Sri Lanka Adventures

Back Home

2008-05-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back home and I'm sort of just hanging in between the two worlds, waiting patiently like a good Sri Lankan for the Western individualism to sink back in. The last few days in Colombo were a great wind down. After Andrea left I went to my Colombo family's house and celebrated Vesak (the Buddha's Birthday/Enlightenment/Death). On Monday we offered alms to those who were practicing sill (meditating all day and fasting in the evening). To really explain it briefly (which doe not give it much credit) It was a lot like a soup kitchen. I just hung around and jumped in wherever I was needed- serving the food, collecting the dishes and filling waters. I received many "Bless you child's" so I feel like my karma is soaring pretty high these days :)
On Tuesday, I had the best massage of my life at an ayurvedic hospital and then in the aft I helped make a lantern which is hung in the yard of every house in the city. Hanging out in Colombo was a great way to slowly ease back into Western life and to prepare for my 30 hours of travel back home.

This could be my final post

2008-05-18T04:28:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since I wrote last but I will just quickly summarize. Thurs was my very sad going away party... the girls gave me presents and speeches and everyone brought in a dish for lunch. I made them a slideshow and also gave them some other presents.
At night I went for my last dinner at Conrad and Pearl's :( In my final attempt to get even with these Sri Lankan's I gave some good gifts- I gave Pearl a Pearl necklace, Nilu small diamond earings, a wallet and belt for Pathi & shoes for Conrad (I know it sounds random but that was the girls suggestion).
Sometime last week when I was trying to decide to do with my last few days I saw Andrea (my Norwiegen friend who Aaron and I stayed with in Italy). I asked her what she was up to, thinking I might go see her, and she said she wanted to come to Colombo. Within minutes she booked her flight (love this girl) and we met this friday night. We had good tourist times- temples, cocktails, expensive seafood and shopping. It had to be done in order to get me prepped to get back into my consuming Canadian lifestyle, plus I felt ok about spending a little since I had saved so much over the past 4 months. So it was fun. But now she is gone and I am just chillin. I think I will lay low tomorrow and then on Tues I will join Nilhu's family (my Colombo family) to celebrate Vesak (Buddha's bday).
So that's where I'm at.
See you soon!!!!

MORE generosity

2008-05-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

There is clearly no way to try to match a Sri Lankan's generosity. I can't express this enough.
I have been wondering what can I possibly get as a gift for Pathi and Nilu to thank them for the way they have welcomed me into their home. It seems like as time goes on they just go more and more out of their way to accomodate me. Pathi was trying so hard to get me a cheap tour of Bangkok (booked by the time I got to it) and to help me buy a suitcase- eating a very late dinner so that he can take me shopping at night, etc.
They had told me awhile ago that they new a good jeweller and I was interested because I know gems here are much cheaper so I had been thinking about buying something for Nilu. So when I got home last night I was helping Nilu on Facebook and out of no where they present my with a bag. I open it up and I am blown away ... while I had been trying to figure out how the heck I could get them back for their hospitality, kindness and friendship, they had gone out and bought ME a Ceylon Blue Sapphire ring! Craziness! Craziness!

My Favorite Kind of Travel

2008-05-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

The reality of how little time I have left has finally set in. Yesterday when I was leaving the office and telling the girls all the things we had to do and we realized that we only have 4 days in the office left together… tears began welling in our eyes and I cracked.

I enjoyed the sightseeing in Europe, the beach-lounging in Mexico, the girl bonding in Australia, the spiritual quest in Costa Rica but this has been a different kind of travel. You are not whipping around, visiting each city for one day, in a comfortable tour bus, nor are you drinking with new found one-day friends in an unfamiliar hostel. You also don’t have to chase after something called “culture,” to show that you did indeed visit this place. In have been a culprit myself of collecting junk- key chains, photoframes, jewellery... of trying to get a picture of myself to capture this new environment for others to see...

This time around, I have become the culture. I will put no longer cringe at chillies in my food, I've started to speak at a new rate (after months of trying to be heard properly and competing with the British accent they are used to), and I will crave the cheek to cheek embrace with everyone I meet. This will be the proof.

I’ve discovered this new kind of travel now where you can settle in somewhere, build relationships with people, get to know another culture first hand, and work. Being busy with something meaningful is the key (and volunteering is so great because even if some of the daily tasks don’t seem meaningful your presence alone is probably making some impact).

Maybe I will again someday sip cocktails under the hot sun in a five star hotel, I will probably seek out natural wonders and shop in foreign cities, but what I have discovered here is something far better- it is like the next species in the evolution of the travel world. In the West we are either to busy to feel anything or we are desperately seeking… how do I live in the moment? Through this experience I have found the answer.

You don’t need to purposely do less or move more slowly through life to find contentment. You just need to find a place where you feel that you are achieving something and you need to be fully there. I guess what I'm saying is you don't have to seek out or reach for anything to be happy, you just need to take the chance and care for others, accept what they offer you and smile.

packing it up and packing it in

2008-05-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm feeling so busy these days, trying to pack so much in the last couple of weeks here. It is not that I have a crazy amount of things to do but just that doing one small thing can be such a process here. It can be a bit frustrating but that is also the North American control factor so I just have to think that I can do my best to get all that I want achieved here and hopefully another volunteer will come and pick up where I have left off.
I wanted to write the WEP Proposal, for example, but I don't see how it is possible as I still have not got any of the info I need. There is also so much training that I could do with the girls, and they are eager, but they just don't have the time. And I won't even get started on Conrad's schedule. As long as I get the brochures done though (also difficult without all the right info though!).
PS Here is a good article that Fiona sent to me about the current political/economic situation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/02/srilanka?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

Thotamuna Irangani

2008-05-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

This morning I gave an Lesson on Presentations and Basic Do's and Don'ts of Photography. The girls are so good because they pay so much attention but I don't know if they always understand because they don't ask any questions... I made it very simple though and told them if they want to talk one on one about anything they can. One girl is going to Canada in August so she will actually be doing a presentation in Canada, which I will help her on before I go, so I was able to use her as an example for how she should address her audience, etc. I told her to expect a Canadian audience might not be quite as attentive, haha...
I am thinking back now to my group in our communications class- we did a presentation where we asked the two girls from Shangdong in our group to do a skit about the Canadian class environment. The next day we laughed so hard when we watched what they had come up with: "Students very bad" one girl said to the other, "put feet on desk, talk when teacher talking, eat food during class, call teacher by first name... they are like barbarians!" Now that I have seen their learning environments I can see for myself the unsubtle difference.
After the class we went to see a woman named Irangani who is a Tsunami affected woman that INDECOS and WUSC/Uniterra have found out about and would like to try to help.
This woman was actually rich before the Tsunami and lived alone comfortably, supported by her siblings and the inheritance from her parents. When the Tsunami hit her house was pretty much destroyed and she broke her arm in 3 places. While she was in the hospital, her house was looted and everything she owned was taken. She has no livelihood so no savings from which she can improve these appalling living conditions.
Harshani's idea is to at least build her a bedroom, so she is no longer sleeping on the porch, a bathroom and a front door that she can lock. If you are interested in contributing, let me know and I will send you Harshani's contact info!

Sick in Sri Lanka

2008-04-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

After four days of being sick, my cough had not let up, so in a paranoid state that I have some crazy Sri Lankan disease I agreed to see the doctor.

So I am picturing going to a doctors office, waiting in line for half an hour, signing in, waiting another hour before I see him or her and then getting my prescription to take to a pharmacy where it will be documented on my file and the doctor's details confirmed.

But apparently I'm not in Sidney anymore. I walked 10 steps to the neighbour's house (Pathi`s niece is a doctor), had a prescription 5 minutes later and went to the pharmacy 2 minutes away to wait 2 more min while he gathered together the meds. So the total process was about 10 minutes from the time I wanted drugs till the time I had them. And how much it costs for 2 kinds of antibiotics, a throat rinse and a cough syrup.... 6 bucks.

Haha, so accessing pharmaceuticals is the one system that is efficient here... hmmm... oh, good for me!

PS I'm feeling better already!

questions

2008-04-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

The Pathi's were in Colombo this weekend so Madhu slept over last night. She is such a sweetie. We made Dhal and pasta and I helped her with her resume. In the morning, simply out of habit, she ironed my clothes and made my bed! She is used to living in a boarding room with 12 other girls and just 6 beds! And because she has a job while the others are still students she is the one who buys home rice and curry for the other girls to eat.

She is very good at English so I could chat with her ”very well,” as they say. The girls and Nilhu often say, after chatting with me, "oooh, we cover lot." I think they are used to discussing food, family and clothes, not arranged marriage, oppression and corruption. But because I am not here for long I have to cover a lot of ground so I get right in there with the sensitive topics. I know I can't change the culture but if I can give one girl even a spark of insight maybe they will develop a slightly more liberal way of seeing things, just as they have taught me a more united way to see things.

But these girls know that their culture is not the only way, and they know that in some cases it is not the best way, and still they respond to every issue with, “this is our culture.” Sometimes I think it is not unawareness I am fighting but their adamant belief in fate.

I feel like I have made some headway with one girl. Even as a University educated woman she says that it is a woman’s fault if she is sexually assaulted...what was she wearing & why was she walking alone? And if someone is abused by her husband she should be working harder to take away the alcohol and to create a “happy” family. But I think what she says is different from what she believes because I think she knows from experience that the “happy family concept” they teach is more condescending than helpful. She is just afraid to voice her opinion here about that to Sir.

Where many of our Universities teach you about how to challenge authority these teachers are still just coming in & lecturing facts without posing or answering any questions. During class my friend worked at INDECOS and would get filled in by her classmates later. She says she is very lucky to be able to get this job with INDECOS because many people from the village do not have these opportunities. She also had help from her brothers so she is now thinking about helping them as they come from a home with no water or electricity. By the way, not only is she trying to help her school friends, her mother, and her brothers, she is also sponsoring a girl she met from a far away village to go to University because the girl reminded her of herself. There is just no end to the generosity with some folks here.

