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Week in Cambridge

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

I was back in Cambridge for a week.

The marvellous Matt had very kindly offered me use of his spare room in exchange for me taking my vegemite and fake coffee away with me when I left. Lovely man. :)

I met up with several people that I wanted to catch up. I didn’t manage to meet up with several others that I would have liked to have met up with. Ah well, next time.

I ate cheese and toast and cheese on toast and vegetables (with no curry, no chili and no black pepper) and I drank tea. I went to pubs and restaurants. I did some walking and some cycling. I had a lovely time.

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Missing Out On Seeing People

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

This time I wasn’t in Sri Lanka for very long. I was there for one week before going to India and then six weeks once I got back. I spent most of that time working with the volunteers or working to get things set up for them. And I loved every second of it.

But it did mean that I didn’t get much time to visit all my Sri Lankan friends. I did see some people very briefly. But as many as I would have liked. Ah well. I’ll just have to do a better job next year of managing my time so I make sure I fit in seeing a lot more people. :)

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The New Volunteers

Monday, July 25th, 2011

The reason why I’m back in Sri Lanka is to help three new volunteers who are here to do 4 week teaching projects.

I met them at the airport. Took them to the hotel in Negombo. Tried to get them settled in to Sri Lanka. Took them to Colombo to meet the new country manager for an induction session. Went with them to their projects. Got them settled in to their host families. Got them settled in at their schools. Resolved a few problems. Helped them resolve some of their own problems. Was an ear for when they needed to observe (it’s not a complaint, it’s just an observation).

I’ve been checking up on them during the week. Not that any of them have needed it. All three have done a wonderful job of working with the teachers (sometimes much harder than you’d think it should be) and working with the students (always surprising, no matter how much or little experience you have).

It sounds like I’ve been doing a lot. I haven’t really. The locals who have been getting this organised have done most of the work. The volunteers themselves have been awesome. I’ve just kept a bit of an eye on things and done bits of translating occasionally (even though I don’t speak Sinhala).

On the weekends I’ve been travelling with them. Showing them some of this amazingly beautiful country. So it’s definitely not all hard work. :)

They’ve had the same sorts of problems that lots of other volunteers have had. It’s very hard being a guest in a Sri Lankan family. And some Sri Lankan mothers can be overbearing to the point of oppressive. Sometimes the food is too hot for us weak westerners. And sometimes the Sri Lankans think that the right thing to do when your mouth is on fire, you can’t breathe, you’re sweating and your face is red, is to point and laugh. Needless to say, this can be a little disconcerting. Sometimes the lack of planning/organisation can be incredibly frustrating. Sometimes the politicking that goes on in a school can be wearing. Sometimes miscommunications can be painful. And sometimes it’s nice to be able to talk to someone who understands. It’s nice to be able to escape and eat as much or as little of whatever you like. It’s nice not to be laughed at or treated like a performing seal. It’s nice to swear and use words of three syllables and idioms and make obscure references to the Simpsons and to talk quickly.

I’m really loving working with all three of them. I’m so glad to see them embracing every challenge that is being thrown their way. And I’m loving spending my weekends with them.

And despite the minor difficulties they’ve had, I think all three of them are enjoying being here. And even when they’re not actually enjoying it, they do feel that it is a worthwhile and amazing experience. At least I hope they do. And I hope they continue to do so.

Posted in Culture, Friends, Sri Lanka, Teaching | No Comments »

The Cinema

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

While I was in India with Elaine we went to the cinema.

We went with Asok and Johny. And Johny brought one of his friends along too.

Asok, Elaine and I were in Trivandrum doing some shopping and we got to the cinema at the agreed time. (You might know where this next bit is going.) Johny was late. (Surprised? I thought not. :) ) I do love Johny, and he’s reliable, in an Indian kind of way. He did show up, and in time for us to be able to only miss a few ads and none of the movie. It’s just he was half an hour later than the time he’d said he’d be there. Ah well. No great loss.

Other than the fact that it left Elaine and I sitting on the steps of the cinema on our own (Asok had wandered off somewhere) for about half an hour.

This may not seem like much of a big deal. But it was. There were about 300 people milling around the front of the cinema. Two of them were foreign (or rather, looked foreign): Elaine (black) and me (white). 5 of them were women: Elaine, me, and three other women that we saw, clinging very tightly to their husbands/boyfriends.

