The goings on of life in SL

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25 June

No more Sri Lankan army wake up calls, just the monkeys as usual!

For the past few days I have been at the pool with the Sri Lankan coaches and Dharmadasa! The coaches are really nice guys and so interested to learn new things, we are getting pretty good at broken English and Sinhala. They are amazed that my teaching is quite relaxed and fun for both teacher and students. The way they have been taught is very rigid and repetitious, so I think they are relieved to add some spontaneity to their classes. Today Sumit excelled and ran his classes in a very relaxed style! I told him he was doing a great job and his smile was enough thanks!

I am still a novelty for most of the kids coming in for lessons, some just stare like they have never seen a foreigner, or maybe it is that they haven’t had anything to do with one up close and personal. The kids are great, all trying to speak as much English as they know, and some are pretty good and actually help translate for me to the coaches.

I also taught a class for the international school today. Most of those kids are such brats! A bunch of them took all the swimming noodles and toys and ran out the gate while I was teaching this morning….little monkeys, and didn’t they get into trouble from their teacher! On Tuesday morning with the international school, there was a scorpion in the pool before the class started! That made them think a bit! These bloody scorpions scare the whosits out of me, not that I have seen many, but I don’t want one crawling up the bed post!

Right now it is raining for the gods, it teams down for short bursts, then it is hot and sticky again! Some days it rains more than others. Let’s hope the weekend is nice. Teaching in the rain is a bit of fun, and is about the only time I ever feel cold in this country.

I had dinner last night with Jo from the Adopt Sri Lanka Tangalle office and her SL partner, Lassi. She is a funny English bird. Lassi was telling me to be aware that from this weekend the monks will be chanting twice a day for hours for a whole week for some special occasion! I am sure I will know about it as the temple is only a few doors down. There are Buddhist flags all over the village so I guess it is pretty special.

This morning on my way the pool I passed a random ceremony in Galle and wedding in Unawatuna, it all happened today. Weddings in Sri Lanka, for the Sinhalese, are held on auspicious days and times, like a Thursday at 9.07 am. I am yet to find out what these auspicious days are…..

I have been having lunch for the past couple of days at the pool with the coaches and pool manager (well, not what we would call a manager!)
In Sri Lanka, generally the men eat first and women eat last and no one eats together, eating is a necessity, not a social thing, anyway, as a guest I have been asked to eat first, then the coaches eat, so I must be special! And I am getting the hang of eating with my hand only. It is good manners to eat only with the right hand and not let the food run down your hand. No cutlery required! And yes, every meal consists of rice and curry! I am loving the food.

The mozzies are driving me nuts and I am running out of RID fast! I am a little concerned I am going to get DEET poisoning by applying repellent all the time, but what can you do?

Got a party tomorrow night for Mary from the International School as she is about to head back to the UK for 6 months, it is a pity because she is good value. Most Brits go home at this time of year, so it will be even quieter soon!

26 June

Last night I thought the house was going to lift off ‘Dorothy and Toto’ style. It was so windy and loud, luckily my house is tucked under a hill, but still at 1.30am it was a bit scary, all I could hear was the lovely plastic chairs on the balcony moving from one end to the other…..after about an hour of this the rain pelted down again and I was lulled back to sleep until I was woken by Baba’s wife with some strange green soupy drink for breakfast! All the Sri Lankans love this concoction, which tastes like some kind of weed soup, which it is, it is made from a vine that hangs over my balcony. It is very nice that she makes it for me once a week, I am just not telling her after the first few sips it goes down the drain!

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Photos

Using their noodles!
Sumit teaching with the noodles we have donated.

Tashi!
My house dog that protects me (and the other family that may actually own him!)

Relaxing on the Balcony
Some self portraits!