She is also very eager because I told her if we wrote the story of these girls with pictures I could make a brochure to bring back to Canada to find sponsors. I know through World Vision sponsoring a child is $35 a month because a lot of that is going to the organization but because INDECOS doesn’t take any of the money, supporting these students would only cost $6 a month, or $60.00 for the year!

A New Years Without Champagne

2008-04-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

It’s the main day of New Years and I am quietly sitting in my room reading “An Open Heart,” by the Dali Lama (someone who the Sri Lankans don’t seem too impressed by, I think he has opened up their more traditional style of Buddhism). It is an auspicious time now so I cannot eat again for 6 hours, drink even water in the house, or do any work. The big event this evening will be boiling milk over a fire on the kitchen floor.
There are no broken glass or champagne covered ceilings at this New Years, folks!
Anyway, over the four days we have many visitors and have also make visits to the houses of close friends. There you exchange gifts (like Christmas) & eat 'sweets and tings.' I have already accumulated a bit of a belly so hopefully after these four days I won't be 10 pounds heavier!!!
I also found a guitar so I have been shaking up the old music circle with a little Jewel and a little Van.
Anyway, my biggest epiphany of the trip came when I gave them their gifts. After all the meals they had given me and all the gifts along the way- not to mention the New Years dress Pearl had made for me and the jewellery from Aiyaa- still when I gave them a piece of clothing each they said “oh, you have spent too much!”
But the best part was when they opened the poem and note I wrote for them with a laminated with a photo of us. “Yup. Together before the birt,” Pearl said “that’s why I’m like dis” pointing to the tears.
That’s when I realized I am Buddhist because I also believe that I’ve been here before.

A Friday and Full of Epiphanies

2008-04-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Guy’s gone now. He taught me HTML and I helped him create the website by supplying the content. Now that he is gone, I will finish it. But you can check it out now: http://www.indecos.com/
Always good to talk to a fellow Canadian. Had so many epiphanies while he was here. We were talking to Kamani from INDECOS about the divorce question and she said she always hears her neighbours fighting and I asked “in a case like this do you think that divorce is ok?” and she gave the usual diversion “this is our culture.”
I realized right there that the INDECOS powerpoint that I had seen earlier for the “Stop Violence against Women” program had meant what I was afraid it meant. It had advised the women to “face challenges” which at the time I had hoped meant to leave the man despite family pressures but now I have discovered meant to stay with the man, even if he is beating you. “We tell them to be nicer to their husbands,” Pearl told me when I asked her about it today, “we think it is better for a child to have a bad father than no father.”
The lawyer who spoke to them was not telling them that they can get a divorce if they need to but just telling them about their human rights so that they would try to change the situation, not leave it.
Guy had spent 6 years in Africa and thinks that the women’s situation is generally much worse here, even though he said that the men in Guinea would tell each other that they must beat their wives once a week to keep them in check. As we learned in the orientation, the violence here is not necessarily physical, but more mental, and I can see this in the way that women’s over-dependency.
Nilu told me last week that she has to ask Pathi before she does anything. She will text him at the bank to ask if she can go and buy eggs or visit a friend. Sometimes he texts back saying “no.”
“Why?” I asked and she told me “because there are many problems like love affairs in Sri Lanka.” And when she states love affairs as her explanation for this obsessive male dominance she does not even mean cheating. When they say affair they simply mean a relationship in which the parents have not picked and/or approved of the spouse.
What we call a fiancé is what they call boyfriend/ girlfriend and what we call a girlfriend or boyfriend is what they call an affair. So, she is basically saying that because girls want to date, and the fact that she was set up with a traditional proposal where she did not know Pathi, he will never trust her and so must exhibit is control around the clock to make himself feel powerful.
And as I sit in shock, taking this all in, Nilhu says with her usual giggle, “what to do, no?” and I realize that she is a 38 year old little girl.

Busy, busy

2008-04-08T04:03:00.001-07:00

CEO of WUSC came so we went camping and on a safari in Udawalawe National Park. So fantastic! Saw so many elephants and the beautiful green park. Sat around camp fire but had no marshmallows.
This week I have a new volunteer here who I’ve been helping to gather the content for creating the website. It’s great to have someone here to hang out with and again I have again been un-srilankanized, ie. eating out, shopping and walking about and even drinking a beer!
Yesterday and today have been New Years celebrations with the children. So great! So busy, though! And PS We finally got ADSL now! Woot woot!

Here are a few pics from today...

Only one month left  and so many ideas

2008-04-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe I only have four weeks left. The time has been just flying by and there is still so much I want to do – particularly at INDECOS. I have been doing many little things- taught powerpoint class on Tuesday, giving help with resume & created brochures, a newsletter and some reports. But what I want to do most is write the proposal for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program which they want to extend another year- to end in March 2010.
The WEP program started with the goal to benefit Tsunami affected women. The current funders are CIDA and Berindina but their contract expires in March so they want to extend it. These women who have skills like making pillow cases or floor mats are given business training and can receive loans with a only a small amount of interest. The program is so good because it’s so practical- the women actually learn how to find a market and sell the products. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find a market in poor villages and they don’t have any connections to the city. One volunteer actually started a store in Kandy a few years ago and it has been very successful for the women there. It would be ideal if we could start sending the products up there or even eventually start a store here in Matara one day!
Yes, I have many ideas. I am also thinking about whether I could send some products to Canada to sell. A wall decoration that would be about $20 in Colombo would only be $2 here so I think even after the shipping and such you could still sell it at a decent price in Canada. I could sell some stuff at the Sidney sidewalk sale, See if 10,000 Villages needs a new connection, or even Start my own store! The wheels are turning.

Anyway, one thing at a time. If I can get the proposal written then they can get the funding they need to continue the program and get to a point where they can run it without support.
Today the WUSC CEO is coming from Canada so it should be interesting to meet him! And, this weekend us volunteers and such are going to Tasks in Udawalawe.
P.S. I know have 5 saris, 2 cotton ones for comfort, 2 wedding ones for quality and 1 silk one which is more casual and will be good in Canada. I might trade the cotton ones with Madhu because they’re not as pretty for her cheaper and older, but nicer looking, ones.

Have you ever made a snowball?

2008-03-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

I returned to Colombo this weekend, which after 2 months in Matara, feels like the West. remember first arriving here and how it felt so foreign. Now I don't notice the insane traffic swerving around the cows, the mutant dogs with 2 feet and the smell of low grade burning fuel. Instead I am feeling a lack of stares, seeing ads of ladies in tank tops & shorts and smelling pizza which I couldn't resist buying for Nilhu's family as a small thank-you gift- there is no use trying to match with the Sri Lankan hospitality so I just try to accept that and make small gestures here and there.

Never have I seen the benefits of fast food like I do now after seeing women sweating over a stove in the unforgiving heat for 6 hours. At home I try to fight the onslaught of fast food in favour of simple living but here simple living is anything but simple.

Although it can be frustrating to be associated with women from American movies, people in Colombo do have a better understanding of our lifestyles which TV/movies must be given partial credit for. Any understanding of Western, even the bad, means that they understand things are different somewhere else. So while I think there is an overreliance of media sources at home, I see it here as a vehicle for a altering perspective.

Even just the fact that these boys have seen snow on TV means that they have a much bigger understanding of my hobby, snowboarding, whereas you can only begin to try to explain something like that to the girls who are coming to Matara from villages. One boy was so sweet- he asked if I had ever made a snowball because he had seen it on TV but couldn't believe it was possible.

(pic: teaching yoga. i taught Madhu last night, too, and she is very happy because classes here are too expensive but she was so eager to learn).

I can see Mel Gibson shouting it now...

2008-03-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last week the English teacher was asking me “When comparing our countries, why do you guys always use the word FREEDOM? It is not a matter of freedom, Sri Lankan parents just want to take care of their children.” Then I go to tell people like this that we don’t need to be taken care of because we are much safer, and I remember that actually we have many of the same problems, one just knows how to interact with their own society to avoid them. So here, girls know how to act on the bus to avoid sexual harassment and, in Canada, we know where to go to avoid drug addicts.
There are many issues here that seem way beyond the kind of violence we have at home but then when I think about it these girls would be traumatized if they saw the herion addicts shooting up in Victoria or heard about the gang shootings in Vancouver. They almost see the violence in the West as much worse than here because people are alone to face it.
There are 3 people in the office in their 30’s and for me it is so strange to think that their mom still makes their lunch, but for them it is strange to think that a 17 or 18 year old child would live without parents, not to mention, work! Those that are planning University do not work because they must do very well in high school to be accepted into University. For many of the girls at INDECOS this is their first and only job!
My friend Madhu told me today that her father died, so even though she passed her advance tests, she was going to get a job instead of going to University. Her Uncle knew Conrad though and he gave her a part-time job which helped her through school. She sends about 1000 rupees a month to give her mom food and clothes and pays 1000 to her boarding house, which means when she was in school she would just break even with no spending money! I hope that she is able to get the position in INDECOS that she wants – in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Program- Conrad is reluctant to give her this position because she is educated so is likely to go to the government. But she wants to stay in this job and working in micro-credit & such is really her only chance to travel to Canada (with Uniterra) which is her life ambition.
Although it is wonderful that people have support from family, it also means that children carry such a burden on their shoulders because they are expected to support their parents as their parents have supported them. It is so sad to think that none of these girls- no matter how hard working- will never have enough money to travel on their own accord.
From the first day in Matara I had connected with Conrad & Pearl but it was not until Andy’s visit that I really connected with the Pathirana’s as well. I saw the paternal side of Mr. Pathi, as he announced that if he had a daughter he would want her to be just like Andy. It is funny to hear the observations that other people make. They saw Andy as very young and innocent and Mr. Pathi said I was like her older sister watching over her, haha.
Anyway, last night was his promotion party- he’s now the head of the bank- and we went to a party at a hotel in Weligama. Not only were they offering me whisky but he also encouraged me to use the pool- I was like “uh, I don’t really want to be the only one to go swimming,” and he was like- “now, stop thinking like a Sri Lankan.” I think they liked- no, loved- Andy’s care-free Westernism and are now trying to keep it alive.
I also had a great conversation with Mr. Pathi about women + freedom, much like the conversation I’d had with Conrad about women + choice. He definitely recognizes the limitations of his society and knows that many of the issues are third world ones (corrupt gov’t, desperation and crime), others are also cultural constructs (women= 1 husband). He tells me that so many girls commit suicide because of the men that they have been forced to marry. They do not have the option to marry again and no man would want her. And the crazy thing is that it is rare to find men like Pathi who feel that there is something wrong with this. Even Conrad is still teaching the children that divorce, which is now becoming more common in Colombo, is society’s BIGGEST problem.

