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Our Sri Lankan Adventure
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Our 3 Month Adventure Blog
From May the 1st until August the 1st Dani and I lived in Sri Lanka. We worked in Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage and we taught English in the schools of Ja Ela. This is our almost-daily blog of our time in this amazing country.
Which is YOUR favourite of our Sri Lanka pics?
Here is a small selection of some of our favourite Sri Lanka photos from our time in this beautiful country....
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Dani: Default Post
This is a default post.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Lewis: My first Adventure Blog entry
I thought I had better put an actual post on here after telling so many people about this blog today. So here I am.
This is, umm, this is it. The 1st post.
...dum dee dum.
What should I say? I feel this is a very special moment between us. Reader and writer. I don't want to spoil it.
I have heard of people getting addicted to their blogs. Posting just any old rubbish. I can't understand it.
Rest assured, that won't happen here.
No way.
You're in safe hands.
I've always thought blogs were pathetic self-indulgent wastes of time. But I was wrong about Fraser's popularity, too.
He has 130 friends.
So I'll give this blog thing a shot.
Lewis
This is, umm, this is it. The 1st post.
...dum dee dum.
What should I say? I feel this is a very special moment between us. Reader and writer. I don't want to spoil it.
I have heard of people getting addicted to their blogs. Posting just any old rubbish. I can't understand it.
Rest assured, that won't happen here.
No way.
You're in safe hands.
I've always thought blogs were pathetic self-indulgent wastes of time. But I was wrong about Fraser's popularity, too.
He has 130 friends.
So I'll give this blog thing a shot.
Lewis
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Lewis: How do I make a giraffe out of balloons, OR, The wonders of insurance.
I was just reading our insurance cover to make sure of something, and we ARE covered if we have an accident whilst weightlifting.
So don't panic.
I think the only accident would be if we decided to start weightlifting.
Our insurance also covers us for Frisbee Related Accidents.
And ballooning!
I'm pretty sure it means the circus ballooning. Giraffes and poodles and things.
Weight lifting, 'frisbeeing', and balloon modelling?
I thought we were teaching English!!!
So don't panic.
I think the only accident would be if we decided to start weightlifting.
Our insurance also covers us for Frisbee Related Accidents.
And ballooning!
I'm pretty sure it means the circus ballooning. Giraffes and poodles and things.
Weight lifting, 'frisbeeing', and balloon modelling?
I thought we were teaching English!!!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Lewis: 'Twas the night before Christmas
And now, the scary part begins.
'Twas the night before our journey,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Except Lewis, packing.
Also panicking.
I just noticed something funny.
I am absolutely rubbish at packing.
And I'm great at panicking.
----------
Let Me Ask You
----------
Do you pack in advance, or at super-speed the night before like me?!
Are you running round like a headless chicken, or relaxed like a laid back bear?
'Twas the night before our journey,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Except Lewis, packing.
Also panicking.
I just noticed something funny.
I am absolutely rubbish at packing.
And I'm great at panicking.
----------
Let Me Ask You
----------
Do you pack in advance, or at super-speed the night before like me?!
Are you running round like a headless chicken, or relaxed like a laid back bear?
Monday, May 01, 2006
Dani: We're at the airport!
Hello!
This is the first time I have ever written one of these things. I'm writing this SO slowly, spelling every word wrong, and concentating VERY hard :)
(Lewis has just told me I need to tell you I'm talking about his BlackBerry, or I'll sound stupid)
Thanks for all your texts/calls/cards- love you all lots!
The next one will be from Sri Lanka!
Miss you all already x x
This is the first time I have ever written one of these things. I'm writing this SO slowly, spelling every word wrong, and concentating VERY hard :)
(Lewis has just told me I need to tell you I'm talking about his BlackBerry, or I'll sound stupid)
Thanks for all your texts/calls/cards- love you all lots!
The next one will be from Sri Lanka!
Miss you all already x x
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Lewis: Our Triumphant Arrival
We made it!
Apologies for all quiet on the communication front. Well, all's quiet, around here at least, apart from car horns! Publishing has been non-existent because I've just got my blackberry working. It seems I'm at the mercy of the Sri Lankan 'Dialog' network. Dani was shocked (and possibly apalled?) at the amount of emails I've received in the 2 days my blackberry has been turned off.
Dani is just having a shower (we shower constantly!) and I guess she'll update her blog when she comes out.
I shall paint you a picture with words.....
Sri Lanka is:
Boiling - the heat is insane! It makes you want to shower constantly (hot water is not needed!) and it makes you wish you chose to go to the North Pole instead. Work with Polar Bears and teach English to Santa's Elves maybe.
Sri Lanka is:
A Traffic Policeman's NIGHTMARE!
They don't drive in single file. Thinking about it now, they don't 'drive', in the traditional sense of the word.
They race.
Imagine the whole of the UK, lined with extremely small shops selling massive bunches of bananas, with the roads full of Tuk-Tuk 3 wheeler motor car/taxi vehicles, and loads of buses and vans, all trying to overtake each other, with no concept of DANGER, just like kids in a go-kart race. All beeping at the ONCOMING traffic. You'll have one van, driving straight at another, head on, beeping for the other one to move out the way. And the other van is doing exactly the same. The roads are absolutely insane!
I was thinking of secretly hiring a couple of bikes to finally get Dani to come on a bike ride with me (after a couple of years trying!), but after seeing the roads.. No Way!!
We had 2 hours of teaching today. We went to a school called St Joseph's (the poorest of all the school we will be teaching at), and we played games of Hangman and things. The kids were about 9 years old. It was great fun! All the boys were showing us how big their arm muscles are (tiny) and showing us the John Cena stickers they had on their books. He's their favourite a wrestler. I convinced them my name was Lewis Cena and that I was his brother. They were very impressed.
Apologies for all quiet on the communication front. Well, all's quiet, around here at least, apart from car horns! Publishing has been non-existent because I've just got my blackberry working. It seems I'm at the mercy of the Sri Lankan 'Dialog' network. Dani was shocked (and possibly apalled?) at the amount of emails I've received in the 2 days my blackberry has been turned off.
Dani is just having a shower (we shower constantly!) and I guess she'll update her blog when she comes out.
I shall paint you a picture with words.....
Sri Lanka is:
Boiling - the heat is insane! It makes you want to shower constantly (hot water is not needed!) and it makes you wish you chose to go to the North Pole instead. Work with Polar Bears and teach English to Santa's Elves maybe.
Sri Lanka is:
A Traffic Policeman's NIGHTMARE!
They don't drive in single file. Thinking about it now, they don't 'drive', in the traditional sense of the word.
They race.
Imagine the whole of the UK, lined with extremely small shops selling massive bunches of bananas, with the roads full of Tuk-Tuk 3 wheeler motor car/taxi vehicles, and loads of buses and vans, all trying to overtake each other, with no concept of DANGER, just like kids in a go-kart race. All beeping at the ONCOMING traffic. You'll have one van, driving straight at another, head on, beeping for the other one to move out the way. And the other van is doing exactly the same. The roads are absolutely insane!
I was thinking of secretly hiring a couple of bikes to finally get Dani to come on a bike ride with me (after a couple of years trying!), but after seeing the roads.. No Way!!
We had 2 hours of teaching today. We went to a school called St Joseph's (the poorest of all the school we will be teaching at), and we played games of Hangman and things. The kids were about 9 years old. It was great fun! All the boys were showing us how big their arm muscles are (tiny) and showing us the John Cena stickers they had on their books. He's their favourite a wrestler. I convinced them my name was Lewis Cena and that I was his brother. They were very impressed.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Lewis: Our Triumphant Arrival CONTINUED
There has been a change to our project timetable because of something to do with the goverment creating a new school holiday, so instead of doing 1 month with the Elephants then 2 months teaching we're doing teaching from now until the 19th, then going to the Elephants until the 26th of the following month, then coming back here to do teaching for the last month.
Thank you everybody for all your emails and comments. Keep them coming! They're really nice to read!
I'll post more soon! Dani has just come out, so she needs to use this now..
Speak soon!
Lewis xxx
Thank you everybody for all your emails and comments. Keep them coming! They're really nice to read!
I'll post more soon! Dani has just come out, so she needs to use this now..
Speak soon!
Lewis xxx
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Dani: We made it!
Hello from Sri Lanka!!!
Lewis has just posted something, so this might all sound a bit familiar....
The journey was ok, we didn't sleep at all though. And we didn't kill each other!
I can't believe how different everything is here- we could not have found a place more opposite to Cardiff if we tried! It's such a beautiful place, palm trees and things everywhere. And it's SO hot! I never thought I'd enjoy cold showers so much.
I'm looking very glamorous, you'll be glad to hear... wet hair, covered in insect repellant and suncream, sweaty..... It really is a lovely sight.
We had our first morning of teaching today (Lewis says he's told you of our change of plans). They were really lovely, but it was hard work! There was no sense of plan or order to the schools either. The one we went to was like a long barn, with different classes all made up along it, stray dogs roaming around, children everywhere....! It was madness. And the children were all over us-poking our skin and touching our hair and things. Good fun :)
The driving! Oh my god!! There is no such thing as lanes, or even single file. Everyone just charges ahead in a crowd! And there's no such thing as signals- they just literally drive forward, beeping their horns to let you know they're coming. AND... there's no seatbelts. Scary, scary, scary!!
Anyway- there's lots more I could say, but I don't want this to become one of those really long emails that everyone just skims...
To sum up- we're alive and having fun :)
Signal is a bit dodgy, and texts don't seem to work from my phone- so if I'm not in touch, that's why!
Thanks for all your messages, we're thinking of you all- hope you're all well- talk to you soon!
Lots of love x x x x
Ps. Do you want to hear something REALLY annoying? Lewis has fallen asleep, and I can't work out how to send this. But I'm going to have a go.... Wish me luck x
Pps. I nearly deleted it all! This is very stressful. I might have to wake him up. Wish me luck!! x
Ppps. I can't do it. I'll have to wait for him to wake up :) x
Lewis has just posted something, so this might all sound a bit familiar....
The journey was ok, we didn't sleep at all though. And we didn't kill each other!
I can't believe how different everything is here- we could not have found a place more opposite to Cardiff if we tried! It's such a beautiful place, palm trees and things everywhere. And it's SO hot! I never thought I'd enjoy cold showers so much.
I'm looking very glamorous, you'll be glad to hear... wet hair, covered in insect repellant and suncream, sweaty..... It really is a lovely sight.
We had our first morning of teaching today (Lewis says he's told you of our change of plans). They were really lovely, but it was hard work! There was no sense of plan or order to the schools either. The one we went to was like a long barn, with different classes all made up along it, stray dogs roaming around, children everywhere....! It was madness. And the children were all over us-poking our skin and touching our hair and things. Good fun :)
The driving! Oh my god!! There is no such thing as lanes, or even single file. Everyone just charges ahead in a crowd! And there's no such thing as signals- they just literally drive forward, beeping their horns to let you know they're coming. AND... there's no seatbelts. Scary, scary, scary!!
Anyway- there's lots more I could say, but I don't want this to become one of those really long emails that everyone just skims...
To sum up- we're alive and having fun :)
Signal is a bit dodgy, and texts don't seem to work from my phone- so if I'm not in touch, that's why!
Thanks for all your messages, we're thinking of you all- hope you're all well- talk to you soon!
Lots of love x x x x
Ps. Do you want to hear something REALLY annoying? Lewis has fallen asleep, and I can't work out how to send this. But I'm going to have a go.... Wish me luck x
Pps. I nearly deleted it all! This is very stressful. I might have to wake him up. Wish me luck!! x
Ppps. I can't do it. I'll have to wait for him to wake up :) x
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Lewis: Why I love fruit, OR, how to teach what fruit means...
If you love fruit, you'll love this story.
If you don't love fruit, you'll love this story.
We've just come back from our second go at teaching (different age, different school), and I thought I'd tell this story before you all wake up!
Firstly, why I love fruit..
Because it is consistent wherever you are! Nice Oranges, Fuji Apples, Red Delicious, kept in the fridge, all peeled, then eaten. In this heat the only other thing nicer would be a swimming pool full of ice-cream.
Please can somebody do a search on ebay to see if that can be arranged as our welcome home present.
I ate half a carrier bag full of fruit last night, and it was absolutely beautiful.
I've even written a song:
I love fruit,
I love fruit,
Yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh,
With a big red apple and a piece of orange too,
I love fruit and so do you.
Cool?
Thank you.
I've kept the song a secret until now, but I'm going to try and get Dani to choreograph a dance routine we can maybe do at the next school. That would be cool.
I thought we could name ourselves the Fast Fruit Rockers.
If you don't love fruit, you'll love this story.
We've just come back from our second go at teaching (different age, different school), and I thought I'd tell this story before you all wake up!
Firstly, why I love fruit..
Because it is consistent wherever you are! Nice Oranges, Fuji Apples, Red Delicious, kept in the fridge, all peeled, then eaten. In this heat the only other thing nicer would be a swimming pool full of ice-cream.
Please can somebody do a search on ebay to see if that can be arranged as our welcome home present.
I ate half a carrier bag full of fruit last night, and it was absolutely beautiful.
I've even written a song:
I love fruit,
I love fruit,
Yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh,
With a big red apple and a piece of orange too,
I love fruit and so do you.
Cool?
Thank you.
I've kept the song a secret until now, but I'm going to try and get Dani to choreograph a dance routine we can maybe do at the next school. That would be cool.
I thought we could name ourselves the Fast Fruit Rockers.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Lewis: Why I love fruit, OR, how to teach what fruit means...
Aaaaaanyway, back to teaching...
Our class (different school from yesterday) must have been only about 5 or 6 years old, and as we went into their classroom they were all very VERY excited to see us.
Dani wrote 'Hello my name is..' On the board, and we said hello and said who we were and started to go round and talk to the children asking them their names, and they each stood up to answer us, then sat back down again!
We asked a few children to show us their books to see what they'd done so far, and we thought we'd teach them....
FRUIT!
Yipee..!
I didn't sing my song though. We drew pictures on the board and they copied the title 'What is this?' Into their books, drew the pictures, coloured them in, then labelled them. It got a bit crazy then, so we just went round asking them to spell the names of the fruit out, then some of the kids drew objects on the board, and the rest of the class wrote them down and drew them and tried to do their own on the board, and it got really MAD.
After getting COVERED in chalk, we got most of them to sit down in their chairs. They were asking us to mark their work, so we had to tick their pictures and draw a star next to them.
And you'll be as pleased as Dani was when you learn what I taught the children!
When I was playing (ok, messing) with some of the children I shook their hands and said "Hello, how are you?" and their response would always be "I'm fine, thank you"
So NOW they proclaim "I'm super thank you!"
Dani just shook her head really slowly from side to side. Imagine I did something really awful like magically turn one of them into a toad. Dani would have shaken her head from side to side in the exact same disbelieving shocked way. As if "I do NOT believe you've done this Lewis....."
VERY amusing.
We're going to be climbing (attempting to climb) the 5200 steps to Adam's Peak later. We get there for about 11 this evening, sleep in the van (apparently!) until about 2, then climb it for sunrise.
I'm usually very optimistic, but I don't think we'll manage 7km of steps straight up into the sky!!
Although we have heard there are Tea Rooms along the way!! How weird is that?
Maybe we'll run into Miss Marple.
Although we won't be doing much running for a while!
Speak soon,
Lewis
Our class (different school from yesterday) must have been only about 5 or 6 years old, and as we went into their classroom they were all very VERY excited to see us.
Dani wrote 'Hello my name is..' On the board, and we said hello and said who we were and started to go round and talk to the children asking them their names, and they each stood up to answer us, then sat back down again!
We asked a few children to show us their books to see what they'd done so far, and we thought we'd teach them....
FRUIT!
Yipee..!
I didn't sing my song though. We drew pictures on the board and they copied the title 'What is this?' Into their books, drew the pictures, coloured them in, then labelled them. It got a bit crazy then, so we just went round asking them to spell the names of the fruit out, then some of the kids drew objects on the board, and the rest of the class wrote them down and drew them and tried to do their own on the board, and it got really MAD.
After getting COVERED in chalk, we got most of them to sit down in their chairs. They were asking us to mark their work, so we had to tick their pictures and draw a star next to them.
And you'll be as pleased as Dani was when you learn what I taught the children!
When I was playing (ok, messing) with some of the children I shook their hands and said "Hello, how are you?" and their response would always be "I'm fine, thank you"
So NOW they proclaim "I'm super thank you!"
