Back at CC, I grab a seat outside the office and await the availability of the one communal computer. A man joins me, introduces himself as Nick, and we chat. Nick is leaving Goa tonight after spending two weeks at CC doing a whole lot of nothing (he's a friend of James). He's spent the past 18 months traveling the world and, after he spends Christmas with his family, is moving from London to South Africa to take-up a new job running a 1,000-person call center. I like his go-with-the flow attitude and worldly curiousity, admire his gumption, and wish he were staying longer.
Taking a seat a seat at the computer, I introduce myself to the woman sitting at the desk across from me. Her name is Maria and she has recently been hired by CC. We exchange small talk for a few minutes, then she asks me if I'm married. I tell her no. Wrong answer. Then she asks me my religion. I answer that I'm agnostic, but my reply doesn't seem to register with her, so I describe it further, explaining that my stance is, basically, "How the hell would I know?" Another wrong answer. Maria's demeanor has shifted subtly, as if she's partially disappointed in me, partially sorry for me, like I'm some sort of adolescent delinquent. She tells me that she is Protestant, and spends a good chunk of my precious internet time extoling the faith. She's attempting to convert me!
Lunch is a can of Diet Coke and a bag of sunflower seeds that I packed as part of my India-Survival-Dysentary-Prevention-Kit. I curl-up on a sofa on the upper deck, crack away, read, and enjoy the river view and fresh air. Elena eventually joins me. We trade impressions of India, she shares her Goa advice, and then we read in friendly silence.
2:55. Time for my canoe trip!
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