May 10th
This morning, the group walked up to Anil’s brother’s store for some nice refreshing cold drinks, Coke is pretty popular around here. From there we caught tuk tuks to Palm Paradise Hotel, where the previous Developing World Connections groups have stayed. It is a great place for the shorter term volunteer experiences, but for us students, who are staying in the area for more than 4 weeks, it would become a bit pricey althought the food is wonderful and we had a wonderful day on the beach, located just outside the hotel.
Those of us with computers, or techno-geeks with iPod Touches,(that’s you, Brendan and Albert!) used the hotel's wireless internet to catch up on some emails. We checked out the Canucks scores - Eric was pretty sad as he lost 100 rupees on a little bet with Albert- both of them are the "sports guys" on the trip. We had a good lunch of Jaffles and fries, and then sat on the beach some more and had an awesome tuna curry and rice buffet.
Overall this weekend has been wonderful and relaxing. The full moon celebrations have allowed us to rest up and aclimatize, but we are looking forward to getting our hands dirty and being busy volunteering on the Trades Training Facility and temple wall next week.
Monday, May 11, 2009
May 9th: Perrahara celebrations
Hilda, Brendan, Smrita and I went this morning to pick up 150 roti we ordered the day before, but the cook hadn’t made them yet, so we reminded him and had a nice walk back through town. A few of us went swimming and played some volleyball while the others stumbled out of bed later on. I still can’t get over how nice the beach directly in front of our place is. No rocks at all, no seaweed, no scary animals in the water. Just perfect temperature sea and a nice sandy beach! I would DEFINITELY 100 % recommend these guest houses for future student trips. We are living in affordable luxury!
At 12:30, we all went with Anil, Deepal and Jo-Anne to pick up our 150 roti (yum!!) and see a beautiful Perrahara celebration about half an hour’s drive away. We watched the procession pass twice- once in some shade behind a large crowd and then right at the roadside down a few hundred metres where we were greeted with a refreshing juice and received a lot of attention from the dancers and children enjoying the music. Everyone is so welcoming and excited to see tourists in these times- they are very much aware of the vast travel advisories and publicity that has been decimating tourism these days.
After the Perrahara, we went to see the harbor (from outside the gates) and then walked to the coral-protected swimming area nearby which was obviously very popular with locals and those traveling to Tangalle for the celebrations. Finally, after a quick 1-hour roti break, we headed to Ketakalawatta to see the community’s beautiful lantern displays and visit with the families of some of the workers we are building with. They were very welcoming and generously offered us some tea and biscuits. We got back around 8:00pm and I finally got a chance to get some relaxing time after these first few busy (sleep-deprived) days and nights!
At 12:30, we all went with Anil, Deepal and Jo-Anne to pick up our 150 roti (yum!!) and see a beautiful Perrahara celebration about half an hour’s drive away. We watched the procession pass twice- once in some shade behind a large crowd and then right at the roadside down a few hundred metres where we were greeted with a refreshing juice and received a lot of attention from the dancers and children enjoying the music. Everyone is so welcoming and excited to see tourists in these times- they are very much aware of the vast travel advisories and publicity that has been decimating tourism these days.
After the Perrahara, we went to see the harbor (from outside the gates) and then walked to the coral-protected swimming area nearby which was obviously very popular with locals and those traveling to Tangalle for the celebrations. Finally, after a quick 1-hour roti break, we headed to Ketakalawatta to see the community’s beautiful lantern displays and visit with the families of some of the workers we are building with. They were very welcoming and generously offered us some tea and biscuits. We got back around 8:00pm and I finally got a chance to get some relaxing time after these first few busy (sleep-deprived) days and nights!
May 8th: A day of Sports and Roti!
Today was our first opportunity to take some time and look around at the nearby beaches and town. We played volleyball at the most scenic court I have ever seen (even in movies), swam and played football with a number of local Sri Lankans who apparently play on the Tangalle team, they were very good.
Ranjit came over in the morning to discuss football clothing donations to the local sports rep and how they would be used. After our day of sporting activities, we met up with Anil and Jo-Anne at an outside area by a temple near the harbor for a full moon temple pilgrimage drink, a very tasty, sweet tapioca type of drink!. Following this, without any serious plan in mind, we were lucky enough be able to find a great place for lunch, where we all had Roti and watched a beautiful dance performance for more than an hour! After that, we walked around to the police station, the hospital and finally stopped at Food City for some refreshments and snacks, the 2 roti/person wasn’t quite enough.
