The Martin's Blog

Looking East just before Sunrise

Villager ready to search the reef

Helen – Where did January go???  This weekend is another holiday (imagine that) so we don’t have school on Monday.  This is a cleaning day again…I am trying to do a little several times a week.  Today I took down the mosquito net from above our bed to wash it…the top was really gross so I guess I will gradually wash the ones from the other bedrooms as well.  The tops of the cabinets and cupboards also needed some washing. I need to spread this out because otherwise I won’t have anything to do!!

Tom – Big problem today is that my cell phone and charger are missing.  I believe they were taken from our house when I was charging the phone in the front unused bedroom over night but nothing else seems to be missing – BIG mystery!  One of the windows in that room was open.

I spent an extra hour this afternoon in the weight room with workers directing them on the relocation of equipment for my student/athlete class.  I changed the order, distribution and location of the various stations trying to come up with the most efficient use pattern for a large number of participants – attendance has varied from 25-30 including two faculty and an MD from town.  I am really enjoying my three hour class, three days per week with the five to six PE Faculty.  Two of them have trouble with English but the other four are extremely attentive and ask excellent questions.  What a change from my classes at Wittenberg!  In fact it is going so well, today I committed to spending an additional three weeks here before going back to Colombo.  When I announced this to my classes, everyone clapped and cheered!

Helen – Tom searched for his cell phone everywhere and then we finally decided that it must have been stolen…there are lots of people using our road (which runs along our concrete fence) to get to the beach from the nearby hotels and smaller renting establishments plus all the people who live in the area.  Did one of them come into our home while we were walking or on the beach…we had been very good about locking windows and doors when we were gone from the house, but a little lax while on the premises?

Tom went into town to cancel his phone and did a little shopping.  I asked him to buy some calamari from the fish store…he did…totally intact!!  I had a lot of cleaning to do, pulling off the heads and washing out the black ink, then getting the spinney thing out from the inside, and finally peeling off the outer skin…I was doing this in the outside kitchen sink and in a few minutes I was surrounded by tons of flies…I was trying to swat them and my hands were full of squid!!  Tom heard me complaining and came to my rescue.  He swatted the flies with a hand towel while I finished cleaning them.  I breaded and fried them and they were delicious…a potato salad and green salad on the side was great.

Tom –  First, consider that we are living on a tropical island near the equator.  Matara is at the southern tip of Sri Lanka.  We are on the beach but also on the edge of the jungle.  Both temperature and humidity are very high.  For example, today we will have a high of about 34^o C (93 F) and a low of 27^o C (80) with humidity ranging from 80-100% – and it is winter!  Can you imagine when the SW monsoon begins in April?!

Mosquitoes: The biggest problems are in the early morning and at dusk.  Though there are some around all day.  There are no screens in the windows or eaves between the walls and roof and we keep some doors open for ventilation when we are home, so they have free access to the house.  We have an electrical mosquito zapper and a coil you can light to produce some repellent smoke, but there is really no way to eliminate them.  We are actually very lucky because we are right on the beach and usually have an on-shore breeze, which blows them inland.  As you know, we sleep under mosquito netting – though it is important you keep-out a lot more than just the mosquitoes!

Ants: Big ones, medium size one, small ones, black ones, and red ones (those suckers sting!).  We spray regularly but they just keep coming back.

Spiders:  The biggest ones (3 inches across) we have ever seen outside a zoo!  I killed two in the bedroom a couple of days ago.

Cockroaches:  You have already read about some; we see big ones and little ones and are usually able to squash them before they get away.  We have sprayed the obvious entrance areas and that has helped.

Moths and “No See Ums:”  We have your standard moths going in and out all the time as well as little no see ums.  We’ve only seen a few butterflies.

Flies:  We can’t leave anything out anywhere or they will be all over the place.

Bites/Stings: We get them everyday, especially around the lower legs and ankles (most bites could be sand flies from walking on the beach in the morning).  Cortizone-10 is our constant companion.