Dani just shook her head really slowly from side to side. Imagine I did something really awful like magically turn one of them into a toad. Dani would have shaken her head from side to side in the exact same disbelieving shocked way. As if "I do NOT believe you've done this Lewis....."
VERY amusing.
We're going to be climbing (attempting to climb) the 5200 steps to Adam's Peak later. We get there for about 11 this evening, sleep in the van (apparently!) until about 2, then climb it for sunrise.
I'm usually very optimistic, but I don't think we'll manage 7km of steps straight up into the sky!!
Although we have heard there are Tea Rooms along the way!! How weird is that?
Maybe we'll run into Miss Marple.
Although we won't be doing much running for a while!
Speak soon,
Lewis
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Dani: Where's Lewis?
This is all people say to me. All the time. Why?!
Day 2 of teaching was really fun- the children were really lovely and so polite! I've read Lewis' post. Let me explain what actually happened.
It was all going well, a bit crazy.... and all of a sudden, these tiny, cute little boys were running around SLAPPING each other (and us!) saying 'Brilliant!' and 'Super!' Good job, Lewis.
We went to the supermarket yesterday in a tuk-tuk :) it was really fun (I did have my eyes closed at one point). I can't understand the money at all though!
There was an interesting episode yesterday when I attempted to charge my phone. Laura, who I'm sharing a room with, couldn't get the adapter plug to fit, so I pushed it in sideways, which looked fine to me. The others were too scared to plug anything in (wimps) so I thought I'd just put in my phone charger and see what happened. All the electricity on the first floor of the house fused. Only for a few minutes! I can't understand what all the fuss was about :)
We're going to climb Adam's Peak tonight. We leave here at about 5, it's about a 5 hour journey. When we get there, we have about 2 and a bit hours to sleep in the van, before starting to climb at about 2 in the morning. We should get to the top about 6, in time to see the sunrise :) this is the last week that it's 'in season'- apparently this means it's all lit up, and pilgrims come from all around to climb it!
It sounds amazing! Needless to say, I'm a bit concerned about doing a 7km climb up a steep hill, half of which is steps.... You know me and exercise! But it'll be good training for the London Marathon 2008 :)
I'm going to try and have a sleep now for a bit, in preparation. And I'm going to have to buy some Diet Coke, for artificial energy!
As always, thanks for all your posts and emails, they're so nice to get!
Hope you're all well x x x
Day 2 of teaching was really fun- the children were really lovely and so polite! I've read Lewis' post. Let me explain what actually happened.
It was all going well, a bit crazy.... and all of a sudden, these tiny, cute little boys were running around SLAPPING each other (and us!) saying 'Brilliant!' and 'Super!' Good job, Lewis.
We went to the supermarket yesterday in a tuk-tuk :) it was really fun (I did have my eyes closed at one point). I can't understand the money at all though!
There was an interesting episode yesterday when I attempted to charge my phone. Laura, who I'm sharing a room with, couldn't get the adapter plug to fit, so I pushed it in sideways, which looked fine to me. The others were too scared to plug anything in (wimps) so I thought I'd just put in my phone charger and see what happened. All the electricity on the first floor of the house fused. Only for a few minutes! I can't understand what all the fuss was about :)
We're going to climb Adam's Peak tonight. We leave here at about 5, it's about a 5 hour journey. When we get there, we have about 2 and a bit hours to sleep in the van, before starting to climb at about 2 in the morning. We should get to the top about 6, in time to see the sunrise :) this is the last week that it's 'in season'- apparently this means it's all lit up, and pilgrims come from all around to climb it!
It sounds amazing! Needless to say, I'm a bit concerned about doing a 7km climb up a steep hill, half of which is steps.... You know me and exercise! But it'll be good training for the London Marathon 2008 :)
I'm going to try and have a sleep now for a bit, in preparation. And I'm going to have to buy some Diet Coke, for artificial energy!
As always, thanks for all your posts and emails, they're so nice to get!
Hope you're all well x x x
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Lewis: I've never said this before, but...
OH MY GOD WE NEARLY JUST KILLED A MAN!!!
At this very moment we're in a van we all hired for the trip to Adam's Peak (about a 5 hour journey) and as you already know how SCARY the roads are you will not be surprised to hear this:
Our driver tried to overtake a bus on a 90* bend, and we forced an oncoming cyclist off the road!!!!!
Aaaaaggghhh.....!!!!!
Our driver didn't flinch. The van is also bumping up and down on the road like a safari truck. But it's only a regular road!!!
Our driver steers with the horn, not the actual wheel.
And it's VERY scary.
At this very moment we're in a van we all hired for the trip to Adam's Peak (about a 5 hour journey) and as you already know how SCARY the roads are you will not be surprised to hear this:
Our driver tried to overtake a bus on a 90* bend, and we forced an oncoming cyclist off the road!!!!!
Aaaaaggghhh.....!!!!!
Our driver didn't flinch. The van is also bumping up and down on the road like a safari truck. But it's only a regular road!!!
Our driver steers with the horn, not the actual wheel.
And it's VERY scary.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Lewis: Complete and Utter Disbelief, OR, Have we gone back in time?
Ummm...
Right.
We're sitting in a hotel restaurant at the foot of Adam's Peak, and it seems likely that we are in a dream at this moment.
I say dream, but that's only if your idea of a dream-land is a TV playing you 70s pop music, with a restaurant full of Sri Lankans standing round like some horror movie, with a small leach biting your foot!
It's like some sort of freak dream scene after someone's just been taken hostage in some weird science lab and been injected with some 'Out-of-Body Experience' chemical.
We've just escaped.
Phew.
Right.
We're sitting in a hotel restaurant at the foot of Adam's Peak, and it seems likely that we are in a dream at this moment.
I say dream, but that's only if your idea of a dream-land is a TV playing you 70s pop music, with a restaurant full of Sri Lankans standing round like some horror movie, with a small leach biting your foot!
It's like some sort of freak dream scene after someone's just been taken hostage in some weird science lab and been injected with some 'Out-of-Body Experience' chemical.
We've just escaped.
Phew.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Adam's Peak, OR, Why So Much Pain?!
We're just on our way down Adam's Peak! We're about half way, and our legs are hurting SOOOOOO much!!
It's the going DOWN that releases all that yummy lactic acid.
The way up was fine!
View was amazing.
Can't type.
Pain.
Ow.
Bye.
It's the going DOWN that releases all that yummy lactic acid.
The way up was fine!
View was amazing.
Can't type.
Pain.
Ow.
Bye.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Lewis: Hello, my name is...
Why don't i wear my nametag here in Sri Lanka?
Because everybody asks you what your name is anyway!!
Even if you're just walking down the street.
Amazing!
Because everybody asks you what your name is anyway!!
Even if you're just walking down the street.
Amazing!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Dani: Our legs hurt!!
Hey :)
Lewis said he was a bit vague about Adam's Peak, so I thought I'd fill you in...
The drive down was ok (ish) I think Lewis told you about the crazy driver. I was in the back of the van, bouncing around like crazy! It was like being on a horse (my bum kills).
Then we had a rather bizarre experience in this weird hotel place, as Lewis mentioned. It was the strangest place I've ever been! They offered us a room for 1000 Rupees (which is about £6-7). But after being in this place for a while, we couldn't wait to get out! So we decided to sleep in the van. There were 8 of us all together. 7 girls. And Lewis.
Somehow, I ended up on the floor of this dirty van! There was one bit in the middle big enough to fit my hips, so I slotted myself in and slid down so I was actually stuck... Not really very comfortable, as I'm sure you can imagine- and it did nothing at all for my already sore bum! However- if you'd seen this place, you would have opted for the van floor too!
We got up at about 2, and did some very cool stretches to prepare ourselves (not that it did!). From the bottom we could see THE stairway up into the stars- and it looked VERY steep.
Which it was.
We can't describe to you the walk now, it's just too painful. We refuse to revisit those memories.
You'll have to just imagine the pain.
And if you can't, here's what we suggest you do:
Close all the windows in your house, turn the central heating up FULL, create a pile of steps out of jagged rocks so steep that sometimes we couldn't get our legs up, then step up it and then down it 5200 times, for a total of 10400 painful slices of hell.
And do this at a rate of 1 step every 2 seconds, for 7 hours. Then cry. Also, do this with a bag full of 2 litre bottles of water, jackets, crisps, fruit, insect repellent, suncream, hats, first aid kit, torches, cameras, coke, and sandals, whilst 3 rabid dogs fight around your ankles.
Also, make sure you have absolutely no sleep the night before.
Preferably lying on the floor of a van with 7 other people.
And then you'll have an idea of why we refuse to talk about it.
So don't ask.
Lewis said he was a bit vague about Adam's Peak, so I thought I'd fill you in...
The drive down was ok (ish) I think Lewis told you about the crazy driver. I was in the back of the van, bouncing around like crazy! It was like being on a horse (my bum kills).
Then we had a rather bizarre experience in this weird hotel place, as Lewis mentioned. It was the strangest place I've ever been! They offered us a room for 1000 Rupees (which is about £6-7). But after being in this place for a while, we couldn't wait to get out! So we decided to sleep in the van. There were 8 of us all together. 7 girls. And Lewis.
Somehow, I ended up on the floor of this dirty van! There was one bit in the middle big enough to fit my hips, so I slotted myself in and slid down so I was actually stuck... Not really very comfortable, as I'm sure you can imagine- and it did nothing at all for my already sore bum! However- if you'd seen this place, you would have opted for the van floor too!
We got up at about 2, and did some very cool stretches to prepare ourselves (not that it did!). From the bottom we could see THE stairway up into the stars- and it looked VERY steep.
Which it was.
We can't describe to you the walk now, it's just too painful. We refuse to revisit those memories.
You'll have to just imagine the pain.
And if you can't, here's what we suggest you do:
Close all the windows in your house, turn the central heating up FULL, create a pile of steps out of jagged rocks so steep that sometimes we couldn't get our legs up, then step up it and then down it 5200 times, for a total of 10400 painful slices of hell.
And do this at a rate of 1 step every 2 seconds, for 7 hours. Then cry. Also, do this with a bag full of 2 litre bottles of water, jackets, crisps, fruit, insect repellent, suncream, hats, first aid kit, torches, cameras, coke, and sandals, whilst 3 rabid dogs fight around your ankles.
Also, make sure you have absolutely no sleep the night before.
Preferably lying on the floor of a van with 7 other people.
And then you'll have an idea of why we refuse to talk about it.
So don't ask.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Lewis: Oh yes, it's ladies night, and the feeling's right!
I considered not putting this on here because of the comments it could get, but why not?!
How did I spend last night?
Squashed in the back of a steamed up van with 7 girls.
Yep.
Ummm...
Not much else to say really.
It happened in Australia, and it happened again now!
I guess it just always happens to me.
We then set off to climb a mountain.
Which we did.
See Dani's blog to find out how happy it made us....
Have fun xx
How did I spend last night?
Squashed in the back of a steamed up van with 7 girls.
Yep.
Ummm...
Not much else to say really.
It happened in Australia, and it happened again now!
I guess it just always happens to me.
We then set off to climb a mountain.
Which we did.
See Dani's blog to find out how happy it made us....
Have fun xx
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Dani: Flies, flies, everywhere....
...Literally.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Dani: How a Sri Lankan tuk-tuk our money
We were feeling rather sorry for ourselves yesterday, so we hopped in a tuk-tuk and asked to go to Airport Garden Hotel swimming pool.
So off we went.
For those who don't know, a Tuk-Tuk is a 3-wheeled rickety taxi-type-thing, with no sides, and a death wish driver.
The Tuk-Tuk driver was going to take us there and back for 500 Rupees. He was going to pick us up at 6.30.
BUT!
At 6.30, another tuk-tuk turned up. He seemed to know where we were going, so we thought he must be from the same company we phoned to book one in the first place, so we got in.
We paid him the 500 R return, as we thought we were supposed to. It wasn't until later that we discovered that all tuk-tuk drivers are independent. There are no companies.
AND we then had to pay another 500 Rupees to the man who was just left waiting for us at the hotel!
It only worked out as £3 more expensive.
But we were scammed.
So off we went.
For those who don't know, a Tuk-Tuk is a 3-wheeled rickety taxi-type-thing, with no sides, and a death wish driver.
The Tuk-Tuk driver was going to take us there and back for 500 Rupees. He was going to pick us up at 6.30.
BUT!
At 6.30, another tuk-tuk turned up. He seemed to know where we were going, so we thought he must be from the same company we phoned to book one in the first place, so we got in.
We paid him the 500 R return, as we thought we were supposed to. It wasn't until later that we discovered that all tuk-tuk drivers are independent. There are no companies.
AND we then had to pay another 500 Rupees to the man who was just left waiting for us at the hotel!
It only worked out as £3 more expensive.
But we were scammed.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Lewis: Apologies
Apologies. Blog posts have been non-existent this weekend. I've noticed similar publishing slumps on a variety of my favourite blogs, as well.
What's that? No, I wasn't implying that this is your favourite blog.
No, I'm not making far reaching assumptions on what you deem your favourite. I am not putting words in your mouth. No, I'm not conceited. Well, not that I'd admit.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Just can that hostility, Malit. I was just trying to make a point.
Potty mouth.
You need a time out.
Anyway, sorry for the lack of posts. We've not done many things this weekend that we think our blog readers would enjoy to read about, so because my love for you, gentle reader, is insatiable, and because you are constantly on my mind, I thought I'd entertain you with a poem I've written, especially for you to appreciate. You and only you. Don't tell anyone else. Please. I'd like this to be our little secret.
Sing it to any tune you like.
Here you go. Enjoy.
1...2...3
1...2...3
Dani is amazing,
Dani is amazing,
1...2...3
1...2...3
Cop-out? Nice. After all I do for you. Well, I promise more (or maybe the first) interesting content, happenings, insight, and love, soon.
I promise.
What's that? No, I wasn't implying that this is your favourite blog.
No, I'm not making far reaching assumptions on what you deem your favourite. I am not putting words in your mouth. No, I'm not conceited. Well, not that I'd admit.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Just can that hostility, Malit. I was just trying to make a point.
Potty mouth.
You need a time out.
Anyway, sorry for the lack of posts. We've not done many things this weekend that we think our blog readers would enjoy to read about, so because my love for you, gentle reader, is insatiable, and because you are constantly on my mind, I thought I'd entertain you with a poem I've written, especially for you to appreciate. You and only you. Don't tell anyone else. Please. I'd like this to be our little secret.
Sing it to any tune you like.
Here you go. Enjoy.
1...2...3
1...2...3
Dani is amazing,
Dani is amazing,
1...2...3
1...2...3
Cop-out? Nice. After all I do for you. Well, I promise more (or maybe the first) interesting content, happenings, insight, and love, soon.
I promise.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Dani: MADNESS!!
Lewis seems to be getting a bit carried away with this blog thing.....
He's sat here, wittering away about his 'readers, fans, and adoring public'. Making no sense whatsoever.
Delusional.... maybe it's the heat... :)
He's sat here, wittering away about his 'readers, fans, and adoring public'. Making no sense whatsoever.
Delusional.... maybe it's the heat... :)
Monday, May 08, 2006
Lewis: The 8 Wonders of the World
EIGHT wonders?! What??
Here they are:
1. The Pyramids of Egypt
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) at Olympia
4. Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus
5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6. Colossus at Rhodes
7. Pharos of Alexandria
8. The Sri Lankan Child
We've just got back from teaching (12:00) at a school called Eakala (ek-er-ler), and after introducing ourselves and going round asking names etc, Dani drew a big picture of a girl on the board, and we told them to copy it into their english books (we would then label it etc). Some of them didn't have their books, so I went to my bag and pulled out my clipboard filled with about 200 pieces of plain A4 white paper which I STOLE from the printer at home.
Some of the kids went wild and ran toward us cheering and shouting at the front of the class trying to get their piece as quickly as possible. It was like we were on a stockmarket trading floor. It seems that something lik that doesn't happen to them very often!
Paper!
I wonder how many pieces of PAPER I've WASTED recently.
And the pride they have in their PENS is incredible.
The 8th wonder of the world.
The gratitude of the Sri Lankan Child.
Here they are:
1. The Pyramids of Egypt
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) at Olympia
4. Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus
5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6. Colossus at Rhodes
7. Pharos of Alexandria
8. The Sri Lankan Child
We've just got back from teaching (12:00) at a school called Eakala (ek-er-ler), and after introducing ourselves and going round asking names etc, Dani drew a big picture of a girl on the board, and we told them to copy it into their english books (we would then label it etc). Some of them didn't have their books, so I went to my bag and pulled out my clipboard filled with about 200 pieces of plain A4 white paper which I STOLE from the printer at home.
