Nuwara Eliya (hill country)

We have spent the past three days in Hill Country.  Sri Lanka is a country of extremes.  We went from blistering hot and humid to freezing cold!  (Okay-it was only 59 degrees, but you know how cold 59 feels after our long summer?  It's like that and it's very damp because you're up in the hills. You feel so wet all of the time!  Debbie and I are glad to be getting back to the heat of the city!)

During our time in Nurwala Eliya we stayed with one of Ted's contacts named Manjula.  He teaches English to about 25 students every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night.  We led the class two nights.  We basically did morning meeting games, sang songs, danced to YouTube videos, and practiced language through a variety of different activities. It was awesome!  By the end of the second night, they had all warmed up to us!  (Many of the students we have met here have been very shy.  It was great to talk with these students and have some fun together!)

Manjula also showed us around Nuwara Eliya.  It is so beautiful there!  

One morning we hiked up a waterfall.  This was a challenging climb!  We are so impressed with Ted.  We were all huffing and puffing and he seemed to climb with ease!  He's amazing!

Lexie took off her socks and stood in the rushing water!  I was about to join her when she stepped out and removed a gigantic leech from her foot.  The thing was so gross!!!  Not more than 5 minutes later, Ted found a leech on Debbie!  (Cue piercing shriek!). Later that night, Ted also discovered he had a leech and didn't know it!  I was the only one spared!  

The next day Lexie and Ted braved the water and actually went swimming at the base of a different waterfall!  Debbie and I sat that one out, mainly because it was freezing!  

Nuwara Eliya was quite the adventure! 

A case for tea time

The following is an open letter to our principal....

We the teachers of this Sri Lankan adventure appeal to you to consider a daily tea time.  We believe this is a solid idea because:

1.). Tea is delicious.  (Especially from Sri Lanka....and don't worry-we are bringing a lot home!)

2.)Tea time will foster student independence.  Teachers would leave their classrooms for minutes (if not hours) to enjoy this delicious treat each day!  This will provide students with plenty of opportunities to show their Eagle Pride.  I'm sure we could even create a "looks like, sounds like, feels like" chart together!  

And finally.....

Reason #3:

3.). Teachers will have the opportunity to foster and build long-lasting relationships with one another.  We are a staff who never have any fun together, nor do we socialize enough to know who lives "on the other side of the wing."  Think of this as your opportunity to help us grow. 

Think about it.  We will await your response in August! 

Saree Shopping by Ted

On Saturday we girls took the gents saree shopping.  We asked Ted to describe that experience.  Here are his thoughts:

Saturday snoozing Sri Lankan sleep-in silently segued to searching shops selling sarees soon after noon. A somber senior citizen said sarongs seemed superfluous and silly but sarees show status and superiority. Seven saree salesladies suggested second floor samples should suit. Subsequently a salesperson superbly slipped sarees swiftly shoulder to shoulder sealing the sales. Three talented American teachers attired in elegance for class on Monday!

Last day in Galle

Teaching in Galle

On Saturday we went Saree shopping in Galle.  (You can read "Uncle Ted's" description of that experience in another post.). We wore those sarees on Monday when we visited another school in Galle.  

We began the morning by going to a salon where they dressed us and we made the unfortunate mistake of accepting their offer to do our makeup.  I can only compare the final makeovers to that of 3 call girls.  (No close up photos were taken due to the atrocity, but I can give you a brief description.). If you know me (Erica), I am very fair in complexion.  My eyebrows were painted black!  I felt like a circus clown!  It was bad!

Getting dressed in the saree was also quite the experience.  They use about 20 pins to keep the saree in place. The saree is slightly uncomfortable and shows off your side and belly.  I was personally very uncomfortable both wearing the saree and with the awful makeup.  But the teachers and principal at the school seemed to enjoy the fact that we were wearing them!  (The traditional dress of teachers in Sri Lanka is to wear a saree, so we thought  we'd try them out.). The saree experience was very uncomfortable for me (probably because I was very self conscious of all that makeup and you could see my belly!) so I'll honestly admit that I wasn't as present at this school.  But it was a good experience for all of us! 

The teachers here asked us to teach a lesson.  We threw together a morning meeting and co-taught it together!  It was brilliant! 

Lexie captured this beautiful moment that really showcases the partnership we were striving for with this project!

On the way home...

After we got back (and I wiped all traces of that makeup off my face), we boarded a train to return to Colombo.

