The Martin's Blog

Tom – The big news today was that 27 people were killed and 63 injured when a bus was blown up at 7:30 this morning; an additional 5 were shot trying to escape the bus.  This makes the description of our day seem rather unimportant.  Had meetings at the Fulbright, computer work, shops, US Embassy and back to the guesthouse.

Helen – The Fulbright computers drive me nuts!!!  I spent over an hour still trying to get our family and diary lists in order so we can send the diary from my email.  Ate lunch at one of the little food courts, it seems we feel safe ordering fried egg rolls though each one is different.

We looked again for a translation dictionary in several stores to no avail, also still looking for adapters, and finally walked over to the embassy to do a little shopping; peanut butter and raspberry jam, some rum for our house lady, some crackers, beer for Rohana, and a few other things.  We were supposed to have dinner with Rohana but he got the flu and had to postpone.

We took a Tuk-Tuk to the waterfront to walk; we were too late for the sunset but it was still enjoyable.  There were venders selling cooked crabs, shrimp, and some other things.  We were tempted but decided it wasn’t worth it.  Afterwards we went into the Galle Face Hotel to look around; while we were there we saw a wedding procession.  First the dancers and drummers danced and played taking the families into the reception hall; then they repeated the ritual for the bride.  She was lovely.  Tom took a short video of it.  We decided to have a small meal at the German Restaurant across the street.  Didn’t really taste too German to me but Tom enjoyed his soup and I my vegetable casserole with mustard sauce.    

Tom – It is a Hindu harvest festival honoring the Sun God.  It’s a holiday and many people have taken a four day weekend.  Helen and I walked for about an hour this morning and then she went to the market with Ruki and I moved all our things to a downstairs bedroom where we will stay whenever we are in Colombo.  It is more basic, more bugs but cheaper. 

For me most of the day was spent on the computer.  Helen read and worked some on the computer as well.  She is complaining a lot and says she can’t wait till we get to Matara and are settled.  I think the truth of the matter is we will never be settled here.  We have good accommodations in Colombo.  If we have something half as good in Matara, I will be happy.

Helen – It was a holiday so traffic was minimal and so nice for a change.  I have finally returned to walking in the morning and exploring the area around our guesthouse.  The first day I walked alone but the next two days Tom joined me.  The first day I walked to the cultural center where we saw the opera and wanted to walk around.  So, I asked the guard at the gate if I could and I thought he waved me in.  After going around several times and starting to leave, I was stopped by a big car and the gentleman called me over…said no walking here.  I explained that I had asked permission and he said he was the director and I had to leave.  Oh well, I had done it and won’t return.

Ranjan picked us up at 7:45 for dinner at an Indian restaurant called the Mango Tree.  It is reported to be the best in town.  He ordered for us, some appetizers first which were a flakey little round bread which we broke and dipped into a mint or tumeric sauce, sort of like salsa and chips at home.  Then the main course was grilled chicken, spinach and cottage cheese, and a shrimp curry sauce.  They were served with bread very similar to a tortilla.  The waiter served each onto our plates then we broke off the bread with our hands and dipped into the sauces and ate.  No utensils, it was fun.  Afterwards they brought warm water with lime to wash our hands.  Most people eat with their hands; they just mix the food and rice together and use their fingers to scoop and push it in their mouth with their thumb.  It gets messy at times, especially when they talk with their mouths full.

After dinner Ranjan took us to the Cinnamon Hotel which was totally unbelievable.  I have never seen anything so opulent.  It was elegant beyond belief.  Your car was parked by valet under a very large canopy and the hotel was ablaze with lights.  The lobby was huge with many small groupings of tables and chairs.  In the center was a raised platform with a band that was quite good playing our music from Abba to Tom Jones.  We did a little tour walking outside to a beautiful lower level with a pond that was aglow in lights.  Tables with candles and a bar surrounded parts of the pond that had big coy fish swimming and many turtles.  We returned to the lobby to listen to the band and sip hot cocoa while sampling some very tasty desserts.  A room at the hotel was $85, at home it would have been more like $300.

