The Martin's Blog

Tom – On our beach walk this morning it looked like someone was praying on a rock outcrop jutting out into the ocean.  However when we got closer we discovered it was a piece of drift wood decorated with plastic bags and nets.  It was a cloudy morning with a comfortable temperature for a change but the sand flies were merciless!

This is a view of our beach from the headland looking east

Lots of office work today getting ready to wrap up my teaching and preparing for my India presentation.  In the afternoon, went downtown for a haircut (first one in 2 months!).  I went to the expensive “Super Salon” by the bus station.  It cost me 100 rupees ($0.93) for the haircut + tip!  Early evening we walked out our front door and into the ocean – we had fun jumping the waves, we’ll miss our beach when we leave next week!

Helen – Tom was at the office all morning and then came home to work in the afternoon.  We were having dinner with Nicole and Luke from the hotel; she was preparing a German dish with chorabi and dumplings and I was bringing the chocolate zucchini cake.

About 4:30 we decided that Tom needed a haircut and I wanted to drop off some things to be hemmed at the tailors.  I bought four batik bathing wraps which needed the sides hemmed and Tom’s galabia (dress/robe from Egypt) needed the sleeves and hem to be shortened and the seams finished.  Can you believe that he is going to do all this for $4.50; $2 for the batiks, and $2.50 for the robe!  I think that I am going to give him some more business when I pick these things up tomorrow.

 Tom’s hair cut was another story.  The girls at the hotel said to go to Super Salon – that is where their friends go and we should expect to pay a little more there.  The shop was really little and a little dingy.  One man was cutting hair and another was shaving people with a straight razor!!  When Tom walked in they all snickered and looked at the barber, a young man attending another customer.  They were snickering because people here do not have fine hair cut in Tom’s style.  Their hair is coarser and thicker so this was going to be interesting.  Also, they don’t wash it first or even wet it for that matter.  He picked up his scissors and motioned to Tom if this was the instrument he wanted used; I guess compared to the clippers!!  They wrapped a cloth around his neck but did not use clean combs or utensils…what would Tom’s stylist say to this???  It is a bit shorter than usual but it looks good, kind of reminds me of his younger days with shorter hair.  At least he won’t need another haircut until we come home!!

It was after 6 when we got home so we ran into the ocean for a quick swim before showering and dressing for dinner.  It was a beautiful evening with lots of waves.  We were hoping to see a sunset as well but there were too many clouds.

Dinner was delicious and we licked the pots clean…the cake was also a success and it was fun being with “the crowd”.

Tom – Started the day with our standard 2.5 mile beach walk, breakfast on the front patio watching the ocean and then went to the largest temple in Matara.  It is the Weherahena Temple with a six story Buddha built sometime after 1900.  In the 1960’s a six story building (really, decorated walkways) was built around the statue. 

There are also many decorated corridors (tunnels) cut through the rock underground – hiding places for the monks during the Portuguese occupation.  Our guide (paid by donation) stated that there were over 20,000 individual paintings decorating the various passageways, primarily scenes from the lives of the Buddha.  

Another interesting fact is that the original Bodhi Tree (tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment) is on the border between India and Nepal.  A cutting from that tree was brought to Sri Lanka in the third century BC and planted in Anuradhapura when the Sri Lankan king was converted to Buddhism.  The tree in the Weherahena Temple yard is a cutting from this tree. Today it is very large and has a great branch system spread above ground yet the root system is very small and the tunnels are built around this root system.  They consider this to be a miracle.  Buddha was also known to have 32 body parts which were different from the normal person.  Several of these include the long looped earlobes, the circle of hair on his forehead between the eyebrows, lotus flower imprints on the palms and soles of his feet, and three folds in the neck.

Afterwards we went downtown to tour the Star Fort that was constructed by the Dutch in 1763 (before the U.S. revolution!).  It is quite small and in the process of being restored (tsunami hit here) but there is not much to see beyond the entrance, drawbridge, small courtyard and a few artifacts. 

The next stop was Jez Look Batiks run by a Muslim woman (also the artist).  We were shown the process of batik making and then her showroom.  She had many interesting pieces and we will likely go back before we leave Matara.

We bought some essentials from Cargills Food City, four fish from the fish store next to the river (he gutted them for us), three pottery pieces along the road, and then headed home for lunch. 

After lunch we tried snorkeling at a small local beach just west of Matara called Polhena.  We were the only whites there and Helen really stuck out because she was the only woman with a bathing suit.  The local women who do go in the water here go in fully clothed.  Do you remember the song “Teeny Weeny Yellow Pokka Dot Bikini?”  Well, that’s what it was like.

 A man named Nishantha from Blue Corals Dive, Eat, Sleep approached us and asked if we would like a guide for our snorkeling, he would provide the fins (we already had some cheap masks and snorkels) and guide service for 500 rupees (about $5).  We said sure!  The coral close to shore was all dead so we had to swim out to the breakers.  The light wasn’t good because it was cloudy but we did get to see some live coral as well as numerous fish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, etc.  Helen didn’t like her mask/snorkel, being some distance from shore and touching the coral – so we headed back after half an hour. 