Some of the kids went wild and ran toward us cheering and shouting at the front of the class trying to get their piece as quickly as possible. It was like we were on a stockmarket trading floor. It seems that something lik that doesn't happen to them very often!
Paper!
I wonder how many pieces of PAPER I've WASTED recently.
And the pride they have in their PENS is incredible.
The 8th wonder of the world.
The gratitude of the Sri Lankan Child.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Lewis: FEAR
How do you spell 'fear' in Sinhala?
T-U-K--T-U-K
In one this very moment.
Crying.
T-U-K--T-U-K
In one this very moment.
Crying.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Lewis: Superrrr, brilliantttt...!
Another co-ol day teaching.
We were in the same school as the other day when you will remember we did fruit.
We also had the same class!
They remembered us, and came up to me and did the co-ol thumbs up "Superrr..." thing I taught them, and the High Five "Brillianttt.." thing.
Wicked!
They got A4 paper from us too.
It got the same reaction.
And even though they were SO happy to receive it, only one kid (Maishan) asked for two pieces. And he did it jokingly.
We were in the same school as the other day when you will remember we did fruit.
We also had the same class!
They remembered us, and came up to me and did the co-ol thumbs up "Superrr..." thing I taught them, and the High Five "Brillianttt.." thing.
Wicked!
They got A4 paper from us too.
It got the same reaction.
And even though they were SO happy to receive it, only one kid (Maishan) asked for two pieces. And he did it jokingly.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Lewis: Four Peculiar Things About Sri Lanka
1. There are lots of adverts and posters featuring blonde women. Yet I haven't seen any blonde women at all apart from Dani and a couple of other Travellers Volunteers. Interesting to think of what happens when role models are so out of touch and out of reach with the society. The school children are facinated with Dani's hair, and lots of the girls have Barbie pencil cases.
2. All Sri Lankan children are absolutely beautiful. In the UK, a lot of the kids are just ugly and rotten-looking. You know how some kids hurt your eyes when you look at them? Not here. In Sri Lanka ALL the children will be the most beautiful you'll ever find anywhere. (Dani adds: "They're absolutely STUNNING here. Sooo pretty!")
3. The best food here is the pineapple. If you get the chance, eat a Sri Lankan pineapple. You can thank me later.
4. Nothing is wasted. ALL bottles are recycled. NO paper is thrown away. There are shops on the side of the road selling things we would take to the tip to send to a landfill. Old coach seats, old bikes, old car parts, old buckets and barrels, things that you can't even recognise as being anything.
And a bonus: nice people.
Everywhere we go.
Except the nutcases who drive the Tuk Tuks.
They're just insane.
2. All Sri Lankan children are absolutely beautiful. In the UK, a lot of the kids are just ugly and rotten-looking. You know how some kids hurt your eyes when you look at them? Not here. In Sri Lanka ALL the children will be the most beautiful you'll ever find anywhere. (Dani adds: "They're absolutely STUNNING here. Sooo pretty!")
3. The best food here is the pineapple. If you get the chance, eat a Sri Lankan pineapple. You can thank me later.
4. Nothing is wasted. ALL bottles are recycled. NO paper is thrown away. There are shops on the side of the road selling things we would take to the tip to send to a landfill. Old coach seats, old bikes, old car parts, old buckets and barrels, things that you can't even recognise as being anything.
And a bonus: nice people.
Everywhere we go.
Except the nutcases who drive the Tuk Tuks.
They're just insane.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Dani: The Fashion Monger
I'm not sure what to write today... Lewis thinks I should write a poem.... I think I'll leave that to the professional....
Teaching is really fun- it's amazing how excited the children get when they see us! Lewis was telling you about the paper. I wasn't expecting it to be like this really- they all take such care over their work, and come running up to show us their biro, or their pencil- really really proudly.
Today, one of the boys tore out a page from his exercise book and presented it to me as a gift. Unbelievable!
Apart from that, we've done very little! On our way back from the hotel yesterday (in the death wagon!!), we went passed a clothes shop- the sign on the top said 'Fashion Monger' :)
Lewis then embarrassed himself by saying 'Hey Dani- I'd like you to call me that from now on. The Fashion Monger'.
I said no.
Teaching is really fun- it's amazing how excited the children get when they see us! Lewis was telling you about the paper. I wasn't expecting it to be like this really- they all take such care over their work, and come running up to show us their biro, or their pencil- really really proudly.
Today, one of the boys tore out a page from his exercise book and presented it to me as a gift. Unbelievable!
Apart from that, we've done very little! On our way back from the hotel yesterday (in the death wagon!!), we went passed a clothes shop- the sign on the top said 'Fashion Monger' :)
Lewis then embarrassed himself by saying 'Hey Dani- I'd like you to call me that from now on. The Fashion Monger'.
I said no.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Lewis: You've Got Mail
Hello my loyal readership!
The address for you to send us lovely letters and stickers and happy smiley things is:
Lewis Smith / Danielle Mason
C/O Mr Roshan Perera,
ISON Plastics (Pvt) Limited,
Number 66 Press (Wattha) Gardens,
Kanuwana, Ja-Ela,
Sri Lanka.
We shall wait at the postbox every day :)
The address for you to send us lovely letters and stickers and happy smiley things is:
Lewis Smith / Danielle Mason
C/O Mr Roshan Perera,
ISON Plastics (Pvt) Limited,
Number 66 Press (Wattha) Gardens,
Kanuwana, Ja-Ela,
Sri Lanka.
We shall wait at the postbox every day :)
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Lewis: The Genius of My Friend Dani
One of the interesting things Dani said yesterday is that the vital force in teaching English is vocal symbolism, the semantic aspect of speech, whether informative or dynamic, affective or emotive; the capacity for understanding the deepest meaning of words and, comprehensively, of whole theories.
She elaborated: "The human interest in language seems to be an innate interest in coding and decoding, and it seems to be as nearly specifically human as any interest can be. Speech is the grestest interest and most distinctive achievement of man."
I don't think the children understood her.
She MEANT to say: "Please be quiet."
She elaborated: "The human interest in language seems to be an innate interest in coding and decoding, and it seems to be as nearly specifically human as any interest can be. Speech is the grestest interest and most distinctive achievement of man."
I don't think the children understood her.
She MEANT to say: "Please be quiet."
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Dani: Germanic Wisdom
Saw an interesting German fellow in the pool today, talking at a very confused Sri Lankan man.
The snippet we heard (in a German accent) was:
"No!"
Our heads turned.
"You do de brooding AFTER you've fixed the problem, not BEFORE you've fixed the problem.
Here, dey get de table, throw away de pieces, DEN you do de brooding!"
He didn't notice us laughing. But, looking back on it, I'm sure we could have learned a lot from him.
The snippet we heard (in a German accent) was:
"No!"
Our heads turned.
"You do de brooding AFTER you've fixed the problem, not BEFORE you've fixed the problem.
Here, dey get de table, throw away de pieces, DEN you do de brooding!"
He didn't notice us laughing. But, looking back on it, I'm sure we could have learned a lot from him.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Lewis: Lewis The Tuk-Tuk Driver
I Just Drove A Tuk Tuk!!
We have the same driver every day, and yesterday I told him he was mad.
Today, I drove.
I actually did.
He stopped. Turned to us in the back.
And said "Now you!"
So I took control of what I think was the steering, and hovered my foot over what I think was the brake.
Then I twisted something, and we were off!!
Dani said "That was very impressive! I'd get in a car with you!"
I'm so proud!!!
We have the same driver every day, and yesterday I told him he was mad.
Today, I drove.
I actually did.
He stopped. Turned to us in the back.
And said "Now you!"
So I took control of what I think was the steering, and hovered my foot over what I think was the brake.
Then I twisted something, and we were off!!
Dani said "That was very impressive! I'd get in a car with you!"
I'm so proud!!!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Dani: Lewis is Hot
Lewis was handed a note today from a girl called Iresha in the Mary Immaculate Convent School For Girls.
It had a little picture of a stick-man, and the note read:
"Lewis is Hot".
Oh, how I laughed..... :)
It had a little picture of a stick-man, and the note read:
"Lewis is Hot".
Oh, how I laughed..... :)
Friday, May 12, 2006
Lewis: The Evolution of Transport
Wow!
We're on our way to Colombo (in a baking hot van) for a festival - possibly the Buddha's Birthday, we're not actually sure.
And a family of 4 just drove past us on 1 single motorcycle.
You don't see that every day.
Aaaaagggghhhh....!!!!
I was just about to click SEND to publish this post, and it happened again with a different family on THEIR motorcycle!
Madness.
I'm going to publish this post before it happens again!
We're on our way to Colombo (in a baking hot van) for a festival - possibly the Buddha's Birthday, we're not actually sure.
And a family of 4 just drove past us on 1 single motorcycle.
You don't see that every day.
Aaaaagggghhhh....!!!!
I was just about to click SEND to publish this post, and it happened again with a different family on THEIR motorcycle!
Madness.
I'm going to publish this post before it happens again!
Friday, May 12, 2006
Lewis: Celebrating Vesak
Today was amazing!
We had a journey for about an hour in a 4-wheeled oven, with 15 other people.
It is festival day (parade tomorrow), and Buddhists are celebrating the birth of Siddharta Guatama (the Buddha), and also his enlightenment, and also his death.
A pretty good day to be in the capital city of a predominantly Buddhist country.
We went into a little museum and talked to an orange-robed monk about monkhood. Outside, in a small temple, there were huuuundreds of white-robed Buddhists, and yet it was silent. We also cooked our feet on the absolutely BAKING marble floor. ("Please remove your shoes").
Part of the celebration is that the streets get lined with stalls of food.
And the food was free.
And a bit weird.
And there was LOADS of it.
And as we are Western, we became top priority.
People were clamering to give their food away to us. Every time the van stopped... a tray of drinks appeared through the window!
We were even HOUNDED by the local press.
(Dani says - "Don't write that! We were not hounded!")
5 men with cameras and notebooks asked questions and took lots of pictures of us whilst we were standing in a big long queue for a big long food tent.
The people who had set up the big long food tent said "come, come, come!" and took us to the front of the queue!
We went into the food tent, which was basically a big long school dinner-type table with lots of chairs lining either side. In front of each chair was a plastic bowl full of cling film and rice and curry.
We were sat down with about 30 other people, and told to eat.
We tried.
We had no cutlery!
We were sitting opposite a rice-and-curry-eating pro, and felt like a couple of right divs.
It was really fun though. We were all just looking round trying to work out what on earth was going on.
It was just all so unbelievable.
Next we visited the second most important temple in Sri Lanka, we burnt our feet once again on the white-hot floor, we placed flowers at the foot of a golden statue of the Buddha, we walked through throngs of white-robed Buddhist followers, and we bought an ice-cream each.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable day, and at this moment.. we are sitting.. in the dark.. on the balcony of our house.. listening to Buddhist chanting in the distance.
Happy Vesak :)
We had a journey for about an hour in a 4-wheeled oven, with 15 other people.
It is festival day (parade tomorrow), and Buddhists are celebrating the birth of Siddharta Guatama (the Buddha), and also his enlightenment, and also his death.
A pretty good day to be in the capital city of a predominantly Buddhist country.
We went into a little museum and talked to an orange-robed monk about monkhood. Outside, in a small temple, there were huuuundreds of white-robed Buddhists, and yet it was silent. We also cooked our feet on the absolutely BAKING marble floor. ("Please remove your shoes").
Part of the celebration is that the streets get lined with stalls of food.
And the food was free.
And a bit weird.
And there was LOADS of it.
And as we are Western, we became top priority.
People were clamering to give their food away to us. Every time the van stopped... a tray of drinks appeared through the window!
We were even HOUNDED by the local press.
(Dani says - "Don't write that! We were not hounded!")
5 men with cameras and notebooks asked questions and took lots of pictures of us whilst we were standing in a big long queue for a big long food tent.
The people who had set up the big long food tent said "come, come, come!" and took us to the front of the queue!
We went into the food tent, which was basically a big long school dinner-type table with lots of chairs lining either side. In front of each chair was a plastic bowl full of cling film and rice and curry.
We were sat down with about 30 other people, and told to eat.
We tried.
We had no cutlery!
We were sitting opposite a rice-and-curry-eating pro, and felt like a couple of right divs.
It was really fun though. We were all just looking round trying to work out what on earth was going on.
It was just all so unbelievable.
Next we visited the second most important temple in Sri Lanka, we burnt our feet once again on the white-hot floor, we placed flowers at the foot of a golden statue of the Buddha, we walked through throngs of white-robed Buddhist followers, and we bought an ice-cream each.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable day, and at this moment.. we are sitting.. in the dark.. on the balcony of our house.. listening to Buddhist chanting in the distance.
Happy Vesak :)
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Dani: Creatures!
It's weird how fast you get used to seeing wildlife everywhere.
You go into the bathroom, and there are ants and spiders everywhere.
In the evening, loads of little orange lizards are running all over the walls.
Lewis just aided in the capture of a huge tropical spider (the size of an apple) that was hiding in someone's locker.
Yesterday, we had a run in with a 2-metre long fanged serpent (sorry, Jen).
And on the wall behind us at this moment, is a tiny frog. It's been there for ages!
We're also covered in flies.
(But Lewis says:
"There ain't no flies on me..!")
You go into the bathroom, and there are ants and spiders everywhere.
In the evening, loads of little orange lizards are running all over the walls.
Lewis just aided in the capture of a huge tropical spider (the size of an apple) that was hiding in someone's locker.
Yesterday, we had a run in with a 2-metre long fanged serpent (sorry, Jen).
And on the wall behind us at this moment, is a tiny frog. It's been there for ages!
We're also covered in flies.
(But Lewis says:
"There ain't no flies on me..!")
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Dani: When in Sri Lanka....
Jen- you'll be pleased to hear we went shopping today!
We got the bus into Colombo, which was quite an experience, and then got tuk-tuks to the main 'department stores'.
We can't wait to show you what we bought!
You won't believe us if we told you.
We also got LOADS of really really cheap DVDs - about £1.20 each - so if anyone has any requests.... let us know!
And somehow we managed to stumble upon a 5* hotel, and somehow we found ourselves walking inside.
In their basement was, of all things, a British themed pub called 'Cheers'.
We had macaroni cheese and hot chocolate (very British).
And there were NO ants, we washed our hands with REAL soap- and there was CARPET on the floor!!
Wherever you are in your house, go and touch some carpet!
Tell us how it feels.......
We got the bus into Colombo, which was quite an experience, and then got tuk-tuks to the main 'department stores'.
We can't wait to show you what we bought!
You won't believe us if we told you.
We also got LOADS of really really cheap DVDs - about £1.20 each - so if anyone has any requests.... let us know!
And somehow we managed to stumble upon a 5* hotel, and somehow we found ourselves walking inside.
In their basement was, of all things, a British themed pub called 'Cheers'.
We had macaroni cheese and hot chocolate (very British).
And there were NO ants, we washed our hands with REAL soap- and there was CARPET on the floor!!
Wherever you are in your house, go and touch some carpet!
Tell us how it feels.......
Monday, May 15, 2006
Lewis: Lakbima
We've been here for just over 2 weeks, and already we're famous.
You remember we were herded into a big long food tent and given free rice and curry in a bowl with cling film?
And remember we said we were hounded by the press?
And remember one of Sri Lankas largest national newspapers is called Lakbima? And that Lakbima is another name for Sri Lanka?
And that Lakbima is Sri Lanka's version of America's USA Today?
Well, we're on page 5.
You remember we were herded into a big long food tent and given free rice and curry in a bowl with cling film?
And remember we said we were hounded by the press?
And remember one of Sri Lankas largest national newspapers is called Lakbima? And that Lakbima is another name for Sri Lanka?
And that Lakbima is Sri Lanka's version of America's USA Today?
Well, we're on page 5.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Dani: Flowers, volleyball, and the name game!
Yesterday we went to St. Joseph's (the first school we taught at) and had grade 5, which makes them 10 years old.
They put LOTS of flowers in our hair, weird yellow sticky leaf things on our nails, we learnt all about their families, we played volleyball, and learnt ALL their names!
We go to a different school and teach a different class each day. There are usually more girls than boys (but the boys are much wilder to make up for it!). The boys just run and jump and arm-wrestle (including Lewis), whereas the girls corner you and demand that you sing and dance (while they play with and stick things in your hair).
Who would you rather teach?!
