a quieter time .....

the one I saw was 5 feet ong and in the water - ghastly. 

2/5/13 I saw this lizard - well OK not this actual one but one very like it in a kind of drainage ditch in the middle of town.  It was swimming along and it was at least 5 feet long.  It is a water monitor and it is disgusting !  I didn't have my camera so hence this is one from google to give you an idea.  Then I went home and there in my kitchen was a tiny frog and an even tinier gekko - It was about half an inch long clearly a baby.  the next day sadly it turned up dead on the living room floor - maybe I inadvertently stepped on it.

It has been a quiet time - trying to save  bit of money!  I havn't been anywhere of note but it's been hotter than hell here - they say the monsoon is coming - I think it might have come and so far its only rained in torrential downpour style at night which is good and it does get a little bit cooler. I went to some Youth Games on Sunday organised by Sureka from next door at Peace and Community Action.  They had about fifty 13-16 year olds from different districts and yes, you've got it they played games.  The games were great , they had to dress up members of their group as a bride and groom using only the few resources they were given - I judged that competition of course.  they had to lie on the gound and make a longest line using only the resources they had on them - so they used their hair, their belts, their shoes their phones anything .  The great thing about it was that they all got involved and I mean really really involved - they are very competitive and it's quite amazing how they throw themselves into it.  I just cannot imagine British teenagers doing this.  It was all held in the groounds of a kind of hostel by the river and the kids were warned not to go too close as there had been a crocodile seen there recently.  The pictures are Sureka's - again I didn't have my camera or my phone!

what a sweet couple!

Add captionall this made from paper and bits of plant !

rice and curry - it;s hard work pretending to be a groom!

My Sinhala lessons are going slowly - the teacher likes to speak English more than Sinhala it seems.  I might have to find another one !  Work continues to be very slow - we do not have a new CEO yet and that is a problem but my english classes with the staff start tomorrow and I am really looking forward to that .  I had a workshop for the board yesterday - out of 24 members 8 turned up.  It was supposed to start at 3 - it started at 4.30 and at the beginning there was a power cut !  Do you see a pattern emerging here!
My friend Sally is coming to visit next week - my first house guest so I will have to make sure the spiders and snakes and dead lizards are gone.  We are going to go to Galle and stay in the green sea guest house, second most popular on Trip Adviser or is it Lonely Planet?  Then its to Colombo for the weekend and then I get to see the boss at VSO to sort out my future - lets hope she has some ideas .....

a wedding, a holiday and a street festival

Hello sailor

18 April  ..... its been a while because I have been quite busy.  Lots to report on.

First of all I went to the wedding of a couple of volunteers from Hackney in Unawatuna.  it was simple and stylish and very very hot.  There were lots of volunteers there which was good as I got a lot of reassurance from them that all placements start slowly and that you have to learn to go with the flow - its just hard when the flow is so slow .  The wedding was held in a kind of villa in the jungle - it was amazing , the food was excellent, the drinks flowing and the dancing (yes dancing again) got pretty wild, you should have seen as all doing Gangnam style at midnight!  No, no pictures.  Lots of people wearing saris , beautiful saris and shalwar kameez.  The sari wearers must have been seating to death as I was wearing a simple cotton dress and the seat was rolling down my back (Too much information? sorry ) the bride was wearing a beautiful dress from San Francisco.  It was the first time I drank pinot grigio for a very long time so I was a bit hung over the next day.  I was staying in a retreat which was lovely if a bit mouldy.

the beautiful bride and groom

in the garden of the retreat

volunteers at play

So then I had a week to prepare for the coming of the only son - no not Jesus , Joe.  I actually had a lot of work to do and the boss was acting a bit strangely, disappearing for long periods , anyway I got in the two bids for funds for projects and organised a workshop but I don't think the invitations went out because the boss disappeared on the last afternoon .....more of that later.

