Big blue signs
Lazy days……
Today is Sunday and rainy…..although a rainy day here is sun, rain for and hour and then more sun. I am going to attempt to give this post more structure than what is normal in my writing. I am also going to try and put emotion into it. (Having been brought up in a more factual than emotional based “system”, I often leave emotions out of things. However in this situation of unfamiliarity of the reader to…all that surrounds me…Sri Lanka…my experiences…whatever, I thought it wise to attempt to put emotion into my writing. I hope this will be able to paint a clearer picture.)
Ok….So Friday I went with Rachel and Nigel and an Australian down to Tangol to the site where CRUF is building a fair-trade textiles (handbags) factory. It is about a three hour drive down the coast. Along the way, I got to see some of the damage caused by the tsunami. Two years after there are still people living in temporary shacks on the foundations of what used to be a house. Dotted along the coast were also polished floors and foundations in good conditions but lacking houses to shelter them. A few broken skeletons of boats lay bleaching in the sun. Large blue signs have
been put up with stick figures running away from a large wave; at the bottom arrows point inland or to higher ground. I think the purposes of these are not for more efficient evacuation (although I was told a lot of people ran toward the sea out of curiosity) but rather to help people emotionally...deal I guess. Like the duck and cover drills they used to do in case of a nuclear bomb. Ducking and covering isn’t going to do a lot just as having signs pointing inland don’t do much. They just make the public feel better…they have a task to do in case of emergency. 
Anyway, I got to visit the sea. It was absolutely lovely. The water is so warm and so so blue. It was hard for me to imagine it a ferocious beast, but most people there could.
There are tons of boats and lots of seafood (Kristen if you read this there is a lot of really nice seafood for very very cheap;). Apparently there are way more boats and fishing nets here than there were prior to the tsunami due to people sending so many over.
Anyway, that was a nice change of pace, good to get out of
Colombo for a while. Oh yes, on the way there I found out that mutton here is not older sheep, but goat. Still quite tasty though.
Ok I’m up to Saturday now. On Sat. I went on a picnic with Namali’s church, Dehewala Methodist. It was nice to get out of Colombo again. It was about an hour west of here and there were trees and plants and it was gorgeous. On the way there, the bus that we took was unable to make a turn and we had to pull into someone’s drive and make the turn that way. However, the only way we could make it was by backing up. So, we drove down the
road in reverse for about a quarter mile. Anyway we had an outside service with singing and food and it was good. People are still very amazed that I eat so well with my fingers (See mom there was a purpose…so there). They are also amazed that I handle the spice. It is very spicy…very and I stop eating not when I feel full but rather when my mouth and lips can handle no more spice. There was singing and games…I played cricket for the “first” time. I say “first” b/c the only other time I played it was in gym class and no one really understood what was going on. I did fairly well fielding, but when it was my turn to bat…well. I held it like a baseball bat and for a while until someone told me to hold it down. After that I got a bunch of runs...sort of. YEA for me. All and all it was good. I did however have a bit of an internal struggle. I went 
with Namali who is part of the young adults who have fun and are really great. However, being that I am here in a position that some find me too young for I struggled. To stay with the youth who i relate to better or stay with the adults trying to act older than I am so people have an easier time believing I am competent. In the end it worked out where there were times I was with the adults and times with the youth, so yeah for that.
Sunday…
Ok today I slept in. That was nice. I read and goofed around…folded laundry…Then in the afternoon I went out with Jen an ex-pat. From California. I took the bus on the way there. It was Rs 6. about half way to where we were going to meet the bus stopped. I waited about 10min and decided that I would walk. As I walked I saw the hold up. The police were searching every bus. Police check. Not an uncommon occurrence. I thought living here would help me understand conflict better. It doesn’t! I am now more confused why people fight. The closer I get the less I understand. People here are living happily Tamil and Sinhalese, neighbors and friends. I don’t understand where this anger is seated or who controls it. Its just weird. Anyway, eventually I got where I was going and that is good. I went to a posh store and then Jen and I got ice-cream and talked. We also picked out a movie for Daniel a friend recently turned Christian. It was called The Bible. Just an old movie, kind of a joke and just kinda fun. Alright, I have tried to express emotion, but I think I just wrote more fluff. Oh well!