Lizards:  We have at least one family of small lizards that share our house.  I believe they live in the eaves or somewhere on top of the walls.  Because we regularly see little piles of dirt in 2-3 spots even though we cleaned them the day before.  We see our friends regularly scurrying on the floor, up a wall or ceiling.  There are at least two adults and a child.  Helen – we have seen some giant lizards at an outdoor restaurant, by a temple, and going across our road…I mean Big!!  About 2-3 feet long and thank goodness they are not in the house, at least so far!!

Lightning Bugs:  They occasionally fly in and out our bedroom windows at night and really look “cool.”  They give off a bright white light unlike the yellow light we see from the ones in Ohio.

Dogs:  One walked in the front door last week, we chased it out.  We carry a stick when we walk on the beach to ward them off.  Most are small and scrawny and leave you alone but there is a pack of about five that sort of protect the one fishing boat from a small village that we have on our beach.  The alpha female will occasionally lead a side or rear assault.  We shake our stick at them and that stops them from getting too close.  Helen – they also seem to pick on the lame ones and go after them with a vengeance!!  At the hotel last night, there was a dog fight and the people there separated the dogs by hitting them with the plastic chairs!!

Bats:  We see them at dusk in our yard.  So far none has entered the house.

???:  Something that felt cold and wet jumped on my back when I was rounding our house this evening; we had walked on the beach until the sun was down.  I knocked it off with the slippers I was carrying but it was too dark to tell what it was.  I went out with a light but there was nothing there.  I am now writing this sentence two days latter and just saw a big tree frog in our pond – I bet that’s what jumped on my back in the dark!

Birds:  Lots of them.  I’m not very good at bird identification but we have seen birds that look like egrets, kiwis, kingfishers, herons, pigeons, sparrows, black birds, sea gulls, a beautiful blue and turquoise one, etc. etc.

Fish:  We have seen gold fish, minnows and frogs in our pond.  As mentioned earlier, we have seen the fisherman catch fish at our beach but I really don’t know how to identify them.  We’ve seen lots of different fish coming off the boats in the harbors – the biggest ones so far being tuna.  After breakfast we now throw bread crusts to the fish and frog, each day they get braver.

Snakes:  Have not seen any yet but we have found a big snake skin in our yard.

Cows:  Helen said she would write about the mother and baby cows we have in our front yard.

Helen – LAWN MOWERS OR IS IT MOOOERS???

This morning we woke, not to the rooster as is the case most mornings; but instead, to mooing.  When we opened the deck door there were two cows (a mother and calf) tied to two of the palm trees “mooing” our lawn.  As I mentioned before, they were in the yard next door (the smaller of the two rentals); I guess our lawn needed a trim so they moved them either last night or early this morning…that little one has a short lead and is always tying herself up around something.  I think that she is my new pet!!

Yesterday after Tom finished teaching and I working on the diary, we rushed downtown to a sport store recommended by the PE staff.  It was located at the bus station on the second floor where half the shops were vacant.  The Sport Zone was a really small store, maybe 10’x8’.  They had a few swim caps, a couple of goggles, some balls, a few pairs of pants and shirts (we needed pants for teaching and there was not one in Tom’s size or the material he wanted, not to mention no woman’s clothing).  The men here are much smaller in frame structure and this is a problem for Tom.  I bought a swim cap because you have to wear one if you go into a pool.  We went to three other sport stores and still nothing for Tom but I found two pairs of Columbia 70-30% poly-cotton material ¾ length pants to wear in my walking class.  I had priced a similar pair (Columbia) in Dayton last year for $38 and now I paid $6, so I bought two pairs.

