HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN

To say that it rained last night would be an understatement. The rain started at around 4:30 in the afternoon, not with a sprinkle that developed into a steady rain but with a straight-out-of-nowhere downpour. Without warning - to the untrained eye, anyway - the heavens opened and unleashed the deluge. The raindrops were so heavy that you were actually able to photograph them falling out of the sky. At home, we located the places where the water was dripping in through the roof. Finding that there was no major concern, we settled in for the night, listening to the rain hammer on the rooftop and the choir of froggie voices belting their tunes into the night air in something akin to a good pub-song.

I can not tell you how long into the night the downpour continued but, faithfully, the morning arrived. Isn't the morning funny after a heavy night of rain? The sky was clear and blue, the sun shining, the birds singing. The air seemed crisp and fresh, as if washed clean by all the rain. It's as though the morning wanted to convince us that last night had never happened, that the rain was just a figment of our imagination. The ruse was unsuccessful, however, because the rain had left proof of it's visit.

I first noticed it looking out the bathroom window - the neighbour's yard full of water and Jaymon and Brenton wading around in it in their pyjamas. We have got to know these people well enough that J and B refer to them as Archie and Seeya (Grandma and Grandad) and it is not unusual to find them over there on a weekend morning. Hastily, I pull some clothes on to investigate, dreading what I might find.

Our house is built up and aside from a few leaks we dont even have so much as a puddle in our yard. The same cannot be said for Archie and Seeya's house, which has received the majority of the runoff from the surrounding land. As I wade out to offer assistance I can see the high tide mark on the door frames and walls and note that the water has already receded 200mm. This still leaves some 600mm of water in the yard and approximately 400mm in the actual house. As he takes me through the house we talk and he is surprisingly cheerful and resolute, recounting the last time this happened some three years earlier.

As he outlines his plans to limit the damage next time, we walk out the front gate and find the main culprit of the damage. A large drain is swollen with water, waist-deep, flowing unimpeded past the front gate. Coconuts, rubbish and wood lie in a pile a meter up from the path of the flowing water, indicating how wide this temporary river once was. Ironically enough, at the front of the drive men work to put in a new tube well, commissioned to provide cleaner water to the properties that now lie partially submerged.

A man pulls up on his bike with a clipboard and starts taking down names. He has been sent by a government minister to allocate lunch packets to those affected by the flood. He will be busy. A ride down the main road paints a grim picture. Anywhere low-lying has been flooded. Driveways act as huge funnels for the deluge filling houses and shops, steps become small waterfalls. Canals have burst their banks and the shanties that line them are abandonded. Men sit over the freely flowing water with nets, catching fish where there was just a trickle of water the day before.

Our neighbours are lucky and wise. Next door, his son's house has been built above the flood line (it missed by approximately 20mm). They at least have a place to sleep and eat, but others who have so very little to begin with are facing a grim few days until the waters recede. There is no rain tonight but the sound of hundreds of frogs reminds me of the damage that is still outside in the darkness. All this after 8 hours of rain, I can only imagine the carnage after the tusnami.

LONG, LOST DR. SEUSS

Today I am excited to share an incredible discovery with you. We have managed to unearth an unpublished work that Dr. Seuss penned during a little known stay in Sri Lanka. It goes under the working title of "I LIKE TO RIDE A BIKE".

Oh, how I like to ride a bike,
To ride a bike is what I like.
I can ride while traffic rushes,
I can ride with pans and brushes.
I can ride with broom and mop,
I can ride with tabletop.
And to prove that I am not a klutz,
I can ride with coconuts.
I can ride uphill and down,
I can ride all over town.
And, watching carefully for cars,
I'll ride with child on handlebars.
I can dink another feller,
I can ride with an umbrella.
Yes, I can ride in pouring rain,
To ride in rain is not a strain.
To ride in rain I do not dread,
I'll ride with plastic bag on head.
Yes, how I love to ride a bike,
To ride a bike is what I like.

