GETTING AROUND

Once, in our early days here in Lanka, we showed Prince around our hometown using Google maps. During our virtual tour he was to ask us, "Where are all the people?" What he noticed about our suburban and city streets was the absence of action that is characteristic of Sri Lankan streets. He was wondering if people were asked to stay inside while these photographs were taken.

The contrast between the streets of Sri Lanka and those of Australia is substantial. Right now, the Colombo/Negombo road will be alive with people about their business - a weaving, honking, zooming assortment of vehicles with a side-serving of pedestrians and generous sprinkling of cyclists - and most of the streets spreading off like a series of arteries are not all that different.

Of course, the side streets are free of buses - probably the most common form of transportation. The buses are, I suspect, a little like me - susceptible to the wear-and-tear of their environment and older in appearance than they are in actuality. Red buses are government buses and white buses are privately run. Smaller coach buses are also privately run and, for a slightly more expensive ticket, offer the luxury of air-conditioning. There seems to be no passenger limit for buses and it is not unusual to see several people hanging out the doors of an over-crowded bus, hanging tightly to each other and trusting that the one closest to the bus will not let go. It may not come as a surprise then that we know of 3 people that have had falls from buses (in fact, it may surprise you that we do not know of more). However, one did fall while talking on his mobile so I suppose an awareness of the hazards of talking on the phone while travelling may have prevented this accident - it's not just for drivers, it seems.

The other form of public transportation is three-wheeling. Three-wheelers are those little vehicles common to many Asian countries but known by a variety of names: becak, bemo, tuk-tuk, (motorised) rickshaw and the like. In Sri Lanka, these mostly come in red, green or beige, with the occasional blue ones. These are able to transport, it seems, 4 or 5 adults or extra if there are children involved. Also, shopping, goods to be sold at market, fish of any size and shape, dogs both large and small, timber, whipper snippers or anything else you would like to move. Three-wheelers mostly try to cling to the sides of the road as their engines are no match for cars, trucks and buses and neither are their chassis, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule and these little smarties on wheels are not afraid to weave in and out of the traffic as necessary. Best to try and avoid being a passenger in a three-wheeler during rain though as visiblity is very limited once the side-flaps are pulled down.

If you don't want to send your kids to school in a three-wheeler, a school van is another option. There are a plethora of vans to be found on Sri Lankan roads at any point during the day and they are commonly used for school or factory transport, as well as driving lessons. I think it may be impossible to limit the number of people you can fit inside a van, especially when you're dealing with children - they're so small. In the morning vans full of white school uniforms, red hair ribbons, sleepy faces, cheeky grins and small, waving hands can be found all over the place. Oh, and point of note, I think it is a fact that people who travel in vans are super cool ;)

The wealthier and those who enjoy a house with car access will probably own a car. Big, black, shiny 4WD seem to be the status symbol here (although other colours are also acceptable). Government ministers drive these, often with a convoy of military bodyguards ahead and behind. They don't yet know that the super-cool people travel in vans.

More common family transport, however, is the motorcycle. Motorbikes are practical if your house doesn't have car access and, at least while the children are younger, you can fit the whole family on there. For a while, apparently, the government passed a law to limit the number of people allowed on a motorbike but when an overwhelming number of indignant families asked, "How are we supposed to travel now?" the government changed its mind. Still, adults are supposed to wear a helmet and it is illegal to keep your mobile phone wedged inside your helmet so you can take calls while riding.

But we can't all be lucky enough to have a motorbike, so there is still always the trusty bicycle. You can't really fit your whole family on the bike but it is usual for there to be two or three people on the bike. Unless, of course, you're on your way to market with your goods strapped on the back. Or you can walk. Few places have footpaths, though, so it's best to stick close to the side of the road. Or, if you are lucky, you might be able to catch a ride in the back of a truck. The rule with trucks, as with three-wheelers, is the more decorated the vehicle, the better it is.

And for those travelling long distances, there is always the train. With open windows and open doors, the trains offer a better ventilated and usually less crowded alternative to bus travel. Word of advice from Darren (who has travelled to the East Coast via rail): it is best for the unseasoned traveller to take a cushion as the seating is rather firm.

So, you see, there are many ways for you to travel around Sri Lanka. You can pick your fancy - just try and avoid the ambulances.

'TIS THE SEASON

Here on the West Coast of Sri Lanka we are heading into our rainy season, which runs from May to August. It has marked its arrival with heavy rain, growling skies and intimidating tropical thunderstorms. Sunday night was particularly bad. The perpetual rumblings of thunder had me dreaming that I was in a war zone. The rain was torrential and by yesterday (Monday) morning, with no sign of letting up, many roads were underwater.

Still, life goes on so we set out to take the kids to school as usual. At least with all the rain, there was a lot less traffic about. Only those who had to be out, were out. Yet there were still many to be seen braving it on foot or riding their bikes, holding an umbrella in one hand. I'm not sure how many would manage to see the morning out without being drenched by spray created from vehicles passing through the puddles that now consumed most of the road. We drove past one girls' school where the students were all removing their shoes and socks to wade through knee-high water to reach the school grounds. At one place, we navigated a piece of flooded road while two men, perhaps father and son, watched on from the threshold of their simple home, stranded by a moat of water around their house.

