The Martin's Blog

 Tom – Ruki called a taxi for us and we were at the Fulbright Commission office about 9am (250 rupees or $2.34).  We met the staff – Soraya the Secretary, Ramya the Program Officer, Chitra the Accountant, and Nelum the Student Advisor.  A driver then took us to open a savings account with ATM card at the Hatton National Bank.  Also stopped at a bookstore to get a detailed book of maps of Colombo and Helen bought a Sri Lankan cook book.

Did some email at the Fulbright office and then walked to Odels which is a mini shopping center.  Ate a DeliFrench roast chicken sandwich and then went to Dialog to buy two cell phones, cell phone service and a $10 Kit card for each phone.  Total cost about $91.  You scratch the back of your Kit card to get your number then phone Dialog to record the amount.  You can call the phone company any time to hear how many rupees you have left.  The rates are great; 0.10/min in country, 0.15/min to the U.S., and .05/min phone to phone.  On our walk back to the Fulbright office we bought a cut up mango on the street.  Actually it’s recommended you not eat cut fruit, you’re supposed to buy it and cut it yourself to guard against bacteria. 

Helen sat in on my meeting with Tissa the Fulbright Executive Director.  We reviewed the history and problems I had during the application and selection process.  We agreed that Helen and I would drive to Matara and the University of Ruhuna on Friday to determine if I could have a meaningful assignment there.  We also discussed the possibility of working at two or three different universities.

When we arrived back at the guesthouse we found that Ruki was preparing to go to the Opera with one of her daughters.  She called and found that tickets were still available.  So, we changed immediately and rode a Tuk-Tuk (100 rupees/little less than $1) to Bandaranaike Memorial Hall.  If you get a Tuk-Tuk from your neighborhood, they pretty much know you and you get a fair price.  We bought the cheap seats ($15 each) in the nose bleed section in the very top row.  We saw “The Pearl Fishers,” with the setting in Sri Lanka sung in French with English subtitles by Georges Bizet (1863).  It was performed by an Indian company and they were excellent!  This is the same composer as Carmen with the familiar love triangle   Think of it, an Opera in the chaos of Sri Lanka – incongruous but enjoyable.  Afterward, we tried to take a Tuk-Tuk back but the minimum we could get the drivers down to was 200 rupees, ticked-off, we walked the mile back.  Irene had dinner ready for us (10pm) and then we went to bed.       

 Tom – Arrived in Dubai at 12:30am.  It was as though we were there during rush hour – it was packed!  Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world.  The airport is big and new but many parts are still under construction.  We passed full size fake palm trees, big screen HD TVs everywhere, men’s mosque, women’s mosque, world food (of course Starbucks), myriad of duty free shops, fountains, musicians, etc.  But most interesting were the appearances and dress of people from all over the world, especially the Mideast and East.  Our flight left one hour late at 3:30am.  For the first half hour I could look down into the Persian Gulf and see multiple small islands covered with lights (oil facilities). 

Another night of little or no sleep, there was also an additional 3.5 hours lost (making the time difference to Ohio 10.5 hours) as we flew over the Indian Ocean.  We stopped for about an hour at the Male (Maldives) airport and arrived in Colombo at 11:30am.  I bought our maximum liquor allocation at the duty free store but that turned out to be a mistake because I found out we have commissary privileges (for $20) at the U.S. Embassy.  Our Fulbright taxi driver named Fernando was at baggage claim to greet us and take us by van into Colombo to our guesthouse.  It took us over an hour and a half because of a detour around a section of the main highway due to a terrorist bomb explosion that had just killed a government minister.

First impression of Colombo? – we were tired so nothing looked good.  Poverty, dirt, garbage is everywhere.  Traffic was like being back in Iran, really it is worse!!  Two lanes marked on the road meant at least three rows of cars going in the same direction sharing the road with dogs, cows, people, jaywalkers, bikes, motorcycles, and a new dimension – the Tri-Shaw or three-wheel motorcycle taxi that they call a Tuk-Tuk.  Everyone is weaving in and out and the center lanes play a game of “chicken,” passing into oncoming traffic until they squeeze back into their own lanes.

Irene the maid, the boy (around 70) and Ruki the owner met us at the guesthouse.  This is a big old house in what is considered an expensive area of Colombo.  We moved into our room and then were given tea in the TV room after which we laid down for a rest.  Our room is on the second floor with a bathroom right next to it and the TV room across the hall.  The hall attaches to the dining room and living room followed by a kitchen and a back second floor patio.  Ruki’s large bedroom is off the living room.  Rohana had called while we were resting.  We served as his host family when he was a student at Wittenberg.  He graduated in 1991.  I had sent a letter to his last known address and I was amazed that he had received it!  He is now 41, single, and still living with his parents but is in the process of building his own home.  He runs the procurement department for the United Nations Development Program in Sri Lanka.

It was a big day and we went to bed early.