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Published: November 4th 2008
A lot has been going on since the last update! Got dropped off by Heather, Stuart and Scott Ritchie (Greig was busy) on Saturday morning. The Galle road is the main artery for all traffic to the south, making its way down the west coast, and it was this road that we drove down on. The roads here never cease to amaze (or terrify); The psycotic bus drivers going at insane speeds are bad enough, but I never thought I'd see one overtaking a van, which was overtaking our car, which was overtaking a tri-shaw, which was overtaking a cow who was overtaking a pedestrian. All on a road barley two lanes wide...
Anyway, I digress- Seenigama is a village 96km south of Colombo (only a three hour white knuckle ride) and only 15 minutes up from the next town Hikkaduwa. The 'Rough guide' has a lot to say about Hikkaduwa, and almost all of it is bad- "Hikkaduwa embodies the worst aspects of the unconstrained development and has ravaged the coastline... stepping outside of your guesthouse can be a potentially life-thretnening experiance..."- but I think the place has a certain charm. Despite the the odd local trying to charge
My ride
Bet you wish you had one of these babies...you 300 times more for a mango just because you're white...
The charity I'm volunteering with is called the 'Foundation of Goodness'. Founded in 1997 it was partially destroyed by the tsunami, but was rejuvinated by volunteers and the amount of funding that tsunami stricken areas recieved. I wouldn't do the Foundation justice if I attempted to explain all that they do, suffice to say that they provide a gargantuan service to the village and surrounding communities with doctors, english classes, sports facilities and the like. All free of charge. But even though the Foundation has become rather a success story in the face of the 'waves of destruction' it still struggles to break even.
Google it. Make a donation.
The accomodation I'm staying in is great; I have a pool next door (courtesy of Mr Bryan Adams) and a room all to myself. It doesn't have any a/c, but you soon get used to the thin film of sweat covering your body. Almost all my meals so far have consited of rice and curry (in that order) and been eaten with my fingers. This is awsome- nothing sets you up for the day like a
fiery curry! Quen and Gillian (my housmates) are good bant, Quen turning out to be especially useful to have around when you're about to be swindled out of 4000 rupees for bike rental... She's also teaching me Sinhalese (local lingo). So far I can ask how you're doing, tell you I think you are crazy (often used), explain that I am very tired and that 'my mother is paining in her stomach'. All supremely helpful when lost I'm sure.
So far this week has been a reasonably busy one. Settling in was gotton out of the way quickly, and I have been getting to grips with the programme the Foundation runs and how I can help. Although Sunday and Monday were holidays, so not much work was done... Went on a trip to Sinharaja Rain Forest yesterday and it was fantastic (6 hours in the van and 5 am start not withstanding), saw monkeys and lizards and lots of disgruntled tea pickers. Our guide led us off the track at one point (taking us down an alarmingly steep 'path') to see a waterfall. Beautiful, or as the locals say: 'Lassinaye!'. Lunch was had (curry in a bun!) and swimming
My house
No a/c and a lot of lizards swum. Even managed to climb behind the waterfall! It was wizard.
Went to the pre-school today, I have to check their records and Barney DVDs (not even joking) to make sure that they are using them and to see if anything needs improvement or streamlining. Instead I got hundreds of tiny hands grabbing me by the arm and dragging me round the playground. All good fun I suppose, but teaching them to play stick in the mud was a bit of a non-starter... In the end we settled for waving at passing trains.
Tomorrow sees me back at the pre-school, sitting in on some volleyball coaching and maybe teaching some of the staff how to be more confident at using the computers. Shall have to work out the Sinhalese for 'Control' 'Alt' 'Delete'...
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anonymous
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I'm so jealous.