Introduction

Hello Readers,

Its been a while since I have been thinking of writing down a blog, I was first exposed to creating a blog during one of the training workshops conducted in our institute which was followed by a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)  Titled 'ICT integration in Higher Education' conducted by Department of Educational Technology,  SNDT, Women's University, Mumbai. It gives me a great pleasure to have finally taken the initiative to pen down this blog and I hope that my new experiences will keep this blog going. In this post I am going to introduce myself and give a brief insight into my life or rather my lifestyle.

Glimpse of the beautiful beaches in Goa. Location:Cola beach, Canacona, Goa 

Football runs in the blood of most Goans

My name is Malcolm Afonso, presently I am working as a part time Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology in a reputed institute of Higher Education in Goa. Yes, in Goa- which is considered as a paradise by many tourists around the world for its beautiful beaches, delicious food and of course cheap beer and nightlife but there is much more Charm and Beauty in Goa than just that.

I have a Masters Degree in Geology however Geology was an alien subject during the initial years of my schooling, in fact I was a Biology student(the choice was between Bio and Geo in my high school). After High School I went on to pursue a career in the Merchant Navy as a navigating officer(greatly inspired by the adventures of Christopher Columbus- An animation series from childhood) I did my diploma in Nautical Science from Naval Maritime Academy, Mumbai. My training was unlike any other, as in it was done onboard a Navy vessel IMS VIKRAANT (Now decommissioned and Scrapped) we trained just
like the defense cadets under the charge of Navy Commanders though we were destined for the Merchant Navy. After successful completion of my training I had a short stint (approx 7.5 months) on a merchant navy vessel, sallied the entire Baltic sea from the UK to St. Pitersburg, Russia. Got to witness the Frozen sea, Snow and Some Frostbites during the winter on board.

Training days at the naval academy

At St. Petersburg, Russia-Frozen sea in the background

I was soon to realise that a certain medical condition would prevent me from taking up a successful merchant navy career and so the curtains came down fast on the merchant navy career but the dream of adventure still continues to persist. Before signing off from the ship it was decided that I would be looking for something new and thus was the beginning of the next chapter-the college.

Navigational watch on board merchant vessel

Field trips were fun

I headed to the college to seek admissions in Bachelors of Science without narrowing down on all the possible subject combinations, Physics was my favourite subject then and Mathematics was a sister subject essential for physics and since a combination of Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry is considered to be a deadly one by many due to the excessive workload, I opted for Phy, maths & Geology as an easy way out (also partly because the counsellor at the admission counter told me that geology was a field oriented subject).

This is not a lake but an open pit mine

Over the next two years of college I gradually started to like geology for the field trips and for the many curious questions that it brought to my mind and  by the end of the 2nd year of college I was convinced that I was going to be hooked onto geology for the rest of my life.

Football Champions

I was very fortunate to be a part of many great adventures in college be it field trips, house parties with friends, Academic competitions, or Sports. One of the most cherished memories of college will be winning the Football finals at the prestigious Goa University State level Inter-Collegiate Football Tournament- It was an underdogs to champions story scripted by an insane level of team spirit , hard work put in by the coach, the players and management in additions to the blessings from heaven. I was very pleased with my role as a centre back and also as the football club secretary then.

         


After my graduation with a distinction I went on to repeat the same feat in my Master but with some icing on the cake this time by achieving a Gold medal.

It was supposed to be a time when i'd be finally starting to earn again but the Mining Industry was serving a ban in Goa (the first point of hiring for fresh university graduates), Oil Industry had crashed and most of the Major world commodity prices were on a down turn (year 2015).  I still managed to get a job in a private drilling firm where I worked for approx 5.5 months of which I spent 3 months in Kerala on a beach sand drilling project serving the dual role as a trainee geologist and the site manager before sending my resignation.

Receiving my masters degree at the hands of the Respected Governor of Goa Smt Mridula Sinha

I was soon looking for new jobs and this time I was ready to handle any new field where my coordinating and administrative skills could be utilised but destiny played another game. An assistant professor post was published due to a leave vacancy, for which I applied and got selected and they have retained me since then although on a part time basis. The educational field is not new in the family, both my parents served as teachers with distinction in secondary schools, maybe the liking for the educational field was inherited, my view is that this field will help me feed my inner being by way of contributing towards the development of others and by way of testing my potential to bring in new thinking and ideas to serve the community at large.

I am an avid traveller,love to ride my Bike, Trekking, Rock hunting oops climbing, enjoy Scuba diving, Kayaking, Rafting, Soccer and Spending time with my lovely pet dog-Tuff (black Labrador) in addition to music (hoping to create a separate blog for my hobbies). I also love to meet and get to know new people but I confess that I may be shy at first sight ;).

My Sweet Ride

At one of my favourite hangout spot with my loving Pet-Tuff

Kayaking. Lacation Palolem beach

Thank you for reading my blog. I would appreciate if the readers would introduce themselves and share their thoughts about Geology, Teaching & Learning in the comments section below. :D       
                 .