CHoiCE

2008-03-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

Andy’s visit was a great little infusion of Western living but as soon as she left I got rick back to being a Sri Lankan girl which has got me thinking a lot about choice. When I have my Western spectacles on I think it is simple- we are lucky that we have so many choices. But, when I think about it I can also see why they think we are so unfortunate, having to make so many choices alone. Whenever I am speaking to someone about the choice I have each day they always say that it is not an issue of freedom, but about having other people to support you in every decision. I still have to lean towards the individualism though because, although it sounds good, it seems the family is more often making the decision for you than “helping” you make it.
For example, at INDECOS they do not want people with education. The reason is because once someone gets a degree they apply to the gov’t and they might not here back from them for years. There is one woman at INDECOS who didn’t want to take the gov’t job that was offered years after she finished school because she loved working at INDECOS but her family and husband told her she had to. Even though it pays less, there’s always that pension clincher.
Andy made a good point that parents in Canada equip you with a tool box to make choices instead of making them for you. Still, the Sri Lankan’s are right about our lack of unity... we might sit at the office for hours and not talk to anyone- in this office there is rarely silence as each room has 2 or 3 people working together on the same project. If a problem comes up the weight is distributed across more than one set of shoulders. But, although the women here are doing such empowering work in the office, there is no denying that their personal lives are very much run by men. This weekend, for example, Madhu’s boyfriend is coming from another town so that Conrad, her boss (and a father figure to her), can meet and approve of him. She is nervous because if he decided he didn’t like him, it would be over.
Anyway, I think it is kind of ironic that I ended up here in a place where women don’t even want to choose the meal to make when at home I have so many big choices to be making- what do I want to do for a career? Do I want to do more school? Marry? Where do I want to live? And here I am in Sri Lanka, having no idea what the day ahead holds, wondering what I will get for lunch and which house I will be sleeping at in the night. At work I often have no idea what I will be or even should be doing. And as for what I will be doing days ahead of time I have to leave that up to Conrad or Lord Buddha or whoev.
PS They say they are going to get broadband internet at INDECOS but they still have to apply. This means, of course, that it might not happen while I am here. It took Mr. Pathi 14 years after his application for a phone line to receive the approval. For 14 years he had a phone in his house that didn’t work so he would have to use the neighbours.

ANDELA!

2008-03-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Andy came down to visit me this long weekend before she heads home... it has been so FANTASTIC! Yesterday the Pathi's took us on a trip to a quiet beach where the president stays and we had lunch... it was so nice to finally go to the beach and it is SO beautiful!
Last night was Rohan's birthday party which was great... Nilhu made one of her infamous cakes and we had a great singing and music session.
Today we went down to Polhena and had a great time snorkelling! I took the advice of an old volunteer and stopped in to rent the gear from a hotel called Blue Corals. As she had said the man was very very nice and took us on a tour. He wanted to give us a deal for knowing Vivian but we would not take it because we knew that his opportunity to do tours did not come around often... oh ya, we were the only white people there, and in bikinis mind you, so we were quite the hit. Haha, but of course, Rohan Aiyaa was there watching to make sure all was well. Haha, Andy has been so surprised about how you are watched over here... I think it would be much harder for her because she is so independent. On the other hand, she has also seen what an amazing experience I have had down here actually becoming part of a Sri Lankan family because she did not have any sort of network in Kandy.
She is also so amazed by the beach- they're calling her Ocean Beauty now because she won't get out of the water, ahah. Anyway, after our experience I now know where the beach is and I know there are some good people to watch me swim so I will go again for sure!
We also ate lunch at the hotel and had drinks... haha, Andy had Arrack (local hard alcohol) which is very shocking to these people to see a girl drink but we didn't really care because we wanted to be tourists all the way.
Anyway, we're off to the temple now!

Not being thrown out of country! Woot Woot!

2008-03-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

Certificate came in the mail today!!! I might even get by without the fine! Thought I'd throw a random pic on to make this entry worthwhile. This is Conrad and Pearl's son, my Aiyaa, Rohan.

MCC Party and Certificate Dilemna

2008-03-17T02:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the MCC’s 1st year anniversary and it was so much fun! The children from the local boys and girls orphanages came and the MCC children performed for them. The pre-school kids and the older girls did various songs & dances and there was even a young mime. All of the kids wanted to touch my skin and get photos with me. I was also wearing my friend Madhu’s sari so the INDECOS girls also wanted pics with me.
It was funny when at one point all the kids had a little dance party. Again, I cannot express how funny it is to see the men dance here! There is really not much difference between the way the boys and girls dance so you see the boys making the eyes and shaking their hips. I will just have to show you the footage when I get home. There is just no way to fully describe it.
For some bad news... WUSC SL called Friday to say they were going to have to send me back to Canada. You see, after a few days of being in Colombo, Andy and I were both asked for our grad certificates which they said they needed in order to get our work permits. We were both like, say what? Of course, we had no idea that a gov’t would need these... and even in a week of training this was never mentioned to us by WUSC. There was a point were I had to scan the certificate to Ottawa but this was very early on so I thought it had to do with my acceptance into the program.
Anyway, I knew as soon as I heard that I needed this certificate that this was going to be a hassle. I called Aaron right away and told him that I needed the original certificate asap. I told him that it was in my closet in a picture frame but he didn’t see it so I said check the file cabinet “ok, I found it.” The one with the gold star, right? Not a photocopy.”
“Ya, I think so.”
“No. I need the original. Does it have a different material gold star?’
“uh, ya.”
It took almost 2 weeks to arrive and then a few days after that WUSC SL noticed... it was a photocopy.
A good one but still a photocopy.
They phoned me saying this is a major problem and if they don’t get it soon I will be illegal.
So I have to wake up Aaron at 2 am to tell him, “I was sure it was in my closet in a big frame. It’s not there.”
“oh, found it.”
“Ok, please send this as fast as possible because I am going to be illegal soon.”
He sends it regular mail.
So here I am in Sri Lanka, being told that Canadians don’t take things seriously and that not only will I be sent back but I will have to pay $50 a day for everyday I’ve been illegal. Luckily for me, this problem is now on hold because Conrad has a friend who is going to speak to the director of immigration for me this week so I will be able to at least get this process started before the certificate arrives. I might still have to pay at least $300. It is worth it for this trip but it is another reality check about this NGO.
I encourage you to volunteer- it has been an experience beyond anything I could have ever imagined, but you have to be the kind of person who can roll with the punches when things aren’t looking good, AND ASK WUSC questions. If I had asked Sylvie why she needed my education certificate I would have discovered that it was to send to Sri Lanka and then I would have found out that some countries require this so that they can make sure you are an asset they need. I think the solution to this communication problem is to learn all that you can from another volunteer about your specific country because I never got to speak with anyone who specifically handled Sri Lanka. So, if you want to contact me when I get home about volunteering here, please do.
In addition to the this certificate I have also been waiting all month to receive my original contract from WUSC CA which the gov’t also needs a signed copy of in order to finish my permit process.
Even with all this stress though, Harshani mentioned again that I should stat for a year and it is not totally out of the question. I wish it was more like 6 months though because I know I am eventually going to start to miss home. But at home I will miss everything here, too. Everything except for waking up thinking that house is on fire because of the burning plastic smell searing into my lungs. Oh ya, and the honking. And the endless rice to accompany the lack of exercise and constant sweating and the burned skin in my mouth from the chillies, often diced up and hiding in the deceivingly inoffensive looking yellow sauce. Ok, so maybe not everything.

the homecoming...culture shock or admiration...not sure which

2008-03-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

The homecoming (like another reception) was very at a beautiful location and the bride and groom looked amazing. It also led me to some big epiphanies.
In Canada, marriage means you gain a few in-laws- you will now have a new set of parents and a sibling or two, right? Well here, it is literally two families, cousins and everything, joining to make a whole new unit. It is difficult to explain how interwoven these families become- mostly why they see divorce is such a terrible thing- they don’t like to break up the family.
As the brides family walked in behind the bride they each bowed to & had their heads touched by the groom’s parents. When we went inside there was then a ceremony performed by a village person where he is asking the other family if they will accept her into their home. I had been under the impression that this was for a week or two but now I understand that this could be, especially if you are the youngest son who inherits the house, forever! If the family has money then they build the older sons new houses. It is so hard for me to grasp this that you are a child until you are married. Your mother makes sure you have all your meals and your father often finding you a husband.
Then you become the wife/ daughter in a new family.
Not only do you never make choices like who your husband will be or where you want to live but I am talking about never making ANY choices! Until you are married, your parents will tell you what you are doing the next day and at what time and once married your husband or his family will tell you. As far as I can see, you don’t even choose what you want for dinner- you ask what you should make.
And, when we arrived home at 3am you’d think that everyone would be eager to get to bed but what do I hear outside my bedroom door- Pearl cooking! I was concerned about having just a short 5 hour sleep ahead of me and here they are thinking about food. They both slept for only an hour and woke up at 5am- Pearl to do laundry and Conrad to work. I really don’t get why for once they can’t just have toast for breakfast??? There have been times when Pearl has said that we would “just have bread” but what she always seemed to mean when she said that was bread with butter, rice, dhal and plantains. I don’t think there is such thing as a simple meal.
I cannot explain to you how much food is valued and sleep is devalued here- the mattresses and like 30 years old and you are lucky if you get the ones where springs dig into your back because the other ones are just rock hard. I won’t even describe the pillows.
Anyway, there is a lot of talk here about how the Western countries have so much divorce. And I totally agree with them on that but they see it like a virus and are scared that it is making it’s way over to their country. They think the couple is just selfish, not thinking about their children but they really don’t get the fact that a child can be just as damaged by growing up in a house where the parents dislike each other. I guess they don’t see that as a possibility- if the horoscope matched and the families agreed they were a suitable match why wouldn’t they be?
Again, it is too difficult to explain the whole context from which they view an individual’s personalities. In Canada, we think of each person with a different set of habits, interests, character flaws, goals, norms, mind set, etc. Here, you are your family.
On one hand, I see that everyone is happy with this- they feel connected at all times and don’t feel attachment to their ego because they don’t think of themselves as an individual. For example, the girls will ask me which one is fatter. Like us, they don’t want to be fat but, unlike us, they don’t have any attachment to being thin so they don’t see the question as being offensive. I now have them using the word “full-figured” now because I refused to answer the question otherwise. They must think I am so strange.
I won’t get to the other hand.
We might have similar questions surrounding a marriage but the main difference is that the parents here will simply say no to a match because the boy or girls family lives too far away or are just not rich enough! We think this is shallow but in a third world country it's about security & survival.