They put LOTS of flowers in our hair, weird yellow sticky leaf things on our nails, we learnt all about their families, we played volleyball, and learnt ALL their names!
We go to a different school and teach a different class each day. There are usually more girls than boys (but the boys are much wilder to make up for it!). The boys just run and jump and arm-wrestle (including Lewis), whereas the girls corner you and demand that you sing and dance (while they play with and stick things in your hair).
Who would you rather teach?!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
What's that you're eating?
Guess what we had for breakfast this morning.
We had a single sweet potato each.
And some coconut to sprinkle on it.
Or chilli, if we chose chilli.
How weird is that?!
Please remind us of what we COULD have had... What did you have for breakfast this morning?!
We had a single sweet potato each.
And some coconut to sprinkle on it.
Or chilli, if we chose chilli.
How weird is that?!
Please remind us of what we COULD have had... What did you have for breakfast this morning?!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Dani: Differently Abled
Yesterday and today, we went to a community centre for people with disabilities, instead of our usual primary school teaching.
There are probably about 50 people, of all different ages, who go there 3 times a week.
They do painting, and sewing, and 'shell craft', and computer skills, and wood work, and music, and they make weird woollen flowers.
We were allowed to join in, sitting with one or two people each.
The things they were making were absolutely amazing! Far far better than anything we could do. We did more watching and learning, rather than helping.
They sell all the things they make at craft sales to raise money to keep the centre going.
Lewis was learning how to make roses out of shells (and getting covered in glue), and I was trying to use a sewing machine (very unsuccessfully), helping paint, and watching what looked exactly like a Year 9 DT lesson.
Today, one guy got out the most appalling english book ('X' for 'x-mas tree'), and we spent about an hour and a half saying letters and writing words.
It was really fun, and everyone (the people who go there, and the volunteers in charge) were all absolutely lovely....
.... and they all thought Lewis was a girl.
Not just hair, but his girlish good looks too.
It's a good thing he has a sense of humour....
There are probably about 50 people, of all different ages, who go there 3 times a week.
They do painting, and sewing, and 'shell craft', and computer skills, and wood work, and music, and they make weird woollen flowers.
We were allowed to join in, sitting with one or two people each.
The things they were making were absolutely amazing! Far far better than anything we could do. We did more watching and learning, rather than helping.
They sell all the things they make at craft sales to raise money to keep the centre going.
Lewis was learning how to make roses out of shells (and getting covered in glue), and I was trying to use a sewing machine (very unsuccessfully), helping paint, and watching what looked exactly like a Year 9 DT lesson.
Today, one guy got out the most appalling english book ('X' for 'x-mas tree'), and we spent about an hour and a half saying letters and writing words.
It was really fun, and everyone (the people who go there, and the volunteers in charge) were all absolutely lovely....
.... and they all thought Lewis was a girl.
Not just hair, but his girlish good looks too.
It's a good thing he has a sense of humour....
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Lewis: Rydw i'n hoffi coffi
When we went to Australia, lots of people said that I sounded more Welsh than Dani and Laura.
It was just embarrassing.
And OH!
How Dani and Laura laughed!
So I went to work.
And now, I'm sure you would love to join me in laughing at/with Dani now that we are told she sounds more Welsh than meeeee.....!!
She's NOT happy about it.
She's not even Welsh!
It was just embarrassing.
And OH!
How Dani and Laura laughed!
So I went to work.
And now, I'm sure you would love to join me in laughing at/with Dani now that we are told she sounds more Welsh than meeeee.....!!
She's NOT happy about it.
She's not even Welsh!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Lewis: Unbelievable
We just caught the bus.
It was SO expensive.
It cost us 1p.
An ENTIRE penny!!
It was SO expensive.
It cost us 1p.
An ENTIRE penny!!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Dani: Nice move.... did you make that up?
We were helping in the disabled school again yesterday, with much the same...
Except we did dancing!!
I found myself being led upstairs, into the strangest 'music lesson' I have ever been to!
We had to take our shoes off outside the room, and the lesson began with a short prayer, followed by what I think was the national anthem.
I was then handed a circular piece of wire, with lots of flattened bottle tops threaded on it. This, along with the weirdest looking guitar I have ever seen, were the only instruments they used.
They sang lots of Sri Lankan folk- type songs, and all took it in turns to stand and sing solos, or to lead the group in their chosen song.
They also all took it in turns to stand in the middle of the circle and dance....
Fortunately, Mrs. Meggitt (my old dance teacher) had prepared me for such an event.
It's just a shame I didn't have a sparkly wig, or a sequined belt/necklace set to demonstrate how it really ought to be done.
The routine is just not the same without it.
Except we did dancing!!
I found myself being led upstairs, into the strangest 'music lesson' I have ever been to!
We had to take our shoes off outside the room, and the lesson began with a short prayer, followed by what I think was the national anthem.
I was then handed a circular piece of wire, with lots of flattened bottle tops threaded on it. This, along with the weirdest looking guitar I have ever seen, were the only instruments they used.
They sang lots of Sri Lankan folk- type songs, and all took it in turns to stand and sing solos, or to lead the group in their chosen song.
They also all took it in turns to stand in the middle of the circle and dance....
Fortunately, Mrs. Meggitt (my old dance teacher) had prepared me for such an event.
It's just a shame I didn't have a sparkly wig, or a sequined belt/necklace set to demonstrate how it really ought to be done.
The routine is just not the same without it.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Lewis: What would you rather..?
I think you should know this.
It's important.
I, Lewis Smith, am taking my malaria tablets at this moment.
And they truly are the most disgusting things I have ever had to eat.
Up until these malaria tablets, I have never taken tablets or pills for anything. Ever. So eating these bad boys every day has proven rather difficult for me to get to grips with, and I'm sure Dani could probably provide you with some hilarious testimony of the daily tablet cherade.
So for those who have never taken them, I can assure you - malaria is nicer.
I have never actually had malaria, but it can't possibly be worse than these tablets.
Nothing could be.
That would just be satanic.
Let me ask you:
What would you rather?
a). Swallow these disgusting litle dead body flavoured white round bullets.
b). Get malaria, an infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito; marked by paroxysms of chills and fever.
I'm tempted by the paroxysms of chills and fever.
It's important.
I, Lewis Smith, am taking my malaria tablets at this moment.
And they truly are the most disgusting things I have ever had to eat.
Up until these malaria tablets, I have never taken tablets or pills for anything. Ever. So eating these bad boys every day has proven rather difficult for me to get to grips with, and I'm sure Dani could probably provide you with some hilarious testimony of the daily tablet cherade.
So for those who have never taken them, I can assure you - malaria is nicer.
I have never actually had malaria, but it can't possibly be worse than these tablets.
Nothing could be.
That would just be satanic.
Let me ask you:
What would you rather?
a). Swallow these disgusting litle dead body flavoured white round bullets.
b). Get malaria, an infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito; marked by paroxysms of chills and fever.
I'm tempted by the paroxysms of chills and fever.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Can Elephants really go White Water Rafting?
We're having a change of plan!
We're leaving Ja Ela (teaching) for our month in Kegalle (Elephants) next weekend instead of this weekend because a couple of other people with us here are going there then, and we are all going to go on a beach trip in the week in the meantime!
But today (actually at this moment) we are in an incredible bumpy 3-hour van ride for a weekend trip to go on a big long walk with tea plantations (I think) and to go White Water Rafting!
And our van just overtook a car on a blind bend.
When we get back we will try uploading a nice selection of all our photos for all to see!
Let me ask you:
Have you been white water rafting before? Would you ever?
We're leaving Ja Ela (teaching) for our month in Kegalle (Elephants) next weekend instead of this weekend because a couple of other people with us here are going there then, and we are all going to go on a beach trip in the week in the meantime!
But today (actually at this moment) we are in an incredible bumpy 3-hour van ride for a weekend trip to go on a big long walk with tea plantations (I think) and to go White Water Rafting!
And our van just overtook a car on a blind bend.
When we get back we will try uploading a nice selection of all our photos for all to see!
Let me ask you:
Have you been white water rafting before? Would you ever?
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Lewis: "You didn't say there'd be leaches in the water!"
We did it!
We survived too!
It was amazing!
We even got in the water and drifted down the river with just our life-jackets!! (Yes, we WERE also wearing clothes...)
If you haven't been White Water Rafting before, make sure you do at the next chance you get!
We survived too!
It was amazing!
We even got in the water and drifted down the river with just our life-jackets!! (Yes, we WERE also wearing clothes...)
If you haven't been White Water Rafting before, make sure you do at the next chance you get!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Lewis: Elephants can DRIVE now too?!
We are just bumpily driving down a mountain on long winding roads in a scarily driven van, and guess what just drove past us going up...
A flat-bed truck with a massive elephant standing patiently on the back!
We can't work out what Mr Elephant will be doing at the top of a mountain, but we did have a bit of a laugh wondering whether the driver of the flat-bed was aware of the Elephant hitching a ride...
A flat-bed truck with a massive elephant standing patiently on the back!
We can't work out what Mr Elephant will be doing at the top of a mountain, but we did have a bit of a laugh wondering whether the driver of the flat-bed was aware of the Elephant hitching a ride...
Monday, May 22, 2006
Dani: To the end of the world and back!
We've had a very exciting, fun filled, action-packed weekend!
I'm going to try and remember everything we did.... here we go....
We left on Saturday and went to Kitugalle to go white water rafting, which was amazing! Very scary - you don't actually sit in the raft, you have to sort of balance on the edge with your feet in, while you go through rapids and in between rocks and things. We were given a helmet, a life jacket, and an oar... and off we went! But it was really fun and absolutely beautiful, we highly recommend it!
We then went on a beautiful (if slightly bumpy) drive to Nuwara Eliya, past loads and loads of tea plantations, and found a place to stay. And got bitten to pieces by bedbugs! I won't share with you where exactly, but let's just say it hurts to sit down!!
Anyway... we weren't there for very long - we got up at 5.30, and drove to Horton Plains National Park, where we went on a beautiful walk to World's End, which was just as stunning as it's name suggests! It was a 9km round trip, and on the way we also went past 'Baker's Fall', which was also beautiful! Dad - it was another camera man's heaven :)
It doesn't stop there! Written down like this, it seems like such a lot! I'm quite shocked.
Anyway, we then went back to Nuwara Eliya, to a tea plantation/factory! We got a really cool apron and hat to wear, and went on a tour of the factory. They showed us all about how they make tea! And it was the most amazing smell! AND they let us try some :)
And then we had a 5 hour drive back to the house, being thrown about in the back of a van....
And that's when we drove down the winding road, down the mountain, past the elephant balancing on a trailer being pulled by a truck :)
I'm going to try and remember everything we did.... here we go....
We left on Saturday and went to Kitugalle to go white water rafting, which was amazing! Very scary - you don't actually sit in the raft, you have to sort of balance on the edge with your feet in, while you go through rapids and in between rocks and things. We were given a helmet, a life jacket, and an oar... and off we went! But it was really fun and absolutely beautiful, we highly recommend it!
We then went on a beautiful (if slightly bumpy) drive to Nuwara Eliya, past loads and loads of tea plantations, and found a place to stay. And got bitten to pieces by bedbugs! I won't share with you where exactly, but let's just say it hurts to sit down!!
Anyway... we weren't there for very long - we got up at 5.30, and drove to Horton Plains National Park, where we went on a beautiful walk to World's End, which was just as stunning as it's name suggests! It was a 9km round trip, and on the way we also went past 'Baker's Fall', which was also beautiful! Dad - it was another camera man's heaven :)
It doesn't stop there! Written down like this, it seems like such a lot! I'm quite shocked.
Anyway, we then went back to Nuwara Eliya, to a tea plantation/factory! We got a really cool apron and hat to wear, and went on a tour of the factory. They showed us all about how they make tea! And it was the most amazing smell! AND they let us try some :)
And then we had a 5 hour drive back to the house, being thrown about in the back of a van....
And that's when we drove down the winding road, down the mountain, past the elephant balancing on a trailer being pulled by a truck :)
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Lewis: Guess what we saw today...
Another day in the Disabled School yesterday, and it was the first day I decided not to do shells!
There are about 50 people at the Disabled School, and Dani has grown a bit of a fan club. She gets on REALLY well with everybody there! There is a group of maybe 12 or so of the absolute nicest boys you will ever meet who hold her hand and walk around with her.
Instead of shells, i initially opted for the same task as Dani, which would have been whatever the 12 boys would be doing.
So in came their volunteer guy to spread the marvellous news that today was woodwork day!
And how do you prepare for a woodwork lesson in Sri Lanka?
You exercise.
So we went out into a little courtyard and stood around in what turned into a routine not unlike a P.E lesson warm up.
Yes, we did star jumps. Yes, we were bouncing on the spot. Yes, we did (attempt to) touch our toes. We were ever so graceful. I think there is definately a special bond between two people only achieved when you have bounced 10 star jumps in a courtyard in a Sri Lankan Christian School for Differently Abled Children feeling the stupidest you have ever felt in your whole entire life, and then discovering that you were being watched throughout the 10-minute routine by Heather and Jess (cool travellers volunteers just like us) from one of the windows above.
With our newly discovered respect for each other, we made our way to where they have their woodwork classes, and looked on in HORROR as the volunteer guy handed out actual real saws and real hammers and real files and actual blocks of wood!
I didn't think this was such a great idea - but Dani had seen it all before!
So no big deal.
Until they started walking with the saws sticking out in front of them as if sawing through the crowd, or when they'd be sawing a big block of wood and just lose concentration and look around the place and chat, and FORGET THEY'RE SAWING, or when they'd be hammering a nail into a block of wood and let the point their aiming for drift slowly to the left, where their finger is. Or Dani's finger.
I dreamed of shells. How stupid I must have been to leave the safety of glueing shells with my new friends Gihan and Anushka!
The whole woodwork thing was terrifying, so I ran away.
I went inside and sat for about an hour with a boy called Sujith Fernando (19). He learns English. The way he was taught English had him writing out what were basically 'lines'. Like you would have to do as a punishment in a UK school.
There are about 50 people at the Disabled School, and Dani has grown a bit of a fan club. She gets on REALLY well with everybody there! There is a group of maybe 12 or so of the absolute nicest boys you will ever meet who hold her hand and walk around with her.
Instead of shells, i initially opted for the same task as Dani, which would have been whatever the 12 boys would be doing.
So in came their volunteer guy to spread the marvellous news that today was woodwork day!
And how do you prepare for a woodwork lesson in Sri Lanka?
You exercise.
So we went out into a little courtyard and stood around in what turned into a routine not unlike a P.E lesson warm up.
Yes, we did star jumps. Yes, we were bouncing on the spot. Yes, we did (attempt to) touch our toes. We were ever so graceful. I think there is definately a special bond between two people only achieved when you have bounced 10 star jumps in a courtyard in a Sri Lankan Christian School for Differently Abled Children feeling the stupidest you have ever felt in your whole entire life, and then discovering that you were being watched throughout the 10-minute routine by Heather and Jess (cool travellers volunteers just like us) from one of the windows above.
With our newly discovered respect for each other, we made our way to where they have their woodwork classes, and looked on in HORROR as the volunteer guy handed out actual real saws and real hammers and real files and actual blocks of wood!
I didn't think this was such a great idea - but Dani had seen it all before!
So no big deal.
Until they started walking with the saws sticking out in front of them as if sawing through the crowd, or when they'd be sawing a big block of wood and just lose concentration and look around the place and chat, and FORGET THEY'RE SAWING, or when they'd be hammering a nail into a block of wood and let the point their aiming for drift slowly to the left, where their finger is. Or Dani's finger.
I dreamed of shells. How stupid I must have been to leave the safety of glueing shells with my new friends Gihan and Anushka!
The whole woodwork thing was terrifying, so I ran away.
I went inside and sat for about an hour with a boy called Sujith Fernando (19). He learns English. The way he was taught English had him writing out what were basically 'lines'. Like you would have to do as a punishment in a UK school.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Lewis: CONTINUED
"My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl."
So instead we decided to learn with actions and pictures I drew. He was amazing! We learnt about 30 words in an hour!
And I tested him at the end by going through each one without the actual written word in front of him, and he got every single one right.
I think 'Sujith Language Learning Ltd' would do very well.
Me and my mate Sujith.
We have our last day there today, and we're just in the van on the way.
I may do shells today, just for the memories.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl.
My name is Sujith Fernando.
I am 19 years old.
My mother's name is Mary.
She is a girl."
