First of all, for those of you in the UK wondering whether I’m back and in hiding – no (!), I’m still in Sri Lanka thanks to the generosity of the BBC who allowed me to extend my sabbatical for an extra month in order to help out the charity here. The new volunteer I was covering for starts the day before I leave so it has all worked out well. Anyway, the rains haven’t stopped here for a month so I feel quite at home and am back to being pale and unfit!
Where to start?! Sri Lanka is such a rich country, stunning scenery, smells and spices everywhere, so much going on, no day is the same and it tears you in all directions emotionally – from the wonderful smiles of the people, to the cunning grins of the tuktuk drivers, to the frustrations of things being done in ‘Sri Lanka time’ – a phrase I have had to get used to! After a wobbly start here - due to not being sure what I was doing, to trying to cope with the incredible heat (it was hotter here than anywhere I’ve been this year and really hard to adjust to) to being really very ill for a month with an asthmatic cough - I have come through the other side wondering how I can ever return to my UK life!
Colombo is a fantastic city - it has everything. Amazing restaurants (I happen to live by the best seafood restaurant on the island), cool bars, and great clubs with many a 6am finish! It’s vibrant, hot and chaotic, but works, and I love it. Went to WOMAD here too which was excellent.
Seenigama (the village I’m volunteering in) is on the SW coast close to Galle and it too is fantastic. The people are incredible, very welcoming and although they have lost so much they are pleased for you to be with them and see you as part of their family. It’s very humbling and it will tear my heart out when I leave them. Will especially miss Bali the Tea-Aunty who brings me my daily cup of plain tea ‘seeni tikak’ which means a lot less sugar than these guys manage to consume! It may be rural 3rd world but they certainly know how to have a good time – the village parties are some of the best I’ve ever been to – bites (chick peas, curried potatoes, spicy chicken, fish, devilled beef) and arrack (the local spirit a little like rum) with coke and general chat n banter until around 11pm, then dancing to local and club music, then dinner at around midnight – v v v spicy food but extremely tasty, then dancing with all the villagers until the last one of us drops!
Yes, I have got used to eating with my fingers, much to the amusement of the locals as I’m not that good at it. In general great food is had for about 30p – lunches wrapped in banana leaves. I’ve also discovered a fab little wooden veranda café run by the local matriarchs – fresh juice; avocado, egg and bacon hoppers to die for; huge fruit platters for a quid; and the best ginger cake ever. No, I’m not thin any more!
Originally arriving here was tough – this place was totally devastated by the tsunami, the water came inland 2km, reached the ceiling in some houses and destroyed many. In our village 200 people out of 1500 were killed, hard to comprehend. A lot of this was due to the fact they have been illegally coral mining for 100 years so there was less reef protection here and the sea was able to come in further. This was also the area that the train was hit by the tsunami, 2000 people died in those carriages many of them locals who got on to escape the smaller first wave. When I initially arrived the kids were saying to me ‘come to tsunami training’ or ‘my mother tsunami training’ which of course I thought was some kind of educational training scheme! It took a little while for the cogs to start moving and for me to realise they meant come to see the train that so many people were killed in. They are very forgiving here! Death is also different in this culture as they are a Buddhist village so move on in ways we don’t know how to.
Being back at work has of course been a bit of a shocker! When I got here I felt a little lost and wasn’t really sure how to help, then things roller coastered and I am now working between the Colombo office and Seenigama. Writing the charity’s website (www.unconditionalcompassion.com, and yes I know it needs a lot of work!), thanking donors, writing funding proposals, and most hard work of all, but most rewarding, is running a fantastic sports project in the village sponsored by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Watching the lads playing volleyball, with folk from rival villages lining the pitch 3 rows deep in support, is thrilling and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. The 22 year old lad, Asanka, who is managing the project is incredibly dedicated, and would put a lot of our youth to shame! I’m currently organising a visit early December of Ian Botham, Steve Waugh and Kapil Dev to come to the village and check out the sports project for a couple of days - a big high profile event especially with the UK press following Botham’s return here. ABSOLUTELY GUTTED that I won’t be here for that! (However, I was at least here for the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay which came to the village and we all had a turn carrying it. In SL it only came to Colombo, Kandy and Seenigama so we were v privileged.) Am going to need a holiday after this, working all hours every day! No day is the same though and strange things get thrown at me to do – fun! Also my walk to work along the beach in the morning isn’t exactly comparable to the dirty streets of Putney! And my crazy tuktuk rides to the Colombo office are also an experience. I also have a lovely outdoor swim in the 35m Colombo Swimming Club pool each morning which incidentally is where my mum learnt to swim.