She pulls out Mr.Bean!

2008-03-10T02:07:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY! Hope you have a great one!
The wedding was so fantastic- I can’t believe how beautiful the Galle Face hall was! Fiona & Hugh: you guys are so lucky to have stayed there!!! I was also a little jealous of the tourists who were wearing bikinis & sipping cocktails by the pools but I could also see from the Sri Lankan way- what a strange way to spend your time! I was proud to be Sri Lankan- giggling with the ladies in the bathroom about the discomfort of the sari, and joining in the wedding ceremony 100%- I mean, how funny is it that I sat with the wedding party? Because I am Pearl’s duwa (daughter), and the groom is her son-in-laws brother, I am also a relative. Just check out this picture where I am right in with the bride and groom! I was in the professional ones, too!
The ceremony was really interesting with the Kandyan dancers and chanting and the fire lighting and all, and unlike our usual ceremonies it didn’t drag on for more than about ½ an hour. But after this was the usual photo time and the bride and groom have to go to each table to be congratulated so lunch wasn’t for a couple of hours. When it finally came I was soooooo badiginny (hungry) and there was so much delicious food. I also got re-acquainted with my old friend the fork. And I was the only one using it. Some held on to their culture, and the rice with their hand, and others used a combination of two spoons.
Wearing the sari was nice because the hotel was air-conditioned, but as soon as I got outside I felt like I was going to suffocate from either the heat or explode at the stomach - the sari has a way of digging in to your organs after a good meal and especially the thick wedding sari is not exactly made with comfort in mind. To relieve my pain, I very discreetly made a change in the backseat- it was not so easy in a pin-filled sari but I thought I was quite masterful. When we stopped soon after Pearl was about to ask if I wanted to get out to change- but when she turned around she saw that I already was.
“You’re crazy!” she said and I think she was a little mad. But later, she began laughing “you are like Mr.Bean, brushing his teeth and changing in his car. Like Mr. Bean!” I told her how my mom called me Ellie May Clampett and made my best attempt to explain.
Anyways, on my way home I thought about how insanely well I am being treated. I got the trip to Colombo and participation at a beautiful wedding without anyone accepting a cent. I am going on Weds to the homecoming though (party after the wedding) so I will have to bring something small. I was also chatting with Rohan and explaining to him that the experience was unlike any I could have ever imagined. I hope anyone who is considering volunteering in SL understands how safe they will feel once they are here and how glad they will be that they came. Every volunteer who has come to SL so far has extended their stay! Do it, do it!

Even monks are all about chocolate

2008-03-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

Today there was an Almsgiving celebration at my house. The celebration marks the death of Pathi’s father.
Preparations for this event began weeks ago- when they started painting the house and last night guests arrived to start cooking. This morning when I woke up at 6:30, even more people stirred around in the kitchen- some came all the way from Colombo, driving 5 hours, to get blessed. Of these people were some French visitors- some worked in the French Embassy and others for Red Cross, so it was nice to speak with them. And wait with them for the monks- it was like Christmas morning or something.
When they finally arrived (Sir Lankan style- 45 min late) they had their feet washed and then they entered the house. Everyone prayed and then the monks ate. Not just ate but ate... A LOT! First, they had a vegetable plate with vegetable soup, then rice with various curries and fish, then a fruit plate, then dessert- you can see for yourself what that looked like. I don’t know why I found it so amusing that among all the baked goods was a mini dairy milk bar.
They don’t eat all of the food. They offer them these plates and they can eat what they want from it and the rest gets thrown away. What is left from the food they refused goes to the poor. I found this whole thing fascinating. It’s strange to see the little boy monks and wonder whether they even knew what they were getting themselves into when they “signed up.” Anyway, soon after the monks eating, they were served coffee and then they headed back to the temple. Next if was out turn to eat! At first I wondered how 100 people were going to be fed but I guess I underestimated the supply because it was actually pretty ridiculous how much food there was! Ahah, Pearl and I laughed at how full some of the plates were. And the buffet was never ending- over the next hour more and more people came, loading up their plates more than the last.
After the event, I went back to Pearl’s and we ironed out Sari’s. Sounds like a 10 minute process right? Try 3 hours! I’m beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to wear this at home because I don’t have that kind of dedication to clothing. I am getting another one made though and it should be much more simple because of the material (fingers crossed).

Lord Buddha’s Wish

2008-03-07T02:03:00.000-08:00

When I am in the house watching a movie I feel like I could just as easily be at home, but then I will remember that the mosquito on my leg might give me denque and, if I want to wash my dish I’ll have to go outside which means I must first find my key to unlock the door, along with the 2 bolts.
Rich is so different here. As I said with the poor people dressing very well and having cell phones, the rich people have mould on their walls, ants on their kitchen counter, and cockroaches in their bathrooms.
I was talking to Rohan (or Aiyaa, older brother) and he was explaining to me they eat meat because the Buddhist writings say they can’t kill another living thing but doesn’t mention eating it if someone else has killed it.
Lucky for me both my weekday and weekend families eat mostly fish only in their curry so it suits me well. The food blows my mind at every meal. Most of the time Pearl spends about 2 hours making red rice, dhal & coconut curry. For a change she makes rotti or hoppers (like a thin pancake with an egg in the center). The meals are very healthy if you avoid the sugary tea and ice cream they try to load you up with after. They also LOVE to feed you plantains. “Eat some plantains” they say after almost every tea, which is 4 or 5 times a day.
The gender thing is bugging me a bit, mostly the fact that men drink and women can’t (they say they don’t want to but if it was that simple then they wouldn’t be criticizing the ones that do). Sometimes I hold my tongue, more because it will take more effort to translate my opinion than to avoid offending. Pearl understands that there are pros and cons for both cultures. For example, she doesn’t judge what Western girls wear because I think she gets that women are safer in Canada. But, she did say that her daughter and the INDECOS girls would never be silly enough to wear a bathing suit.
And she also made a comment once about how they would not be silly enough to marry an uneducated man. It’s hard to explain that my bf is not university educated and that I am. I guess the fact that University tuition is covered by government scholarships means that University graduates have more money, rather than less, and are guaranteed to get a better job. You definitely see the caste system still, showing up in how people talk to each other and where they eat, but mostly in marriage. Even more powerful than the caste, though, is the horoscope. Parents would not permit “children” to marry unless the horoscope matches well.
Pearl and Conrad were actually an exception because they dated secretly for 10 years, not caring what anyone said, before they finally convinced their parents to let them marry. The problem for them was not the usual horoscope dilemma but the fact that they are first cousins! I don’t think they think as much about this because believing in reincarnation it just makes sense to them that they would know each other already. Part of Pearl’s prayers every night actually includes asking to be with Conrad and her children in the next life. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s throwing me in the prayer mix now too because she says that travellers like me are people looking for family from the birth before.
Partly this experience makes me want to volunteer everywhere and partly it makes me not want to go to any other assignment – another country or even town, because I think I am being spoiled to the max with this one. It’s partly the Sri Lankan People’s hospitality in general but, in addition to this, I think it is this particular family that I somehow was lucky fell into.
Pearl always laughs when I talk about luck, “Not luck. Lord Buddha’s wish. We tink like tat.”

2008-03-07T01:57:00.000-08:00

Two lunches to punish my tastebuds even more!

2008-03-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

So I am going to the wedding on Sunday in Colombo which will be really cool and I am getting 2 saris made by Pearl's tailor, one to wear to the wedding and the other for New Years (April 12 & 13). I am still loving it here but I am hoping Andy will come and visit me because I could use some Canadian interaction. I am good friends with the girls at work but at night I have nothing to do because they are all home cooking and cleaning! Pearl keeps saying she is going to teach me to cook but she is always to busy cooking for others to teach.

Nilu's food seems to be getting hotter every time so either she is easing me in or my tastebuds are getting angrier. It's funny how Nilu and Pearl both send me a lunch everyday, ahah, even if I try to resist! I just can't get over the fact that you are a child until you marry. Pearl's daughters room is covered with cartoon characters but she is a married adult! Pearl told me the other day she thinks parents in Canada are bad for not caring about their children at a certain age- she can't believe the parents wouldn't give their daughter a dowry and their son a house!

I made some noodles last night to get a break from the rice but I am kind of craving something a little further from a starchy substance so I might go to a tourist hotel after work one of these nights. It's interesting how different it is to travel as a tourist, a backpacker, and then a volunteer. This is definitely my style! You get all the luxuries- rides, a place to stay, etc. of a tourist but all the inside knowledge of a real traveller.

Anyway, I'm getting in a good habit of doing yoga and now that I am familiar with the area I think I will see if I can take some classes.

Funeral to Wedding

2008-02-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the pic of the coconut hut girl- this is here bedroom and market stand! The other pics are the kids at MCC- I have like 100 photos so I'll just throw a couple up for you to see how CUTE they are! The girl on the right is Sarah, my friend Shanu's neice. They wear the Swedish colours because that is who funds them.