Being stared at is something you get used to when you travel. But being stared at by about 300 Indian men is not entirely pleasant. Both Elaine and I were beginning to regret deciding to do this.

We were also a bit concerned that the cinema itself would be full. And if the five of us weren’t all sitting together, there was no way we were going in.

As it turned out, these fears were unfounded. Most of the people there were there to see the Tamil film that was on at the same time. There were only about 20 people watching X-Men First Class in English.

The movie itself was exactly what we expected (and was a much needed cultural break). The intermission half way through did make us laugh. The fact that Asok scolded the men behind us three times for talking (to each other and on their phones) was slightly funny.

The toilets that we used during the intermission were interesting. At least it explains why more India women don’t go to the cinema. Though, Johny assured me that they do go. It’s just they don’t go to English films and they only go to Malayalam films that are love stories.

The Wolverine moment is quite possibly the funniest thing that I have ever witnessed. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) came on screen for about 2 seconds. During that time we were deafened by whistling, cheering, cat calls, clapping etc. There was one other woman in the cinema and I think she was silent. The only noise Elaine and I were making was laughter. It was 20 odd (and I do mean odd) Indian men screaming for Wolverine. Now, I’m somewhat partial to Hugh Jackman, (anyone who has seen him live on stage as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast has no real choice but to appreciate his talents), but even I draw the line at wolf whistling at a cinema screen. And I’m a girl (well, mostly).

After the cinema we all went out for dinner. It was a very lovely, civilised evening. And because Elaine and I were staying in Kovalam (rather than in the convent) we didn’t have a curfew. It’s almost like being at home. Sort of. Acutally, not at all. :)

Great fun though! :)

Posted in Culture, Friends, India | No Comments »

Living in a Convent

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

So you all know that I’d been living in a convent in India. Some of you have even commented on the fact that I’ve been rather quiet about the whole thing so far.

So, here’s my report.

First, some background to help you understand where I’m coming from. I was brought up a Catholic. I was in fact forced to go to church every Sunday till I was 21. While I was a young teenager, this was not an imposition, in fact, I went through a phase of wanting to be a nun. But in later years I did skip as many Sundays as I could. Particularly towards the end when the only time I ever felt violent was when I was inside a church. I still cringe any time I go into a church. And other religious buildings are almost as bad. This is not the place for me to talk about my experience at the Vatican. Suffice it to say it was entirely unpleasant and it took several weeks for me to recover from it.

I am not a fan of the Catholic church. At all. By any means. I think many of the people associated with it are lovely, but very, very many use the religion to justify doing some very unchristian things to their fellow human beings. I hate the wealth of an organisation that teaches charity. I hate the prejudice and discrimination (homophobia, misogynism) of an organisation that teaches tolerance. I hate the dogma. I hate the inflexibility. I hate the bloodshed that the church has instigated and condoned. I hate its stance on contraception that is partially responsible for the dual problems of over-population and the spread of HIV/AIDS. I hate the repression of women. I hate the fact that it does not allow divorce/remarriage even in cases of domestic violence. I hate the fact that it teaches that sex is a dirty, evil thing. I hate that it teaches that the duty of every good christian is to get married and produce more christians. I hate the fact that it teaches people to blame/thank someone/something else and therefore avoid personal responsibility for their own situation.

Oh dear. This has turned into a full-on rant, hasn’t it. Sorry. Anyway, back to the point.

While I was in India working with Elaine, we stayed in a convent. We were teaching in the church-run school (funded by the government but managed by the church). I stayed for three weeks.

We lived with 6 nuns. The nuns themselves were lovely. Nice people. Chatty, friendly, caring, funny. Very pleasant. Slightly quirky. But what group of 6 different people doesn’t have some quirks? All in all, they were really lovely people. And they looked after us very well.

This is not to say that I found the experience to be wholly pleasant. I didn’t.

I didn’t appreciate the fact that they let the dogs out just after dinner so we had to be back and in our rooms by about 8. If we had told them we’d be a bit late that would be ok, but the general principle meant that we couldn’t stay out in the evening unless we were sleeping somewhere else. But those were the rules so that’s what we had to do. And this isn’t specific to the convent. I’ve stayed with other families who have tried to impose curfews on me.

I didn’t like the fact that before and after every meal we all stood while the most senior nun said a prayer (I especially didn’t like it since one of the prayers had a grammatical error in it – well, I think it did, they didn’t really pray as if they meant it, it was mumbled all as one single word (as most prayers tend to be) so it was a little difficult to decipher).