Our guide described how he was snorkeling with two German women when the tsunami hit.  All survived including his family but his house was destroyed, a common story here.  Everywhere we stop near shore people come out of the woodwork asking for money because they lost x, y and z to the tsunami.  It is depressing, especially when mothers tell their children to run and ask as soon as they see we are foreigners.

After returning home, Helen built a fire pit with bricks in our yard and lit some coconut shells she had gotten from a neighbor to grill our fish for dinner.  I must admit I was skeptical about the process and results but both turned out great.  We each ate a fish and the other two were de-boned and put away for a meal tomorrow.

Helen – Never say die!!!  I have wanted to grill fish since we arrived in Matara and there was always something in the way.  No charcoal, no grill; I had dreams of digging a hole on the beach and using whatever available wood was there to fill a fire pit…that really wasn’t practical!  Luke, the hotel owner, said use the bricks out in the road and make a pit.  Then use coconut shells, the inner hard shells, for the fuel.  It should take about 20 minutes to get the coals you will need.  Took lots longer because I couldn’t get the fire started…the shells are really hard.  So I reorganized the shells with paper, leaves, and fibers from palm leaves plus two pieces of charred wood from a past fire and presto I got it to catch and then it was just a matter of time.  Tom watched the fire and grilled the fish while I fried the potatoes and made a salad…mmmmm, it was really yummy!!!

Tom – no instructor class this morning, so Helen and I went to Matara. 

We went to the post office to mail our India visa forms to Colombo.  This is the second time we have had to fill out visa forms because the Fulbright office gave us old ones the first time around.  We then went to a well known batik shop, the bank, got gas, and then went to Cargills Food City for staples and to get items for dinner.  Kanthi and Darme are coming this evening for dinner; Kanthi (Chair of the Physics Department and the Sport Advisory Council) has been my main contact/helper in Matara.  She has been terrific!  I will be giving her a Cross pen and pencil set and a copy of my Biomechanics of Sport book to thank her for all her help.

Helen – He talks like it was an easy task finding the post office!!  Looking on the old map of Matara hanging by the front door, he determined it was close to the police office.  Been there, done that, so we knew where that was.  Didn’t see it the first time around the loop, and the second time I saw several people putting something into two yellow bins (looked like postal boxes) with national flags flying on either side.  I conclude this must be the post office…Wrong…it was the temple!!!  Tom walks past me waving the large envelop that must be mailed today.  Walks down the block to a post office but they can’t help him, they don’t do rush mail.  He goes to a private postal service near Food City, nope, can’t help us either.  Once again he returns to the car with “the envelope” and directions to go to the main post office by the bus terminal, which we finally find…Hurrah!!  Mailed at last.

The Batik shop was located in a private home.  An elderly woman answered the door and speaks very good English.  Welcomes us into her home and unlocks a door to a showroom.  Her husband, the designer, comes now to show us his work.  His designs are very good and if I lived here would have bought several picture hangings for the walls and other goods for the tables, etc.  He had some wonderful pictures of the Kandy Perahera in several color combinations that were awesome.  However, they wouldn’t go with our home décor so I bought two 18” x 18” fish batiks because I couldn’t resist.  He also had greeting cards with photographs of his works attached to the front of the card which he sold for $1.50.  Looking through them we noticed that several of the cards were actually small batiks so we bought several of these which are suitable for framing.

Shopping can always be disheartening…never know if they will have what you want especially since they had it the last time you were there.  With dinner guests coming for Eggplant Moussaka  (Kanthi is vegetarian) I also wanted to make a salad…NO LETTUCE,  NO YOGURT (only sweet yogurt and curd which is more like sour cream).  It cost $4 for a 28 oz can of peaches for a dessert I was hoping to make.  I was getting a little upset but we had to hurry home for lunch.  I didn’t have time to disinfect, cut, cook the eggplant, tomatoes, onions, chick peas and put the moussaka together before we left to teach our afternoon classes.

 Class was alright, Kanthi couldn’t attend because she was taking her house helper to the hospital for cataract surgery the next morning.  Here it is not an outpatient procedure.  The other two instructors from the PE department did not come…I think I wore them out the last class; that left the two students.  We did 3 miles for time and then walked 1 more to cool down while I lectured to them about diets and fats.  I really like these students, I wish they understood English better because I am never sure how much they are really grasping of what I am saying.

 Preparing dinner was not a pleasant experience.  I was tired from the walking class and stepped into a quick shower and then started.  Thank heavens I had the moussaka put together and in the 9×12 pan ready for the oven…it would take at least another hour for baking.  I go to make the dessert and discover that I need that 9×12 pan (it’s the only pan I have that can go into the oven).  I used it for a cookie sheet upside down because I was making peach shortcakes.  Took the moussaka out of the pan and put it into the wok on low heat on the stove, used the 9×12, then when I finished the shortcakes, returned the moussaka to the 9×12.  Didn’t have any cinnamon or cornstarch so just did the best I could. 