We went to ARPICO (a store similar to Kmart on a much, much, much, smaller scale) and bought a chef’s knife (not to worry about me slicing another thumb because it isn’t that sharp) for $2, a 9×13 pan (I think I am going to try to make brownies!!) for $7 (that was expensive), some much needed hangers, sponges (you wouldn’t believe the cheap quality of sponges, lucky if they last two days!) and  a comb and towel for the gym.  It was getting dark now and that makes us nervous because there aren’t street lights so driving is even more hazardous if that is possible.  We still had to go to Food City so I could cook something for dinner.  Stocked up on some vegetables, some chicken thighs, and as we were leaving, Tom noticed Kraft Mac & Cheese…it is awful stuff and I never make it at home but we needed something quick so bought it.  Tom was a happy camper with a not-spicy, slide down your throat food.  I also breaded and fried zucchini slices and made a salad.  After the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned I was ready for bed before 9pm, Tom worked on lesson plans while I went to bed.  No matter how many times you swim throughout the day, or how many showers you take, you still need a cool shower before going to bed just to get the sweat off.  Then you get inside the net and under the fan and it makes you feel like you have air conditioning!!

 Today is going to be my first teaching day and I have spent the last couple of nights preparing handouts and lecture notes for the Fitness Walking Class, Tom will be on his second lecture for the instructors and his first for the weight training for students.  I don’t know if Tom mentioned the weight room but it doesn’t have any aerobic equipment, just a few strength machines and some free weights.  It makes our fitness center look fabulous!!   He asked each student to bring his own towel to wipe down the equipment and to use as a neck pad for the weights.  He had about 25 students attend; some even participated in street clothes and no shoes.  He made a general announcement about proper attire.

My class was held in the gymnasium for the first day; 17 students attended though several walked in between 15-30 minutes late.  All girls for my class including the physics professor, Kanthi, Vinni, the only full time PE woman staff person who was a national speed walking and 400m champion in her youth (now 49) and Gnana an assistant PE instructor, office administrator, and tea maker (51).  That made me the “over the hill grandmother” who out walked them all on the timed mile that day.  The outside of the gym floor measures 16.5 laps for a mile or 1625m.  I knew counting would be a problem so I gave them 16 tiny beans which they dropped into a dish at the end of each lap and then continued the final ½ lap to the finish.  There is always one in every crowd and she dropped her beans!!  The students will get a certificate of attendance if they make 80 % of the classes.  I guess that this is important for them but we don’t understand why.

Got home about 6:15 and went for a swim because both of our classes were god-awful hot.  We don’t usually go swimming at this time and it was lovely with the setting sun and being the only ones on the beach (which is often the case anyway).  Cooked chicken thighs (again!!) but this time had sautéed onions and potatoes with rosemary and the usual salad.  Dessert today was a treat, two Fig Newtons each!

I forgot to mention that this morning a man and his young daughter came to our driveway arch to pick the yellow flowers and the orange cluster flowers.  They take these as offerings to the Buddha at the temple.  I have seen them before and said hi but this morning I gave the little girl a couple of starburst candies…of course I had one myself!!

Tom – I went to the Matara branch of Hatton National Bank this morning to withdraw some money.  They could not print the transaction on my savings account book because the branches outside of Colombo still do not have that capacity – so, they wrote it on a piece of paper for me.  It was Monday and the bank was crowded.  Even though they moved me right to the front of the line, it still took a half hour to get the cash.

I took a lot of pictures of our house this morning. I have also been taking pictures of the activities on our beach every time I see something interesting.  When I get back to the U.S., I am going to put together a slide show titled “Our Beach.”

Sumathipala (caretaker/security) returned from his vacation today.  He stays in a tiny room attached to the back of our house.  He also cares for the house next door along with Leela.  That will make us feel a lot more comfortable leaving the house.

Helen – well, it’s Monday, Monday (mamas and the papas) and a new routine has begun.  First, our walk on the beach at sunrise.