I didn’t like the fact that one night when we were going to dinner (dinner was 7:45, we went at about 7:50), three of the nuns were sitting on the porch in the middle of a rosary. They kindly (?) motioned for us to sit with them while they finished. It has been a very long time since I was last in a rosary. And for very good reason. I have such a strong visceral reaction to them that my stomach ties itself in knots, my fists clench, my teeth clench, I get very, very angry. I hate them. Fortunately (?), we only had to sit through 2 sorrowful mysteries and all the prayers at the end. The next night, we stuck our head out the door to listen for praying. They were in the middle of their rosary, so we went back to our room to wait there for a few minutes before going to dinner. That worked. We never stumbled into the middle of a rosary again.

I gritted my teeth through most of this. We were staying in a convent. We couldn’t expect them to put their religion on hold just because we were there. And if I really objected, I should have stayed somewhere else. And believe me, I will in future.

I learnt several lessons during these three weeks. There is no way anyone will ever convert me to Catholicism. Living in a convent will not help me to find god (which is something they suggested on the first day). I should never stay in a religious establishment ever again. I do not have enough patience and tolerance for religions. I have been too scarred by my own experiences to be able to distance myself from them enough to view them objectively.

So while I could pretend that I wasn’t in a convent (which, to be fair, was most of the time) I had a lovely time staying with Elaine. I enjoyed much of the company of the nuns (the bits that didn’t involve stories about angels, finding god, praying, etc). The food was good. The facilities were fine. And to their credit, they didn’t force their religion on us as much as they might have done.

But every time I became consciously aware of being in a convent things got more difficult. Ah well, it was a learning experience for all of us.

Posted in Friends, India, Religion | No Comments »

Kanyakumari 2nd Visit

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of India. It’s where three seas (the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal) meet. It is one of the few places where you can see the sun rise from the ocean and set into the ocean.

I went to Kanyakumari last time I was in India.

And decided I wanted to go again. One reason is that Johny couldn’t come last time because he was studying for his exams. And I promised I’d take him next time I came back. Plus I thought it would be a nice adventure to go on a day trip with Elaine. And introduce her to Indian buses. :)

So Elaine and I were joined by Johny and his friend John (seriously, there are other letters in the alphabet you know). John doesn’t speak much English. But he understands everything that’s going on. And he’s very funny.

We weren’t going to be able to make it to Kanyakumari for sunrise nor would we be able to stay for sunset, but that was ok. It’s a nice enough place anyway.

I stayed in Poonthura with Johny’s family the night before. Mainly so I could make sure he actually got out of bed and left the house. We were due to leave at 7:30. I woke him up just after 7. I was ready to go. He got up, eventually. Then had a wash. Then a shave. Then got dressed. I texted Elaine to tell her that we were up and moving but we might be a bit late (no surprise there). We did leave the house at about 8:30. Mind you, Johny did look gorgeous. So it seems all the early morning preening was worthwhile. ;)

John had been waiting outside for us since 7:30. Well done John for being on time! And also looking gorgeous. :)

We got the bus out to Puthiyathura where Elaine was staying. I dumped some stuff there and collected Elaine (who always looks gorgeous). The boys got the 3rd degree from one of the nuns. Note: boys, don’t loiter guiltily at the front gate of a convent, it only makes you look suspicious. :)

Johny managed to get us on the right bus and we took him further south than he’s ever been. Changed buses. Changed states. We’re now in Tamil Nadu. And about 3 hours after collecting Elaine we got to Kanyakumari.

There’s a small island with a temple and a boat goes out to it. And a wind farm along the coast in the distance. And shops selling all sorts of crap made out of sea shells. I mean really? Who wants a mirror with a frame in the shape of two kissing doves made out of sea shells? Seriously? Or a sea shell chandelier? Or those strings of sea shells that you hang from doorways just to annoy people walking through them (never really understood those, fly screens I understand, doors I understand, curtains or strings of beads/shells I don’t understand). But it’s not just your name painted on a sea shell. You can also buy monkeys carved out of coconuts (obligatory tourist tat), dancing flower pots, plastic children’s tea sets, clothes, buddha statues, elephant statues, etc.