My new place is very good. They even bought me toilet paper which was really sweet. I'm still getting fed for all my meals. If I don't bring a lunch the girls feed me. It might seem rude in Canada that they are all grabing the rice and fish from each others plates and giving it to me but I like the unity of it. The number one question I get asked is "breakfast?" or "lunch?" They are asking if I've had it because if not they want to feed me right then and there.
Another question that comes up upon introduction is "brothers, sisters?" It is part of their introduction... Mage nama Angela, Mama Nangi (younger sister). The older girls actually call me Nangi and the younger, Akka, when they are not calling me Ms. Angeline, Angie or sudunoona. Haha, they haven't quite put thier finger on Angela.
I am going to a funeral today with Amma- a friend she went to school with died from cancer. I suspect it will be very different from our funerals- more of a celebration. They seem to accept death differently. Like when Conrad was telling me about the day after the tsunami when he went looking for Sri Pauli (eomployee and teacher) he said there were dead bodies everywhere, and he was chuckling? It's the reincarnation thing I guess. Anyway, I can tell you more about the funeral later.
I might also get to go to a wedding on March 8 if I don't have to stay here for the International Women's Day party! Woot woot! I'm going to see if Andy can come, too, because it is at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. Amma is getting a sari made for me.

Still taking pictures, even when lost

2008-02-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Haha, so it was my first day walking today and being that I was on the other side of the street and trying to avoid eye contact, tuk tuks and rabie dogs, I walked right past my turn off.
I started to notice that things weren't looking right but I kept walking until I saw a lady. She got her daughter to come out of their coconut stand and she knew a little English. Not enough though! So I called Nilu, my new house Amma, and she called her husband and he called me back, etc. The girl told him where I was and he called the office to send me Wasantha and the tuk-tuk. The girl invited my inside her shack/bedroom/store and offered me a seat.
When I got to INDECOS I was about an hour late and all the girls were stressing out. They were all crowded around waiting to see that I was ok and I got scolded for not wearing a watch. Haha. They found it particularly funny that while everyone was so worried I was just hanging out conversing with this 16 year-old and I had taken the picture to prove it.
I'm going to print the picture and take it to the girl with a granola bar or clothes or something to say thanks becuase as I left she asked "you come back, no?"
I'm telling you, this is how welcoming these Sri Lankans are! It's crazy.
Anyway, I should get back to work. It's only across the street so hopefully I can find it.

New house & other random ramblings

2008-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

I've moved into my new house now. As everyone told me, the people are just as welcoming as Conrad & Pearl and the place is fantastic. There English is not as good so I am having to use even simpler words and talking even slower- not an easy task for me! But, at least they pretend to understand, bobbing there heads from side to side (which can symbolize "yes," or "I don't want to say no so I will just do this."). It can be very confusing. They do not have internet but this cafe is literally across the street from the office and I always keep busy anyway.
I have the upstairs suite to myself including a fridge, a rooftop and clean bathroom- in my last place I was geeting used to stepping on the unavoidable ants crawling all over the floor because it's rude to wear shoes. Sometimes I'd sneak them in under my towel though. I love the not wearing shoes thing because when it's hot and you have to keep so much skin covered you need something to be free.
I'm finding my style here though- learning what is acceptable and what you'll get you some strange looks. It turns out that the rules are more lenient than I thought- they're just different. Tight shirts are fine, white shirts that you can see through are ok, even some shoulder is no problem, it's just the spagetti straps and short shorts/skirts that must be avoided. Pearl was laughing the other day when I was asking her about one of my shirts. "You tink too much" she said and she's probably right.
I was asking her all about her Buddhist beliefs last night. I was told ahead of time but still expected that the Buddism here would be more of a philosophy like in other parts of Asia but here it has really become a religion with rules and scripture and daily worshiping. Everywhere you go you here people thanking the Lord which I mentally associate with Christain thinking rather than Buddhist. There's no yoga here :( but I promised to teach Madhu and the other girls. I am also teaching them power point and presentation skills next week, and right now I am improving their brochures and writing a report about the Children's Center as it has now been open for 1 year. I was also asked to write a proposal to keep one of the women's entrepeneurial programs going for another year.
On Friday I'll be heading out with Conrad to a very remote willage to check out one of the education programs they have going on there. On Sunday I went to the environmental training but I found it very basic compared to what we learn- they learn about water and animals & such. The children are sooooooo studious. They listen carefully when the teacher is speaking and always, even if they see a teacher in town, they bow before them to worship.
Most of the girls want to become doctors. It's great that they are encouraged to go to school & study but it doesn't mean that they are equal- just means that families here can't survive on one income. I was asking Pearl about how if everyone looks well dressed and has food to eat what was poor and she said that poor meant that you could not afford "the good food or the education." I met someone the other day who dressed like they worked in an office in the West and had a new cell phone but when we dropped him at his house he lived in a tiny shack with several family members. Clearly, he is supporting his whole family with his job at INDECOS.
You are considered a girl here until you are about 25, so most of the employees at INDECOS are still "girls". For the most part they act very young, too, giggling a lot but also because they "obey" Conrad who they all call "the Mr." It is a patriarchy all the way and you have Muslim girls, who are not allowed to get educated, running training programs to do with education. The office setting is very different here and I am still trying to figure it out.

Brief Update

2008-02-24T23:39:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I am still loving it here. I'm actually getting to know the girls quite well which is cool and I will be moving into my new house tonight. This is good because I won't have to eat large amount of rice & curry three times a day including dinner which is usually around 9 or 10pm. Luckily the biggest meal is lunch! But I still usually sneak my plate out to the dogs to spare the Sri Lankan feelings.

Moving out is also sad though because Conrad and Pearl have been so fantastic. I promised I would come over on the weekends and such. But I always feel so bad because when the girls come over they work so hard around the house and I always ask but she always says nae. I figured out now why they were so family-like right away- yesterday Pearl told be that because they are Buddhist they believe we were together before the bird- (after about halk an hour, I figured out it were actually together before the "birth" not "bird").

Haha, she can't understand my accent either because she grew up in a Catholic convent with British teachers. We have quite the back and forth communication but at least she can speak English- with many others it is hard to get past the fact that "no I am not hungry" and "yes, I love Sri Lanka." Sometimes even that is hard to get across.

I haven't had to spend a cent on food. Not that I care though because everything is cheap. Have I expressed that enough? Four people can eat out for $2.00!

I actually just spoke with Harshani about extending my stay a week or so because I am supposed to fly out May 4 which is way too soon!

I order 200 cards so that I can attempt to fit them in my bag and I can order more in the future- it is so cheap to send.

Another bus bomb went off - in Mt. Lavinia where Andy and I were. 18 were injured but I don't think anyone died.

So much to stay, so sticky keyboad and slow connection

2008-02-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

I'm in Matara now and feel like I am finally where I am supposed to be. Right now I am living with boss and wife. I didn't expect after one day I would be calling her Amma, mother, but this is how the culture works. The girls at INDECOS are so sweet, always giggling and very friendly. Love to practice English. But right now I am at the children's center, one of the INDECOS projects where Amma Pearl is boss. She would have only had to work for 2 more years with gov't to get pension but decided to do this instead.
All 15 pre-schoolers are very poor but you can't tell because they are all wearing uniforms & also because clothes are cheap here even poor people are dressed well. A blouse costs about a dollar or 2. Amma took me shopping yesterday and I got 3 long skirts and three blouses for about $30. All I would wear at home.
The children at the center are calling me suduakka, white sister. It is so sweet. They are all so tiny. The older children are very good at english and very smart. They have to keep good grades to get their scholarships from Sweden. Swedish girls came yesterday for a study & came over for dinner. Pearl and Conrad love to entertain! Actually, the working women cook here for about 2 hours in the morning, then work for 8 hours, then cook for another 2 at night, then maybe do housework. It brings new meaning to the concept of the woman's double burden when there are no pop tarts. Food for these people is so important and cooking & eating is such a huge part of their day! The girls from work will actually come over to help Pearl prepare though and sometimes sleep over.
It is so interesting to see how this org works. They eat together during the day and we have a tuk tuk & driver so that we are safe. I feel VERY (hari) safe here! But still, even living on a cinnamon farm out of town, I am not to answer the door and last night when Amma and I were talking and we heard noices she told me "Shhh... we must listen when noise. It's noting but tings happen in Sri Lanka." Generally, as long as I do not go anywhere along like the beach I will be safe because I have so many people around me. Plus, the average Sri Lankan is so kind. Sometimes they look mad but then I smile and they always smile back. I don't yet know how to read facial expressions.
The best was at the temple on Poya. The kids in particular would just stare at me in amazement- especially when I was worshipping. Apparently it was because many people would be coming from out of town & so they thought me white skin was magic! The temple was so beautiful.
I still have not been to the beach but driving down the coast was a beautiful ride and much less traffic than drive to Kandy.
I have seen the house I will live in and it is very nice. As usual, there is a fish pond in the entrance but the colours are exceptional- red, yellow, green. I will miss staying where I am but I promised to come for dinner a few nights a week.
As for work, I am learning to be a Mr.Slow. This is where my patience and being in the moment will be tested. Today, the work comp gave my laptop a virus through my flashdrive. I can't see my desktop anymore. Maybe I will have to reformat? Anyway, I have not gotten much accomplished in terms of the marketing material yet but that is ok because I am still getting to know about what the organizations are about anyway.
I can't wait to bring home my pamphlets because I think people will really want to donate to this cause!!! I was telling Conrad about how we donate to World Vision at Christmas and he was saying that he took a volunteer the child's house that they were donating to and found out the child recieved very little of the money. With this funding it goes directly to the poor child and there is constant checking to make sure the family is not using the money for anything but the education. Yesterday when the Swedish girls asked the kids what they wanted to do if they could do anything they all said either doctors or engineers and each one said to help their family!

Good-bye Andy... have fun in Kandy!

2008-02-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the day we took Andy to Kandy.