Okay, all right, I confess. It's not really the work of Dr. Seuss (could you tell?). Still, I reckon if he came here, that's what he'd write. Ever seen someone riding a bike laden with the entire contents of a corner store? Amazing!

PLACES, DIRECTIONS AND NAMES

Living in a different country, it is hard to remember the names of people and places. This is not only due to our unfamiliarity with the language but also to the fact that many of the place names sound very similar. For example Kullyapitiya, Kimbapitiya, Katuwapitiya and Kollupitiya. Try saying that fast three times!! So when referring to a specific place it is best to add a reference to a person we met there or a landmark. This is great when we are clarifying between people we have gone there with but not so great when it comes for asking directions. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where the Montessori school is? You know, the one past the big buddha near where we met Flavian?". So we get Prince to ask.

However we are learning that we are not alone in using landmarks in directions. As all but the largest streets lack street signs, addresses are generally just a formality and have no reference to your actual position. Our address is (names have been changed to protect our identity!) 19/45 Kalanga south 3rd lane past the train station. This is on our bills!!! The postie, once he knows you, will get your letters to you without a problem. Even if you move he will know where you have gone and bring your letters to your new house. Yes, one would think the simple way would be to change postal address but this is a convoluted and complex process that is not always certain to work. So leave it up to the postie and cross your fingers.

UNEXPECTED MOMENTS

Saturday evening provided us with one of those moments when an amazing opportunity just falls into your lap. Prince and I had been to Colombo for the day and were both pretty exhausted when we got home, so Darren decided it would be nice if we went out for tea. We all piled into the van and headed out, only to find that our driveway (which is more like an alleyway that leads to a collection of houses around us) was blocked by a bullcart. The bullcart belonged to one of our neighbours and was loaded with coconuts. The man and his wife bought coconuts and took them home to sell them on to others later.

The man and his wife had only just begun to unload the cart so it seemed that we would have a long wait until they had finished their work and could move the bull and cart. Then it came - the moment of inspiration! I asked Prince to ask them if it would be okay if the boys could come and help them. This was fine with them, so we all piled back out of the van and walked cautiously around the bull (well, except for Jaymon, who bailed right up to the beast while we all called for him to keep away!) to the cart at the back. The owner was throwing the coconuts from the cart to the ground. His wife would then gather them up and throw them over the barbed wire fence into their dirt yard. So we all joined in and soon there were coconuts flying all over the place. At one stage Jaymon, who had trouble clearing the barbed wire fence, threw a coconut straight into the wire and it bounced back and hit him on the head. He wasn't perturbed though - should I be concerned? I had to ask Darren to slow down when he started to throw the coconuts around like a madman.

We finished with the coconuts and I remembered that I had my camera in my bag. I grabbed it out so Darren could take some photos of us with the bull and cart. Then the owner offered to let the boys into the empty cart to have a little ride while he lead the bull away. In the mean time, Darren and I introduced ourselves to some other neighbours who were out enjoying the evening's entertainment. The lady we spoke to worked in a shop in one of the hotels on the beach, so her English was quite good. She was there with her niece who will turn 1 in a few weeks time. It was our best opportunity so far to get to know some of our neighbours. After that we piled back into the van and head off for dinner. The meal was delicious, making a great end to a fantastic evening.

BACK TO SCHOOL

On Friday we visited Roy. He and his wife are teachers and they run after-school classes for children in their community. They have four different groups of children they work with - on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon, Friday afternoon and Saturday. The parents of these children are uneducated and are unable to help their children with their homework, so Roy, his wife and two other teachers help the children with their homework and give them extra lessons for free.

When we visited, the two teachers who usually help were at a meeting, so Roy and his wife were taking the class on their own. The class had about 20 children ranging in age from 3 to 15, as well as Roy's young son who must have been about a year old. First the children practised their English by introducing themselves, telling us their school and their age. Then the children took out their homework. Some were practising English and others maths. We helped by checking the children's work and then giving some new words to learn or some new sums to practise. In the mean time, Brenton and Jaymon chased the little chicks outside. Whenever they caught one they would scoop it up in their t-shirt and bring it in to show me. The Sri Lankan children found this very amusing.