mother and son at the gangaram temple

I went to Colombo on the 6am train and checked in to the Galle Face Hotel ,  a lovely old colonial hotel right on the ocean and with a beautiful terrace for sundowners and a pool right on the shore.  Check it out , I would highly recommend it - it's a bit down at heel in some parts but the new wing is marvellous and the food is good too.  They even gave me a birthday cake on my birthday and fruit.
So I met Joe and we had sundowners on said terrace and then the next day we walked to the old dutch hospital for dinner - we went to a crab place but I don't really like crab so we had giant prawns - yum.

on the pelican lake in the middle of Colombo

The next day was my birthday and Joe had brought me not only Sipsmiths gin (made in Hammersmith) but also season three of Breaking Bad.  What gifts.  We wandered around Colombo went to gangaram temple and pedalled in a swan boat on a lake full of pelicans.  We went to Barefoot for lunch and for me to lust after the beautiful clothes and materials they have there and then we went to the pool by the ocean and relaxed..




Next day was the start of our tour.  We were The Next day was the start of our tour - we were picked up at 6.30 sharp by Claude Anthony De Silva (a catholic Sri lankan who runs Tony's tours).  and we headed off to Sigiriya which is a long drive .  Sigiriya is the site of an ancient palace built on a huge rock , there are cave paintings and lions paws and monkeys and hilarious signs all over the place.  We climbed the rock in the heat up some very dodgy iron steps but it was worth it .   The view was amazing and it felt like an accomplishment .

ancient wall paintings half way up

Ok I know he looks like a giant - us at the top

This is Sigiriya and we went up it !

luckily we didn't see any roarming elephants that day

The next day we went to Kandy, the home of the Budha Tooth relic which of course we went to see - you cant see it actually as it is in a box - but it is very holy.  Kandy is very busy and we walked by the lake and pushed through the crowds to find somewhere to eat.  Later we went to Kandian dancing (more dancing but I wasn't required to take part)  which consisted of lots of men leaping high into the air and lots of women doing graceful things with their hands and feet and lots of drums.  It was finished off by a man walking on fire.   After that we discovered Arak and Kotu.  Arak is a local spirit a bit like whiskey but without the burn made of coconut but not tasting of coconut .  Kotu is the Sri Lankan fast food - roti , chicken , vegetables all chopped up.  Both very tasty (as Tony would say).

Its the Buddha in the background

The next day we went to a tea plantation and a spice garden which were both fascinating and we were supposed to take the train to Ella to check out the view but the weather had turned and so we didn't do that we went to Ella by car.  Ella is a calm small village in the hills surrounded by mountains and waterfalls and full of massage places offering Ayurveda treatments.  We climbed mini Adams Peak - a relatively small hill - got caught in a terrible rain storm and then we had a massage.  It was the first proper massage Joe had ever had and i think he was a bit phased by it - especially when they tried to have us both in the same room !  That was sorted out and the massage was great , full body with head and face and then they put us in a wooden box with a round top for steaming.  I didn't like that much as it was a bit claustrophobic even though you had your head out.  Joe liked that bit best funnily enough - I guess at least no-one was touching him for that bit! So after Ella and more Arak we headed to Yala the next day for animal watching via large Buddhas and more cave painting

here he is again, lyingdown this time

Kandian dancing

fire walking

red pineapple - good for something I forget

tea plantation

its not always sunny in Sri Lanka

We went on a jeep safari which was so bumpy it felt as if your internal organs were being rearranged, but that aside, we saw elephants , mongooses, water Buffalo, wild boar, hundreds of birds including a green bee eater with an amazing blue breast, crocodiles , deer , elk but no leopards.