Her bf was here so we spent the day being tourists and went to Mt. Lavinia. We were given the advice from our Sri Lankan friends to enter through a hotel so that we would be safer in the company of other tourists. We didn't fully grasp the importance of this until we entered through the hotel & came out on the locals side. I can tell you the stares that you get while in a locked SUV with a Sri Lankan as your driver are not easy enough to ignore but being two white blonde girls (and Dave) on the beach with 20 SL teenagers who think that white= Baywatch is another story.
We scurried over the rocks to the other side. where we found security guards watching the beach so that we did not have to worry about theft/harassment when they went swimming and left me alone or when I get swimming (undercurrent). The beach was beautiful and got melooking forward to Matara.
Dropping off Andy today, I got to check out her center & accommodations which look really great. Her apartment is huge- 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets, and a huge open front room & deck with a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains. This apartment costs about $150 (and that is after inflation!)... I am so retiring here! Anyway, I hope that I can, at some point, visit her. Kandy is much cooler, much greener then where I will be going and where she will be living and working seems very safe, being outside of Kandy-town.
On the way home Harshani asked me if I wanted to stay for a year because there is a position open at the INDECOS office. I told her that it is tempting at this point but I think that the honeymoon phase I'm in could come to an end any day now, although I shouldn't manifest that. It's just that right now I am loving everything about this place. And it feels like the culture shock is not going to be in SL but in Canada when I get home and I am reminded that men don't hold hands and wear skirts; two cars normally pass on a 2 lane road, not 3, or even 4; babies & children are not normally held on the front of fast ridden motorbikes; and shoulders, knees, and body parts in general, are not hidden under layers of protection.
But the biggest culture shock that I will probably experience in Canada is that in a country one of your best advantages is being able to eat nearly ANYTHING in the world and we have somehow managed to come up with the idea of eating plastic (mayonaise) laden burgers. EW!
And worse, we spread this idea into these other countries like a fast spreading disease. India is actually becoming one of the biggest diabetic nations and I don't think this is from curry!
I already want to retreat back to Chilaw village and choose the floor for sleep and the sun for light so that I can eat fish, coconut, tomatoes, pineapple and greens and dance/laugh/sing year round.
Oh ya! So, I was talking to Harsh and I decided I am going to buy a ton of cards to help this community fund so email me if you want to buy any cards- they are paper mache with nice paper designs on them & cost about 50 cents each. I don't know how many to get... 100?200? 400? so I can gage it a bit if anyone shows interest. Or I can just use them as my seasonal for the rest of my life. They're really pretty and the cause itself should really make the most loyal brand monger want to see ya to Halmark!!! I'll explain the details more when I get home.

Chilaw, Wil Pother Village

2008-02-16T06:00:00.001-08:00

I have been to so many place I’ve been has people so kind, cities so dynamic and beauty so diverse. I am in love with Sri Lanka! Best part of SL so far... two days in small house made of clay with no toilet or electricity in a village with even hotter & drier weather than Colombo.

After language training on Friday we headed out for our 2-4 hour drive to the village. (It is very hard to say how long a km will take here because of the insane traffic). Anyway, the ride was interesting because I got to see how big Colombo really was... it's such an awesome city because, for example, you will see brand new cell phone ads displayed on buildings crumbling with mildew. There are also many vibrant colours, including bright orange buddhist robes tied up like flags on branches of trees growing out of the city streets.
After a long ride of observing these sites from my window and absorbing the sound of the constant horn-honking we finally arrived to a community center in the village. The lady in the center told us that the women of the town built it in 1978 after being trained in carpentry. This is now the place where the women in the village work, making recycled paper from scraps. We asked where they got the money for the machinery (there's more involved in this paper process than you'd think) and that's when we found out it was CIDA that helped them get started! Andy and I wanted to buy some cards and such that they made and my stuff came to about 1.75 Cdn so I left 5 and same with Andy. The lady said that she wanted us to know that the extra money will go to the community. I wanted to give her all my money right then & there but decided instead that I would get their contact info so that if anyone back home wants to order more (the cards are 40 cents) then I will order a bigger batch by mail.
Next, we met our host family and it did not take long to see there was going to be a serious communication problem. They probably knew about 5 words in English combined and pretty much all we had remembered from our language training was Ayubowan. Luckily we had Andy's trusty Sinhala guide though so we set to work trying to make simple conversation. It was tough. In the first hour the only ground that was covered was that we could all agree that pineapple was hari rasi (very tasty).
I was expecting the worst but we actually had a bed to sleep in (Dibilee gave hers up and slept on the floor) and they had a solar heated lights! The people were unreal welcoming- all smiles & laughter throughout th evening as they served us snacks, then tea, then snacks, then dinner. We were very impressed during the snacking period to discover that they had the equivalent of timbits and blue pancakes! In true Sri Lankan style, we were served first and the lady came back to force feed us many times. It's rude to your plate always seems full. I keep patting my belly to say "I'm full" but we discovered quickly that to them it means "I'm fat." Which is not an insult here because as we all know, it is only in over consuming cultures like ours where thinness in valued. The lady of the house was quite big and she kept laughing about it- saying (through charades) that she took up the entire picture. There daughter was also what we would consider heavy set butsay no so you just have to eat very slowly so that they would not comprehend how eating too much is something to look down upon. Even their actors and models have healthy, round faces.
Yesterday I woke up early and hung out with the girl, Dibilee, showing her how to take pictures and such. Then I sat down and just took it all in- the palm trees, the crickets, the lifestyle. Watching the father and daughter having so much fun- he, laughing as he walks the cow and she, wading her feet in the stream- both just playing in like young children. Realizing that it was not the once a year camping exursion that we do at home (if that) but that it was their life, was pretty inspiring. If you looked at their clay house with no paint or carpet or toilet or electricity you might think that they were poor. But not even close. Dibilee may have liked my camera but she didn't really care if she had one, the father may have liked to work less but I didn't see him complain, the mother may not have turned down a new pair of shoes but she probably didn't see a problem with the ones she had.
I'm not trying to incite an old cliche about money & happiness but just trying to explain that they simply were not poor in their lives. In fact, before we left we were watching the neighbour make coconut key chains which he does as a business in his free time. After making one he handed it to us each one as a gift and would not athink thatccept payment. We didn't push it too much because perhaps that would be insulting to associate my money, useless in a largely subsistent community, with his present from the heart. I did tell him, though, that I would love to order more so I will try to make the connection before I leave. They would normally charge 80 cents which is still ridiculously cheap- even at Ten Thousand Villages it would probably cost at least $5.00.
In the afternoon we went fishing and because the sun burns so much more intensely up here, everyone had a good laugh at sudunoona (white lady) because one of my arms burned red.The people were so sad to see us go. The mother kept doing the signal for "I'm going to cry." It was sad to go but they said they will send the daughter to Canada when she gets older I will send something Candian (I'm thinking maple syrup) and the photos when I get back home.

Vday in the Temple

2008-02-14T05:50:00.000-08:00

We had such a great day today. In the morning we learned about economics and then had a doctor come in to talk about health. It was funny because he was coming from a fairly new private hospital so he was trying to recruit us- either to get sick or, you know- get some plastic surgery! It was craziness, haha. We could see the ploy behind his charisma but he was really great and I guess there is no problem in him thinking we are rich and egocentric. It was funny though because he told us we had about a 1/35 chance in getting "the denque" and 1/100 of getting rabies from a dog and he was saying it all with a smile! We went to the hospital to register in case anything does happen to us and to check it out. It was REALLY nice- even by NA standards, but it was also up to $100 a room. It's good to know a doctor because they seem to be have a lot of power/respect here.
After this, Keith took us around the city to see the main streets and the markets. The markets were crazy- it was really a lot to take in. Although it was tempting to jump out of the car to grab some garmets & such because they are so cheap we are not allowed to be spending any time in crowded areas and it doesn't get much more crowded than these markets. There was so much to look at and absorb.
Next, Keith dropped us off at a Temple. It was so fantastic - the monks are so intriguing - you just want to reach out and touch them but as a woman you cannot. They were very gracious though and we seemed to come in just at the time of some kind of ceremony. This was the highlight of my trip so far. It was spectacular. I did not want to take too many pics as I didn't know if it was offensive but it didn't matter anyway because it was the energy that was so great and that can't be captured- at least with my photographic skills.

We got home and in our remembered that our friend from the restaurant told us about a valentine's dinner the hotel was putting on. It was so cute- they had heart decorations all over and had a huge buffet set up but there was barely anyone dining. It is sad because the country now relies a lot of the service sector since the agriculture has faced so many problems since the Tsunami hit, but now the tourism rate has dropped so much in the last few months because of the war that you can already see the affects on the economy.
Although everything seems so cheap to us, SL has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, so when 50% of the population is making less than a dollar an hour, 5 dollars for a shirt or 100 a month rent doesn't seem that cheap anymore. Hopefully the war really will end in April as the gov't claims but most people can't see how it would be possible and the economist guessed that if continues to borrow money for this war for another few years, the SL economy is going to be in major trouble. You can really feel how glad the people are when they see foreigners are here to spend money and keep the hotels & restaurants open.
Generally the people here are so happy that we are here saying "thank-you for helping our people." However, in our case, we have to be careful when we say we are from an NGO because right now there is a lot of suspicion among aid workers. The media spreads rumours like if there is a Unicef van going North with food rations for the humanitarian wokers they will say they are bringing rations to the LTTE. This has set of a series of court cases and the gov't does not side with NGO's since they want the money to be streamed through them. There was also 17 humanitarian workers in the North murdered a while back. We basically just have to be clear that we are development workers not humanitarian so that people see that we are here to help rather than to get involved in the politics.