Peace and Love
Today is Sunday and rainy…..although a rainy day here is sun, rain for and hour and then more sun. I am going to attempt to give this post more structure than what is normal in my writing. I am also going to try and put emotion into it. (Having been brought up in a more factual than emotional based “system”, I often leave emotions out of things. However in this situation of unfamiliarity of the reader to…all that surrounds me…Sri Lanka…my experiences…whatever, I thought it wise to attempt to put emotion into my writing. I hope this will be able to paint a clearer picture.)
Ok….So Friday I went with Rachel and Nigel and an Australian down to Tangol to the site where CRUF is building a fair-trade textiles (handbags) factory. It is about a three hour drive down the coast. Along the way, I got to see some of the damage caused by the tsunami. Two years after there are still people living in temporary shacks on the foundations of what used to be a house. Dotted along the coast were also polished floors and foundations in good conditions but lacking houses to shelter them. A few broken skeletons of boats lay bleaching in the sun. Large blue signs have
been put up with stick figures running away from a large wave; at the bottom arrows point inland or to higher ground. I think the purposes of these are not for more efficient evacuation (although I was told a lot of people ran toward the sea out of curiosity) but rather to help people emotionally...deal I guess. Like the duck and cover drills they used to do in case of a nuclear bomb. Ducking and covering isn’t going to do a lot just as having signs pointing inland don’t do much. They just make the public feel better…they have a task to do in case of emergency. 
Anyway, I got to visit the sea. It was absolutely lovely. The water is so warm and so so blue. It was hard for me to imagine it a ferocious beast, but most people there could.
There are tons of boats and lots of seafood (Kristen if you read this there is a lot of really nice seafood for very very cheap;). Apparently there are way more boats and fishing nets here than there were prior to the tsunami due to people sending so many over.
Anyway, that was a nice change of pace, good to get out of
Colombo for a while. Oh yes, on the way there I found out that mutton here is not older sheep, but goat. Still quite tasty though.Ok I’m up to Saturday now. On Sat. I went on a picnic with Namali’s church, Dehewala Methodist. It was nice to get out of Colombo again. It was about an hour west of here and there were trees and plants and it was gorgeous. On the way there, the bus that we took was unable to make a turn and we had to pull into someone’s drive and make the turn that way. However, the only way we could make it was by backing up. So, we drove down the
road in reverse for about a quarter mile. Anyway we had an outside service with singing and food and it was good. People are still very amazed that I eat so well with my fingers (See mom there was a purpose…so there). They are also amazed that I handle the spice. It is very spicy…very and I stop eating not when I feel full but rather when my mouth and lips can handle no more spice. There was singing and games…I played cricket for the “first” time. I say “first” b/c the only other time I played it was in gym class and no one really understood what was going on. I did fairly well fielding, but when it was my turn to bat…well. I held it like a baseball bat and for a while until someone told me to hold it down. After that I got a bunch of runs...sort of. YEA for me. All and all it was good. I did however have a bit of an internal struggle. I went 
with Namali who is part of the young adults who have fun and are really great. However, being that I am here in a position that some find me too young for I struggled. To stay with the youth who i relate to better or stay with the adults trying to act older than I am so people have an easier time believing I am competent. In the end it worked out where there were times I was with the adults and times with the youth, so yeah for that.Sunday…
Ok today I slept in. That was nice. I read and goofed around…folded laundry…Then in the afternoon I went out with Jen an ex-pat. From California. I took the bus on the way there. It was Rs 6. about half way to where we were going to meet the bus stopped. I waited about 10min and decided that I would walk. As I walked I saw the hold up. The police were searching every bus. Police check. Not an uncommon occurrence. I thought living here would help me understand conflict better. It doesn’t! I am now more confused why people fight. The closer I get the less I understand. People here are living happily Tamil and Sinhalese, neighbors and friends. I don’t understand where this anger is seated or who controls it. Its just weird. Anyway, eventually I got where I was going and that is good. I went to a posh store and then Jen and I got ice-cream and talked. We also picked out a movie for Daniel a friend recently turned Christian. It was called The Bible. Just an old movie, kind of a joke and just kinda fun. Alright, I have tried to express emotion, but I think I just wrote more fluff. Oh well!
Peace and Love
posted by Jodi Crossgrove at
8:46 PM
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