This is what Riki Tiki Tavi looked like

This elephant tried to attack us later
 

And that was it the tour was over - it was great - Tony organised everything , he booked the accommodation, did all the driving and was a mine of information - if we had tried to do it ourselves we would never have seen so much.  I really enjoyed in - I forgot what good company Joe is .  We still had the weekend and we were off to Mirissa to do whale watching.  We stayed at apparently the best place in Mirissa, The Paradise Beach Resort where we had a great cabana overlooking the sea but it was somewhat marred by the terrible service!  Anyway the whale watching was amazing - we went out to sea for about 1.5 hours and then low and behold there were one two or three blue whales.  We couldn't get close as the they don't like to be disturbed.It was amazing we could see them clearly - they are huge , the biggest mammal on the earth - fantastic to see them.  The camera didn't do justice to them and we saw dolphins chasing tuna fish who were jumping out of the water.  What a sight.  I will post some more photos on my face book maybe as I need to get this done.  The guys in the boat were really good - they knew a lot about whales and were really responsible - they went as close as  they could but not too close and they were always aware of the safety - forget all those bad reports of whale watching in Sri Lanka - these guys were good and we had a fantastic trip.

there he is - the camera just doesn't do justice !

Then it was up early again to say farewell to Joe - I was so sad to see him go.  Felt quite bereft.  But the next day there was a street festival in my street and that was sooooo good.  The whole community was involved .  Old, young , male, female.  They threw themselves into it , they thoroughly enjoyed all the games like egg throwing, three legged race, slow cycling, singing and palm weaving.  They were having great time - they welcomed me with open arms , found me a seat to sit on and just left me to it .  It was great - simple pleasure! 

oh the simple life - a bit of coconut palm weaving

The singing competition - they all won

 During the week of the holiday my boss emailed me to tell me he had  resigned.  He would no longer be coming to the chamber - that's it,he was gone.  personal reasons and money apparently - nothing to do with me and my rather bullish approach honestly!  So I was left wondering if I would be going for an early bath back in England but I met the chairman yesterday and he assured me they wanted me to stay and carry on with the plan such as it is so we will see.  They need to get someone else in that is for sure.  I am just going to bide my time and do my thing and see what happens.  I think I can hang on for another 10 months or so. .................

spiders , beaches, meetings and more temples

the preferred method of travel

20th March and all is well after my first month here.  I am settling in I think but have had  giant spider scare which rather unnerved me!  I tell you this spider was huge and it was on the bedroom wall.  I had to run downstairs for help - no -one in so I had to run next door to the Peace Alliance who I know and one of them came to save the day by knocking it off the wall and then spraying it !  I think is was  a huntsman spider which are not poisonous but are they ever big!  A few days later its child came looking for it and I had to deal with that myself!  Since then an eerie no show until I found its body on a chair next to where I usually sit - it had probably been there all along - it makes me shiver - not so brave now you may be thinking and you would be right - there are limits .  I took a picture but it looks pathetic to say the least - it wasn't believe me . 

That aside - I went to Hanbantota to visit the chamber of commerce there - there are a couple of volunteers who live in Tangalle which is just before you get to Hanbantota.  One of the volunteers works in the Chamber of Commerce there so I went to pick her brains.  I stayed overnight in Tangalle and swam in the sea and had dinner with them.  One  night we had Toccu (?) which is roti cut up and mixed up with vegeatables and chilli sauce and garlic and such like - Sri Lankan fast food - it was really good and defintely one to remember. Have you ever seen a cashew tree and did you know that there is such a thing as a cashew apple?  You saw it here first. 

Now is this what a beach should look like?

The visit to the Chamber was interesting too - they are a very well set up organisation with big plans for Tourism .  Hanbantota is the President's home town and as such has received a huge amount of investment - a new airport opened on 18th - planes from India, China and Singapore are landing there at present but it is likely to become the main airport when the one in Colombo is closed for refurbishment.  It was a big deal - I wonder if it was on the news in the UK.  There is also a  massive harbour project and a conference centre etc - most of this is paid for by South Korea, China and Russia.  The best thing was though a botanical garden - one of three in Sri Lanka - it is to be opened in August and is amazing - it has an area for flowers, for trees , for cacti and it has a big glass house (no glass in it yet) - it has crocodiles and all manner of birds in the lakes.  We were lucky enough to have  walk round with one of the gardeners .  I was most impressed - please see the pictures.