Driving here is MAD. Basically if you see a space in the road it is yours regardless of what side. Roads are there to cater for all and many lanes are created! Public buses are fun to get, though a little like a roller coaster ride – everyone has to get out of their way on both sides of the road! It’s also like being an animal in a zoo when in the bus – they just stare at you because not many white women get the public buses here. Tuktuk drivers in Colombo are ba****ds, they gang up on you and try to overcharge you because you’re white, whereas in the village once they know you they sometimes give you free lifts and always give you a local price. Bless!
Wildlife is a bit hit and miss in that I haven’t seen much here yet, the odd parrot and a dead whale on the beach! Other than that crabs everywhere! In the guesthouse I stay in by the beach there was one crawling on the inside of my mosy net the other night. You also encounter them in the shower and see hermit crabs crawling across the restaurant floors as if attempting some amazing new disguise – it really doesn’t work.
Not in the right part of SL for wild elephants but have seen a few in the Perahera religious festival here. Considering that the Seenigama Perahera was totally scaled down due to the tsunami it was still quite something to experience. 3 days of street parades with elephants, floats and all the village kids and lads n lasses that I know dressed up and dancing. Each day got better and the last night was spent in the tent with the high priest, watching the Kandian dancers do their devil dance (warning off the devil in case you’re wondering!) and then at 5am watching some of my friends fire walking – a crazy and trance-like experience. They also have Poya day every month (full moon) which means a public holiday, supposedly time off.
There is a lot of celebrating here, two of the volunteers that were here for a long time have left since I’ve worked here – one got a send off on the back of a bull cart behind a village procession of dancers and kids, the other got paraded through the village on an elephant with the dancers and villagers ahead. The village processions were followed by amazing parties, one of them would have topped an exclusive LA club any day, and shocked some Drs from New York who had recently arrived as they realised their city wasn’t necessarily the best party place in the world! All an incredible experience.
Have been working hard so not travelling but actually did have one fantastic w/e off. A treat for us hard working volunteers to a boutique villa the other side of Galle, it was amazing - pool, beach, 4 poster bed, huge verandah sofas and again food to die for! I’ve also been incredibly lucky with the generosity of people here in terms of places to stay. When I arrived my good mate Johnny G had suggested I stay with friends of his in Colombo – Dav and Kathy Whatmore. I know absolutely nothing about cricket so didn’t have a clue who Dav was. Cricket fans amongst you will be rolling your eyes, all the others – Dav used to be the coach for the SL cricket team (winning them the World Cup), played for Oz, coached in UK, and is currently coaching the Bangladesh team. Cricket is huge here so he’s somewhat famous. Has the most beautiful house and family – v down to earth and fantastic hosts. (Cricket fans, a little something to make you jealous – I’ve had dinner with the Bangladesh cricket team, some of the SL cricket team and Clive Lloyd!) Dav and Kathy however live a little outside Colombo, so to make it easier to get to work I sadly had to leave and find somewhere closer. Thanks to my friend Shirani and her husband Stuart I’m staying in their beautiful a/c apartment overlooking the beach and near the best restaurant in town. Totally spoilt and totally in debt – thank you all so much.
Sadly I only have 2 weeks left here. So it’s goodbye to living by the coast and /or the jungle, and cheerio to some amazing people and now great friends. No more arguments with the tuktuk boys, and back to cold weather and bland food. Will miss my spicy chicken curry breakfasts! Won’t miss the mosquitoes or the rain though and will definitely be back, maybe some of you are intrigued enough to join me? SL has it all – boutique hotels, beach, jungle, sea, rivers, v cheap food and drink, good shopping, great night life, delicious food, good tourist spots with stunning scenery, and most of all the nicest people in the world - and I think I now have a little authority to be able to say that!
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