We managed to restrain ourselves and not buy any crap whatsoever. Well done us. :)

We didn’t go to the museum that would have charged 10 rupees each for the boys and 100 rupees each for the girls. (That would be because we’re foreign rather than because we have ovaries.)

We found a hotel for lunch. Johny was a bit freaked by the fancy place I’d suggested (even though I’d told him I was buying lunch) so we settled for the place across the road. Elaine was happy enough with it. Well, till the food came out. Not that she (or any of the rest of us were unhappy). Just that that was not the best Indian meal we’ve ever had.

We went across the road to the fancy hotel since I was in need of a cold coffee and the place we were in for lunch didn’t do them. Nice.

Then off to find a boat and an island with a temple (or two).

Elaine noticed something that she mentioned to me later. It’s amazing how in India there are temples with such amazingly clean floors you could eat off them. And then there are restaurants with such amazingly dirty tables that the thought of eating off them is enough to drive anyone to fast.

People in India can clean. And sometimes they do. It’s just that sometimes they don’t.

We realised we were running a bit late so headed off to find the bus station and a bus to get us back home again. Well, the first of two buses that would get us back home.

There was a guy on the bus who was sitting across the aisle from Elaine and me and one row in front of us. Now, I don’t know if he visits a chiropractor, but he should have done after that hour on the bus. But if he does, I think Elaine and I deserve a commission. He spent the entire bus trip with his head twisted round so he could stare at us. I ignored him. Elaine stared back for a bit. Johny and John (who were in full blown bodyguard mode at this point) were staring at him too. I asked Johny if staring is considered rude in India. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe we were just being over-sensitive westerners. Nope. It’s rude in India too. But bless his little cotton socks, Johny did ask whether this happened in Kerala too (or just Tamil Nadu). He was a little crestfallen to discover that people from his own state do it to us too. In fact, people from his own village do it to us too.

But, it was only staring. The guy got off the bus at his stop. He never said a word to us. He didn’t try to convince us to go to a hotel with him (that has happened to me on buses before). He didn’t ask for our phone numbers. He didn’t propose marriage. He didn’t try to touch us. So actually, one of the better bus experiences I’ve had. :)

We had to wait for ages (and in three different places at the one bus station) to change buses. But we did eventually find the right one going the right way (thanks Johny and John). We got to Poovar by bus and then the boys found an auto (three wheeler) for us to take us back to the convent. They waited to make sure we got safely inside and then then headed off to get the bus back home.

It was a long day, about 7 hours of buses. But a very, very nice day indeed.

Big thanks to Johny and John for being such superb tour guides, translators, bus ticket buyers, water buyers (Johny nearly missed one bus because he’d gone in search of water for me), bodyguards and all round good company.

Posted in Friends, India, Sightseeing | No Comments »

Flight from London to Colombo

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

I boarded my flight and settled down to sleep, and watch a movie (‘Three days’), and eat, and read some of my book (‘The year of naked swim parties’).

I woke up in time for Delhi. I thought I had a 12 hour stopover, but it turns out it was only 4. Which was nice. So I had some tea (ridiculously strong and stewed, with warm powdered milk, but with no sugar). Welcome to India. :)

I got some work done. Laptops are very handy. Powerpoints all through the departure lounge at the airport are great. Especially the ones that actually worked (I tried about 12 of them, I only found 2 that worked).

Went for a wet-wipe wash down and a change of clothes. I didn’t think that the clothes that I’d been wearing from Essex to Manchester to London to Delhi would really cope with Delhi to Katunayake to Colombo to Horana. :)

Next flight. The next leg was only 3.5 hours. Barely enough time to fall asleep before you have to wake up again. :)

It was good to be back in Sri Lanka. And landing with only carry-on luggage does make the whole process much quicker. The heat and humidity really hit me when I walked out of the airport. It’s quite oppressive at first, but I know from experience that it won’t take long to get used to it again.

Got some cash out and found the shuttle bus which took me to the bus station at Katunayake (the town that the airport is in). I let Heather and Cyril know that I was on the way, and let some UK people know that I had arrived.

Got a normal bus (not AC) to Colombo. It was great watching Sri Lanka go past the bus windows. Shops that sell every type of plastic thing you could imagine (chairs, buckets, jugs, cups, spoons, bowls, boxes, etc). Boutiques selling bananas, king coconuts, jak fruit. Communication shops plastered with advertising posters for Dialog, Etisalat, Mobitel, etc. Enough shoe shops to make us devotees of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a little nervous. Men buying and chewing betel (and spitting it out). People on bicycles with no lights. Three wheelers. Crazy buses. Women in beautiful saris. Women in skirts and blouses. Men in suits. Men in sarongs.

