OUR NEW CLASS

We have recently begun work with a new group of students. We are excited about this because this is our first group that we will work with on a regular basis. It is also our first adult class. This class has four students,who are also completing a college course. They spend one day a week with us learning English and computing. This will not only help them in their current course but will help them be accepted into higher level college courses in the future. The students come from various places in Sri Lanka but, for their course, are based in a town a few hours away from us. They travel by bus to get to and from our class, which means a long day and lots of travelling, but they are so keen to learn. We are hoping to have a second class starting a few months from now.

HEADING EAST: PART 2

After visiting the pre-schools we were invited to visit the homes of some of the locals. The people we visited were neither Sinhala nor Tamil, but Veddah. The Veddah people are the aboriginal inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Where the Sinhalese people and the Tamil people both have their origins in India, the Veddah have always lived in Sri Lanka. Veddah have a close relationship with the land and, even today, many still practise traditional ways of hunting and cultivation. Unfortunately, much of the jungle area which would be their traditional land has been cleared. Also, intermarriage has meant that Veddah culture is at risk of being lost. Thankfully, it seems that recognition of the benefits of the traditional Veddah land practices is encouraging a comeback for Veddah culture.

It was a particular honour to be able to visit the local Veddah tribal chief. The chief was blind, but he told us the story of when, years back when his eyesight was better, he was taken all the way over to the West coast so he could have an operation to have his cataracts removes. The doctor explained the operation to him and he thought that the doctor was saying that he would have his eyeballs removed. Naturally, the chief was terrified and he ran away back to his home on the other side of the island. Later, when the opportunity arose again and he better understood the operation, it was too late.

On our way home from visiting the Veddahs we noticed a curious sight. As we drove we passed many men on bicycles, travelling in the opposite direction, carrying rifles across their laps. Our host was able to explain. It seemed that, at some stage in the past, the government had supplied the locals with guns, just in case they found themselves caught in the middle of the ongoing conflict. On regular occasions, these locals need to present themselves and the guns at the local police station for inspection. It turned out that today just happened to be gun-checking day.

HEADING EAST: PART 1

Recently we made a weekend trip to the Eastern side of the island. The Eastern Province has long been a front in the conflict in Sri Lanka, which has had it's toll on the people, socially and economically. However, of late it has been becoming increasingly stable, so it was deemed safe enough for us to go and visit. This was quite a trip though - requiring several hours driving and the most stringent security checks we've experienced so far.

Our visit was a research trip. We were to visit three pre-schools out there - to meet their staff and children, to have a look at their resources and to get a feel for their needs. The first pre-school we visited was held in a simple room attached to a house. It can have up to 15 children but today it had 5. The communities we visited were in rural areas and we were told that when the parents needed to be in the fields they often had to take the children with them for the day, so the children did not go to school. A couple of the children here found our camera a bit too scary!

The second pre-school we visited was held in a small, mud hut. This school had no budget to work with so all they had to use with the children were a few sheets of paper, a few pairs of scissors and some glue. Still, the classroom walls, adorned with colourful pictures, were testament to their ability to make do with very little.

The third pre-school was the biggest and best equipped of the three. This pre-school educates about forty 4 and 5 year olds. We were lucky enough to arrive in time to witness the rice-and-onions lunch meal that the school provides before the children are sent home.

When we arrived there were many parents waiting outside the school building for their children to be dismissed. I was intrigued to notice that there were also several older children. I was told that this village lies in the corner of it's region so there is no nearby school for the older children. Most can not afford the daily bus fare nor can they cope with walking home for hours in the heat of the day without having had lunch, so they do not go to school. They go to the fields with their parents or they stay home to take care of the younger children while the parents work. I took some photos and chatted with these lovely children, to learn that some of them did not even know how old they are. These children really are growing up a whole world away from so many of the rest of us.

