Day labor

One thing I've learned on this extended vacation is that it's really hard to be idle every day. I'm not really of any use to anyone in India and it doesn't matter if I get anything done. That was a relief for the first couple weeks, but now it's gotten kind of old.

So when the Exotic Arts jewelry store in Arambol needed painting, I pretty much begged to be allowed to help.

At first my Indian friends who own it were like, "Oh no, no. You're on holiday." Eventually they got tired of my pleading. They found me an extra brush and we got to work.



Of course, having a day laborer from America is a novelty around these parts. I'm not sure anyone in Goa has ever seen an American do anything that looks like physical labor. Other merchants began to gather around. Flashbulbs went off as I painted.



"Look at our worker! From America!" my friends called out, in a tone that said, "Can you believe how ridiculous this is?"

"America, eh?" the other men would laugh. "How much, she paint my guesthouse?"

"100 rupees, whole day! See, Becca? We find you job!"

I went to bed tired and continued to find tiny blue-paint freckles on my body for days afterward.