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!