A LOVELY MEMORY

For 10 days we were parents to an injured egret. Brenton found it wandering around our backyard one day. It's wing was so badly injured that it just dangled badly from it's body, only just still attached. We didn't know what to do with it so we just took it in and figured we would just see what happened. At night we put him in a box so that he didn't become prey for one of the many neighbourhood cats. We had to put a stick in the box for him to perch on though, otherwise he wouldn't sleep. During the day we put him outside to get some fresh air and to stretch his legs. Still, he actually seemed to prefer our company. If he got bored or hungry he'd come and wander through the house to see what was going on. He particularly seemed to like Prince, though I don't think Prince was so keen on him, and would stand at a safe distance watching him while he cleaned the van or covered books. Other times he would just wander around the house and try and make sense of this strange new world.

He was a fish-eating bird, so we went to the pet shop and bought a small tank of guppies. We would put them in my laundry tub and he would go fishing. We also got him a little frog and he scored a few of the prawns that I was shelling for dinner once. Apart from that, we went to the fish market and bought some smelly, little fish that we could freeze and break off a few whenever he needed feeding. He was quite willing to come and take the fish out of our hands.

We really hadn't been that sure he would make it through the first night, but after a few days we figured it was safe enough to give him a name. Because Brenton had found the egret, we gave him the privelege of picking a name. Brenton decided that 'Lovely' suited him quite nicely, so Lovely the egret he became. But unfortunately, despite his inquisitive behaviour and healthy appetite, his injuries must have still been quite severe because 10 days after he first came into our yard, he died. Brenton was brokenhearted. Still, our constant travelling really made it difficult to take such continued care of him. I'm just glad he died with a full belly.

BORDERS

Not far from our place there is a canal. It is part of a canal system that was constructed by the Dutch during their 'stay', stretching for over 120km. The canal system was originally used to transport goods from one place to another, between Puttalam and Colombo. However, disuse has seen it come to be overgrown with weeds to the point that it looks as though you could walk right over the top of it (I wouldn't recommend trying).

Of late, efforts have been made to clear the weeds from the canal. An excavator has been parked on the canal bank. Although I've yet to see it in action, it clearly has been used at some stage because as we pass over the bridge we can see the results of its work. We were driving over the bridge recently and it came to our attention that the weeds had been cleared from one side of the bridge, while the other side was just as choked as ever. It looks as though water flows under the bridge and emerges out the other side as greenery. We pondered this phenomenon for some minutes, trying to figure out why they would worry about one side of the bridge and not the other. Finally, Prince came up with a suggestion that seemed quite feasible. One side of the bridge, he suggested, probably falls under the responsibility of the Negombo municipality while the other is the responsibility of the Kochchikade municipality. We wondered at the logic of this, assuming that the Kochchikade weeds will eventually spread and reclaim the Negombo water.

It was, of course, just a theory. It is just as possible that it was decided that, for some reason, this bridge was just a good place to start and that they will return and do the other side later. Those of us who like to see the glass as half-full can undoubtedly give the municipalities the benefit of the doubt. Still, it does get me pondering this strange notion of 'borders' that we humans have.

Throughout history we have managed to carve this planet into patches and allocate patches to people (or, perhaps, people to patches). We have claimed patches as our own, tried to drive people from their patches and allocate them to different ones. We have fought, and even killed, over patches. We have covete what other people find on their patch. We have made people pay, and continue paying, for the right to have a patch. We clear our patches, build on them, landscape them and develop them. And, of course, we compare them. Oh, the prestige when my patch is better than your patch. And heaven help those who don't have a patch. All of this stemming from these borders that you will see marked so clearly on your map but may not even notice as you cross a bridge.

But when we look at it we might have to wonder if borders are really mind-games that we play with ourselves. Oh, for sure, they can be extremely beneficial when it comes to good administration and good government and we've probably all heard the saying, "Good fences make good neighbours". I definitely believe that order is a good thing. Still, there are times when you might have to question if borders belong on a list with Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, something that shapes human behaviour without actually existing (it's always dangerous saying things like that about Santa - hope I haven't shattered anyone!). Our borders do not keep smoke from fires in Indonesia from polluting the air in Malaysia. We are all quite aware that in the case of a nuclear mishap - attack or accident - our borders will not protect us. Rubbish thrown in the ocean will not stop at maritime borders and we are gradually learning that, even if we don't have a heart, we still need to care about the economic well-being of people in other 'patches' because if we don't we may well find ourselves suffering economically as well. And, of course, water weeds are not a respecter of municipal boundaries.

