Gems !!!

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MORE CLASSES AND GEMS

More classes, and another trip into Kandy. It was really restful to sit through a couple of exciting lectures after all of the tiring outdoor action-packed adventures. Both Bob and I are a bit congested, and unpleasantly aware of our throats. I get a headache. Are we coming down with anything? Are we reacting to the anti-malarial drug which we've just begun to take? With the blessing of hind-sight, I can answer: No and no. Maybe just something blooming in Giritale. Our discomfort disappears in a couple of days.

This round of lectures concentrated on geography, geology, and the gems of Sri Lanka. We saw a neat moving image of the breakup of Gondwanaland, and watched as the little piece that became Sri Lanka glided across the globe. Neat how near it once was to Madagascar, and how recently it split off from India. Of course, Sri Lanka is still very close to India. The geological conditions have given Sri Lanka a wealth of gems- literally. They pretty much have everything except diamonds. They are best known for their beautiful sapphires, which we learned were blue corundum. Ruby is red corundum, and they have lots of these beauties to. A local gemologist both lectured to us about how to identify real gems, and brought many sample gems for us to admire. He also met us afterwards at his shop in downtown Kandy, where we acted a bit like kids in a candy shop. I think everyone bought something. I was seeking a clear, light blue sapphire for a friend of mine, and I found one I liked pretty quickly. Fortunately, my friend Anne liked it too! Bob fell in love with the Star Sapphires, with their unique, internal star-patterns. He bought four small ones- two pairs, which he plans to have made into cuff links. Anne says he should use them in earrings! Somala was looking for rubies for her mother, but didn't find enough matching gems to make a bracelet.

On another trip into Kandy, Bob and I visited the home that Adele is renting while she lives here. It is a nice rental, very close to Kandy Lake. I noted that her bed is also very Sri Lankan. Hard. O.K.- firm. We had tea in her pleasant garden. Afterwards, we took a tuk-tuk to a Hindu kovil, hoping to see some Tai Pongol celebrations. We may have, but the puja seemed fairly routine, and not quite what we expected. We participated though, and received dabs of vermillion on the center of our foreheads. Once again, I wished that I knew more about the meaning of the rituals I was witnessing. I believe it was that night which was the night of the full moon, a special time in Theravada Buddhism. We saw the Temple of the Tooth lit up as some homes are at Christmastime, with row after row of white lights.

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