Cleverbot

Cleverbot is an app! Totally in love with it, it speaks absolute nonsense!!  xD  I just spent the last hour and half talking to it  xD   Give it a go  :)   It might drift to a completely different topic but its cute! Gotta lurrrvvvvvvv it!!!  <3

Hey there  :)

I know its been a while and we haven't really posted. We were caught up a bit with exams and clinical training and stuff  :o

Just found this on http://chibird.tumblr.com/ and thought I'd share it with you all  :)   

It really makes a heap of sense  <3  

A 'Bandh' to 'Bandhs'

Those of you living in the state of Goa, India may have witnessed the bandh held yesterday, June 6th, 2011.

For those of you who are not aware what a 'bandh' is, it means 'closed' in Hindi. It is basically a strike or a protest brought on by political activists wherein the general public are forced to stay in their homes, shopkeepers are not allowed to open their shops and modes of public transport are stopped. 

These bandhs are called on by certain parties to get their way by invoking fear in the hearts of the common people. You may wonder how and I'm planning on telling you just that.

3 years ago, when we first arrived in Goa, we were in the dark on such matters, life just seemed fun. But as time went by, the glamor of living in Goa gave way to horror and realization of how things really worked here. 

Back to our topic, some days ago, it was announced in the papers that there would be a 'bandh' on the 6th. The reason for this is as follows:

In Goa, there are 2 types of schools- The local schools and the high class schools ( Thats what I had gathered from those who've lived here). The high class schools are horribly expensive and the rich and some medium class people send their children here. The fees charged are somewhere around Rs. 28,000 per year! The local schools ( Village schools) are attended by people who can't afford the luxury of the other schools. The fees here are around Rs. 800 per year. Now the high class schools have English as the medium of instruction whereas local schools have 'Konkani' as their medium ( Konkani is the native language of the Goan people). Sometime ago, it was suggested that with modernization and evolution of the new era, the children who didn't have English as the main medium, faced problems later in life ( College, work opportunities, etc.)

People went about demanding equality for all, an opportunity for English medium for the fortunate and those not so fortunate. It became a topic of discussion everywhere till finally, the Government agreed that Goa did need a change for the better and English won.

Now, a few days back, some political parties came up with a new twist- If English was taught in schools, people wouldn't make much of an effort to learn it at home and eventually, in say 15 years or so, Konkani would die out!

The bandh was held as scheduled to prove their point and we spent the whole of yesterday cooped up in our home, not that we were complaining though  : P   We enjoy holidays  : D

However, after hearing what happened, it became a bigger issue. 

Politicians disagree on points and force their opinion on the public without giving them a choice! They say India is a democracy, they say people are free here and have a right to choose what they want out of life. I've come from a country in the Middle East where freedom is not a word commonly heard. How is India different from these countries?? They claim to let people's voice's be heard and some other nonsense I really dont want to go into. So how are they better than the Middle East in terms of freedom?

These parties force people to live in constant fear of being stoned or beaten up. They give no thought to anything, there are no factors, they stone everyone, children, women, old people, the sick, injured, EVERYONE!!!

These people claimed that the bandh held yesterday was a success cos people stayed in, most schools were closed, etc. My question is which mother would allow her child to take the public bus on a day when she knows that crazy people are waiting out there to stone her precious child? No matter how against the bandh people are, no human being values anything more than their life and so, nobody moved out of their houses! 

These LUNATICS stoned buses with innocent children in them. I mean, how can have the heart to do something like that? Where is your sense of humanity people???? You'll are so concerned about the future of your language that you'll have lost all concern for the future of the state ( The children).

I personally feel Goa needs to implement English into the schools. I've heard college students struggle to find words to string together to make proper sentences! And these people are the future doctors and engineers of our state, these useless idiots who cant understand text books and who have no idea what is said to them till it is explained in their local language!

English is a universal language, wherever you go, you need it! It is important for communication with the outside world. If you cant speak proper English, how in the world are you living????

Im not against Konkani or anything, I respect the language though I know very little of it, it is a beautiful language and should be kept alive as long as Goans exist. I just feel like Goa needs this to move forward. India has been a developing country for far too long! Indians are smart people and can do wonders but if they cant speak, what good are their brains? I doubt companies want translators along with their employees to translate the Konkani that flows out wonderfully from our mouths!  : P

I think the Shiv Sena or whatever other parties taking part in this should sit and really think about the future of Goa. Soon the beaches will stink and the price of alcohol will rise and then what good will Goa or the Goans be??

We need to take a stand here, we need to fight against these people who terrorize us and force us to become hand puppets in their climb to power!! They cant force their opinions on us!

I love Goa, I want to see it prosper. But if people cant even understand what you say to them half the time, I doubt the future holds anything great for us...

Stand up for what you believe in, only then will life be worth living.

Something to call my Own :D

Its FINALLY done!!!! After hours and hours of nonsense, I've FINALLY managed to make our very own header  : D  : )  : )

We had downloaded the previous header from an online site ( Very generous of them, we owe them loads for giving us something to start with) but somewhere at the back of my head was that nagging thought that somewhere around the globe, someone or 'someones' shared the same header under a different blog name   : o

So after much thought and surfing through the net on 'How to's', this is what I've come up with  : )  Its pretty simple, I know, but its our own and I'm proud of it   : )

Hope you guys like it  : )

My Signature

Ok, I FINALLY got my own signature thingie to add at the end of e-mails and stuff  :D  :D

I got it done at www.mylivesignature.com, its got instructions on how to add them to blogs, emails, etc.  :)

Come on! Give it a go!

xoxo

"You don't need to be on the same wavelength to succeed in marriage. You just need to be able to ride each other's waves." - Toni Sciarra Poynter

For my BFF N,

For always being there for me even though you are millions of miles away <3

I wanted to click a picture for you and your gorgeous fiance K ever since you told me about the wedding. Never really had a clear idea ie until i went to this beach (Candolim beach). Did a really quick job and not sooo happy with the pictures :( but i hope you'll love them anyway <3

Daily Bread

Coconut cake

Daily Bread had always been a place to visit on our list. So when we got the opportunity, Esther and I along with our cousins decided to go there!

Daily Bread is pretty close to the Panjim bus stand, just a 5 minute walk from it  :)   We entered the place and really didnt know what to choose  :P

There's a variety of stuff to choose from, from salads to cookies, gorgeous looking pastries and my absolute favorite- Gelato  : P   The Gelato comes in soooo many amazing flavors  x ) 

Just a bit of advice- The Triple Chocolate cake is NOT to be eaten alone  :D  :D  That is, if u happen to be a poor eater  :P

*****************************

Esther's take - as Elaine said, trying out different food places was definitely on our TO DO list this summer. We had heard A LOT about this place from people we knew so we decided to give it a try. So one saturday morning, we went over to try some breakfast.

One thing i found cool (and soo did the nice people we met there say) was that it was an amazing place to hang out (unlike the upper floor in Mongini's Borda :|).

We decided to have the all chocolate pastry - they melt the top layer of chocolate so it tastes like HEAVEN. Unfortunately even tho i have the biggest appetite EVER, i couldnt finish it. The pineapple fruit cake was good (nothing sooo special about it though).

I would wanna try out the sandwich bar next time i go

XO

'Mango of Goa' cake

Croissants  <3

Bread  :P

Oooohh!!! Totally LOVE these cookies  :D

YUMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!

Gelatoooooo!!!!

Inside Daily Bread

The chocolate cake we had! Chocolaty delight   :D

Amy's Pineapple cake which she totally loved!

We do love clicking pictures of ourselves, don't we?  :P