At some point, it must be worth considering whether we ever really own the patch we find ourselves inhabiting or should we merely consider ourselves to be caretakers. I'll be interested to see what happens in the canal.

BUYING BREAD

Today I would like to introduce you to some friends of mine. To me, they go by the communal title of 'The Bread Ladies' - though to be fair, as you can see, they are not all ladies. The ladies give me the bread and the gentleman works the cash register, so perhaps 'The Bread Ladies' is still an apt title if I also add 'and Tillman' to the introduction.

Anyway, we need to buy our bread fresh each day and this is the shop that we visit to do this errand. We stop here each morning on the way home from dropping the kids at school. This means, because we take turns at taking the kids to school, that every second day I get to see the Bread Team. This is truly the highlight of my morning routine. The Bread Team are so friendly and always greet me with huge smiles. They know exactly what I'm after - a large loaf of bread - but they love to help me practise my Sinhala. The bread will be on the counter as soon as I enter the store (and I've caught them out at checking the loaves to try and find me the best one) but they will still wait for me to ask for it in Sinhala (Mata loku parn denda) before I'm allowed to have it. I will ask them all "Kohomada?" (How are you?) and they will respond in various ways that I can only assume mean "Yeah, I'm well". Then they will ask how I am and I will respond with the easiest response in my repertoire (Hondai). By then I will have paid for the bread and will give a "Gihin enang" (Goodbye, which I am told literally translates to 'I will go and I will come") and then I am on my way, buoyed by their smiles and encouragement and the thought that I have successfully used Sinhala in public.

Anyway, I enjoy my visits with the Bread Team so much that I wanted to get a photo of them to share with you all. So, one morning, in I go with my camera to get a shot of the team. It was funny that they were so obliging considering that if I went down to Baker's Delight and asked if I could take a photo of them, they would probably just get totally weirded out. However, I will share that this photo does come to you with a price. In return, the team asked me if they could each have a photo of me with the family. I asked why they wanted a photo of me because I was worried they might put it up in the shop. Prince said they were going to get it enlarged and put it on the shop wall. After I had been sufficiently horrified (can you imagine going to get your bread each day with your photo on the wall like the patron saint of bread?!) Prince let me know he was just joking - they just wanted the photo to take home. I figured it was a fair swap.

THE ANTS CAME MARCHING TWO BY TWO

One of the small but significant things about living here in Sri Lanka is sharing our house with the ants. I don't think we ever had ants in our house in Australia and if we did, it was never in the numbers that we have here. There are ants in both of my kitchens; ants in the loungeroom; ants coming up the drain in the downstairs bathroom and, of late, ants walking all over my desk. I don't know what has suddenly attracted them to my desk and I would chase them away if it didn't seem so futile. When we first moved in we tried to combat the ants with ant powder and spray but we've come to see that it is a losing battle. Now we live peaceably with them, keeping as much food as we can in the fridge and making sure that you clean up really quickly after preparing any food. Oh, and of course there's the golden rule: always make sure you look at anything before you put it in your mouth.

Still, you learn a few things about ants. You learn that the only places they don't get into are the fridge and the oven (well, for now anyway!). You learn that they can move really quickly and they are determined. At the same time, you learn that they aren't that clever. They can work together to move a gigantic (well, in comparison anyway) crumb across the kitchen bench and then will work for hours, to get it through the flywire even though it's too big. And yet, they can still figure out how to work their way along the thread of a screw-lid container. You might think that things like sugar and honey would be their favourite but, surprisingly, this is not so. In fact, the honey is one of the few things that is safe in the cupboard - they have not tried for it at all. They would much rather peanut butter. However, this can not compare with their all-time favourite: cheese. Get some cheese out of the fridge and every ant everywhere will be running to your kitchen within seconds. Oh well, at least they're not charging me rent yet.