So instead we decided to learn with actions and pictures I drew. He was amazing! We learnt about 30 words in an hour!
And I tested him at the end by going through each one without the actual written word in front of him, and he got every single one right.
I think 'Sujith Language Learning Ltd' would do very well.
Me and my mate Sujith.
We have our last day there today, and we're just in the van on the way.
I may do shells today, just for the memories.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Lewis: Buckets and spades
We've now finished teaching until after our month with the Elephants, which starts on Monday!
So we have taken a little trip!
Remember we said about a trip to the beach?
Well we're here!
We took a bus from Ja Ela (where we're living) to Colombo (the capital) as the first leg of our long journey South.
The bus journey took about an hour and a half, and it cost us 40 rupees.
And that works out as 10p each.
The next bus ride was to Galle, about two and a half hours away, and that cost us 75p each.
And now we're here.
At 'Harmony Guest House' in Hikkaduwa.
And it is absolutely beautiful.
To walk from our room to the beach would take less than 30 seconds.
So we'll have to write more later. We can't really go and get sand on our BlackBerry now can we? :)
So we have taken a little trip!
Remember we said about a trip to the beach?
Well we're here!
We took a bus from Ja Ela (where we're living) to Colombo (the capital) as the first leg of our long journey South.
The bus journey took about an hour and a half, and it cost us 40 rupees.
And that works out as 10p each.
The next bus ride was to Galle, about two and a half hours away, and that cost us 75p each.
And now we're here.
At 'Harmony Guest House' in Hikkaduwa.
And it is absolutely beautiful.
To walk from our room to the beach would take less than 30 seconds.
So we'll have to write more later. We can't really go and get sand on our BlackBerry now can we? :)
Monday, May 29, 2006
Dani: A well earned rest!
First of all, I must apologise for my lack of posts. I haven't written to you in a week! I'm sorry! I am a disgrace. It's not that I don't love you all, we've just been busy!
I'm going to make up for it by making this the best post I have ever written :)
Here's what we did this weekend....
We set off on thursday afternoon for Hikkaduwa. It was beautiful there! We stayed at Harmony Guest House, which was right on the beach - palm trees and everything!
We explored Hikkaduwa on friday, which was a lovely place. Lots of little shops, all selling handmade clothes and artwork and things.
We then got absolutely drenched in the rain walking back!
You all keep telling us how wet it is back home, but as it's monsoon season here, we are also getting our fair share! Not just cats and dogs, but elephants, hippos, lions and tigers and bears.
Oh my.
The next day, after a bit more shopping, we crammed into a taxi (a man with a car, and a sign stuck on his gate saying 'taxi') and set off for Unawatuna, the next town round the coast. And our driver (old, fat, grumpy) had a comb-over that kept coming undone! It was literally flapping about in the wind on the wrong side of his bald head! I very nearly died laughing.
We found somewhere to stay, a place called Sea View, which was about 10 steps from the sea! After some hard bargaining, we managed to get what works out as 50p off the price.
We saved enough to be able to splash out on a lovely restaurant in the evening, and ate only dessert :) actually, several desserts....
And that night, Lewis fell asleep with one eye open!! It was VERY scary. I sprayed insect repellent on his feet to see if he actually was asleep, and he didn't move! Just stared at me. With one eye.
The next morning we went on an exciting adventure, which Lewis is going to tell you about :) just to add a bit of mystery and suspense to our blogs! An essential ingredient to any good story, I'm sure you'll agree.
After our secret adventure, and a much needed shower, and some more food... we all got a van back to Ja Ela.
For our last night in the house!
And that brings me on to my next post....
I'm going to make up for it by making this the best post I have ever written :)
Here's what we did this weekend....
We set off on thursday afternoon for Hikkaduwa. It was beautiful there! We stayed at Harmony Guest House, which was right on the beach - palm trees and everything!
We explored Hikkaduwa on friday, which was a lovely place. Lots of little shops, all selling handmade clothes and artwork and things.
We then got absolutely drenched in the rain walking back!
You all keep telling us how wet it is back home, but as it's monsoon season here, we are also getting our fair share! Not just cats and dogs, but elephants, hippos, lions and tigers and bears.
Oh my.
The next day, after a bit more shopping, we crammed into a taxi (a man with a car, and a sign stuck on his gate saying 'taxi') and set off for Unawatuna, the next town round the coast. And our driver (old, fat, grumpy) had a comb-over that kept coming undone! It was literally flapping about in the wind on the wrong side of his bald head! I very nearly died laughing.
We found somewhere to stay, a place called Sea View, which was about 10 steps from the sea! After some hard bargaining, we managed to get what works out as 50p off the price.
We saved enough to be able to splash out on a lovely restaurant in the evening, and ate only dessert :) actually, several desserts....
And that night, Lewis fell asleep with one eye open!! It was VERY scary. I sprayed insect repellent on his feet to see if he actually was asleep, and he didn't move! Just stared at me. With one eye.
The next morning we went on an exciting adventure, which Lewis is going to tell you about :) just to add a bit of mystery and suspense to our blogs! An essential ingredient to any good story, I'm sure you'll agree.
After our secret adventure, and a much needed shower, and some more food... we all got a van back to Ja Ela.
For our last night in the house!
And that brings me on to my next post....
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Dani: Happy Birthday Dad!!
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Dad,
Happy birthday to you!
Hip hip hooray!!
I heard that you are very old... is that right?!
Save me some cake!!
Have a lovely day, thinking of you :)
Lots of love x x x x x x x
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Dad,
Happy birthday to you!
Hip hip hooray!!
I heard that you are very old... is that right?!
Save me some cake!!
Have a lovely day, thinking of you :)
Lots of love x x x x x x x
Monday, May 29, 2006
Lewis: A healthy obsession
Oh, what have we done?!
Something terrible, we know that much.
We have created a monster. A beast! And we have done it to you, dear reader.
We have created a readership. A loyal blog readership. An audience! And that is a good thing. But it does have a down side. We have created an audience, but given them an obsession.
And what is the price you pay for doing this to your readers?
If you don't post an update for 2 days - yes, two days! - then you are the receiver of about 10 to 15 emails, text messages, and blog comments - yes, 10 to 15! - from people demanding an update on what we're doing!
And it's amazing!!
Thank you for being interested enough to keep reading. Can you believe some people don't even check their emails? And we have people visiting our blog enough to notice. And that makes us happy!
Let me ask you:
How often do you check our blogs?
Something terrible, we know that much.
We have created a monster. A beast! And we have done it to you, dear reader.
We have created a readership. A loyal blog readership. An audience! And that is a good thing. But it does have a down side. We have created an audience, but given them an obsession.
And what is the price you pay for doing this to your readers?
If you don't post an update for 2 days - yes, two days! - then you are the receiver of about 10 to 15 emails, text messages, and blog comments - yes, 10 to 15! - from people demanding an update on what we're doing!
And it's amazing!!
Thank you for being interested enough to keep reading. Can you believe some people don't even check their emails? And we have people visiting our blog enough to notice. And that makes us happy!
Let me ask you:
How often do you check our blogs?
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Dani: "I never thought I'd say this... but you just flicked poo in my face!"
After spending Monday packing and sorting (VERY calmly - not a headless chicken in sight) we said farewell to Ja Ela and set off for Kegalle.
And here we are!
The house is much smaller than Ja Ela - it only takes up to 14 people at a time, and that's with the beds really crammed in. There's 8 of us here at the moment, but tomorrow another 6 are arriving. And there's only 2 bathrooms between us all!
And one of them is outside.
So it's rather cosy!
Yesterday was our first day with the elephants, which was amazing!
Remember how we told you we were sweaty, smelly, and covered in flies?
Well, now we're covered in elephant poo as well.
It is a truly beautiful sight.
The day started with us all dressing in our very best 'poo clothes', and after one last check in the mirror to ensure we were looking our most glamorous, we set off.
We were given a pair of gloves (thank God) and presented with 3 shed things, each as big as two Tennis Courts, all full of sticks, leaves... and LOTS of poo!
Our job is basically just to pick up all this stuff... and throw it onto the back of a trailer.
It was really fun!
Then it was back to the house for a shower (which, given the bathroom situation, takes quite a long time!) and some lunch.
In the afternoon, we went back to watch the elephants in the river. There are about 75 elephants all together, and they all have names! We helped wash them, and some of them returned the favour and washed us too... the second shower of the day!
This is how we're going to spend the next month :)
Covered in mud, poo, and dirty river water.
Then we go back to teach for a month!
We're going to have to find out what "smelly teacher" is in Sinhala so we know when we're being laughed at!
And here we are!
The house is much smaller than Ja Ela - it only takes up to 14 people at a time, and that's with the beds really crammed in. There's 8 of us here at the moment, but tomorrow another 6 are arriving. And there's only 2 bathrooms between us all!
And one of them is outside.
So it's rather cosy!
Yesterday was our first day with the elephants, which was amazing!
Remember how we told you we were sweaty, smelly, and covered in flies?
Well, now we're covered in elephant poo as well.
It is a truly beautiful sight.
The day started with us all dressing in our very best 'poo clothes', and after one last check in the mirror to ensure we were looking our most glamorous, we set off.
We were given a pair of gloves (thank God) and presented with 3 shed things, each as big as two Tennis Courts, all full of sticks, leaves... and LOTS of poo!
Our job is basically just to pick up all this stuff... and throw it onto the back of a trailer.
It was really fun!
Then it was back to the house for a shower (which, given the bathroom situation, takes quite a long time!) and some lunch.
In the afternoon, we went back to watch the elephants in the river. There are about 75 elephants all together, and they all have names! We helped wash them, and some of them returned the favour and washed us too... the second shower of the day!
This is how we're going to spend the next month :)
Covered in mud, poo, and dirty river water.
Then we go back to teach for a month!
We're going to have to find out what "smelly teacher" is in Sinhala so we know when we're being laughed at!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Lewis: "Did you just see that?!"
It is true.
Elephants really do have trunks! And they really are absolutely enormous. And they really do lift massive logs of wood with their trunks. And they really do chase dogs. And they really do walk in long lines. And they really do listen to their Mahoots. And they really do make that elephantine trumpeting noise!
And how do we know all this?
Because we meet them every day!
Yipee..!!
We fed the baby elephants on Thursday, and they hoovered up the cashew nuts from our hands with their trunks! They will also open their mouth for you, so you can put one on it's tongue.
When we were feeding the baby elephants we watched the enormous adult elephants eating. They have mountains of leaves, and it seems like they eat all afternoon.
Most afternoons we go to the river next to Pinnewala to watch the 75 elephants mooching about in the water. We also help wash them!
They just stand patiently, looking at you, as you throw water over them.
These animals are absolutely magnificent.
Elephants really do have trunks! And they really are absolutely enormous. And they really do lift massive logs of wood with their trunks. And they really do chase dogs. And they really do walk in long lines. And they really do listen to their Mahoots. And they really do make that elephantine trumpeting noise!
And how do we know all this?
Because we meet them every day!
Yipee..!!
We fed the baby elephants on Thursday, and they hoovered up the cashew nuts from our hands with their trunks! They will also open their mouth for you, so you can put one on it's tongue.
When we were feeding the baby elephants we watched the enormous adult elephants eating. They have mountains of leaves, and it seems like they eat all afternoon.
Most afternoons we go to the river next to Pinnewala to watch the 75 elephants mooching about in the water. We also help wash them!
They just stand patiently, looking at you, as you throw water over them.
These animals are absolutely magnificent.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Lewis: Pack Your Trunk...
We're at the Millenium Elephant Foundation (a difference place to where we're working) and we're going to be riding an elephant!
I'm quite scared of falling off, and I'm also quite worried for the elephant.
I imagine it's just like riding a horse. Not that I've ever been on a horse.
So at this very moment Dani and I are JUST about to climb on!!
I'm quite scared of falling off, and I'm also quite worried for the elephant.
I imagine it's just like riding a horse. Not that I've ever been on a horse.
So at this very moment Dani and I are JUST about to climb on!!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Lewis: Hold On Tight!
We did it!
And it wasn't as scary as you'd think!!
We were going round the streets for about 20 minutes on the back of our 10-foot BEAST, then we went down to the river (at the Millenium Elephant Foundation), and, still sitting on her back, got absolutely drenched with water from her trunk!!
Several times.
And I was sitting in front of Dani.
But we dried quickly, and whizzed off in the van back to the house (the half hour drive we do 4 times a day!) where we ate, packed some things, and whizzed off in the van again all the way back to the Ja Ela house... which is where we are now! We're back at the house we stayed at for our month of teaching. There is so much more space here, which is good because I feel so trapped in the other house. In the Kegalle house (at the elephants) there are 14 people all living really close together... and sharing 2 bathrooms. Which is not good when all of us are covered in elephant poo! I remember seeing a clever thing on a survival program once when a man put holes in a plastic bag, filled it with water, and hung it from a tree branch. And he had an emergency shower! I'm sure the other volunteers would pay to use such a contraption.
Anyway - We are here at Ja Ela until Sunday.
We are going to be back at the amazing disabled school tomorrow, and then we're going on a cool weekend trip to a national park and to a rainforest!
How exciting!!
And it wasn't as scary as you'd think!!
We were going round the streets for about 20 minutes on the back of our 10-foot BEAST, then we went down to the river (at the Millenium Elephant Foundation), and, still sitting on her back, got absolutely drenched with water from her trunk!!
Several times.
And I was sitting in front of Dani.
But we dried quickly, and whizzed off in the van back to the house (the half hour drive we do 4 times a day!) where we ate, packed some things, and whizzed off in the van again all the way back to the Ja Ela house... which is where we are now! We're back at the house we stayed at for our month of teaching. There is so much more space here, which is good because I feel so trapped in the other house. In the Kegalle house (at the elephants) there are 14 people all living really close together... and sharing 2 bathrooms. Which is not good when all of us are covered in elephant poo! I remember seeing a clever thing on a survival program once when a man put holes in a plastic bag, filled it with water, and hung it from a tree branch. And he had an emergency shower! I'm sure the other volunteers would pay to use such a contraption.
Anyway - We are here at Ja Ela until Sunday.
We are going to be back at the amazing disabled school tomorrow, and then we're going on a cool weekend trip to a national park and to a rainforest!
How exciting!!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Dani: Kandy, Coca-Cola, and Teeth!
We've just gotten back from our weekend trip to Kandy, and we had a wonderful time! Here is how our adventure started:
We got the bus on Friday afternoon, which was very cheap, if not very comfortable! The journey was about an hour and a half, most of which was spent completely wedged and squished between people, grabbing hold of anything we could to try and stop ourselves landing on innocent stranger's laps. I don't think we embarrassed ourselves TOO much though.
We eventually arrived and made our way to 'Lake Bungalow', the guest house that other volunteers have stayed at before. It was really lovely, like being in their family home! Complete with family portraits, LOTS of weird ornament type things, and two HUGE dogs!
As we were absolutely starving at this point we decided to go on a food adventure. We bought lots of fruit, and cheese and crackers, and looked for somewhere to sit. We found a bench next to the Temple of the Tooth opposite the beautiful lake, and we had a picnic in the moonlight :)
The next morning we walked into Kandy, which was madness! Imagine walking down a street, lined with VERY enthusiatic Big Issue sellers and charity fundraisers, all scrambling to get your attention. But you are walking with so many people in a sort of swarm, so you can't actually move your arms or get out of the crowd! We were just carried along towards the market, which was like a very crowded car boot sale. Rows and rows of towels lined up along the floor, each piled high with a very random selection of absolute junk!
It was really fun :) and we managed to escape without giving away all we own in exchange for plastic monkeys or 'I love Jesus' hats....quite an achievement!
After the chaos of the market, we hopped in a tuk tuk, and went of to the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens. They are the largest botanic gardens in Sri Lanka, and they are beautiful! Really quiet and peaceful. We saw a GIANT Javan fig tree, which covers 1600 square metres, and coconuts the size of a car tyre! Amazing!
In the evening, we went to see the Kandyan dancing. It was amazing! The costumes were really beautiful, and the dancing was very impressive. They also did a fire throwing and fire walking display at the end! I was a bit scared because they were just laughing and posing for photographs and things, WHILST throwing around the fire.... I would have liked them to appear as if they were concentrating even just a little on what they were doing.... but they were amazing!
We got the bus on Friday afternoon, which was very cheap, if not very comfortable! The journey was about an hour and a half, most of which was spent completely wedged and squished between people, grabbing hold of anything we could to try and stop ourselves landing on innocent stranger's laps. I don't think we embarrassed ourselves TOO much though.
