An Optimist Abroad: Going to Goa

At the beginning of March, a giant sucking sound was heard as Fulbright participants of every description emerged from the crevices of south and central Asia to congregate in the beach-side paradise of Goa on India's southwest coast. The annual Fulbright conference is a much anticipated event. Held every year in a different location, it brings together student researchers, senior scholars, visiting lectures and other types of Fulbrighters from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for a week of lectures, cultural events, field trips, and excellent networking. And we got to stay in a Taj Hotel - not too shabby.

The conference was a great opportunity to learn what other Fulbrighters are up to. Check out these other Fulbright blogs for an insight into the diversity of Fulbright research.

Municipal garbage in Delhi: http://wastelines.com/

An artist's impressions of India's Grand Trunk Road: http://thielkerstudio.blogspot.com/

Black carbon emissions in Delhi: http://newenvironmentality.blogspot.com/

Painting and photography in Rajasthan: http://bigbangstudio.blogspot.com/

Solar lighting technology in rural India: http://solarvillages.blogspot.com/

Sustainable food systems in India: http://laurenfinzer.blogspot.com/

Effects of supermarkets on Indian food consumption: http://rotiandriceperambulations.blogspot.com/

....and probably the most bad-ass Fulbright project I've ever heard of: Traditional hunting with golden eagles in Kyrgyzstan: http://keenonkyrgyzstan.com/ Yeah, how cool is that?

Inspired? Lucky for you, the 2012-13 Fulbright competition is now open. Go to http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html to check it out.

Goa is India’s smallest state by geographical area but only 4^th smallest by population. It’s also India’s richest state, with a GDP 2.5 times that of the country average. About 30% of Goa’s population is Catholic, compared to just over 2% for India as a whole. This can be largely attributed to early Portuguese influence in Goa. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama traveled around the Cape of Good Hope to first reach India in 1498, landing at the port of Calicut in Kerala several hundred kilometers to the south. By the early 16^th century Portuguese traders were active in Goa, and by 1510 laid siege to the city. Goa remained an overseas territory of Portugal until 1961, when Indian troops invaded and forced the surrender of the Portuguese forces. The cultural influence of the Portuguese is still very evident in Goa's churches, wide plazas, and European architecture. Goa is also known for its beaches and pill-poppin' party scene, which, being an upstanding U.S. State Department-funded researcher, I did not participate in.