cool kid that likes to play jokes on us but always helped us in the kitchen cutting vegetables... maybe he will become a chef one day!
- Fluffy, Bobby, Dany and Panjim the coolest dogs.. they are free dogs but they are always in Saraya. Fluffy is the calmest one that is always ready to be petted. Panjim is a little puppy that showed up a few days ago, starving and in really bad shape but with time he is getting better. We wish we could take him with us but travelling with a dog can be a bit complicated...
We also met one of the most interesting persons of our lives... Vinky... Vinky, is an older guy (45) that despite his high caste (bhrama), decided to live life in a very pure way.. he wants to travel, meet new people and enjoy life in a natural way... Nature is his confort zone... he loves to help, talk and dance... we had tons of fun with him on the first party! :) we also had a lot of conversations with him and the more we talked, the more we loved him! He is genuine and pure... we hope we will see him again but even if we don't, he will always be in our hearts!
On the last week we also got the opportunity to meet Nico, Nico is not necessarily related to Saraya but at the end everything is connected... Nico gave a ride to Agata and Mateusz on their way to Anjuna. He had just arrived to Goa but didn't hesitate to start meeting people... he ended up going with us to the party on Tuesday and we were with him two more times.. he is one of those guys that is very easy to become friends with... he is FULL of energy and always ready for adventures. Tomorrow we will meet him again and we are pretty sure we will meet him many times during the trip and even after the trip.
Another great aspect of being in Saraya was the fact that we could visit the cities around the area.. we visited Calangute, that is where a lot of Indians go on vacation so it is organized but it is also messy.. full of street food and some good deals for shopping... Panjim, capital of Goa with a lot of portuguese influence in terms of construction. We visited a church and the tombs were written in Portuguese.. for a few moments we felt like we were in Cais do Sodre in Lisboa.. We also visited Mapusa market that is a local market for food and some clothes. There we found Goan Sausage (chouriço) and beef croquet (croquetes).. it was really good to taste familiar things... at the moment we tried them, they tasted great... but a few minutes later, we felt reaaally heavy.. maybe because we are eating vegetables all the time, our stomachs are not used to this heavy foods anymore but it was still delicious.
The experience in Saraya had no negative aspects at all... it was great to learn, to work, to connect to people, to be a "local", to try homemade Indian food, to teach and to be alive.
Now we are again, ready to get on the road and for the upcoming adventures... but before we go south, we will check Arambol once again.. now that the season started it might have more activity than before and we will meet Agata, Mateusz and Nico...
P.S. - Thank you John for the two Australian coins, they will definitely serve as motivation to go to Australia after the trip! :) And thanks to everyone for this amazing two weeks! <3