We passed Buddhist temples, Hindu kovils, Islamic mosques, Christian churches. There were a lot of people coming out of one church. A couple of hundred of them I think. All wearing white. Several got on our bus (which was already full, of course).

The guy sitting next to me started talking to me and kept the conversation going for almost the whole trip (2hrs) to Colombo. Name, family, job, age, marital status, hobbies, interests, attitude to smoking, religion, favourite films, sport, nice Sri Lakan places to vist, etc.

It was dark when I got to Colombo. So I hurried off to find a bus to Horana. I had instructions about where I was going to get off and I asked the conductor. I then fell asleep. I woke up after a while, hoping I hadn’t missed my stop. But I hadn’t. The conductor enlisted the help of several other passengers and the driver to try to figure out which stop mine was and where it was.

Which was successful in that the bus duly deposited me in exactly the right place. The car picked me up to drive me to Heather and Cyril’s house and I got there about 9:30. Which was pretty good since I’d landed at 5:45. :)

I had a lovely welcome from them. Had a quick shower and a light dinner. I always forget how amazingly good the bananas in Sri Lanka taste!!

We chatted about what needed to be done in my Monday meeting. And I went to collapse into bed.

Posted in Food, Friends, Sri Lanka, Transport | No Comments »

My last week in the UK

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

My last week in the UK was a bit crazy.

I worked during the day and spent my evenings catching up with people and getting ready to leave.

Thursday night was dinner and pub with Chris, Mark and Matt. Then back home (via Sainsbury’s to stock up on coke and chocolate). Final packing, backing up data, teaching Matt to play the trumpet, washing my clothes. Eventually made it to bed about 4:30am.

On Friday morning I was up dressed, packed, all sorted.

I left home about 8 and walked to work. My life for the next two and half months on my back.

Had a nice last day at work. Including a nice long lunch in the Prince Regent with some of the people I work with. It was really nice.

I left work at 4:30ish and got the train to London. Then the Tube out to Canary Wharf. I met up with two school friends (one of whom I hadn’t seen for 17 years). It was a really good evening. We had dinner and there was lots of chatting, lots of laughing, lots of catching up. It’s amazing how much people change and yet how little they change. And in the case of Kate and Annemaree those two comments are most certainly compliments. :)

Then it was the DLR and train out to Upminster to meet Stan (who I volunteered with in India last year). I crashed at his place (lots more chatting and laughing). We left at 6am to drive up to Manchester (via Northampton to collect Johnson). There was a VESL training day in Manchester.

The training day was great fun. It was good to see all the VESL people again. It was great to meet the volunteers who I’ll be seeing next in Sri Lanka. It was great talking to them about Sri Lanka and their projects. I don’t think it was my best training session ever (I think the lack of sleep and the impending flight didn’t help). Fortunately Rosie was with me and did a great job (as usual)!

Then at 2:30 it was time to say goodbye and head off for a train. I got the train to London then the Tube out to Heathrow. Checked in (my bag is small enough to be carry-on, which is really handy). Had some dinner. Bought a money belt from WH Smiths because I realised that the one I’d bought from Sports Direct a week ago that I was wearing for the first time had  ripped. Ah well, I hope the two England car flags that I got as a free gift turn out to be more robust.

Now just need to wait to be called for boarding.

Posted in Friends, Transport | No Comments »

My time in the UK

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

I was back in the UK from the end of February to the start of June.

And it was really great to be back.

I spent my time with friends, working, volunteering, eating and getting ready to go away again.

Friends

Being back was a great excuse to catch up with lots of people and then my impending departure date was another good reason. So I met with lots of different people in coffee shops, parks, pubs, restaurants, at training days, on sofas, at work. It was really nice. I’ve realised that spending quality time with my favourite people is the thing that I love most! I even managed to meet up with two school friends that I haven’t seen since secondary school (which is about 17 years ago). Awesome!

Working

I had 5 jobs while I was back. Well, it does depend a bit on how you count them.

The first was doing spreadsheets and databases at Cambridge Assessment. That was my day job. And it was nice being back there again and seeing the people I used to work with. It was another temp contract and I finished up on the day before I left.