We eventually arrived and made our way to 'Lake Bungalow', the guest house that other volunteers have stayed at before. It was really lovely, like being in their family home! Complete with family portraits, LOTS of weird ornament type things, and two HUGE dogs!
As we were absolutely starving at this point we decided to go on a food adventure. We bought lots of fruit, and cheese and crackers, and looked for somewhere to sit. We found a bench next to the Temple of the Tooth opposite the beautiful lake, and we had a picnic in the moonlight :)
The next morning we walked into Kandy, which was madness! Imagine walking down a street, lined with VERY enthusiatic Big Issue sellers and charity fundraisers, all scrambling to get your attention. But you are walking with so many people in a sort of swarm, so you can't actually move your arms or get out of the crowd! We were just carried along towards the market, which was like a very crowded car boot sale. Rows and rows of towels lined up along the floor, each piled high with a very random selection of absolute junk!
It was really fun :) and we managed to escape without giving away all we own in exchange for plastic monkeys or 'I love Jesus' hats....quite an achievement!
After the chaos of the market, we hopped in a tuk tuk, and went of to the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens. They are the largest botanic gardens in Sri Lanka, and they are beautiful! Really quiet and peaceful. We saw a GIANT Javan fig tree, which covers 1600 square metres, and coconuts the size of a car tyre! Amazing!
In the evening, we went to see the Kandyan dancing. It was amazing! The costumes were really beautiful, and the dancing was very impressive. They also did a fire throwing and fire walking display at the end! I was a bit scared because they were just laughing and posing for photographs and things, WHILST throwing around the fire.... I would have liked them to appear as if they were concentrating even just a little on what they were doing.... but they were amazing!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Dani: Kandy, Coca-Cola, and Teeth!
And that was Saturday!
Sunday was another fun-filled adventure :) we visited the Temple of the Tooth, one of the most important temples in Sri Lanka. It was absolutely beautiful inside, lots of gold and flowers! Security to get in was very strict, and we had to go through 3 bag and body searches just to get in! They nearly didn't let me through because I was wearing a plain red shirt. Apparently, I was a walking advert for Coca-Cola.... very weird.
We got one of those 'audio guide' things, and Mum you would have been so proud! I got the whole way round without getting annoyed with the machine and throwing it away! See - i'm growing up! :)
And guess what else we saw?!
Monkeys!!
Just running around the streets, like you might see cats at home! We saw one monkey steal a box of incense from an old lady's bag :) and she was NOT happy! Very funny!!
(not that I'm the sort of person who usually laughs at old ladies, you understand ....)
After another wander around the town, and making lots of new friends, we decided it was probably time to head back to the house. We'd heard that the drive back was stunning, and since it's rather difficult to admire the scenery when you're hanging on for dear life on a bus, we jumped in a tuk-tuk :) It is, after all, the only way to travel.
And that's was our weekend in Kandy!
You may well have noticed that this post opens with 'We've just gotten back from weekend trip to Kandy...' And today is in fact Wednesday. That is because this post has been a work in progress for a couple of days!
I'm going to hurry up and click send, because we've got lots more exciting things to tell you about!
Sunday was another fun-filled adventure :) we visited the Temple of the Tooth, one of the most important temples in Sri Lanka. It was absolutely beautiful inside, lots of gold and flowers! Security to get in was very strict, and we had to go through 3 bag and body searches just to get in! They nearly didn't let me through because I was wearing a plain red shirt. Apparently, I was a walking advert for Coca-Cola.... very weird.
We got one of those 'audio guide' things, and Mum you would have been so proud! I got the whole way round without getting annoyed with the machine and throwing it away! See - i'm growing up! :)
And guess what else we saw?!
Monkeys!!
Just running around the streets, like you might see cats at home! We saw one monkey steal a box of incense from an old lady's bag :) and she was NOT happy! Very funny!!
(not that I'm the sort of person who usually laughs at old ladies, you understand ....)
After another wander around the town, and making lots of new friends, we decided it was probably time to head back to the house. We'd heard that the drive back was stunning, and since it's rather difficult to admire the scenery when you're hanging on for dear life on a bus, we jumped in a tuk-tuk :) It is, after all, the only way to travel.
And that's was our weekend in Kandy!
You may well have noticed that this post opens with 'We've just gotten back from weekend trip to Kandy...' And today is in fact Wednesday. That is because this post has been a work in progress for a couple of days!
I'm going to hurry up and click send, because we've got lots more exciting things to tell you about!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Lewis: Mr Lewis Smile
So many amazing things are happening every day!
Yesterday, a postman wandering the streets of Cardiff had absolutely no idea that he was carrying in his bag the most wonderful letter ever sent to anybody in the entire history of paper. If he had known I'm sure he'd have smiled the whole morning.
Mr Postman delivered a letter from Sri Lanka addressed to Mr Lewis Smile!
A few weeks ago on our first day teaching at Mary Immaculate Convent School for Girls (the day of the 'Lewis Is Hot' note!) two girls ran up to us after the lesson was over, as we were on our way to the next class, and they asked the four of us for our addresses. This has happened quite a lot, so writing a shortened version is quite tempting. But I didn't.
And here is what Minoli Thakshila wrote to me:
-------------
-------------
Dear Lewis
First of all I would like to draw your attention about our meeting when I was at school (Nimala Mariya Ladies Convent) at Tudella. I think you may know who am I, I'm Minoli. I study in grade nine.
I have a one brother and no sisters. I am the elderst in my family. My brothers name is Shehan Abilash. He studies De Mazonod College at kadana. My hobbies are collecting stamps and drawing. There are about 250 stamps in my Collection. I would like to collect more and more stamps of different countries.
My father is businessman. My Mother doesn't go to work. Actually my parent's are very kind of us. They guide us well and help our studis. so we are proud of our parents.
I would like to know more about you and youre family. When will you come to Sri Lanka again? How about youre feelings in our country and people? An early reply will be appreciated give my love to all of youre family.
I wish you all the best!
thanking you
yours faithfully
Then she's done a sketch of a beachy scene!
I haven't seen this letter yet, as it's at home in Cardiff, but Mum says the sketch is "very good actually".
That's because one of her hobbies is drawing! :-)
Yesterday, a postman wandering the streets of Cardiff had absolutely no idea that he was carrying in his bag the most wonderful letter ever sent to anybody in the entire history of paper. If he had known I'm sure he'd have smiled the whole morning.
Mr Postman delivered a letter from Sri Lanka addressed to Mr Lewis Smile!
A few weeks ago on our first day teaching at Mary Immaculate Convent School for Girls (the day of the 'Lewis Is Hot' note!) two girls ran up to us after the lesson was over, as we were on our way to the next class, and they asked the four of us for our addresses. This has happened quite a lot, so writing a shortened version is quite tempting. But I didn't.
And here is what Minoli Thakshila wrote to me:
-------------
-------------
Dear Lewis
First of all I would like to draw your attention about our meeting when I was at school (Nimala Mariya Ladies Convent) at Tudella. I think you may know who am I, I'm Minoli. I study in grade nine.
I have a one brother and no sisters. I am the elderst in my family. My brothers name is Shehan Abilash. He studies De Mazonod College at kadana. My hobbies are collecting stamps and drawing. There are about 250 stamps in my Collection. I would like to collect more and more stamps of different countries.
My father is businessman. My Mother doesn't go to work. Actually my parent's are very kind of us. They guide us well and help our studis. so we are proud of our parents.
I would like to know more about you and youre family. When will you come to Sri Lanka again? How about youre feelings in our country and people? An early reply will be appreciated give my love to all of youre family.
I wish you all the best!
thanking you
yours faithfully
Then she's done a sketch of a beachy scene!
I haven't seen this letter yet, as it's at home in Cardiff, but Mum says the sketch is "very good actually".
That's because one of her hobbies is drawing! :-)
Friday, June 09, 2006
Lewis: Danger Dani's Safari Adventure
At this very moment, due to the wonders of our BlackBerry, we are posting this update whilst standing up in the back of a Jeep during our 3-hour Udawalawa National Park Safari.
It is just like you imagine it. Baking sun. Complete silence. Bumpy tracks. And a Safari Guide, pointing, who can't speak English.
At this moment we are parked next to a small herd of elephants all eating tall grass. Three babies and eight adults.
I can see a Peacock a bit further behind them.
And we can see mountains in the background.
It is all so beautiful, and it is so strange that we're here.
And I have an urge to pick up all the Elephant Poo!
It is just like you imagine it. Baking sun. Complete silence. Bumpy tracks. And a Safari Guide, pointing, who can't speak English.
At this moment we are parked next to a small herd of elephants all eating tall grass. Three babies and eight adults.
I can see a Peacock a bit further behind them.
And we can see mountains in the background.
It is all so beautiful, and it is so strange that we're here.
And I have an urge to pick up all the Elephant Poo!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Lewis: "Why is the ground moving?"
After our adventurous safari, we travelled for many bumpy hours to the guest house we had decided to stay at. It was close to the rainforest, so we could be up nice and early with smiles as big as coathangers.
But at about 8 o'clock our smiles faded. We each had leeches burrowing through the material of our trainers and shoes and sucking our blood.
Everytime we were brave enough to look down we could see leeches moving around on the ground.
The rainforest itself was amazing fun, and the leeches soon became a harmless joke. We laughed them off!
Ok. We weren't exactly laughing. But we weren't crying either. The bleeding ankles really were worth it when we were given the opportunity to swim in a waterfall!
Now I know what you're thinking.
Lewis, and swimming. Not the greatest combination.
And if you were thinking that, you were spot on. Being an absolutely rubbish swimmer I nearly sank to the bottom of the CALM part of the water. I was extremely adventurous, and swam to where everyone else was, but I couldn't reach the bottom. So I decided to sink.
And everyone else helped keep me ABOVE the water so my hair didn't get too wet and so I had oxygen going into my lungs.
The whole affair was a roaring success.
We got out of the water, attempted to dry ourselves, failed, put our clothes back on over our wet bathers, and carried on through Leech Avenue.
We did see a few living things like a lizard and a snake, but nothing huge and scary like a leopard. Although we did see a cow! She was huge, if not scary.
And it does rain in the rainforest. It is not a myth. It does, and you do get drenched.
We were in the rainforest for about 4 and a half hours, and we survived!
Would we recommend it to a friend?
Dani did find the leeches quite traumatic, but I think we would.
Let me ask you!
Have you ever had leeches burrowing through YOUR shoes?
But at about 8 o'clock our smiles faded. We each had leeches burrowing through the material of our trainers and shoes and sucking our blood.
Everytime we were brave enough to look down we could see leeches moving around on the ground.
The rainforest itself was amazing fun, and the leeches soon became a harmless joke. We laughed them off!
Ok. We weren't exactly laughing. But we weren't crying either. The bleeding ankles really were worth it when we were given the opportunity to swim in a waterfall!
Now I know what you're thinking.
Lewis, and swimming. Not the greatest combination.
And if you were thinking that, you were spot on. Being an absolutely rubbish swimmer I nearly sank to the bottom of the CALM part of the water. I was extremely adventurous, and swam to where everyone else was, but I couldn't reach the bottom. So I decided to sink.
And everyone else helped keep me ABOVE the water so my hair didn't get too wet and so I had oxygen going into my lungs.
The whole affair was a roaring success.
We got out of the water, attempted to dry ourselves, failed, put our clothes back on over our wet bathers, and carried on through Leech Avenue.
We did see a few living things like a lizard and a snake, but nothing huge and scary like a leopard. Although we did see a cow! She was huge, if not scary.
And it does rain in the rainforest. It is not a myth. It does, and you do get drenched.
We were in the rainforest for about 4 and a half hours, and we survived!
Would we recommend it to a friend?
Dani did find the leeches quite traumatic, but I think we would.
Let me ask you!
Have you ever had leeches burrowing through YOUR shoes?
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Lewis: Coconut Husks
The oldest of all the elephants at Pinnawela is aged 65. His name is Raja, and he is blind.
He was found 15 years ago wandering helplessly in Anuradhapura after being shot at 22 times by poachers. They were trying to capture him for his tusks, and 2 of the 22 bullets blinded him.
He was brought to Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, and he is now 100% dependent on humans.
And that obviously includes his time washing in the river.
The rest of the herd, when they go down to the river, have water thrown over them by either us or the mahouts (using a bucket).
Because Raja is blind he goes to his own secluded part of the river to get clean and sparkly.
And we went too!
Raja lay down in the water, using his trunk for air, and we scrubbed him with coconut husks.
And we could scrub as hard as we could because his skin is about an inch thick. He found it very relaxing, and so did we!
And now we can say we've given an elephant a bath!
He was found 15 years ago wandering helplessly in Anuradhapura after being shot at 22 times by poachers. They were trying to capture him for his tusks, and 2 of the 22 bullets blinded him.
He was brought to Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, and he is now 100% dependent on humans.
And that obviously includes his time washing in the river.
The rest of the herd, when they go down to the river, have water thrown over them by either us or the mahouts (using a bucket).
Because Raja is blind he goes to his own secluded part of the river to get clean and sparkly.
And we went too!
Raja lay down in the water, using his trunk for air, and we scrubbed him with coconut husks.
And we could scrub as hard as we could because his skin is about an inch thick. He found it very relaxing, and so did we!
And now we can say we've given an elephant a bath!
Friday, June 23, 2006
Lewis: "Oh dear... Have you just wet yourself?"
We're sitting on a bus - we actually have a seat for this journey! - on our way to the Ja Ela house.
And even though all the windows are closed, I am getting rained on.
Rain. Not drizzle.
Huge blobs of rain. Chunks of rain!
It looks like I've wet myself.
How embarrassing for Dani!
And even though all the windows are closed, I am getting rained on.
Rain. Not drizzle.
Huge blobs of rain. Chunks of rain!
It looks like I've wet myself.
How embarrassing for Dani!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Lewis: Party Time!
We're having a party this evening!
We're partying at this very moment!
There are fifteen Travellers Volunteers here this evening.
Twelve are female.
So we're having a Girls Pajama Party.
And there are fourteen Sri Lankan Old Lady nighties, and my new pajamas.
Dani is wearing a lilac frilly nightie we bought for £1.80.
My pajamas were a bit more pricey on account of the silky multi-colouredness.
We've just had coconut oil put in our hair to make our beautiful locks silky smooth, with cling film wrapped round our heads to keep it on. I'm just about to have a cucumber, avocado, and yoghurt face mask, and Dani is just having her toe nails painted.
What has Sri Lanka done to us?!
Or rather, what has Sri Lanka done to Dani...
I do this all the time!
We're partying at this very moment!
There are fifteen Travellers Volunteers here this evening.
Twelve are female.
So we're having a Girls Pajama Party.
And there are fourteen Sri Lankan Old Lady nighties, and my new pajamas.
Dani is wearing a lilac frilly nightie we bought for £1.80.
My pajamas were a bit more pricey on account of the silky multi-colouredness.
We've just had coconut oil put in our hair to make our beautiful locks silky smooth, with cling film wrapped round our heads to keep it on. I'm just about to have a cucumber, avocado, and yoghurt face mask, and Dani is just having her toe nails painted.
What has Sri Lanka done to us?!
Or rather, what has Sri Lanka done to Dani...
I do this all the time!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Lewis: 'The Cucaracha'...
There is a 2 inch cockroach in my room!
I am at this moment standing in the middle of my room wearing multi-coloured silky pyjamas.
A cockroach is sitting on the floor 6 feet away staring at me.
It started off life about 1 foot away from my pillow. And my head was on my pillow! Luckily though, my eyes are on my head. This gave me valuable leaping time as I could see the intruder!
And what was the first thing I thought to pick up in my moment of shock as I leapt from my bed?
I picked up my BlackBerry.
That's right.
I picked up my internet phone.
I did this in my moment of panic because my brain rapidly scanned it's memory bank for everything I know about cockroaches, and came up with only one thing.
* A cockroach can survive an atomic bomb explosion.
I was hoping for a nice little fact like 'Cockroaches may look horrendously deadly, but are infact soft, squidgy, harmless, enjoy a good night out, are repelled by the scent of coconut oil, cucumber, avacado, and yoghurt, never ever travel in pairs, enjoy playing blackjack, and will scurry approximately 10 miles away from you if you shout the words "Ah! A cockroach!" when in the same room as one.'
But as I wasn't comforted by my one atom bomb fact about my new foe, I grabbed the BlackBerry, just as I always do when struck by a lack of information.
Before I attempt a 'scare or capture' of the beast, here is what I've learned from google search results:
* Cold can be used to kill cockroaches.