its an elephant

its a flower

the oujtdoor classroom

The beginnings of something wonderful

Another power cut on Sunday - all day which is a bit annoying but I went in search of a beach nearby - I found it, Polhenna, but no other foriegners there and certainly no one in a bathing suit - the women seem to swin fully clothed so I didnt go in.  It was a nice ride on the bike though away from the buses and lorries.  Last week was  the board meeting at which I got  to  do  a presentation.  It was like no other meeting I have ever been to and I have been to some terrible meetings.  It started one hour late and then sort of began - no opening and everyone shouting over each other , carrying on conversations with people accross the table or down the other end. taking phone calls, sleeping etc and all in Sinhalese , I just sat there amazed.  Then I did my presentation which was probably a bit over ambitious but they politely listened and were suitably impressed - well that's my take on it. They did clap.   Then I was 'excused ' I tell you it was different but now some real work to do but not till after the new year which is around 14/15 April.
I am getting my first visitor , Joe,  on 7th April in time for my birthday.  I have organised a tour which will be very interesting taking in temples and hills and tea and relics as well as wild animals and whales  so should be good.   Next weekend I am going to the wedding of the pople who live in Tangalle which will be held in Unawantuna - so  a few diversions for me in the coming weeks.  Spiders aside it is good - on birthdays in the office people bring in snacks and cake but with the cake they always serve a little banana - how good is that! So I have had fish pastry twice, fish bun yesterday , cake and bananas three times  , egg roti and more much more -  so much for losing weight eh! My brother told me I was becoming verbose so signing off till next time .........

can you see the elephant ?

 Lilies for sale

Another big Buddha

First week at work

My bike

March 11 - I have been in Matara just over a week and it's been an interesting week where I have gone from despair (Ok a bit of an exageration) to total joy to a bit of clarity!  The despair part was not knowing what I was going to be doing.  After the first day of dancing and buying a bike I rode said bike to work and that was fine but then there was nothing to do!  We set a meeting for Friday and for the next two days I went to a peace and reconcilliation event  which is the joy part and which is the subject of most pictures.  This event was over 2 days - 53 Tamil families came from the East and joined up with an equal amount of Singhalese families.  They stayed with host families and they had 2 days of cooking together and going to different temples and building fences (literally) and singing and dancing.  These were poor people and the age range varied from young to old.  There were men and women and they just got on with it.  They were divided into mixed group on the first day and each group given a cooking task - this was all outside and they set to work.    the women mostly did the cooking and the men lit the fires and carried the water.  They produced a lunch for 200 people which consisted of all sorts of different veggies, fish, rice,special dried coconut something. I saw them splitting up jack fruits which were huge, scraping coconuts, wringing the milk out of coconuts. Its was amazing.  the next day we went to a school where we were met by a little troop of bearded boys - see picture- and had a litle procession .  Then we were presented with bundles of sticks and some string and told to build a fence round the school.  I didn't hold out much hope but hey just got down to it again and that fence got built - I helped but they found it a bit disturbing that I should do anything manual.  As I said these were simple, village people and I dont think they had seen too many white people so they were fascinated and I had my picture taken many many time   Now I know what the queen feels like.  One rather tiny, bent and wrinkled old lady kept coming up and holding my hand, smiling and laughing all along - someone then told me 'isn't she wonderful - and she is 63 years old' - I was stunned - I felt like some big white, overfed giant next to her. She looked twice my age -really , ok well she looked much much older than me!  Never let me complain about hard work again!  The fence got built with not such an obvious division of labour between men and women - but the women wielded the axes and split the coconut palms and the men took their turn at the string part.  Then there was the inevitable 'cultural event' lots of children and some adults singing and dancing  after the budhist monks had done their chanting and blessing .  It was so hot and I was exhausted.  I really believe this event made a difference to how the different groups perceive each other , there were some very emotional speeches by people who had been affected and it was, all in all,  a fantastic event. I think they have done something like it in Northern Ireland and if they haven't then they should!