I helped one girl to learn the names of colours in English. Another boy was practising the days of the week and then we started the months of the year. I would write the word at the top of the page and they would copy the word down the page and then come to me for a new word. I would then quiz them to see if they remembered the words we had practised before giving them a new word. Teaching maths was a little more difficult because I have a very limited use of the Sinhala language. I can count to 10 but beyond that I was lost. I also had no resources to try communicating the concepts with. So I tried my best to teach double digit subtraction with carrying to a young girl who had no idea what I was saying, but I don't think she got it!
Still she kept trying. As my grasp of the language grows it should get easier, but it would be great if we had some simple resources to help teach concrete mathematic concepts.

One little boy really stood out. He must have been one of the youngest in the group and he did not seem to have any work to practise. Still, he had a book and he saw the others bringing their books up to me and he did not want to miss out on the fun. So he brought his book up to show me the pictures he had drawn. I admired them and then he would go away and scribble in his book and then bring it back for me to admire again. This went on for the time that we were there. A bit of attention went a long way, not just for him but for all the children.

The more studious children worked the whole time, continually returning to me for a new bit of

work. Other children were amused by Brenton and Jaymon. Darren bought the boys a soccer ball (no AFL footballs were available!) so that they could play with local children wherever we go without language being a barrier. Children who finished their work joined the boys in a game of ball outside. At one stage the ball ended up in the well and had to be fished out by bucket. It really was an enjoyable afternoon and it was difficult to leave. I really look forward to the next time we are able to help out with these classes and meet up with these children again.

BLENDING IN

Blending in - it's an interesting concept. We are so obviously different here. Many people pay little attention to us as they go about their daily business but, at the same time you grow accustomed to the looks of surprise on the faces of others who don't expect to see you in their world. For many people we are a novelty and it is not unusual to walk down the street with children shouting "Hello!" after us until we disappear from sight.

There are times when I am so keen to blend in. Sometimes I feel like an awkward giant. Most Sri Lankan women are so slight and most places and things here are small and add to this my desire for a little extra personal space. Sometimes it's hard not to feel in the way. Sometimes I notice that we stand out because we always seem to have so much baggage. Sri Lankan people rarely seem to need to be carrying things whereas if we are going out it is rare for us not to need to take a backpack. But I try hard to look like I belong, I suppose mostly because I want to feel like I belong. So when we go out I will try my hardest to blend in.

There is one problem though. Can you guess what it is? That's it, my white, white skin. No matter how hard I try I will always stand out like a beacon once I move away from the main beach strip. As hard as I try, I think that my attempts to blend in will always be for naught. But this, in turn, raises a new possibility - not blending in. There are moments when you suddenly realise that if your best efforts to blend in are not going to be successful, you may as well go ahead and do something completely crazy. These are moments of madness, fun and freedom - moments of exhiliration. You find yourself running through the rain or trying to mime a story for children or leaving a shop with a lifetime's supply of biscuits and rice so that you can go and give them to complete strangers.

So do I really want to blend in? Truth is, I enjoy my moments of madness. And, although I dislike the fact that it is my colour that draws attention to me, I do like children saying "Hello" and I do like sharing smiles with people on the street. And I really like having the opportunity to show kindness to people in a way that I might not be able to if I was unnoticeable - not because I couldn't show kindness before but now people are a little more open to us. So I suppose if I can't change the situation - then bring it on!

NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED

This story is for those who would find travelling in Sri Lanka scary at the best of times. For the uninitiated, Sri Lanka has road rules that are similar to those of a number of other nations in this part of the world. The left-hand side of the road is for vehicles travelling one way, the right-hand side of the road is for vehicles travelling the other and the middle of the road is for anyone who can squeeze their way through. Right of way and overtaking is determined by beeping of horns. 'Beep' means "I'm here", 'BEEP' means "I'm coming through" and "BEEEEEPPP" means "You better get out of my way because I'm not the one who's backing down". Every available part of the road will be used.

This afternoon we walked down to the beach for lunch. We intended to let the boys have a swim after lunch, but black clouds rolled in and it looked like rain was on it's way, so we decided to catch a tuk-tuk to the supermarket instead to get some milk. We had driven a short distance before the rain kicked in. It wasn't long before it was drumming on the soft cover of the tuk-tuk's roof. It sounded as if the raindrops were trying to tear their way in through the roof. When we reached the supermarket the tuk-tuk driver pulled in at the front and we raced in.

By the time we had grabbed what we needed, the rain was still pouring down and the tuk-tuk driver had pulled down the canvas flaps that keep the rain from coming in the open sides of the three-wheeler. The security guard who mans the front of the supermarket (all large stores have at least one security guard) walked us out to the tuk-tuk under an umbrella (we had not expected rain so we had not brought ours). It was now that travelling took on a new dimension of scary. The canvas flaps worked as large blinkers for the three-wheeler. Where the tu-tuk is normally an open vehicle, allowing a clear view of traffic all around, we were now only able to see directly in front. If that was not enough, with the four of us plus the driver all breathing in the enclosed tuk-tuk, the windscreen and the mirrors all started to fog up. So we drove along with the driver wiping down the windscreen every couple of minutes and the pelting rain adding to the limited visibility. Thankfully, the drive was not too long and the rain started to ease up before we reached home. Still, I think from now on we will be trying to avoid tuk-tuks during periods of heavy rain!

4 x 4 RACING

Now we are here to work, but we have to live in between working so on the weekend we went to the third annual 4 x 4 racing in Kochchikade (that's our suburb). Hayley was not all that impressed and she came on the condition that she didn't get any mud on her. As you will see this was a big ask, but she did manage to do it.

The idea was for the vehicles to complete the course in under fifteen minutes. There were point deductions for leaving the track, hitting trees and using your winch. The track was marked out with lengths of six millimetre rod embedded in the ground with barrrier tape strung between them. Due to the rain the night before at least a third of the track was under water. This also ensured that very few competitors could finish in the alloted time.

I didn't see any vehicles hit any of the trees or leave the track, however there was a fair bit of carnage. Of the 6 races I saw there was one rollover, three unable to finish because they destroyed their diffs and one blown engine. As a rule, only one vehicle in each race actually finished. The track was harsh and winches were needed at at least three main places depending on the driver's vehicle, skill and a lot of luck. One actually made the entire track without a winch but this was the exception, not the rule.

Spectating was great early on when the crowds were light. You were able to stand as close to the track as you thought safe. Spectators crossed the track at will to find better vantage points, watching as the vehicles winched themselves clear, the mob cheering as the machines spat out clods of dirt and charged at the next obstacle. As the day wore on it became harder to find a good position as the crowd circled the track, following the action, sometimes four or five deep. It started getting a bit dangerous to actually see anything.

On the trip home Prince told us that the track this year was a lot smaller and more challenging. Hopefully next year will see the return of some less technical obstructions and more action. So keep Febuary free, all you 4 x 4 buffs, and come visit. We will make sure there is more than just racing to watch.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Here's an entry for those of you who wonder what we are doing with ourselves over here. Tonight I will give you a rundown of my day. It wasn't an exciting day - sorry - just an average, run-of-the-mill day but what better way to give you a feel for our new life.

Monday, a school day means a 6am start. The alarm on Darren's phone rings and I grab a shower before making the beds and tidying upstairs. Darren organises breakfast for the kids and does the dishes. Prince arrives a little before 7am. It's my turn to go with the boys to school. I look at the big pile of thongs by the front entry and realise I should have left my thongs closer to the door. It rained last night and I hate wearing wet thongs. Another lesson learnt.