Ruwan’s cousin, Iresh, spent the whole day with us which was very nice. After getting back from our long walking journey, everyone went to bed quite early except for Albert and I; we decided to cook a great meal to save time for the group in the morning. It took us till 1:00am! I will head out at 8 am tomorrow to get 150 roti from the vendor we saw today. We’ll freeze them and then have them on hand for a very quick lunch! Yum.
Ranjit came over in the morning to discuss football clothing donations to the local sports rep and how they would be used. After our day of sporting activities, we met up with Anil and Jo-Anne at an outside area by a temple near the harbor for a full moon temple pilgrimage drink, a very tasty, sweet tapioca type of drink!. Following this, without any serious plan in mind, we were lucky enough be able to find a great place for lunch, where we all had Roti and watched a beautiful dance performance for more than an hour! After that, we walked around to the police station, the hospital and finally stopped at Food City for some refreshments and snacks, the 2 roti/person wasn’t quite enough.
Ruwan’s cousin, Iresh, spent the whole day with us which was very nice. After getting back from our long walking journey, everyone went to bed quite early except for Albert and I; we decided to cook a great meal to save time for the group in the morning. It took us till 1:00am! I will head out at 8 am tomorrow to get 150 roti from the vendor we saw today. We’ll freeze them and then have them on hand for a very quick lunch! Yum.
May 7th: Hot and Tired.
What a long day! I am just going to bed at 4:00am after quite the day. Today, the heat was absolutely unbearable, to the point that the Trades Training Facility group could barely work. But, we played a little volleyball with Ruwan’s cousin, Iresh, which was lots of fun.
The temple group spent time with the head monk and looked at his photos, drank tea and ate biscuits. It was a great cultural experience for them today! After working, both the temple group and the Trades Training Facility group headed for the internet cafe to send some quick emails home. Some of us headed to Food City to get lots of fruit and veggies for the next few days because during the full moon holiday everything will be closed. We also got some beer and Arrack. Arrack is a Sri Lankan hard liquor made from the coconut flower and typically mixed with Coke or Sprite. It is similar to scotch or whiskey. We had a little party in the evening after swimming and playing volleyball on the beach. We met some local Sri Lankans and Manrook and some friends, played their car stereo and we visited with them until about 2 am.
Most of participants are pumped and excited to be here but are also tired from the travel, maybe jet lag and the heat. It will take some getting used! I am off to bed...
The temple group spent time with the head monk and looked at his photos, drank tea and ate biscuits. It was a great cultural experience for them today! After working, both the temple group and the Trades Training Facility group headed for the internet cafe to send some quick emails home. Some of us headed to Food City to get lots of fruit and veggies for the next few days because during the full moon holiday everything will be closed. We also got some beer and Arrack. Arrack is a Sri Lankan hard liquor made from the coconut flower and typically mixed with Coke or Sprite. It is similar to scotch or whiskey. We had a little party in the evening after swimming and playing volleyball on the beach. We met some local Sri Lankans and Manrook and some friends, played their car stereo and we visited with them until about 2 am.
Most of participants are pumped and excited to be here but are also tired from the travel, maybe jet lag and the heat. It will take some getting used! I am off to bed...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May 5th: Arrival in Tangalle!
Finally, we’re here! We made it to Colombo safe and sound and found Albert, Hilda and Patricia as well as Ruwan, Anil and another driver. Very quickly, we exchanged some money and headed out for the approximately 6 hour drive to Tangalle. Given the option to travel through Colombo or bypass the big city and travel inland on less crowded, safer roads we decided to take the safe route in our 3-van convoy. Soon after a quick refreshment stop, one of the vans’ clutch gave out. Ruwan, the lead-foot larry, way ahead of the other two vans continued on to Tangalle, but Anil’s van turned around to meet up with the stranded group and organize a new vehicle. After a short wait thanks to Anil’s awesome problem solving, we finished the trip to Tangalle, grabbed some basic breakfast from a local store and ate a pre-ordered dinner primarily of fried rice and curries at the Sea Food Restaurant of the Wavy Ocean Hotel, where we will be staying. Here, we also met Jo-Anne, who is finishing up her volunteering for Developing World Connectinos by the end of May and helped me immensely with planning the trip prior to our departure.