* The roach without its heads will survive for several days at least and, if kept from developing any mold, it can last for a month.
* Our common name 'cockroach' shares sounds with Dutch 'kakkerlak' and Spanish 'cucaracha' and the Spanish dance The Cucaracha suggests the vigorous stamping of a homeowner on the pests as the origin of the word 'cockroach'.
None of these google nuggets help me at all, so I have decided to grab a tall cd case (a bit like a cup), and my BlackBerry charger lead. As we are in the Ja Ela house this weekend I have not got all my stuff with me, so I don't have my 'Capture a Cucaracha' kit.
I plan to scare it using my BlackBerry charger lead exactly like Indiana Jones would do, then get it in the tall cd case. Then dance The Cucaracha to celebrate.
Here goes.....
I am at this moment standing in the middle of my room wearing multi-coloured silky pyjamas.
A cockroach is sitting on the floor 6 feet away staring at me.
It started off life about 1 foot away from my pillow. And my head was on my pillow! Luckily though, my eyes are on my head. This gave me valuable leaping time as I could see the intruder!
And what was the first thing I thought to pick up in my moment of shock as I leapt from my bed?
I picked up my BlackBerry.
That's right.
I picked up my internet phone.
I did this in my moment of panic because my brain rapidly scanned it's memory bank for everything I know about cockroaches, and came up with only one thing.
* A cockroach can survive an atomic bomb explosion.
I was hoping for a nice little fact like 'Cockroaches may look horrendously deadly, but are infact soft, squidgy, harmless, enjoy a good night out, are repelled by the scent of coconut oil, cucumber, avacado, and yoghurt, never ever travel in pairs, enjoy playing blackjack, and will scurry approximately 10 miles away from you if you shout the words "Ah! A cockroach!" when in the same room as one.'
But as I wasn't comforted by my one atom bomb fact about my new foe, I grabbed the BlackBerry, just as I always do when struck by a lack of information.
Before I attempt a 'scare or capture' of the beast, here is what I've learned from google search results:
* Cold can be used to kill cockroaches.
* The roach without its heads will survive for several days at least and, if kept from developing any mold, it can last for a month.
* Our common name 'cockroach' shares sounds with Dutch 'kakkerlak' and Spanish 'cucaracha' and the Spanish dance The Cucaracha suggests the vigorous stamping of a homeowner on the pests as the origin of the word 'cockroach'.
None of these google nuggets help me at all, so I have decided to grab a tall cd case (a bit like a cup), and my BlackBerry charger lead. As we are in the Ja Ela house this weekend I have not got all my stuff with me, so I don't have my 'Capture a Cucaracha' kit.
I plan to scare it using my BlackBerry charger lead exactly like Indiana Jones would do, then get it in the tall cd case. Then dance The Cucaracha to celebrate.
Here goes.....
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Dani: I'm alive!
Lewis has not killed me, nor is he stopping me from using the BlackBerry!
I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while...
But I haven't given up writing posts!!
The next one is on it's way!
And it's going to be AMAZING!
Well worth the wait, I promise.
Prepare yourselves....
I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while...
But I haven't given up writing posts!!
The next one is on it's way!
And it's going to be AMAZING!
Well worth the wait, I promise.
Prepare yourselves....
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Lewis: 'The Cucaracha' Part Two
I did it!
My plan worked!
I'm a genius!
It just goes to show. Knowledge is power.
My plan worked!
I'm a genius!
It just goes to show. Knowledge is power.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Dani: Actual Carpet!
This is not the amazing post I promised you.
Lewis has just pointed out that he has now written twice as many posts as I have.
I'm not sure why, but I feel that this should really bother me. I feel like I should be angry or annoyed or maybe ashamed.
And I am ashamed.
So I'm going to write more posts to you in future :)
Starting from now!
At this moment, we're back in the British themed pub we visited about 1 month ago, standing on lovely soft carpet. Lewis just ate 3 meals, and now we're waiting for some hot chocolate :)
Yum Yum!
Or as they say in Sri Lanka...
Yan Yan!
Lewis has just pointed out that he has now written twice as many posts as I have.
I'm not sure why, but I feel that this should really bother me. I feel like I should be angry or annoyed or maybe ashamed.
And I am ashamed.
So I'm going to write more posts to you in future :)
Starting from now!
At this moment, we're back in the British themed pub we visited about 1 month ago, standing on lovely soft carpet. Lewis just ate 3 meals, and now we're waiting for some hot chocolate :)
Yum Yum!
Or as they say in Sri Lanka...
Yan Yan!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Lewis: Farley's Rusks
I just bought some Farley's Rusks.
And they are as wonderful as I remember!
40p for a box of 8.
Absolute bargain.
And they are as wonderful as I remember!
40p for a box of 8.
Absolute bargain.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Dani: The Cultural Triangle
This is a slightly overdue account of our Cultural Triangle weekend. I realise it has been a long time coming - so make sure you're sitting comfortably, and here we go....
The Cultural Triangle is made up of the three ancient capital cities of Sri Lanka - Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Within the triangle, there are lots of other major cultural sites and interesting places to visit. So, after a morning of mucking out and a quick lunch, we jumped into our faithful van and set off to explore!
Our first stop was Dambulla Cave Temples. After consulting the Lonely Planet Guide in the van on the way, we had learnt that:-
"The hike up to the temples begins along a vast, sloping rock face with steps in some places."
Oh dear me.
But surprisingly, it wasn't that bad! And it was so worth it. There are 5 separate caves, containing about 150 Buddha paintings and statues, all very old and very beautiful. Each cave is like a miniture temple - we had to take off our shoes before going inside, and they were completely silent with people coming to leave flowers and sit meditating.
And then we stepped outside, and were mobbed by men trying to sell us beaded bracelets or wooden Buddhas.
But the caves themselves were absolutely beautiful! And the view from the top of the vast sloping rock face was stunning :)
So after stumbling our way back down (fighting off the salesmen as we went), we climbed back into our van, and set off for our next cultural stop!
Which was Sigiriya Rock Fortress!
I had no idea what this actually was, or what it involved. I was just happily bumping along in the van.
But when I noticed we were heading towards an absolutely ENORMOUS rock thing, I started to feel a little bit worried....
So when Manjula (our driver) stopped at the foot of this 200m high beast, he confirmed what I had been fearing.
We were going to climb it.
My first thought was "How?!" It was literally an absolutely huge square rock. With vertical sides. And we could just about see teeny tiny dots that were people climbing up the side.
And standing at the bottom, wearing flip flops, clutching a camera and a small amount of water that had been decanted into a not quite finished Fanta bottle, I felt rather unprepared. And rather like 'here we go again....'
So, fighting every natural instinct to turn and run back to the safety of the van, we set off...
The Cultural Triangle is made up of the three ancient capital cities of Sri Lanka - Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Within the triangle, there are lots of other major cultural sites and interesting places to visit. So, after a morning of mucking out and a quick lunch, we jumped into our faithful van and set off to explore!
Our first stop was Dambulla Cave Temples. After consulting the Lonely Planet Guide in the van on the way, we had learnt that:-
"The hike up to the temples begins along a vast, sloping rock face with steps in some places."
Oh dear me.
But surprisingly, it wasn't that bad! And it was so worth it. There are 5 separate caves, containing about 150 Buddha paintings and statues, all very old and very beautiful. Each cave is like a miniture temple - we had to take off our shoes before going inside, and they were completely silent with people coming to leave flowers and sit meditating.
And then we stepped outside, and were mobbed by men trying to sell us beaded bracelets or wooden Buddhas.
But the caves themselves were absolutely beautiful! And the view from the top of the vast sloping rock face was stunning :)
So after stumbling our way back down (fighting off the salesmen as we went), we climbed back into our van, and set off for our next cultural stop!
Which was Sigiriya Rock Fortress!
I had no idea what this actually was, or what it involved. I was just happily bumping along in the van.
But when I noticed we were heading towards an absolutely ENORMOUS rock thing, I started to feel a little bit worried....
So when Manjula (our driver) stopped at the foot of this 200m high beast, he confirmed what I had been fearing.
We were going to climb it.
My first thought was "How?!" It was literally an absolutely huge square rock. With vertical sides. And we could just about see teeny tiny dots that were people climbing up the side.
And standing at the bottom, wearing flip flops, clutching a camera and a small amount of water that had been decanted into a not quite finished Fanta bottle, I felt rather unprepared. And rather like 'here we go again....'
So, fighting every natural instinct to turn and run back to the safety of the van, we set off...
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Dani: The Cultural Triangle CONTINUED
....and it was amazing!!
We really enjoyed it! The views were stunning, and the ancient Buddhist Monks had thoughtfully constructed a metal step ladder type thing!
So it was all good fun :)
Once we had all climbed down, Manjula took us off to a guesthouse he knew of, where we had a lovely dinner and a WARM shower (!!!) and fell asleep.
The next morning we headed off to
Polonnaruwa to see the ruins of the ancient city. We found our guide, Sunil, who was excellent, and he took us round and explained it all to us.
And because it was about 40 degrees, and because we were walking (well, hopping) barefoot on the absolutely BAKING stone floor.... we ended up with slightly cooked feet!
But we didn't mind :)
We spent another night at the same guest house, and woke up refreshed and ready to explore Anuradhapura, our last stop.
Anuradhapura is the most extensive and important of the Sri Lankan ancient cities. We had another guide, Charitha, who was also excellent, who took us round all the major Buddhist relics and temples. He was very passionate about Buddhism, and he taught us lots about the religion and what he believed.
He also took us to an ancient Monk's meditation spot (the spot was ancient - not the Monk). It was a sort of cave carved into the side of a mountain, where the Monks would go to meditate as a sort of retreat. They even had beds carved into the stone, which were actually surprisingly comfortable!
Charitha also treated us to a palm reading!
He read Lewis' first, and said that Lewis takes a lot of strength from his birth, but he doesn't use it because he is lazy. He warned him to be careful and not get too close to people, because they will hurt him because he is very sensitive. He also said Lewis is often too soft with people.
A few palms later, and it was my turn! Charitha looked at my hand for a while, then pointed at Lewis. He then smiled at me and said, wisely:-
"Birds of a feather flock together."
He said that I, like Lewis, am also very soft - maybe too soft. He went on to say that I am creative and have a powerful mind.
He also wisely informed me that he could tell that I was very like my mother. I don't know how he could tell this, but it is a fair enough guess I'd say!
So after another lovely and very relaxing day, we headed back to Kegalle, ready for poo shovelling Monday morning :)
And that was our Cultural Triangle weekend!
And THAT was my amazing post :)
...hopefully!
We really enjoyed it! The views were stunning, and the ancient Buddhist Monks had thoughtfully constructed a metal step ladder type thing!
So it was all good fun :)
Once we had all climbed down, Manjula took us off to a guesthouse he knew of, where we had a lovely dinner and a WARM shower (!!!) and fell asleep.
The next morning we headed off to
Polonnaruwa to see the ruins of the ancient city. We found our guide, Sunil, who was excellent, and he took us round and explained it all to us.
And because it was about 40 degrees, and because we were walking (well, hopping) barefoot on the absolutely BAKING stone floor.... we ended up with slightly cooked feet!
But we didn't mind :)
We spent another night at the same guest house, and woke up refreshed and ready to explore Anuradhapura, our last stop.
Anuradhapura is the most extensive and important of the Sri Lankan ancient cities. We had another guide, Charitha, who was also excellent, who took us round all the major Buddhist relics and temples. He was very passionate about Buddhism, and he taught us lots about the religion and what he believed.
He also took us to an ancient Monk's meditation spot (the spot was ancient - not the Monk). It was a sort of cave carved into the side of a mountain, where the Monks would go to meditate as a sort of retreat. They even had beds carved into the stone, which were actually surprisingly comfortable!
Charitha also treated us to a palm reading!
He read Lewis' first, and said that Lewis takes a lot of strength from his birth, but he doesn't use it because he is lazy. He warned him to be careful and not get too close to people, because they will hurt him because he is very sensitive. He also said Lewis is often too soft with people.
A few palms later, and it was my turn! Charitha looked at my hand for a while, then pointed at Lewis. He then smiled at me and said, wisely:-
"Birds of a feather flock together."
He said that I, like Lewis, am also very soft - maybe too soft. He went on to say that I am creative and have a powerful mind.
He also wisely informed me that he could tell that I was very like my mother. I don't know how he could tell this, but it is a fair enough guess I'd say!
So after another lovely and very relaxing day, we headed back to Kegalle, ready for poo shovelling Monday morning :)
And that was our Cultural Triangle weekend!
And THAT was my amazing post :)
...hopefully!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Lewis: Back To School
Today is our first day back at Ja Ela.
We left the elephants yesterday.
VERY sad.
But we're back to teaching on Monday!
We left the elephants yesterday.
VERY sad.
But we're back to teaching on Monday!
Monday, July 03, 2006
Lewis: Night Swimming
Saturday night.
Were Dani and I out at the local discotheque, partying it up Sri Lankan style?
Were we out with our Kandyan friend Ravi, sampling all that the Kandy nightlife has to offer?
Were we in Colombo in Cheers, the British themed pub, watching England lose to Portugal?
Were we sitting at the Ja Ela house with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book?
No, we were not. We are far too adventurous for any of these things.
And far too cool.
We went to the Airport Gardens Hotel, and went swimming in the moonlight.
It was magical!
The pool was really nicely lit, and it was a nice quiet night. And one thing I know is that nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
We also went for a very tasty meal in the restaurant there. It was very very very tasty.
We can do the discotheque next Saturday.
Were Dani and I out at the local discotheque, partying it up Sri Lankan style?
Were we out with our Kandyan friend Ravi, sampling all that the Kandy nightlife has to offer?
Were we in Colombo in Cheers, the British themed pub, watching England lose to Portugal?
Were we sitting at the Ja Ela house with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book?
No, we were not. We are far too adventurous for any of these things.
And far too cool.
We went to the Airport Gardens Hotel, and went swimming in the moonlight.
It was magical!
The pool was really nicely lit, and it was a nice quiet night. And one thing I know is that nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
We also went for a very tasty meal in the restaurant there. It was very very very tasty.
We can do the discotheque next Saturday.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Dani: Wined and Dined
After our lovely night out on Saturday, Night Swimming, we were in for yet another treat on Sunday night!
Mum's Sri Lankan friend, Raomal, who lives in Dublin, had contacted us to say he'd be in Colombo for a few days.
So a few phone calls and text messages later, we'd arranged to meet up on Sunday night for dinner!
Ray and his brother picked us up in an actual car!! With actual seatbelts! And he drove sensibly. I'd forgotten what it's like to travel in a real car that has actual doors and sides, with a driver who isn't dodging in and out of traffic whilst sending a text message.....
We picked up his mother, and the 5 of us went off to a very posh restaurant called 'Number 18'.
It was a really nice place and the food was amazing. Especially the Roast Pumpkin and Ricotta Ravioli.
And we had such a lovely time with Ray and his family, who were all SO nice and really fun!
The next day, I text Ray to thank him for such a lovely evening, and he sent back:-
"You're most welcome. Delighted to see you. You're just like your Mum!"
I don't know what he's talking about.
Mum's Sri Lankan friend, Raomal, who lives in Dublin, had contacted us to say he'd be in Colombo for a few days.
So a few phone calls and text messages later, we'd arranged to meet up on Sunday night for dinner!
Ray and his brother picked us up in an actual car!! With actual seatbelts! And he drove sensibly. I'd forgotten what it's like to travel in a real car that has actual doors and sides, with a driver who isn't dodging in and out of traffic whilst sending a text message.....
We picked up his mother, and the 5 of us went off to a very posh restaurant called 'Number 18'.
It was a really nice place and the food was amazing. Especially the Roast Pumpkin and Ricotta Ravioli.
And we had such a lovely time with Ray and his family, who were all SO nice and really fun!
The next day, I text Ray to thank him for such a lovely evening, and he sent back:-
"You're most welcome. Delighted to see you. You're just like your Mum!"
I don't know what he's talking about.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lewis: "I'd like to thank...."
Dear family, friends, readers, and GLOBE,
I think it's come to a point where nothing we could do would amaze you.
Well here is some pretty amazing news about how famous we are.
Yesterday, gapyear.com were the 6527th most visited website on the entire internet, and the internet is home to more websites than people alive on earth.
Every visitor of gapyear.com viewed, on average, 40.4 pages each.
Gapyear.com is the largest collection of information on youth travel in the history of the universe.
And they have put us on the homepage.