That was the high for the day, now the low.  Yesterday we moved to the lower level of the same house because now our rent went from $35 to $20 per day (we are on a fixed income!).  The bedroom is comfortable though the mattress not as good.  The bathroom is large with an older tub and shower.  In the afternoon we thought it was adequate but that night when we were getting ready for bed…Ugh!!  Huge, I mean huge, cockroaches at least three inches long were on the wall and sink.  I called Tom to come and get them.  I am not a good aim with a shoe and broke a window in Iran that way trying to get those buggers.  It was a little unsettling but we went to sleep making sure the bathroom door was closed tight.

Tom – Ranjan and his driver picked us up promptly at 8am, in fact he was early so just waited in the car.  His driver takes the bus (2-3 hrs. one way) to come to work, drives all day as needed, then takes the bus back home.  Ranjan is very considerate of this and tries so dismiss him by 3:30 which gives the driver about a 12 hour day.  We were supposed to drop Ranjan off at his store but we went inside and spent an hour talking with him.  His framing/art /gem shop is very interesting with great paintings from local artists.  The driver then took us to P & A and the House of Fashions for shopping.  Both are primarily clothing outlets.

Helen – I didn’t care too much for the first store but the House of Fashions was crazy and good.  It was like a giant three story Eddie Bauer Salvage store.  Merchandise was on racks instead of boxes but the people were pulling things off and trying clothes on in the aisles because there are no changing rooms here.  Just when you think that the last skirt that you wanted was taken, another armful was put on the rack.  Well, since I had experience, I fell right in pulling pants on under my skirt and trying blouses on over my dress.  There were brand names: bought $8 Prada sandals (were they related to my Prada sunglasses from Egypt??) a $3 Lands End shirt, $3 JCrew shirt, and two skirts for $7.  Tom bought shorts and a Land Ends bathing suit for $1.95 each.

We returned to pick up Ranjan and had a small lunch with him.  He bought hot chicken curry pastry puffs, which were delicious, from the lady on his street.  He swears they are the best in town.  After he closed shop, we went to the sidewalk art sale.   Since it had rained there were only a few dealers left but he bought two paintings and I bought one for Ruki to add to her collection and to remember us.

We are staying in the BEST guest house in the wealthy part of town (a Minister was assassinated on this street from a rooftop earlier this year but that was purposeful).  It is about 2 miles from the Fulbright office and 2.5 miles from the US Embassy.  The woman who owns the house is Ruki, probably in her early 70’s.  Her father was the doctor who invented the malaria pill.  She lived in a very large home filled with antiques (mostly Dutch) until she moved into her family home to take care of her mother. When her mother died she remained.

She has two servants, Irene the cook and housekeeper, and old uncle (not real uncle) who is her pensioned driver and yard person.  The house has two floors.  On the first floor there are three bedrooms with baths and a large open room separated by pillars that serves as two sitting areas and a dining room.  The downstairs kitchen is where most of the food is prepared.  There is a modern stove with four gas burners on the side and two electric burners in the middle; they have their bases covered.  But just in case, there is another two burner propane fueled stove on the counter and yet another outdoor wood cooking type grill.  There are two French doors that open to a little patio and also a small room for the uncle off the kitchen.  The maid uses one of the front bedrooms.  