I think that the group really enjoyed the drive here, seeing a host of exotic plants ranging from rubber trees to king coconuts. But, unfortunately, everyone was absolutely exhausted and a little grumpy as we chose rooms and had a quick talk about starting work the next morning! Also, we had a little surprise- for some reason, after a few people had showered, there was no water left coming out of the taps. Finally, right before bed, Jacquie came knocking at my door to tell me that a man was peeking through her window at her. I called the manager of the building- Rukman Wedarachchi- who came quickly to see what he could do, but the man was long gone. We decided to close her windows for the evening and leave the hallway lights on to discourage trespassers….
Despite this negative early occurrence, the guest houses (neighboring each other) fit everyone extremely comfortably and are far better than any accommodations I might have expected for a budget student group. Most rooms have private en suites, and the rooms seem to be quite secure. All the rooms also have good ceiling fans to keep us cool and drive the mosquitos (which don’t seem to be too abundant) away! PLUS, we are RIGHT on an absolutely beautiful beach- all sand, no rocks/sea weed, and the surf is so loud that everyone hears it in their rooms; not a bad lullaby to put us to sleep!
Our first full day in Sri Lanka! And it already feels like we have been here for days! Today, we work up at 7:00am, took a quick tour of Ketakalawatta (a previously completed housing community project by Developing World Connections), the Trades Training Facility and the temple, where we were blessed by the head monk and were able to see the BEAUTIFUL temple, full of ornate paintings. After this, we split up by house (guest house arrangement) and the smaller group (7) stayed to start work on the temple wall while the larger group (8) went to the TTF (we are staying in two neighboring guest houses). It was great to meet Anil’s brother, Ranjit, and all of the workers at the sites.
Everyone had a good experience overall- they worked hard and did not complain about the intensity of the job! Unfortunately, due to the temperature, a number of us really didn’t feel very good today- the temple group didn’t have enough water, and even at the Trades Training Facility, where we had enough water, work in the shade was almost unbearable. To make sure that people feel better tomorrow, we are taking more electrolytes (and water) and will encourage less vigorous, more steady, slow work throughout the day!
After working, the group at the Trades Training Facility(TTF) had quite the experience at the local fruit/spice/vegetable market, where Deepal helped us buy a lot of food for the next few days. One participant-Smrita- stepped up to the plate with her unreal cooking knowledge and helped the group decide what to purchase for meals which we will be cooking ourselves! After running around to a number of shops (including a wholesaler where we bought 50 kg of rice!), the TTF group came back to the guest houses to meet up with the temple group who had just been taking it easy playing volleyball and swimming since they returned a couple of hours earlier. As a group, we went for a beautiful cool-down swim as dusk approached- it is very nice to have such a big group that is so positive, respectful and sociable! Smrita directed the team to make a great meal and I had a good meeting with Ruwan, Anil and Jo-Anne regarding our trip itinerary and weekend day trips. It is nice to settle in and get everything sorted out.
Everyone is super excited- this weekend is a huge full moon celebration (Buddhist) and we are planning on doing everything from traveling to an elephant sanctuary to turtle watching to temple tours to surfing somewhere between here and Galle!!! And all of this will be on free Sundays (we’re working 6 day weeks) BEFORE our 8/9 day cultural trip!
It has been amazing so far and until the next entry,
Devon
May 4th: Still enroute to Sri Lanka
In London, the big group flying out of Vancouver met up with Brendan, Greg and Natasha (who flew out of Vancouver at different times) and those flying out of Calgary (Carissa and Jocelyn). Now, we are 12! Most of us spent the entire day in the airport window shopping and getting a bite to eat. A few people went into London to do a little sight-seeing. Finally, we all got on another over-night fight to Colombo (via Malé) to meet up with Hilda, Patricia and Albert who got in about 12 hours earlier and were waiting in the airport.
May 3rd: UBC Student Group heads out to Sri Lanka
We are off to the races! This morning (~3:00am), Hilda, Patricia and Albert headed west to fly through Hong Kong while most of the rest of the group flew east on our way to Toronto. After a quick (greasy) bite to eat and a nice hour to stretch our legs in Pearson International, we headed off for an over night flight to London.
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