We have made it onto the front page of this titan of a site.
GapYear.com.
They have featured our writing on their website. They have used our photos on their website.
And they have called us a "dynamic duo".
The gap year heavyweight, gapyear.com.
That's how famous we are.
I think it's come to a point where nothing we could do would amaze you.
Well here is some pretty amazing news about how famous we are.
Yesterday, gapyear.com were the 6527th most visited website on the entire internet, and the internet is home to more websites than people alive on earth.
Every visitor of gapyear.com viewed, on average, 40.4 pages each.
Gapyear.com is the largest collection of information on youth travel in the history of the universe.
And they have put us on the homepage.
We have made it onto the front page of this titan of a site.
GapYear.com.
They have featured our writing on their website. They have used our photos on their website.
And they have called us a "dynamic duo".
The gap year heavyweight, gapyear.com.
That's how famous we are.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Lewis: "Coming down to the beach..?"
So we set off.
We pack our bathers and our tooth brushes, get in another bumpy van, and head south.
With our thoughts on newly hatched turtles, we arrive in Mirissa. Further south along the coast than our previous trip to Hikkaduwa, Mirissa is known for nothing other than it's beach.
So we went to the beach.
And it was absolutely perfect.
The type of beach where, if in a film, there'd be a haggered old man launching a message in a bottle into the ocean.
There were palm trees lining the beach and blazing sun. And unlike the movie beach, there were lots of Sri Lankan boys playing football.
And as for my love affair with the ocean...
I am now officially a water baby.
As you know, I am afraid of the water.
Even the bath scares me.
Which is why I still smell of elephant poo.
And I am also scared of big huge gigantic massive enormous TITANIC waves. But we were swimming anyway!
Dani was SO impressed, she gushed "Your family WOULD NOT believe you're doing this right now!! I'm just so shocked!!"
Then she ran out of the water to take some photos of me to prove it.
Because all of our trips seem to involve us climbing a rock, we found one called Parrot Rock, which was a bit taller than a house, and we climbed it in the evening to watch the sunset.
We spent two days at the beach, and I spent two days in the ocean.
No sharks.
On our way back to Ja Ela we stopped at a Turtle Hatchery and made friends with some cool teeny tiny turtles who easily fitted into the palm of our hands.
And then to PIZZA HUT TAKEAWAY, and home again.
We pack our bathers and our tooth brushes, get in another bumpy van, and head south.
With our thoughts on newly hatched turtles, we arrive in Mirissa. Further south along the coast than our previous trip to Hikkaduwa, Mirissa is known for nothing other than it's beach.
So we went to the beach.
And it was absolutely perfect.
The type of beach where, if in a film, there'd be a haggered old man launching a message in a bottle into the ocean.
There were palm trees lining the beach and blazing sun. And unlike the movie beach, there were lots of Sri Lankan boys playing football.
And as for my love affair with the ocean...
I am now officially a water baby.
As you know, I am afraid of the water.
Even the bath scares me.
Which is why I still smell of elephant poo.
And I am also scared of big huge gigantic massive enormous TITANIC waves. But we were swimming anyway!
Dani was SO impressed, she gushed "Your family WOULD NOT believe you're doing this right now!! I'm just so shocked!!"
Then she ran out of the water to take some photos of me to prove it.
Because all of our trips seem to involve us climbing a rock, we found one called Parrot Rock, which was a bit taller than a house, and we climbed it in the evening to watch the sunset.
We spent two days at the beach, and I spent two days in the ocean.
No sharks.
On our way back to Ja Ela we stopped at a Turtle Hatchery and made friends with some cool teeny tiny turtles who easily fitted into the palm of our hands.
And then to PIZZA HUT TAKEAWAY, and home again.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Lewis: 4 interesting things about Sri Lanka
1. Young Sri Lankan men laugh when they kick dogs. There are just as many stray dogs in Sri Lanka as there are school children. Possibly more. None of them would attack you. They're not dangerous because they're scared of people, which is fairly understandable. And I highly doubt there is anything in place in Sri Lanka similar to the RSPCA. And I highly doubt there is any plan to introduce anything similar. But is this any different to how we treat non-domesticated animals in the UK?
2. In Britain, and most other countries, we nod our head to mean yes and shake our head to mean no. I have even read somewhere that people who were born blind do exactly the same. Even though they've never being told to. In Sri Lanka, there is a third option. It is the Head Wobble. And even the children do it, without ever being told to. It means yes or no. It means I don't know. It means I haven't heard you. It means your joke was funny. It means your joke wasn't funny. It means they stock what you've asked for. It means they don't stock what you've asked for. It means the bus is going where you want it to. And it means the bus isn't going where you want it to. It basically means anything they want it to. And what's even crazier is to watch two Sri Lankans have an entire conversation consisting of ONLY wobbling heads. No words. It's an entire language.
2. In Britain, and most other countries, we nod our head to mean yes and shake our head to mean no. I have even read somewhere that people who were born blind do exactly the same. Even though they've never being told to. In Sri Lanka, there is a third option. It is the Head Wobble. And even the children do it, without ever being told to. It means yes or no. It means I don't know. It means I haven't heard you. It means your joke was funny. It means your joke wasn't funny. It means they stock what you've asked for. It means they don't stock what you've asked for. It means the bus is going where you want it to. And it means the bus isn't going where you want it to. It basically means anything they want it to. And what's even crazier is to watch two Sri Lankans have an entire conversation consisting of ONLY wobbling heads. No words. It's an entire language.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Lewis: CONTINUED
3. Let's pretend you have a piece of paper to throw away, and you are walking the streets. If you're in the UK you will probably find a bin in about 3 minutes. Here, you will not find one in 3 years.
We see lots of people burning their house rubbish instead of it going through any kind of waste collection landfill setup like in the UK. We also see massive piles of rubbish dotted round. A bit like Fly Tipping gone crazy. And publicly accepted. But how is Sri Lankan waste disposal different to how we do it in the UK? Sri Lankans burn it, dump it, or re-use it. In the UK we just get other people to do this for us, with bin collections and landfill sites. It just seems more shocking here.
4. Lottery sellers. In poorer parts of Sri Lanka there are lottery stalls dotted along the side of all the busiest streets. A lottery stall is a proper big booth with lottery tickets hanging on little washing lines, with stereo speakers bellowing words about how people should buy lottery tickets. On every street corner is a lottery man. A lottery man is someone with a big plank of wood with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. There is also a lottery bike man riding round on every street. This man has a big wooden board hanging off his handlebars with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. And there is also a frail disabled lottery man sitting in a hand-powered tricycle on every street, often near bus stations. He has a big wooden board hanging off the front of his trike with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. And these people will only sell tickets in the poorer areas of Sri Lanka. And they will sell hundreds of tickets. The poorer the person the more they want believe in the long shot. But I guess that's the same anywhere.
We see lots of people burning their house rubbish instead of it going through any kind of waste collection landfill setup like in the UK. We also see massive piles of rubbish dotted round. A bit like Fly Tipping gone crazy. And publicly accepted. But how is Sri Lankan waste disposal different to how we do it in the UK? Sri Lankans burn it, dump it, or re-use it. In the UK we just get other people to do this for us, with bin collections and landfill sites. It just seems more shocking here.
4. Lottery sellers. In poorer parts of Sri Lanka there are lottery stalls dotted along the side of all the busiest streets. A lottery stall is a proper big booth with lottery tickets hanging on little washing lines, with stereo speakers bellowing words about how people should buy lottery tickets. On every street corner is a lottery man. A lottery man is someone with a big plank of wood with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. There is also a lottery bike man riding round on every street. This man has a big wooden board hanging off his handlebars with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. And there is also a frail disabled lottery man sitting in a hand-powered tricycle on every street, often near bus stations. He has a big wooden board hanging off the front of his trike with lottery tickets stuck to it with pins and clips. And these people will only sell tickets in the poorer areas of Sri Lanka. And they will sell hundreds of tickets. The poorer the person the more they want believe in the long shot. But I guess that's the same anywhere.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Lewis: Indiana Smile
Do-do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do-oooooo
I'm a hero!
Indiana Jones is afraid of snakes.
Not me.
I caught a rattle-snake trying to get into my groundfloor bedroom. It was trying to get through the window which is about 1 foot off the ground.
And I scared it away.
But then it scared me away, because it was a rattle-snake.
I didn't need to use my BlackBerry this time to find out whether my latest foe could kill me or not. I've seen Steve Irwin. And Indiana Jones wouldn't be scared of them for nothing!
It was only about as thick as a hose pipe, but the rattle sound is rather terrifying.
What if it had made it into my room? What if I had gone to bed? Lying in the dark. And I suddenly hear this horrendous rattle near my head. I'd be hysterical for days.
When I saw it first it was less than 1 foot away from me, and he had his head through the window. And was on his way into my room!
So I acted. I scared it away heroicly by leaping backwards and shouting "Woah! There's a snake trying to get into my room!"
Then it scared me away by moving towards me.
But I lived!
And more importantly, so did my BlackBerry.
Do-do-do
Do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do
Do-do-do-oooooo
I'm a hero!
Indiana Jones is afraid of snakes.
Not me.
I caught a rattle-snake trying to get into my groundfloor bedroom. It was trying to get through the window which is about 1 foot off the ground.
And I scared it away.
But then it scared me away, because it was a rattle-snake.
I didn't need to use my BlackBerry this time to find out whether my latest foe could kill me or not. I've seen Steve Irwin. And Indiana Jones wouldn't be scared of them for nothing!
It was only about as thick as a hose pipe, but the rattle sound is rather terrifying.
What if it had made it into my room? What if I had gone to bed? Lying in the dark. And I suddenly hear this horrendous rattle near my head. I'd be hysterical for days.
When I saw it first it was less than 1 foot away from me, and he had his head through the window. And was on his way into my room!
So I acted. I scared it away heroicly by leaping backwards and shouting "Woah! There's a snake trying to get into my room!"
Then it scared me away by moving towards me.
But I lived!
And more importantly, so did my BlackBerry.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Dani: Forbidden Forest
Hello Friends and Family,
It has been a VERY long time since I last posted something, I know. And I really am sorry! I also know that I start every blog post with that - but it's always true!
Lewis pointed out the other day that I have written 26 blog posts over the last 3 months.
Lewis has written 51.
Oh dear me.
So, for our last few days, I intend to go blog-crazy!
I think 30 is a very decent final number :)
Because it's been such a long time, this post is about what we did not last weekend, but the weekend before....
On Saturday morning we travelled south along the West Coast to Bentota. Once one of the top tourist beaches in Sri Lanka, Bentota is now a bit overshadowed by the beaches further South, such as Hikkaduwa or Unawatuna. But it is still the biggest attraction on the West Coast.
And it was beautiful!
After wandering along the beach on Saturday afternoon, we decided on Sunday to explore the town.
So off we went!
We had been walking for less than 5 minutes when we found a friendly, helpful and intersting chap we'd never met before.
Or rather, he found us!
His name was Ravi, and he was a tuk-tuk driver.
And what an adventure we went on!
He took us - not in his tuk tuk, but on foot - on a walk through the tiny buddhist village, which was a dusty road, lined with banana trees and beautiful little houses.
It was absolutely stunning and completely silent - apart from the children shouting hello, dogs barking in the distance, and Ravi pointing out the different trees and animals and 'local sites' (such as the primary school) and waving to his friends.
We asked him to take us to some shops, and he took us to a beautiful craft shop with lots of wooden carvings and statues of elephants and Buddhas.
Our newest friend told us he would take us back via the river to see the birds and take pictures.
And that's what he meant!
VIA the river! On a cool Sri Lankan fishing raft!
It was SO amazing! Ravi's fisherman friends rowed us along the river, and it was so peaceful and relaxing. We saw all sorts of creatures too. We saw a chameleon and loads of HUGE 2 foot long Iguana things swimming in the river! They were a bit scary looking, actually.
We even went through a miniature Forbidden Forest! It was like a tunnel of tree roots growing up and out of the water, as if they were trying to close in on us and block out all light.
How amazing :)
We then "landed" on the sand, and went back to our guest house for some ice-cream!
Yaaaaan yan!
It has been a VERY long time since I last posted something, I know. And I really am sorry! I also know that I start every blog post with that - but it's always true!
Lewis pointed out the other day that I have written 26 blog posts over the last 3 months.
Lewis has written 51.
Oh dear me.
So, for our last few days, I intend to go blog-crazy!
I think 30 is a very decent final number :)
Because it's been such a long time, this post is about what we did not last weekend, but the weekend before....
On Saturday morning we travelled south along the West Coast to Bentota. Once one of the top tourist beaches in Sri Lanka, Bentota is now a bit overshadowed by the beaches further South, such as Hikkaduwa or Unawatuna. But it is still the biggest attraction on the West Coast.
And it was beautiful!
After wandering along the beach on Saturday afternoon, we decided on Sunday to explore the town.
So off we went!
We had been walking for less than 5 minutes when we found a friendly, helpful and intersting chap we'd never met before.
Or rather, he found us!
His name was Ravi, and he was a tuk-tuk driver.
And what an adventure we went on!
He took us - not in his tuk tuk, but on foot - on a walk through the tiny buddhist village, which was a dusty road, lined with banana trees and beautiful little houses.
It was absolutely stunning and completely silent - apart from the children shouting hello, dogs barking in the distance, and Ravi pointing out the different trees and animals and 'local sites' (such as the primary school) and waving to his friends.
We asked him to take us to some shops, and he took us to a beautiful craft shop with lots of wooden carvings and statues of elephants and Buddhas.
Our newest friend told us he would take us back via the river to see the birds and take pictures.
And that's what he meant!
VIA the river! On a cool Sri Lankan fishing raft!
It was SO amazing! Ravi's fisherman friends rowed us along the river, and it was so peaceful and relaxing. We saw all sorts of creatures too. We saw a chameleon and loads of HUGE 2 foot long Iguana things swimming in the river! They were a bit scary looking, actually.
We even went through a miniature Forbidden Forest! It was like a tunnel of tree roots growing up and out of the water, as if they were trying to close in on us and block out all light.
How amazing :)
We then "landed" on the sand, and went back to our guest house for some ice-cream!
Yaaaaan yan!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Lewis: The best present I have ever received
Here is a MARVELLOUS poem.
The best poem ever.
A masterpiece poem!
------------------
When you said you were going
to clean up lots of poo,
I didn't think we'd miss you,
just as much as we do.
I miss your cheery smile
When you get up in the morning.
Our little chats at lunchtime,
you, always, still are yawning!
The fruit is going rotten.
The cake is mouldy too.
The yoghurts all go out of date.
No-one eats like you!
The in-depth chats at mealtimes,
and of course, you're always right.
And how much Fraser's missed you,
still looking for a fight!
I hope you've both done everything.
I hope you've done it all.
I'm sure that you have grown so much,
3 months, you look so tall.
We've missed you lots and lots you see,
and Fraser's missed his brother.
I can't wait till we pick you up,
From your Obsessive Mother.
------------------
Thank you!
It's the best present ever.
The best poem ever.
A masterpiece poem!
------------------
When you said you were going
to clean up lots of poo,
I didn't think we'd miss you,
just as much as we do.
I miss your cheery smile
When you get up in the morning.
Our little chats at lunchtime,
you, always, still are yawning!
The fruit is going rotten.
The cake is mouldy too.
The yoghurts all go out of date.
No-one eats like you!
The in-depth chats at mealtimes,
and of course, you're always right.
And how much Fraser's missed you,
still looking for a fight!
I hope you've both done everything.
I hope you've done it all.
I'm sure that you have grown so much,
3 months, you look so tall.
We've missed you lots and lots you see,
and Fraser's missed his brother.
I can't wait till we pick you up,
From your Obsessive Mother.
------------------
Thank you!
It's the best present ever.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Lewis: Qatar Airways
We're just waiting to board our plane.
It is devastatingly sad.
It is devastatingly sad.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Both: Until Next Time
We've tasted poo. We've fed baby elephants. We've ridden an elephant and been sprayed with water from her trunk. We've learnt the names of entire classrooms of children. We've gone on safari. We've climbed up a mountain, and we've stumbled down again. We've seen the Buddha's tooth, and we've had a Buddhist Lecturer read our palms. We've risked life and limb getting driven in Tuk Tuks, and we've risked life and limb driving in Tuk Tuks. We've squashed ourselves into dozens of buses, and we've travelled a million miles standing on our feet. We've braved River Rapids, and floated in our life-jackets downstream. We ventured into the rainforest, and we were attacked by leaches. We've seen the ruins of great