Tom – two of my PE instructors had to go to Colombo tomorrow so we had class today instead.  My instructor classes have been running about 3 hours and we meet 3 days/week.  I meet with my student fitness class for 2 hours 2 days/week.  I also meet privately with at least two instructors per week.  In addition to this workload, I have redesigned their weight room, developed an Exercise Chart (Excel spreadsheet) for their Health/Fitness class, and marked out a two kilometer walking/running course on campus.  This workload is actually heavier than my workload at Wittenberg! 

I worked in my office during the afternoon and when I got home went into the yard and was surprised to find a four foot lizard.  This was the biggest one I have seen so far – it was dark with some yellow circles and eyes that appeared to glow – I ran in the house and got my camera.  The picture is not great because he was moving but you can get a sense of how big he was!  We learned later that it was a water monitor who had come to our pond to each the frogs and fish!  It has a razor sharp tail that is used as a weapon.

The mosquitoes and bugs were really bad tonight so Helen and I went to bed early just to get under the mosquito net!  As mentioned earlier, these bites can last up to a week.  Neither our insect repellent nor the anti-itch cream seems to be very effective.      

Helen:  Wednesday is usually a day we have off together so we get to do something.  Tom said I will take a snack for lunch and see you later so we can go into town…he got home after 6:00.  He puts in a lot of time.  One of his main projects that day was also to finish up the blog after the school work.  I really didn’t mind because while we were in Colombo, someone gave me a John Grisham book “The Rainmaker” a good thriller which kept me busy all day since it was cloudy and a good reading day. 

Tom entered the house yelling don’t open the door just look out the window into the yard, there is a monster lizard by the pond.  He runs and gets his camera and just gets back to the yard to get a quick picture as the lizard swaggers up the hill by the outdoor grill/patio and into the neighbor’s yard.  From the back his tail swished back and forth very much like an alligator’s – spooky!!!  I would say he was at least 4-5 feet long.

Helen – Ruki was expecting us late Tuesday afternoon but we surprised her by arriving before 9am.  After the exchanged greetings we headed for the shower and took a nap so we would be ready for the Perahera that evening.

Tom – I took the car back to the rental agency to get repaired and then had them provide me a driver/car to go to the Fulbright office.  I said I didn’t want a loaner because I wouldn’t drive in Colombo anyway due to the parking problems.  Ramya said that the Fulbright Commission wanted me to give an “All Colombo” presentation related to nutrition and exercise physiology in their auditorium.  As usual they really don’t understand the complexity of these areas, so I’ll delimit the topic to one that is workable and interesting for the “sophisticated” audience she said I should expect.

Afterward I went to the bank to get cash to pay for Helen’s ticket to India, the next month rental car fee, our stay in Colombo and next month’s house rent.  I don’t like walking around with $2000 in my pocket but things here are best done on a cash basis.  My next stop was the US Embassy Food Mart where I bought items for our return to Matara.  I got back to Ruki’s had a late lunch and then rested for an hour before getting ready for the Navam Perahera at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo that is held during the February Poya Day (full moon) each year.  It is the second largest Poya Day festival in Sri Lanka.

Ruki had bought tickets for us ($60 donation to the temple) to sit in the first row on a stand with the dignitaries near the temple.  We were told we had to be there by 6:30pm to make sure we were in our seats by 7pm when the parade started.  Sherry, a Fulbright Ph.D. candidate from Arizona State accompanied us.  Sherry is doing her dissertation analyzing the book covers of 18^th century Buddhist manuscripts.  After arriving by Tuk-Tuk we had to go through tight security (frisking, separate stall for women) before we could proceed to our seats.

Island temple in Beira Lake

Before the start there were prayers and introductions over the loud speaker from the temple.  The American ambassador stated that Buddhism was the fastest growing religion in America!?  Shortly thereafter there was a large explosion and we could feel the shock wave from behind us – I still don’t know what it was, I’ll have to check the newspapers.  The parade started with about five men flicking large whips to chase away the evil spirits followed by Kandyan dancers leading a formal procession of reliquaries the final of which were carried on huge decorated elephants.  It would take a book to describe this parade; I took a series of videos and am hopeful they will turn out.  The following is the official description of the parade:

• A Caparisoned Elephant (Tusker) bearing the Casket of Relics.
• A beautiful illuminated Elegant Buddha Image
• Participation of 500 members of the order of Monks
• Kandyan Chieftains and Mohottalas
• Caparisoned Elephants
• Over 100 Kandyan and Low-country Dance Troupes (each troupe consists of 50 or more dancers)
• Buddhist Flags, National Flags, Provincial Flags, Sun-bearers, other attractions (2000)
• The Perahera will be illuminated with Copra Lanterns (500)   

Gangaramaya Temple and the Peacock Dancers

The parade made its way three times around Beira Lake and the front of the temple.  There was some excitement about one hour into the procession when an elephant got lose and people started running away in panic.  We started to move ourselves until we saw they got it under control.  I ran my battery down taking so many videos and we left about 9:30 when the procession was starting its third round of the lake.  We got up close to the procession on its second tour in front of the temple which was ablaze with lights.  The parade was still going strong but most people were leaving after they had seen one full procession and we left soon afterwards.  We took a Tuk-Tuk home and got there about 10:45.  We were tired but it was a great time.