The second job was doing Easter Revision teaching and supervision for MPW college in Cambridge. That was three weeks of intense teaching. I taught the 2 year maths GCSE 6 times. So that was 12 years of teaching in three weeks. Insane but really, really good fun!! And the supervision was great too, I spent the first two weeks staying at Churchill College and looking after about 22 GCSE students. Exhausting and crazy but I did only spend one evening in Accident and Emergency so that’s got to be a good thing (the student in question had torn a muscle in his shoulder and ended up being ok).

The third was doing some maths support tuition at MPW on Friday afternoons. Great fun (when my student didn’t cancel on me).

The fourth was some private maths tuition for a girl in Waterbeach. That was really good. It gave me an excuse to cycle out to Waterbeach once a week and she was really nice. It was good to work with her.

The fifth is doing some excel consultancy work for Excel4Business. This involves me doing excel spreadsheets in my ‘spare’ time. It has been really interesting and good fun. And something I’ll keep doing when I’m travelling.

Volunteering

I did some voluntary work. I helped run a few sessions on Global Citizenship with some primary and secondary students in Manchester, Maltby and Northampton. This was being run by VESL and was a great chance to catch up with lots of my VESL friends. I also did a training session with Rosie for Hannah’s Orphanage, which is a charity that sends people to Ethiopia to teach English. I also went to a couple of VESL training/selection days and helped out with training the next batches of volunteers. Really nice to meet them all. :)

Eating

I’ve been missing mangoes, fruit salad, kottu and hoppers. But not much. I’ve been too busy eating cheese, cheese on toast, toast, Special K, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, decaf soy mochas from Indigo, peppermint tea, stir fried veg and veg with no curry and no chilli. :) I love the food when I’m away, but I love the food when I get back too. :)

Getting ready to go away again

Before I’d properly had time to unpack, it was time to start packing again. I’m off to Sri Lanka and India then back to the UK to go to Edinburgh. But more about all this in a later post. I am the luckiest girl alive. :)

So I’ve had a great three months and am looking forward to the next chapter.

Posted in Friends, Getting Organised | No Comments »

Going Home

Monday, February 14th, 2011

I have booked my flight home. I am flying out very early in the morning of the 27th of February.

This is a little earlier than I had thought. I was initially planning to stay till mid-March. But I brought forward the date by about two weeks. And these are the reasons why.

One reason is because my current visa expires on the 2nd of March and I didn’t really want to have to go to spend a full day in Colombo trying to get it extended.

But the main reason is that I just feel like it’s time to go home. I’m exhausted. Not the sort of exhausted that 10 hours sleep sorts out, but the sort of exhausted that means I need to go home and spend a few months back in the UK.

There have been no problems and I’m not upset or hating it or anything like that. I’m just finding that I don’t have the energy or patience to really enjoy it anymore and going home a bit earlier is better than staying longer and getting more and more fed up to the point that I start hating it.

I have loved every second of being here but I am starting to feel quite worn down by the whole travelling experience. Since the 1st of August I haven’t stayed in one place for more than 8 nights in a row and mostly I’ve been fewer than 3 nights. So that has meant a lot of packing and moving.

My plans have changed a lot, sometimes on my account, sometimes because other people have changed them for me. In each individual instance this has been ok, but all of them together has begun to be quite wearing.

I’ve spent most of my time in Sri Lanka as a guest staying with friends. And I have been looked after very well. In some cases a little too well. Being a guest can be quite exhausting and quite draining. There is a lot of food to be eaten and a lot of people to talk to. And I  know that the people I stay with care about me a lot and want to look after me but there are some times when it is nice to be left alone, to be able to wash in private, to be able to eat as much (or as little) as I want, to not have to sing (in English or in Sinhala) etc.

And I’m fed up with rain and mosquitoes and cold showers and too much sugar/chilli/curry/salt and not enough pasta/raw veg/tofu/breakfast cereal/nice bread/nice cheese etc.

So, it’s time for me to go home.

But I love Sri Lanka and India very much. And I have lots of wonderful friends in both of these countries. Some of whom I haven’t been able to visit on this trip. So I hope to be back in Sri Lanka and India very soon. Later this year if I can afford/arrange it. If not, then next year certainly. I hope. :)

Posted in Food, Friends, India, Problems, Sri Lanka | No Comments »

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