I've Arrived
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Hambantota,
Sri Lanka
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
After a grueling 2 day journey to get here, I have finally arrived at the smile centre in Sri Lanka. After the last entry, I waited around terminal 4 at Heathrow, being shouted at by security guards left right and centre before meeting Richard at 2 to collect the baby clothes i had to take out. Seriously. The scare stories about Heathrow.. all true. Had the novelty of being pushed outside to wait for security checks.
The flight out went a lot better than the train journey. For a start there were no drunk Scottish people. The stewardesses were the nicest i have ever had on a flight, dressed in traditional Saris. They made you feel as comfortable as they could on the 10.5 hour flight (which the human body is really not designed to withstand. I was so stiff afterwards that I could barely move.) Also me and airline food still don;t mix. Like the fool I am I chose the fish dish for dinner. Not a good idea. Was feeling that one all yest!
Arrived in Colombo at 8 am yest and stayed in a hotel last night. Was very nice. Had a milkshake with real banana in it which was lovely. Spent most of the day sleeping. Though went for a wander along the beach outside the hotel yest and met a bloke who was there from Colombo for a convention. Was quite dead on and took us round the garden where they grew alot of fresh veg and fruit. Had a banana form one of the trees. SOOOO much nicer than what they are at home! For dinner they made a beed stirfry, which wasn't too spicy. Trying to ease myself in gently to the spicy food here (which is just about in everything)
Left the hotel at 5am this morning for Hambantota. Discovered the novel approach they have to driving. Indicators aren't used, If something is in your way, you ponk your horn then overtake, whether it is a clear road, a sharp bend or in one case if a bus is speeding in the opposite direction! There are also cows just wandering free in the middle of the road which the ponking of the horn has no effect on. you just need to wait till they get out of the way. 5 hours later arrived at the centre! One thing that struck me on the way down was how poor the country really is. There were hardly any private cars on the road and alot of the towns we went trough were very run down with crumbling buildings. As a history student this interested me though it will probably send yo to sleep. The history of the britsih empire was evident in a couple of things on the way down. Namely the concept of the school uniform, which are white for every school and teh fact that each school that you drove past had a cricket pitch outside it!!
Basically the centre is here works with a bout 90 children during the day, who live in the local area, which was hit by the Tsunami in 2005. It is a very very poor area. It provides education and hot meals to the kids who would not get it at home. At the minute the back of the building is a construction site, as they are building a new classroom block and orphanage. I will be helping the local teachers with teaching the kids and probably my best Carol Smilie impression with bit of DIY in painting and decorating the new classrooms.
I was introduced to the children briefly today. I won;t be with them properly till tomorrow. They are preschool age and sang me a wee song to welcome me. They also gave me a bunch of flowers which was very nice of them. They are now sitting in the dining room making the place look pretty. Caroline's words. Not mine before you ask!