By careful navigation we managed to avoid the flooded streets and make it to the school. However, once there, the thoughts that had been gathering in my mind were confirmed. The school was closed for the day so we turned for home. However, Prince is on holidays so this was our first day with Cedric driving. Cedric was not confident with the roads I had navigated him down to get to the school and wanted to go home via the more direct route. This road tends to be chaotic in the mornings at the best of times but I was happy to let him make the choice.

Sure enough, a large portion of the road was flooded and vehicles from both directions were doing their best to navigate the waters. We were about to turn around and go back (which would be no mean feat as there were now vehicles hedged in behind us) when a man wading out of the waters got our attention. He was carrying an umbrella and wearing nothing but a short sarong and a motorbike helmet (well, that would get your attention!). My immediate thought was, "It must be bad. He seems to have lost his motorbike and taken off all his wet clothes." Yet, somehow I don't think that is what happened (though I can not tell you why he was wandering around the flooded streets wearing a motorbike helmet). Anyway, he seemed to have taken it upon himself to direct the traffic and he convinced Cedric that he would make it through the waters. And he was right. With the sound of water sloshing outside the doors, we took on the giant puddle and won, driving off with Cedric saying, "He was a good man. He was a very good man."

We made it home to surprise Daddy with two energetic little boys with a day off school. It also happened to be the day we had chosen to resume our English/computing classes after 6 weeks in Australia. We were barely expecting to get a class, considering the weather but we were pleasantly surprised. One of the students was coming from a town which had not had any rain yet so she was unaware that there might have been a problem but two who had to catch the bus from South of Colombo had a bus ride that extended to 6 hours through the flooded streets to come to class. The rain eased off throughout the day but returned by evening. Reports were coming in that if the rain didn't stop, Colombo would be losing power as the power stations were almost submerged.

With hopes of better weather, we sent the kids off to school today. However, the rain returned and at lunchtime we received a call asking us to collect the children as the school had to close once again. So Darren went out to face the rain and the roads. It was to be almost three hours before he was to return. Almost every road between home and the school was flooded and choked with vehicles trying to navigate the waters. To add to the situation, adjacent to the school is a factory which was sending all its workers home due to the conditions. In the meantime, the sky was throwing down everything that it had and we now had a river rushing down our driveway, through our yard and back out to our neighbour's property. My phone was able to receive calls but I could not ring out so I was worrying about what had happened to my family. Thankfully, a call from Darren early on had alerted me that this would not be an easy trip and I knew a friend of mine was also waiting on her children to get home from school. Still, it was with great relief that I finally saw the van coming down the drive, right at the point where I couldn't keep anxiety at bay much longer and I was pondering my next move.

At the moment, the rain has ceased and there are no outbursts from the sky; no thunder - either in deafening bursts or subtle rumblings - and no sky-splitting flashes of lightning. There are just the frogs, singing in froggy chorus; a deep bass complimented by a croaky alto with a somewhat syncopated rhythm. There are undoubtedly people trying to find a good place to sleep in flooded homes and hoping that the rain will hold out long enough for mattresses and other things to dry. We'll see how the weather goes tomorrow and perhaps make a call to the school office before deciding whether we'll try sending the kids to school tomorrow. But for now, I'll enjoy the peace, be thankful that my family is safe at home with the kids snug in dry beds and be grateful that all I need to deal with the leaks in my roof is a strategically placed bucket or two.

CLASS IS IN

One of the things we are trying to do while we are here is to give people who can not attend English classes (either because they can't afford them or because of distance) greater opportunity to develop English skills. We want to train and assist volunteers with reasonable English skills to be able to share these skills with others, with the aim of having English programs running in impoverished or rural areas. This will open more career opportunities for the students than what is available to those without any skills in English.

After a year of developing a program for volunteers to use, we have finally been able to begin training our first group of volunteers. We have three volunteers who have been meeting on Saturdays to learn how to share English skills with others in creative ways. They are also learning teaching/classroom techniques. Although this is a small start, we are hoping that it will grow into big things. They have only a few Saturdays left of their training program and then we will assist them in getting their own classes started. The classes will be started as a result of generous donations, but a manageable (read 'small') student fee will allow these classes to continue in a self sufficient manner.

From little things, big things grow.

GIGGLES

Those of you who know us well will know how much we both like a good laugh. We both tend to see the funny side of things (maybe because of the way that we look at them). So, today I thought I might share a couple of things that have caused some giggles.

:) I asked one of my students to translate the sentence, "Ohu kakul mace miladi garnava" (He is buying socks) into English. As she worked through trying to form this into an English sentence (tricky work when you consider that English and Sinhala have very different sentence structures), the word 'chicken' kept coming up. We were all a little confused and then it dawned on us all at once. 'Kakul mace' are socks and 'Kukul mas' is chicken meat. A good giggle for the class. One thing's for sure, I will not be sending her to buy me socks! I'm just relieved that it's not just me who says silly things with Sinhala.

