29.11.8 Silent retreat in Goa and Definitely not silent Dinners

1:11 am
29.11.8
Silent retreat in Goa and Definitely not silent Dinners.

From the morning of the 5th to the afternoon of the 9th I was on a silent retreat. At Pedro Arrupe center in Amboda, Goa.



It was a nice time, most of which was spent resting... I didn't realise how tired I was. And how sickness added to that. The first two days I pretty much slept and ate. The next few days I increasingly became active. On the last day I was feeling mostly back to normal, minus the congestion that was lingering from the Flu.

Other than that, it barely felt like a silent retreat, and I actually felt overly busy, even though the schedule was only like 3 activities a day aside from meals. But I enjoyed the opportunity for prayer, and to be guided in "Indian" style meditations.

When I returned to Myron's house, I was treated to a local Cough/congestion concoction... which was sugar and Fenir (a cashew based liquor that is about 90% alcohol). The mixture was set on fire, let burn for a little bit and then blown out and drunk.



I don't know how much it helped, but it was worth a try and was a fun taste of local culture.

The next day we had a really nice dinner that was alot of fun!

It all started with "everyone" (aka, me) dedicating "YMCA" to Myron.


(the "Y")

It started a fun night of laughing dancing and general merry making.


(Myron's parent's Cecilia and Anto)


(Amber and another of Myron's cousins)


(Sylvia and I)


(One of Myron's Mumbai friends and Myron)

The fun thing about this group and night was that we were the only one's making fools of ourselves, and we had fun. Whereas often, I'm intimidated by "dancers" who have to dance to impress others or who have expectations, everyone was just having fun. And it helped that it was basically us (and the two Brits in the next picture) that were dancing and egging each other on.





I think I'm doing some Goan dance...



The place... it had good food too... but due to our dancing the food was lukewarm when we finally settled down to eat.



The crew and the DJ. He was fun, and took requests from us and the Brits and then worked in similar songs.

All in all, I had a great time with My-Rone and the crew dancing. Which made me wonder why I like dancing with them, versus the wedding. I think it was a few factors... first, it was with friends who were carefree. Second, it was a small group. Third, it was informal. Fourth, the music was nice. (The DJ didn't feel the need to play 12 songs at once... only one). And I'm sure there are other reasons...

Anyhow, Blessings,
Edward
1:31am