In the van, I read to the boys. The drive to school takes a little under half an hour. I walk the boys in to school and say goodbye to them at Jaymon's classroom. Prince and I then head back. Our first stop on the way back is for bread. The bread shop was surprisingly quiet this morning - we were the only customers. I get my loaf of bread and Prince buys a roll for his breakfast. Outside the bread shop Prince checks out an accident site. In the early hours of the morning a truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and driven into somebody's garden wall. Thankfully, he had jumped out of the truck before it hit the wall, so nobody had been hurt.

After the bread shop we stop at the news stall for Darren's daily papers. I like stopping here. The owners always seem entertained by my attempts at Sinhala and it encourages me to find new phrases to try on them. Prince doesn't need to come with me when I buy the papers so I also like the feeling of independence I have when I'm here. I feel like a child must do when they first successfully go to the corner shop on their own. Yes, the news stall is always a confidence booster.

When I get home I finish a conversation I have been having with Prince about Sri Lankan women and marriage. There's so much to learn about in a new country, but we all have work to do. I do a little ironing and then hit the office. Language practise first - learning how to recognise and write the script and learning new vocabulary. Then writing up a report on what we have done for the first two months. Finally, some time preparing materials that can be used to teach English. The intention is not for us to be teaching English, but to train locals to be able to teach English in their own communities. This will mean that more people will get access to English lessons.

It is not long before 11:30 comes and it is time to pick Jaymon up from school. I make this trip also because I need to stop in at the school office. After stopping at the office I go back out and wait at the school gate until the children are brought out to us. They file out in their class groups, led by their teachers. Children come out to their waiting parents or go sit on the bench outside the office if their parents haven't arrived yet. Jaymon and I head back to where Prince waits with the van and we head home.

Darren, Jaymon & I have lunch and Prince goes back to his place for his lunch break. After lunch, Darren goes for a bike ride. When Prince returns they both head off to fetch Brenton from school. I finish the ironing and do several chores. Jaymon follows me around and asks how to write several little messages on a piece of paper and then draws a picture. A little later I spot a lizard on the back wall and, thinking to show it to Jaymon, I realise things have been rather quiet for a little bit. I call his name several times before the neighbours let me know he had gone calling on them. I find him on their exercise bike and send him back home to see the lizard.

Prince, Darren & Brenton return with Teacher Ramosha. Monday is our day for language lessons and Ramosha is our language teacher (and Brenton's maths teacher). Although English is widely spoken, there are still many people who don't speak English and many others who don't speak it well. We are keen to learn Sinhala because it will allow us to be able to speak to more people. We're not learning Tamil as well though - one language at a time is enough. Today we learnt a few phrases, a few verbs and the numbers to 10.

After Prince and Teacher Ramosha left it was time to get on to dinner and a few more chores. I sent a few emails. This has become a vital part of our lives and sometimes we can spend hours emailing, but today only needed four quick messages. The boys played for a while and then did some homework. Baths for the kids and dinner for the family and then bed for Jaymon, followed soon enough by Brenton.

Now I can get my cool-down bath in peace. This is an evening ritual, a chance to cool down, freshen up and unwind. I like a warm shower in the mornings but in the evenings it's a cool bath, with only a hint of hot water so that it's not like stepping into a cold, cold bath. Here I can listen to the traffic or get lost in my own thoughts, plans or daydreams. It's a great pick-me-up and afterwards it doesn't matter so much if you've got more work to do. Darren prepared for our trip to the Immigration Office in Colombo tomorrow while I just relaxed. Now Darren's in bed and I'm here blogging. Been listening to Missy Higgins "On a Clear Night" and now the Waifs "SunDirtWater" which amounts to me being quite relaxed, mellow & content. However, the night is getting on and tomorrow is my first time at the Immigration Office so I better get some rest. Suba ratriyak!