:D English class is a great place for a giggle. The students can always be counted on to say something amusing. If your day needs brightening, just show them a picture and ask, "What is this?" My favourite terminology to date includes the 'teafork' (an implement that makes putting sugar in your tea a difficult task) and 'shoe noodles' (for the pasta fanatic who needs to tie their shoes).

:P At lunch recently, one of our students opened his lunch parcel and exclaimed happily, "I told my wife to put minnows in and she did. She is such a good wife; she listens to what I say." In walks another of our students and she says, "You've got my lunch!" So he gives it back, looks in his actual lunch parcel and says, "She didn't give me any minnows. She gave me prawns. I told her I don't like prawns." I guess it's an easy mistake when you all bring your lunch wrapped in a banana leaf.

:} We spent last weekend in Colombo, with many appointments to keep. When we arrived back home on Sunday afternoon we were all ready for a nap. How can you tell? Because instead of telling Brenton to "Get the gate", Darren instructed his son to "Eat the goat".

Have a happy day!

UPCOMING ELECTIONS

We are now a week away from the upcoming presidential elections. Although we aim for political neutrality in our blog, I think it would be remiss of us to not to make note of some of the ways we have seen this event affecting life around us.

The most obvious indication that election fever is in the air is the plethora of photos of the president that you will see as you travel around Sri Lanka. The roadsides are swathed in images of the president; from the giant figures of him striding across billboards to the lines of posters of his smiling face, if you came to Sri Lanka not knowing who the president is, it would not take you long to find out.

Another way that the impending election is affecting daily life in Sri Lanka is that the cost of many goods has been reduced. Recently, when I received more than the expected amount of change for my bread I assumed they had made a mistake. I tried to do the right thing and return the extra five rupee (five cents), but they assured me that bread was now only Rs. 75. My Sinhala was insufficient to try and find out why without causing confusion, so I walked away with my extra five rupee and a clean conscience. Prince was able to tell me later, that the cost of bread has been dropped because of the election. Fuel is also cheaper as well as some other goods. (On the other hand, the cost of a roast chicken is now significantly higher as we face something of a chicken shortage. Chickens are being directed to Jaffna as part of the rebuilding process after the war (which is not to say that chickens are rebuilding Jaffna, just that the people are getting to eat them!). Although it is not pleasant watching the price of roast chickens go ever upward, I feel satisfied now that I know that it is because the chickens are going to those who need them more. I don't think this is election related, but I thought it was an interesting side note.)

The promise of an election has also brought about travel disruptions. Buses have been pulled from their usual routes to be used to transport people to rallies and public political events, meaning that travel plans have become increasingly uncertain for those relying on buses. Roads have been closed for these events or for the president (or those associated with him) as he travels. This can cause significant delays in travel as Sri Lankan roads are very busy and often only have one route between towns.

Lastly, you can tell an election is on its way by the patches of blue and green. The major political parties are identified by a colour and a picture; one is represented by the colour blue and a picture of a leaf, the other by the colour green and a picture of a swan. As you travel around Sri Lanka you will occasionally pass through areas of support for one party or the other. Blue or green ribbons (depending on the political allegiance) will festoon a group of houses and other nearby structures. Unfortunately, these allegiances can often become manifest in hostility towards supporters of the opposite party, which can lead to fighting. Yesterday we learnt that two people had died as a result of violence stemming from political differences.

So in one week's time we should know who won: the blue guy or the green guy. Here's hoping that bread still costs Rs. 75 in two weeks time.

EGG-CITING NEWS

We are pleased to be able to finish off the old year and start the new with good news. Niwton the Eggman, who received one of our initial micro-credit loans a year and a half ago has made his final payment. Yay! How egg-citing!

THE NEW YEAR STARTS WITH A BANG

Midnight, December 31st 2009/January 1st 2010: I was awoken from my slumber by a great noise. Was it the rumbling of a tropical thunderstorm? Could I hear waves crashing on the seashore? Were the ancient Romans invading Negombo with their chariots and multitudes of legions of soldiers? No, this was the arrival of the New Year in Sri Lanka.

Across the land, thousands and thousands of firecrackers were being let off in unison. The sound was amazing, like the sky had become one big, fizzy drink; it was like listening to a gigantic bowl of Rice Bubbles. While the war had been on, we had heard the sound of gunfire over Colombo but that had nothing on the sound of the New Year. From my bedroom windows I was able to enjoy several light shows, the best coming from the yard of a nearby neighbour.

It was quite some time before I slipped back into bed and returned to my sleep. It wasn't a restful night though, as I was woken several more times during the night by outbursts of firecrackers. The firecracker frivolity continued through the night and on throughout the following day. We were to hear later that over 2000 people went into Sri Lankan hospitals over the New Year period with cracker-related injuries. I can understand why Australia has made private firecrackers illegal.

To all our readers out there, we wish you a cracker of a New Year. May it be a year of love, hope and promise.