Information Overload

2008-02-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

It was another big day of using the old noggin. We started out learning the history of conflict in SL with a Tamil doctor of economics. He explained how the root of the conflict began, so to make a long & complicated history short, when the Brits gave the Tamil minority a benefit over the Sinhalese with having the first University in the North. When the Brits left, the Sinhalese majority fought back by making Sinhala the official language of the country. The conflict began with this and escalated, with various issues over the years, but the conflict was non-violent.
In that last 25 years they have been given weapons, mostly from Russia, Chec, and China, which has converted conflict into a war.
About 30% of the Tamils in the North support the LTTE, but these are not educated people and those who are educated are too busy to campaign against the LTTE. Also, Dr. Muttukrishna said that if someone like he was to attempt to speak out against them, he would likely be killed. Those that support the LTTE, ie. in Toronto & London, have a lot of $ and it is too difficult for these host countries to track down the funds being sent to future LTTE leaders. And, of course, there is major political gain from these groups.
Next we learned about the situation of women from a lady named Sumi. Domestic violence in the home has increased in the last years, in large part due to the war. Apparently women in the north, where WUSC has an office, think it is ok that their husbands beat them because they think, living in the middle of a war zone, they are just lucky to be alive.
The dowery issues also exist among the majority, but if a women does not have a big enough dowry here she is not murdered by her husband like she might be in India- she instead will subscribe to torment from her husband and his family for the rest of her life. It is this kind of mental violence which is most common here and is what the WDC (where Andy, Heather & Patrick will work for) that tries to remedy some of this by empowering women and educating men.
The last part of the day Harshani told us the do`s and don`ts of traveling in SL, a lot of it being just common sense about any travel experience outside your own cultural experience.
We also walked to and from the office for our first time, to gain practice on walking in the streets here. We did pretty well I think because everyone at the office was expecting one of us to get hit but the unpredictable traffic (I am talking people are inventing lanes and three wheelers are literally scraping paint off other cars as they weave in and out)- it is the craziest driving I think I`ve ever seen but nothing could really surprise me these days.
On the way home we stopped at a few shops and I bought some shirts- they were all like 5 bucks (so cheap!!!) and they cover my shoulder so that I am prepared when I get outside the city. I still haven`t got a sari but I plan to because it makes people feel more comfortable with you which will be important at the office because I won`t have much time to break the ice which usually takes about 6 months from what I hear. Oh well, everyone keep saying the people at my office are great women and they know English but are just shy with it.
Oh ya, and the place I am staying is the same place that Viv (the old volunteer I`ve been in contact with) stayed- a loft with a couple in their 30`s who are supposed to be so fantastic- willing to take me places and gracious with dinner invitations! I bet I know what they`ll serve...

"If you haven't eaten rice, you haven't eaten"

2008-02-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

This Sri Lankan saying basically means that the people here don't feel full unless they eat rice- which is usually eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had a special Sri Lankan Lunch today at Raja Bojun (fit for a king) one of the only places in town that still serves the food the traditional SL way, in other words, a buffet of different rice, curries and spices- but no cutlery allowed! It was so great!
It was also a day that was full of info. We started out with Harshani briefing us on the may programs that WUSC runs in SL.

The Canadian system of funding seems really great because instead of giving a foreign country money, especially one that is will spend the money on a war, they use it to promote local organizations with SL employees (who know more about the country & will also be able to sustain the project long-term) so that these orgs can improve the living conditions of the people directly and can be monitored by the Canadian Gov't.
In the afternoon we had a chance meet a delegate from the Canadian High Commission who came in to talk to us about "how to work with Sri Lankan's". There were some really funny and very true facts, ie. regarding how a simple situation can be much more complex than you realize. Andy and I had to laugh because we have been having the strangest encounters with the hotel restaurant. For example, we will order something off the menu and have to literally circle it in pen before this server will understand- and even then, we think we might be getting something different. And then this morning they wrang our doorbell and brought us up tea at 6am for no apparent reason! And it was so grossly sweet- which we also learned today that the sweeter the tea the sweeter the person preparing it thinks you are so I guess that explains that. Oh, and then when the person came to clear our dinner plates last night they also went through our fridge and took things out of it like 1 of my 2 tiny Toberlone bars from the plane, a creamer and a small jam. There must be a reason behind this but we'll never know.
Anyway, I found Calvin's knowledge to be so practical! For example, you have to be careful about what colours you wear, particularly around the time of rallying because you might be unknowingly making a statement of support. He said that if you see streamers around town (other than white which means there is a funeral) than there is a political rally coming so stay out of town. They are predicting an uprising of violence in the East in March because of the elections.
Norwegians are portrayed by some political leaders as sympathizers of the LTTE because of their role in promoting peace, and to some degree Canadians are, too. But in our experience so far Canadians are VERY well recepted! When I was in Latin America I found that GENERALLY the men could be quite rude and aggressive, but here they are often much more subtle. So far, of those I've met here I've found: the older men treat you like a daughter and boys treat you like a god. The young ones look to the floor in your presence and call you "ma'am." It's quite a strange thing to experience. Harshani said that people feel so special to be bring a white woman to an event.
Regardless of this experience that we are having, we have no idea what it is like to be a SL woman here. This is still a very patriarchal society and we learned today that it has the highest rate of spousal abuse in the world.
The West is really revered here, as seen in the obsession with cars and cell phones in the city, which is pretty disturbing since they have such a great way of life in other ways, valuing relationships over work- it's sad that they are trying to imitate the individualism of the capitalist West.

Daze in Colombo

2008-02-11T03:33:00.000-08:00

Ayubowan! I am still adjusting to the time difference here but I've actually been feeling pretty good- must have been those zinc lozenges (go Judy!). It was our first big day in Colombo. We started off meeting Harshani who is fantastic and she told us some info about our positions. I will be staying with a family- apparently other volunteers have stayed with them and the reports are unanimously positive. It will be within walking distance of the INDECOS office (which they do this so that we will not have to take public transit and take chances right now) and my job will be to improve their marketing materials. Haha, everyone thinks Andy and I are twins and they do not see a difference between the names Angela and Andrea. Harshani also warned us that they mostly see white people on TV so they think we are all rich. That's pretty funny actually because I got my very first phone number handed to me today when I was at the bank!!!
She also told us, particularly for me, to have as low of expectations as possible for what we will get done so that if we get stuff done we will be happy. Only the people at the top of the org can speak English so I will spend a lot of time waiting around to be fit into these busy people's schedules. Still she does not want us speaking Sinhala if we learn it because the people at the office will just start to help you learn instead of learning English for themselves. She also said that the main boss has a daughter who is in school in America so he will dote on me & take me in as his own and that I should not refuse his invitations to dinners & other such events unless I say I am sick or it will insult him.
I got a good sense that they take our safety very seriously- while Harshani believes in fate she is also against putting anyone in the position where there is a chance. She has even banned any unnecessary travel. Even while she says this though she seemed more than happy to give Andy and I advice on how we can visit each other, ie. I could hitch a ride in with local doctors or WUSC office staff, and she even found Andy an apartment with an extra room because she said I will likely want to visit Kandy. We also met a lady at the WUSC office who seemed very well informed and quite a bit more organized than others I've dealt with.
She said she is putting off some volunteers until the end of April because the government said they would end the war then. But she also said it is not likely. Harshani says, and it seems to be the consensus of the Sinhalese, that the gov't should be killing the leaders of the LTTE but not just dropping bombs that are killing innocent Tamils.
After the orientation we ate some lunch and then went to pick up phone cards for our emergency phones which we are allowed to use as much as we want since the we buy the minutes. It took ages because everything is a major process here! After that Keith dropped us off at Odel, the mall in Colombo. I bought a few postcards there but Andy and I would both rather buy more authentic clothes since it was not unlike the clothes you can find at home- only it was much cheaper! If I want to pick anything up before I leave I can but right now we are both feeling unconsumerish- in fact, we're looking forward to Friday when we get to stay in a village with no electricity!

Finally!

2008-02-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

I am in Colombo and it is 2:30 am here but I am not used to sleeping for more than a few hours anymore so I am up to write this note. I have I don't feel so bad about getting only 6 hours sleep in the past 3 days, though, because Andy only got about 1! It was funny because apparently she was knocking on my door for ages this afternoon but I slept right through it- actually I am sure I got up at one point and opened the door to no one but maybe that was just a dream, too.
Oh man! Our hotel is fantastic... wireless internet!!!, great food, a safe (mine doesn't seem to work but it is still impressive), a fan, a huge ensuite between Andy and I, and... ANDY! (who must have some luck because if my room wasn't nice enough, hers is about twice as big, with a couch and coffee table).
The last 20 minutes of the plane ride was spectacular. As the SL tunes played in the backdrop we dropped down under the frothy layers of clouds and finally I saw where I was heading- a little tropical paradise- thick tropical greenery lined with white sand and the turquoise Indian ocean (looking inoffensively calm). The land is speckled with orange rooftops, not unlike what I saw arriving in Germany, but there is one big difference... even from up here I can feel the heat.
The whole time I've been here I have been internally laughing- when I told Andrea (who is in India) that Andy and I are coincidentally flying in on the same day she said "Oh Ange, you know better than that."
Nothing here seems like a coincidence- that we both ended up with volunteer jobs in this beautiful country- where the friendliness of the people is amazing, where we have so far been treated more like royalty than as easy prey (unlike parts of Italy or the US), and where you are served- not chicken or beef on the plane- but "Buttered Sugar Snaps & Carrots with Château Potatoes" or "Peas & Cadju Curry Basmati Saffron Rice"
(see it all for yourself- http://www.srilankan.aero/onboard/f_b_european4.shtml)
I love it, love it, love it!
Our food for the next week is also free at our hotel- lunch was a tasty buffet and it was so funny because they were so concerned that we weren't eating dinner (we both went to bed around 7pm and dinner starts at 8) that they called me not once but three times about it! The third time was to say "if you want anything- even soup- just call and boy will bring it up."
Anyway, on the plane I made a friend, Wasantha, who is a Marketing Manager for Carlsberg Brewery. He told me about a big beer festival that goes on in April in the hills- below Kandy. He also answered some of my questions although even had nothing when I asked how is it that Buddhist are eating meat, drinking alcohol and fighting in wars. He just laughed and basically said that's just the way it is.
We're in Colombo for a week now doing an orientation. Hopefully we will find out a lot about our positions today! The driver, Keith, said he was pretty sure that I was staying with a family which I am really happy about.
The drive here was just positively overwhelming. The tropical greenery and dusty streets reminds me of Fiji, but there are so many people and things to look at. And to look at me. Even while I was in the van, I was stared at by those outside.
The thing that reminds me about Central America is that there are officers everywhere- only more here. There are ones with green army camo, blue navy camo and purple airforce camo. All carry guns wrapped around their shoulders as if they were toys and some are on bicycles. Then there are the plain light green uniforms which are the police. At one point the police pulled us over- I thought it was Keith's crazy driving but couldn't understand how they could give out a ticket when everyone around was driving crazy! But while two of the officers smiled at me to say- no worries, the third had to take a look at my bags. After Keith told me that they had recent problems with NGO's sneaking in guns and bombs.
I also saw hand-woven baskets being checked in trucks on the way into the airport in what seemed like random check-points.
Another thing that I saw both on the plane and on my ride in to Colombo is something about the women- even though they cover their shoulders, and often legs, they are not really what conservative in the way we might imagine, as in trying not to be seen. They come off to me as confident with their often colourful hand-crafted saris and are flirtatious in the way that they move.
(There will be much better pics to come!)