The bearded dancers aged about 7

the dragon - cultural

the children - singing

more children - singing and dancing

ok  here are the sticks

I told you the women did the hard work

Look at that fence - it grows leaves eventually

 Back to work with a bump on Friday when I finally had a proper meeting with the CEO and we devised a plan of sorts .  So I will be doing some fund raising , refining some project briefs for women entrepreneurs and for young people in the plantations, looking at how to increase the membership and doing an analysis of the chamber and its staff !  So enough to keep me going for a while
  At the weekend the CEO took me to Mirissa and I actually got to swim - the waves were strong though it was warm.  You can go whale watching there but I am saving that for later.   So things are looking up all round . I am going to visit Hambantota to see another volunteer his week and will try out another beach there at the weekend .  I tell you its all go in the tropics .....

temple at Dongra - the most southernmost tip of Sri Lanka -

Arrival in Matara

cows at the seaside surely not??

March 4th  - so this is going to be it for the next 12 months - all alone in the southernmost city of Matara in a compact 2 bedroom flat with a rather nice terrace.  A very big extended family live downstairs and 2 swedish guys who never seem to come out of their house.  The first night I encountered a huge cockroach - OK no big deal but it jumped out at me from a bag I was removing from the cupboard and I thought I had trapped it under a can of coconut milk but 2 days later it disappeared - I am sure its still lurking although I am being meticulous about sweeping up all food etc .  Also that first night there was a power cut - they said 30 minutes, which turned into 14 hours - the family below were very solicitous and gave me an emergency light and I had two wonderful torchesfor christmas but they couldn't do anything about the heat.  I slept fitfully under a bright pink mosquito net !  The next day  I ventured to the shops and to the beach - you will see that Matara is not the most beautiul of beaches but the sea is warm - the waves are too big to swim or the current is too strong - anyway people do not swim there so I will have to wait.  I met my boss who called in to see me on Sunday - he said three o clock and he came at half past then he left after a rather uncomfortable 2 hours to get curry and beer, coming back at 7 which turned into 8!  You see what I mean about time.  I managed to get a sea walk in before he came back.
Actually he is a nice guy - young and very enthusiastic - he speaks very fast and with a very heavy accent and so I don't understand a word he says and he doesn't seem to understand me which I am sure will improve.  He seems to want me to do fund raising - i.e. writing funding proposals and a bit of mentoring with the staff  and to promote the academy they have running .  They seem to have the management covered.  At the moment I don't think either of us has quite got the other sussed and neither of us know who is in charge of who - it will work itself out I'm sure. 
Went to work this morning - the driver was due at 8 and came at 25 past - and I have my own room and it has air conditioning and they have wi fi - so that's good . I met the staff -they are young and don't speak huge amounts of english - they seem to think I am American.  That first morning there was a TV show being shot at the academy which involved about 30 students - equal numbers young men and women - probably aged between 17-20.  They were all interviewed and then they sang some songs had a little dance , there were some traditional dancers too and all that lasted 3 hours - like being in a karaoke bar without alcohol.  The students loved it and so did the staff - at the end I was forced to dance - lets all laugh at the old white lady try to dance you might be thinking but they genuinely seemed to love it that I would even try.  Interesting culteral note - the girls and boys kept separate - they all giggled and postured a lot in a good hearted and quite respectful way - they seem so much more innocent than English 18-20 year olds.
 So I did some dancing and I bought a bike - not bad for a first day at work!  No idea quite when I am going to start doing some work.  I am going to a peace an reconcilation day on Wednesday which will be good .  I am sure  that things will progress and it is only the first day ...................

One of the many Budhist temples - it is cloudy but its still hot!

No bikins here !