The second floor is reached by concrete stairs with a landing midway in a very open hallway with windows on one side.  There is a very modern bathroom fully tiled with a shower stall, toilet, bidet (where I wash my feet), and sink.  Next to it is a TV room with a large flat screen HD TV and loads of DVD’s.  Our room is large with a wardrobe, two large dressers, and an antique Dutch desk.  It has two walls with glass casement windows with iron works (to keep the bugs out??), a double bed with a net which we sleep under and a large ceiling fan.  Most rooms also have an air conditioner but we have been comfortable without it.  The living room and dining room are combined but again separated by pillars with wonderful antique Dutch caned sofas and chairs.  One side chair has elephant heads craved in the front legs with the head at the top and the trunk leading to the foot of the front legs.  It is awesome.  The dining table seats ten and is teak.  Ruki’s bedroom is large, off the living room and has a private bath.  The kitchen is smaller with modern LG stainless steel side-by-side refrigerator, stove with oven, washing machine under the counter, and dishwasher.  Going out to the back is a covered porch area that overlooks the garden with four large caned chairs for relaxing and tea, a balcony for drying clothes and stairs to the first level.  Off the porch are two rooms, one a laundry room and one a store room.  Everywhere you look there is another wonderful antique: tables, lounges, chairs, couches, curio casements, spice boxes, rice boxes, trunks, paintings, desks, wardrobes and on and on…all Tom hears me say is “I want one, I want one!!”

I like having a maid !!  Breakfast first consisted of eggs, meat, toast, cereal, juice, coffee, and fresh fruit.  OK, this was way too much since I already brought five pounds back from Egypt; so after two days of this we asked if we could just have coffee, cereal, fruit, and toast.  One morning Irene said I will make you a native breakfast; it consisted of hoppers (rice dough squeezed through a ricer into little baskets which were then steamed.  These were served with delicious curried lentils and another curry made from tofu and potatoes.  It tasted like chicken and was delicious.  So here we go again…lunch at 8 in the morning.

Tea time is 4 pm, time to relax with a small snack and a chance to talk over the day’s events.

Ruki and I really hit it off and we watch Indian movies at night…so that I am more able to understand this culture.  One was called WATER and I cried.  Another was called FIRE and she said I cannot see EARTH because I am too emotional.

Some of the things that are different: you have to turn on the hot water switch about 10 minutes before you use it…that is on sunny days because it works on a solar system.  On cloudy days (we had several tepid showers) we were told to turn on another heater. You have to sleep under the net and still the bugs get in and get you because they are so small.  You walk inside with only slippers even though the floor areas are concrete and still take off your slippers when you walk on the few rugs and Orientals.

We are very comfortable but decided to move to the lower level after the first week because it was cheaper (from $35 to $20/day) and we had to stay another week at least.  The first floor bedroom is also a good size with its own bath.  This bath is not as modern, no tiles, a large tub with a shower above it, no bidet, and has its own hot water heater for the shower as well.  It also had the biggest cockroaches that I have seen in some time, 1” wide and about 3” long…scary buggers.  They scared even me!!  We got some spray and the next morning there were three barely alive and since then no more.

Tom – In the evening we took a Tuk Tuk to Majestic City which is like a mall in one three story building.  All shops are really small.  I bought a pair of slippers and we ate spaghetti and beef from a Mongolian fast food place – it was God awful!

Helen – I will not go there again!   The stores were small and crowded and dirty. No thanks!  Let’s get back to the Tuk-Tuks, these are really a riot.  They are about the size of a senior’s tricycle but in reality they are a motorcycle with an open cab on top of a three wheeled base.  The wheels are really small (like a wheelbarrow, maybe smaller).  The lower part of the cab is a hard body with a canvas top.  The steering is a T-stick with the clutch and brakes on the handlebars and the floor has a tiny gas pedal.  The driver sits in front on a small seat and behind him is a two seat bench though I have seen more than 6 piled in there.  The most important part is the HORN!!  Because this vehicle is so small, it darts in, out, and around other cars, buses, people, and whatever is in his way.  Everyone understands the various beeps, some say get out of my way, one says I am passing you, one says hi, one says bye…it’s all the same to me…a headache.  These taxies putt and stop, start and go, scare you to death and still get you to your destination intact. 