Frankfurt

2008-02-09T05:09:00.001-08:00

Well, I’m now in the Frankfurt Airport recovering from the last flight. In your time it is 3 am and I ate my fake egg omelette breakfast at about 1:30 am. Hmmm... sounds like Vegas.

Anyway, as far as 10 hour flights go, it went pretty well. There were about three babies crying in addition to the cold stale air and constant reminders of my thirst as the Heidi Klum look alike flight attendants came by over and over with dehydrating substances like coffee and wine. I did manage to sneak in about 2 hours of uncomfortable chair sleep though and I am feeling surprisingly good!

I am currently stalking those in the fold out chair section of the airport hoping to steal another wink among all the hustle and bustle.

Coming in over Germany reminded me of how great Switzerland and Germany are. They totally have this old school Little House on the Prairie thing going on and I think I got an even better view on the Mainz than when we purposely rode beside it in a train!

It’s already really hot and I haven’t even gone south yet. I feel like they are jacking the heat up more and more in here as the day goes on but maybe it’s just my swollen body adjusting poorly to the earth.

I think that people who are good at flying are probably those who are grounded- like Aaron. People like me are already so high that getting even higher just hurts. Natural highs, folks. Natural Highs.

Later

I was doing pretty well at being unattached to my thoughts throughout this day but after 11 hours of waiting I have just found out my flight is delayed another one, at least. I am trying not to let the frustration in. First it's "When will this day freaking end" and next thing I know I will be wondering what I will be thinking about when my plane crashes or if I will even have time to think when the bomb blows me up at the airport. So to cut these thoughts off before the can really get going I fish out my mp3 player and listed to TAO. This music has the ability to not only unravel my worst fears about how I will die today but also has the ability to clear my mind of all thoughts. So for the next, what turns out to be almost 2 hours, I just stare at the wall and zone out.

Montreal to Vancouver

2008-02-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

It’s Friday night and I am finally heading home, after nearly being stuck in the snowstorm in Montreal! Over the course of the day, three different flights of mine to Toronto were canceled and I was eventually rerouted to Vancouver when the Toronto Airport actually shut down.

It’s been such a long day and it’s not over yet. I still have my flight from Vancouver to Vic which I’ll be lucky to get and then the taxi home.

The great thing is that all of the transportation is covered by the organizations involved. The first 3 days was covered by CIDA who is a big funder for Uniterra. Those days I had a giant room to myself with a king size bed and a mini office. The two days in Montreal were funded by WUSC and CECI so our hotel was much more modest and I shared the room with a Vancouverite. It was good though because we hit it off right away. Her name is Clair and she is going to Malawi to do gender-related work for 15 months.

We had a fun exploring the city last night. It is a wicked city- There are lots of big skyscrapers but in juxtaposition, many of the houses are older brick houses with spiral staircases winding up the front of them. Clair and I went to Saint Catherine’s for a couple of beers and then went to meet my Quebec friend Marie-Eve who I used to live with in Whistler. On the way to Le Distillerie we were feeling a little hungry so we took a break to indulge in a little tradition and ordered up some savory crepes in a little cafe on St. Denis.

They were so tasty and had me feeling nostalgic for Europe... only the ham to cheese ratio was much better than the memorable one I had in Greece.

After the crepes, we met up with Marie- Eve in a funky little pub that brews its own beer. Although that was its claim to fame we actually had mojitos instead. It was cool because Marie-Eve is one of those people who I didn’t know really well or for a long time but the three of us got along like seaweed and rice. I told Marie-Eve that I would come again in the summer with more time!

The training was really good- most of it was in French but we had interpreters. Again, it was mostly just cool to see what everyone is doing or has done. Going away for three months looks like nothing, as many people involved are dedicating a year or more and bringing children. I’m happy with getting my feet wet though!!!

Depending on how my project goes in SL I would like to continue volunteering with Uniterra throughout my life, at least doing the 2-3 week Leave for Change every once in awhile. The training just made me feel like I have so many more countries to visit!!!

Moment of Reflection in La Roberval Hotel

2008-01-31T13:45:00.001-08:00

I arrived in Montreal a few hours ago. My roommate Clair is from Vancouver and seems really awesome. She’s going to Malawi for 15 months. Compared to many others, my 3 months is nothing.

I have met so many people in the past few days and done so much that it is difficult to catch up. To be around people that have such a powerful grasp of the big picture is refreshing to say the least. Many of these people have done overseas volunteer work before and all share a history of education through travel.

One man took off for volunteer work 20 years ago to the Middle East and has since come back for only a couple of years in total. Some are doing urban planning in South America; Some are doing finance in Nepal; Others are doing AIDS awareness in Lesotho. Everyone is confident, intelligent, welcoming and interested in making a difference.

I like what the fellow who has been in Afghanistan said. When he was interviewed in 1986 by CIDA they asked what his expectations for his project would be and he said to create a relationship with 5 people. Since then he has affected laws and approved the building schools and other reconstruction in Islamabad, Kabul and Cairo. But in the beginning his only object was to make 5 friends! He is still in close contact with all five.

I thought that was great advice because the millennium goals are quite a daunting task for the small group of people for the West who are actually taking affirmative action to try to achieve them. For example, they include "ensuring environmental sustainability," "eradicating extreme poverty and hunger" and "achieving universal primary education"

Today I spoke with a country delegate named Milan. He confirmed much of the information that I had learned about Sri Lanka but also gave me some new advice & info. One of the things that he said was that with the political system the way it is now, where the government will make all kinds of promises to stay in power, there can be no foreseen end to this civil war.

Those in power stand to benefit if the military has a war so they will support the war, even if it is a compromise that is what is needed for the people. As long as the LTTE and the gov’t stand on opposite sides there will be no resolution and everyday civilians will continue to suffer.

Wired & Tired in La Plaza Hotel, Hull

2008-01-29T23:26:00.001-08:00

I went to the cusins house tonight to check out their place and go out for coffee. Coffee at a regular time after eating a full meal normally sends me through the roof but for some reason tonight I decided to go for the gusto at 9:30 pm after only eating a pear for dinner. Anyway, perhaps taking a break from trying to deep breath myself to sleep will help, so I'll tell you a little bit about today's training.

In some ways the training is bringing up even more questions. It was only recently that after asking a few times I discovered that I will be picked up at the airport and given a cell phone in case of an emergency. Phew!
To be involved with an organization of this nature an organized person is likely to have to adapt to this underlying motto: ask many questions but expect no answers. I think of it as an exercise in learning to let go and trusting in the universe's insistence that things will fall in to place- even if your itinerary has you leaving from Sydney instead of Sidney the week before you leave. But it is good for us because when you are traveling in the global South, especially where people don't speak much English, you are probably going to encounter these kind of communication barriers so you might as well get used to it.
What I am getting from this training is not specifics about my position, my country, or my partner organization. The logistics will present themselves soon enough.
But, I am beginning to have my idea reinforced that there are some people that have an grasp of the big picture- people who see the difference between taking other cultures in as piecemeal & Being that culture. People who know that the world is both bigger and smaller than we think.
An organization like this creates the space for people like this to congregate.

Meeting Some Fam - Ottawa Airport & Hull, QC

2008-01-28T22:38:00.001-08:00

I arrived in Ottawa last night and was greeted at the airport by my cousin Dave, his wife Lynn and his baby Marc. Lynn is super warm & friendly and has a great bubbly personality! I also got to be the first in the family to see Marc, and I can attest to the fact that it's not just the pics- he is soooooo cute!
We had some pizza at a nearby pub and then they dropped me off at my hotel. The hotel is oldish but REALLY fantastic! Considering the last time I was on a trip I was following the advice from a book called "Traveling on a shoestring" I was basically blown away when I saw the king sized bed and the mini-office!
Anyway, my first day of training was really good. I have covered many of the concepts already ie. Iceberg theory, different cultures concepts of time, etc. in school but the class is so interesting because of all the people attending the training are major resources as they have come from, and are going to, many different places.

Contemplation in Toronto Airport

2008-01-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I am in Toronto right now on my way to my training in Quebec. In two weeks I leave for Sri Lanka. I am so excited, especially now that I know that my soul sister Andy and I will be arriving the same day- what a crazy universe!

Getting together with Hugh and Fiona (Graeme’s parents) also got me really energized because looking through their scrap book gave me visuals that can now accompany my imaginings. I have been reading Lonely Planet & Discovery Channel books on Sri Lanka but am trying to be careful. I want the books to inspire ideas and questions not to create any expectations about how things will be. Having no clue what to expect is what makes the experience a journey.

A lot of what I saw and heard did remind me of my trip to Costa Rica & Panama, but I think the devastation in this country is going to be huge as the entire South coast was so greatly affected by the Tsunami.

I just read Eat Pray Love and found it really resonating with me. Elizabeth was looking for Balance between Pleasure, Divinity, and Balance. I’ve also often found myself in a quest for balance. In this case a strike between Presence and Action...

Accept vs. Change

Feel vs. Do

I do not expect to have some great epiphany about how to live life while I run in tea fields and meditate on salt drenched sand.

Three months will probably be a struggle.

But in the end I will hopefully come out with a fresh sense of balance, derived from learning not to fight my intellectual mind’s nammering but to wrap the thoughts up in a blanket of compassion under which I might just discover mind and heart together.