After our walk, I threw in a load of wash…the machine is an LG brand: has four water levels; has four commands for progress, water fill, wash, spin, no spin; then four more choices for the type of wash, FUZZY (at the top), economy, something else, and wool.  What is FUZZY??? I asked the lady at the hotel and she didn’t know either…so I used economy, set out my drain pipe and let it go to work.  It didn’t wash for very long (economy!!) and some of the little stains didn’t come out but they smelled better.  I can’t find a spray and wash pretreatment (had one in Colombo) in our Food City, so maybe I will have to look somewhere else.  You have to hang the clothes inside out because the sun is so hot; it would cause fading.  While the clothes were washing I did the breakfast dishes, then began to sweep the few rooms that we have.  The floors are tile so it is pretty easy, except the broom is pretty nasty.  Thank goodness one of the Fulbrighters who just left gave me some clothes pins and an iron.  They call clothes pins “pegs” and I guess she had a hard time finding them.  There was an iron on the pantry shelf that had spray and steam as well as duct tape on spots on the wire…you guessed it; it started to work and stopped so thank goodness for the spare.  There is no ironing board so I folded a thin sheet on the table next to the washing machine and ironed there…had to devise a new method for shirts and dresses but I am wrinkle free for a change!!

Here is a picture of our outdoor kitchen

After all this work, I decided to go for a swim before taking a shower.  Is this the life, or what!!  Tom was inside working with the computer while I frolicked in the waves.  Still can’t believe there are no shells on the beach, though this morning I saw two hermit crabs walking on the beach carrying their houses with them.

Decided to try out the new hot shower… if you move the shower head just right, it doesn’t spray over the sink.  Trade off is that you have to smack yourself against the wall to get sprayed…but most of the water now tends to make the drain in the shower stall.  This water temp was heavenly for shaving legs!!

While I was showering, Tom drove to the bank, filled the car with gas ($30) and got four more phone cards for $40…these have been going fast!!!  I mentioned before that it is about $.15/min for the states and $.10/min here in the country.  We are trying to use the house phone for in country calls but people here keep calling us on our cells.

We went to the university dining facility for lunch today.  You have to call before 9:30 to make a reservation…main reason, we were the only ones eating today, so he cooked for just us, go figure!!!  It is a lovely facility at the conference center across the street from the university.  Tom forgot to mention about the spices and could only eat two of the five choices served with the rice.  Dessert was papaya, so ripe and delicious!

At the university, our office was ready for Tom with a computer hookup, but my computer was not there so I am back in the lab.  He is over at the computer center now trying to figure out what the problem is with Wittenberg and his email/files.  Thank heavens he prepared a PowerPoint presentation on his computer and will be able to go over it in the morning at the library to make sure everything is ready for 4:00.  He doesn’t have any idea how many are coming.

Tom – I met with the ITs again this afternoon at the University of Ruhuna.  It seems all my computer problems are related to their system (Surprise?).  I am still unable to tunnel into the Wittenberg server with VPN Client to get my files – they need approval from the Sri Lankan “Computer Learned Society” in order to do this!  The good news is that I can now access my Witt email after disabling the Ruhuna firewall.

Tom – I was supposed to again work on the Wittenberg connection problems at the university but I have lost patience.  I spent most of the day at home doing my Power Point presentation from scratch.  It won’t be fancy but I should be able to cover my bases.

Breakfast overlooking the Indian Ocean

Helen – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!  We decided that today we would not go into the university so I thought it would be a “nothing new to write home about day.”  Wrong!!

First – someone stole my boogie board!!!  Boy was I mad this morning when we went out for our walk and found someone had taken it from inside our gated back/beach yard.  I hope that they enjoy it and you know that I will be watching to see if someone is using it!!

Second – also on our walk we noticed a little old lady with a big bag of something on her head.  She was walking toward the east rock headland for our beach (it is a natural rock area).  When we made our second round we noticed she was sitting in the water with her long skirt all wet digging for something and moving these rocks around.  We walked up closer and she begins talking to us but of course we can’t understand a word.  Tom assumes that she needs some help, so he starts to gather some rocks from another area and she motions him “NO,NO.”  It seems that she is burying coconut shells in the mud and then piles rocks on them so the water won’t take them away.  Tom was going into another cache.  After she finished burying the shells, she went to another area and started digging up shells which she had buried days before.  These were pretty black looking and decomposed.  She ripped the bark off then took the fiber bundle and pounded it with a stick on a rock until it separated and spread apart.  Then she took this and washed it in the water to get all the dirt out and laid it next to the bag to take home.  Ok, now that I knew what she was doing, I just jumped right in there and started washing the fiber bundles, wringing them out, and piling them up on the rocks.  The second round I had the job of stripping off the barks and washing the fiber bundles.  She then showed me how she twisted the fibers to make rope and indicated that the rest of the fibers would be made into brooms.  While I was working, Tom went back to the house for the camera (first morning he didn’t bring it with him) and she kept talking to me like we were best friends.  A man that we met on the beach a few days ago walked over to us and he translated for me.  I told her I would see her in a few days.