 Tom – We were up to shower and have breakfast at 5am.  A Fulbright driver in a Toyota Land Cruiser picked us up at 6am and we started down the Galle Road toward Matara.  I was instructed to sit up front because it makes it easier to get through the security check points with an American in view.  The road follows the southwest coast of the island and the further south you go the better the views and beaches.  We passed many temples (Buddhist) and kovils (Hindu) on our route.  Other interesting sites included a work elephant and his handler ahead of us in our lane, about 30 men pulling a huge fishing net into shore, and stick fishermen.  The stick fishermen have several poles that they place in a line out to sea.  The closest is short because the water is shallow the furthest is long because it is in the deepest water.  As the tide changes, the stick fisherman moves to the next pole with his fishing pole.

We were right on-time for our 11am meeting with theVice Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna, Chair of the Physical Education Department and faculty representative to the Sport Council.  I explained the Fulbright process, gave them a synopsis of my background and then answered their questions.  After ending the meeting with some tea and cake, we were given a tour of facilities and then I was shown a PowerPoint presentation related to a course they were developing.

I was surprised to learn that they had just started a new course titled Physical Fitness and Health Management (FSC3242).  It is an elective but they had so much interest that they had to limit enrollment to 200.  The course is divided into two sections, 15 hours of theory (mass lecture for entire group) and 30 hours of practical sessions (in subgroups of about 30).  The theory part was taught by visiting instructors from Colombo.  The practical sessions, taught by the department, include some weight training and then the student chooses one of three games: volleyball, net ball, or badminton.  The rest of the physical education program is really recreational sport – they have inter-faculty (intramurals) and inter-university competitions (athletics). 

Returning to the Vice Chancellor’s office we agreed that I could help Ruhuna instructors both revise and teach the theory part of the course as well as provide ideas for reorganization.  The Vice Chancellor took us for a fish lunch at a small rebuilt restaurant on the Matara beach, one of the beaches that took the full brunt of the 2004 tsunami.  I agreed to move to Matara and provide professional assistance for at least 3-4 weeks.    

On the way back to Colombo we stopped to have coffee with a Fulbright couple in Galle.  They have not been happy campers and are trying to get approval to leave the country early.  They complained about bugs, dirt, heat, humidity, no hot water, power outages, little cooperation, and a feeling of isolation.  We brought them a bottle of wine – a temporary fix!  On the way back, Ranjan called to say that he would pick us up at ten the following morning and that we could then use his car and driver to go shopping.  Got back to Colombo at 8pm and learned that a bomb had just gone off at the train station.

Helen – The drive was horrific but the scenery beautiful.  Getting out of the city on a working morning was so bad I just laid down on the back seat and listened peeking out of the window.  I thought that I had seen everything in the streets (cows, dogs, jaywalkers, carts) until I spotted this huge elephant in front of us in our lane going with the traffic.  Of course, he was going to work at the lumber yard where he moves the large tree trunks.  We drove through the area where the tsunami hit and you could still see so much of the destruction though rebuilding was evident.  We saw three antique shops but they were closed…they looked awesome with lots of structural pieces outside.  After about three hours we stopped at Galle for tea.  We drove into the fort area which is a small city in itself with shops and hotels…looked over the point at the clear blue water and tried to get some tea here but it was too early so continued a little further before stopping at a neat outdoor restaurant with a breakfast buffet.  It wasn’t anything we knew and so we only had tea.  Just before reaching our destination we stopped at a little roadside lace factory (two women).  I bought a couple of pieces but didn’t bargain because one woman was telling the driver she lost three sons in the tsunami.

The university was nice.  Looks modern with what are considered new buildings (though when you see the restroom you wouldn’t think so!).  The gymnasium is large but was being used for student testing at the moment.  The director said that it is the only room large enough on the campus to accommodate the students for testing and sometimes they lose its use for three months, once for 6 months.  He complains but nothing changes. 

They were not ready for us and will be looking for living accommodations this week…the city isn’t as small as I thought but the university is a little outside of town.  This is the best beach area and I don’t think it is far from campus.