more than a land of tea

I'm sitting here at the Trans-Asia hotel in Colombo enjoying the reprieve of air conditioning and a room free of mosquitos, spiders and blistering humidity. Tom and I moved into our house in Matara this past week and although we have only spent two nights there so far it is already starting to feel a little more comfortable. Don't get me wrong it wasn't that it was a bad place at all. It's just that upon our arrival a couple of weeks ago the place was absolutely bare with no furnishings and was quite dirty and really not ready to be lived in. I have come to terms with the reality that I'll be living with a constant film of sweat on my body at all times, unless of course i am travelling in our car or at a fancy hotel in Colombo such as this. A/C just doesn't exist down south and so sleeping at night and even doing something as simple as brushing ones teeth leads to drenched clothing and that constant layer of sweat I've referred to several times. The best thing about our house is definitely the balcony. We have a fine view of backyard and because we are perched up on Brown's Hill we can see the waves rolling in on Matara Beach. The beach itself is not anything too spectacular but there are several beautiful beaches very close to us (so we've been told). So as you can imagine I am very anxious to get my surfboard and to finally hit the beach. Hopefully this weekend.

So yet again we have spent a great deal of time travelling between Matara and Colombo. I think I've been motion sick for the past three weeks. if I haven't explained it to you guys yet. . the driving here is atrocious. There are not really any rules (well any rules that are actually followed) and drivers just drive around anyone who is in the way. . and by drive around, I mean skim by them with millimeters separating the two vehicles, the pedestrian or whatever happens to be causing the inconvenience. Our driver this last trip was just brutal. We usually travel in these passenger vans and this one was in rough shape,so very bumpy even more so than usual and the gears would barely shift. Needless to say it will be an absolute miracle if i make it through this year without any vehicle incidents. Mom brace yourself for several small heart attacks. Steve's driving is nothing compared to this!!

Despite the small daily adventures we have also started to finally dive into the development of the sport for development project here. Tomorrow we will meet with some of the potential partners that will hopefully help us gain access to some of the local communties where we can start to figure out how we can fit into their current structure. Many of the hurdles we and other NGO's have faced recently is due to the security issues in the country. While it's very easy to forget that civil unrest is all around you, when i have the chance to read a paper or watch the news I am quickly reminded that I am not in Canada anymore. To be honest I do really feel very safe here. The problems recently with the helicopter bombing in Batti (which occurred last week) had more to do with the same issues of the gov't vs. the tigers and the inability to find a peaceful solution and was not necessarily an increased security risk. As I write this I'm just hearing more about an arms vessell run by the tigers that was destroyed by the gov't just 100ks off the coast of Dondre head which is very close to Matara. While it scares me a little to hear about this. .the reality is that just like crossing a street at home, every place in the world has a similar threat of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it is the same situation here. Foreigners are welcomed to SL with open arms it is just important to use your street sense and be aware of the current situation to help eliminate the risk. Compared to our projects in other countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka is a country filled with warm smiles and genuine concern. Just last week in Pakistan a school where we run a similar program faced an unimaginable situation. One of the yuong children arrived at school as usual one morning. The teacher however noticed that he seemed quite uncomfortable and asked him to come up to her desk. When she questioned the child, he lifted up his shirt and revealed a bomb strapped around his waist. he told the teacher that a nice man had given it to him and told him that it would help him remember things. So if he were in class and couldn't remember the answer to a questions he simply had to push the little red button and he would remember. frightening and very real. our project team is made up of local volunteers because it is just too dangerous there for foreigners. So, after hearing this yesterday i am feeling pretty relaxed here in SL.

Anyway, as you can probably tell I am continuing to face a vast array of emotions. Sometimes they confuse me, at times they startle me and more and more and more I am starting to realize that this is what living is all about. Anyway, I am off to enjoy a fine Thai dinner before I head back to Matara and am limited to Rotti and Rice and curry.

I hope this finds you well and I will try to write again soon.
Amelia