Local reef fisherman, floats on his inner tube and nets fish, crabs, etc.

Third – I forgot to mention that yesterday on our walk we saw a fishing boat come up on shore.  There were several men waiting for them because they needed help pulling the boat up on the shore.  We stopped to see what they caught and Tom took their picture then we helped them with the boat.  It was really heavy because it was wood and it had an outdoor motor on the back.  They offered to sell us a fish for $2 or $4 for a kilo…since we didn’t know what kind of fish it was, we declined.  A lot of the fish caught are only good for curries or stewing, not for grilling.

Fourth – Kamala (surrogate landlady), a young newly ordained English teacher for translation, accompanied by a workman came to do some required chores.  The workman was to fix the toilet that wouldn’t flush, to install a hot water system for one bathroom, and fix the fan in the dining area which only had 1 speed, very slow.  The shower situation got a little tricky.  Most of the bathrooms have a little hot water tank in the bathroom and you put on the switch about 10 minutes before you need hot water.  Remember we have three bathrooms, two that are enclosed and one that has no ceiling (just a few wooden slates across the top).  You can guess which one has the only electrical outlet.  We said, we didn’t think it was a good idea to put the hot water in there, because during the rainy season who will want to take a shower in that bathroom??  They said that the owner specifically said that was the correct one.  They called him back and worked it out.  Are you ready for the solution???  They put in another shower head in the covered part of the bathroom, but now the water will splash over the sink, toilet and the whole floor will get wet.  You got it, no shower curtain over there and the shower stall still remains.

Fifth – this fellow was also supposed to fix the ceiling light by the front door so that when you come into the house you have light.  He replaced the bulb and then we discovered that it blinks on when someone rings the doorbell.  Can’t people hear the bell?  Do they need a light to signal it as well??

Sixth – I decided that our beach needed an environmental clean-up.  I cleaned up the plastic bags, plastic ice cream spoons, toothbrushes (we often see the villagers brushing their teeth on the beach, go figure) paper, and just general debris.  When I got close to our wall, I found a long; I mean long, snake skin.  It really freaked me out!!!

Seventh – we decided to go swimming again and noticed that there were lots of boys and girls down at one end of the beach.  First we thought that they we pulling the fishing nets in…when Tom checked it out, seems they were from the university having an initiation ritual from one of the departments.  Girls and boys were fully clothed, playing with a ball in the waves, throwing each other into the waves, burying people in the sand and throwing sand all over one another.

Eighth – I walked over to the hotel to have a look.  Renata (Polish) and her husband, Bobby (Sri Lankan) who live in Switzerland have just finished building the hotel.  I mentioned it was too bad that we didn’t meet a few days earlier and missed the party.  She replied, yes it was.  They didn’t send out invitations, just told everyone to come over and we should have just stopped in.  Anyway, this hotel is really nice…the rooms are quite large, each with a private bath, big windows overlooking the ocean because they are on a hill, and comfortable new mattresses (this is really unusual).  The lobby is an outdoor area under a roof, as is the restaurant area.  One balcony will be having a billiards table, and eventually there will be a Jacuzzi on the rooftop.  Bobby’s brother Luke will be taking care of the hotel when they are in Zurich.  The rooms are now renting for $20/night…remember that I told you that some of the top hotels in Colombo were renting for $75-80/night.  They plan to bring in tourists from Switzerland.  About half the cost of flying in from the U.S.

Ninth – We needed to go back into town to grocery shop and see when Mass was for tomorrow morning.  The Food City was packed and the parking area isn’t very large.  We noticed a policeman in the lot when we arrived and thought he was for security.  When we came out, he was directing traffic in the parking lot and telling you how and where to park.  OK, they really needed it with the three-wheelers, motorcycles and cars all trying to squeeze in there.

Tenth and Last – Tom took me out for dinner in the little restaurant next door to the hotel and behind our house.  We had asked them to cook for us earlier in the day: wanting grilled fish (rockfish which has lots of meat and few bones), vegetable rice, and potato curry.  It was delicious.  The fish was not grilled but steamed in foil and nicely seasoned.  We brought our own beer and as I am writing this, Tom is sleeping on the bed in the study.  I had a great day but really missed my family and friends on my day!!

Tom – I arranged for a car rental firm to pick me up to go look at some of their cars.  Got the specifics and then talked them into giving me a car and driver to go to AAA to get a Sri Lankan license.  I was able to do this because I had already gotten an international driver’s license in Springfield.  The driver walked with me through the process and then dropped me off at the Fulbright office.

A couple of hours later I went to an ATM, the embassy, internet café (search for rental cars), bookstore (bought a Sinhalla Phrasebook) and then headed back home very tired.

Market Day  Helen – I went to the local market with Ruki and the chauffeur (I really didn’t think he drove anymore!!).  She said she only uses him for close errands.  This was a real experience.  The stalls were all open with venders selling fresh green vegetables, fruits, rice, beans, lentils, dried fish and spices.  I couldn’t recognize half the things.  Flies were everywhere and on everything.  There was also a small super market and a fish store.  I watched as they cleaned fish, squid, and other delicacies.  The next time I went I even had them open up a king coconut for me…you drink the liquid inside with a straw and then he cuts it open for you, cutting a chip from the side which you use as a spoon, you scrap the soft creamy coconut meat inside and eat it.  Don’t think it will be one of my favorites but it was fun to experience.  Ruki kept saying “don’t let the scoopy touch your mouth!!”  Everyone looks at me because I am the only foreigner there…they smile, I smile.  I really like to go.  There is also a very nice temple across the street with a big Buddha inside and lions guarding the gate.

Thursday I stayed home after the market, had lunch with Ruki, did some laundry and then relaxed until Tom returned from the Embassy, Fulbright, and errands.  He had a very busy day and was glad not to have me with him.  We finally received confirmation that we will be going to Matara on this coming Wednesday; and then life as normal will begin.

 At 6:30 we had a taxi pick us up to have dinner with Traci (Fulbrighter in Management Information Systems from U of Oklahoma), husband Mano and daughter Charia (10).  The taxi arrived on time but he didn’t have working headlights…duh!!!  So, we sent him back to get another taxi and ended up being a little late.  One reason for going to their apartment was to use their cable internet connection, something we have not had access to since our room in Cairo.   Nothing is easy and while Tom was working to set up the diary list I played cards with Charia.

We walked to a Chinese restaurant about 4 blocks from their house.  We began with a delicious soup and then shared five different entrees.  After returning to the house, Tom was ready to send the first section of the Sri Lankan diary…opps!  He lost it!!  I didn’t say anything but thought I am not going to rewrite that again!!  Lucky for us Tracy helped him retrieve it after about 15 minutes and then he had to send it in three installments because it would only recognize one page of names at a time. 

By now it was pretty late and we needed to get home…they called a taxi for us but it took more than ½ hr to come.  The ride there only took about 10 minutes but home was almost an hour because he didn’t know where he was going and he kept saying this road is closed (there are a lot of roads closed for security) or this is a one way street…we must have gone around the same circle three times.  Tom even showed him the map but he kept driving in circles.  Finally we got home after 11 and woke up Ruki (the maid didn’t get up) to let us in.  We were only able to send the diary – no personal communications.  Don’t know if we will ever be able to upload pictures because the connections are so slow.