The plan was for me to get down (The Sri Lankan way of saying get off) at a different station from everyone else.  My host lived closer to a different station than the one in Colombo.  The plan was for Ted to get down with me and make sure I connected with my host.  

We got down onto the platform and literally had 3-4 minutes where we frantically searched for my host.  He was nowhere to be found so when the train started to move again Ted told me to get back on!  (It should be noted I also had my suit case in hand and had to jump back on the slowly moving train!)

As the train began to pick up speed, Ted spotted my host running down the platform.  He turns to me and says:  "Can you hop off?"  

Um....no I'm not jumping off a moving train!  Are you crazy????? :). 

It wasn't funny at the time, but now I just giggle at the absurdity of it all!  We got home in one piece (barely!) and spent a relaxing evening with our host families.  

Safari Adventure

I have been so excited for this day!  Today we went on a jungle safari.  

To start the day...

We had to begin our day with a bet. All 3 of us, along with our van driver, bet how long it would take the others to be ready to leave.  We should have learned from our previous bet to never bet against the driver! He won again betting over 30 minutes. From now on our plan is to let him bet first, and then we'll place our wagers!  

Matara:

On the way we stopped at an open food market in Matara. We purchased many different fruit varieties - many of which are not available in the states.  

The Blow Hole:

In Kudawella, Sri Lanka, there is a very beautiful blow hole.  You must first walk up and down some very uneven stone steps to reach the peak.  Once there, the ocean view is incredible!  I think we're getting used to having the ocean surround us!  

This picture does not do the blow hole justice, but to be fair I was trying to be present and take in all the scenery!  

The Safari:

This safari was not part of the original plan, but we girls continued to advocate for this experience!  I was determined to see some wildlife since our one request back in the states was to see some elephants!  

We excitedly hopped into the safari jeep and hadn't been out more than 15 minutes when we came across this rut in the road. 

Our driver of course drove straight into it and our jeep ended up severely tilted to the left.  The more the driver tried to get us out, the more we tilted.  I have been fairly calm, cool and collected during this trip-but this about put me over the edge.  I literally thought: "I'm going to die!" The driver asked my side to move over and I jumped into Lexie's lap!  Good news friends, we made it out in one piece and I am still living!  Hooray! But it took a while for my heart to stop beating so fast!

We saw many wild animals on this adventure.  We saw peacocks, monkeys, water buffalo, wild boar, and even the elusive leopard.  (Apparently we were very lucky-it's very rare to see one leopard and we saw two!)

And of course....we saw some elephants!  We saw many in the distance but the highlight of the day was seeing a mama elephant and her babies cross the road directly in front of us!  It was unreal!

We will never forget this day!  I'm so glad we were able to have this experience!

A Serenade for Sri Lanka

Today's blog is composed by Debbie.  After the great blogs by Lexie and Erica I feel like I need something really creative so here goes.

DO a drive to breakfast by the sea.  The waves crashed along the beach as we enjoyed a variety of pastries for breakfast.

RE lots of golden sun. (Really hot!). I never knew real sweating till I came to Sri Lanka. We have a new appreciation for showers.

MI made lots of new friends who made us feel very welcomed.

FA explored Fort Galle.  Wandered around town and enjoyed a cool drink at the Fort Printers hotel while visiting with our new friends.

SO  we finally got our tuk tuk ride.  The 3 of us squeezed into the back and away we went.  Not as scary as having a ride in Colombo but we still had some "adrenaline  rush moments".

LA lounging by the indian ocean.  The 3 of us spent lots of time in the water and it felt fantastic!

TI lots of tea with yummy chocolate cake while we toured a tea plantation and learned about the production process. Afterwards we did a tea tasting with many different kinds of tea.  It reminded me a lot of winetasting.

DO Debbie signing off. After a late dinner and long day we barely have enough energy to crawl into bed. It's been a really fun day with lots of new things to learn.  Tomorrow we will start all over again.....

Traffic in Sri Lanka

Driving in Colombo is quite the experience!  There is a LOT of traffic ALL of the time!  It usually takes 45-60 minutes to travel from one place to the other.  (Sometimes even more!) 

Here are some reasons for this:

1.). The tuk tuk

These "taxi" drivers are all over the road!  They turn left when they signal right, they squeeze their vehicles into extremely tight spaces, they turn around in the middle of the road, and basically drive wherever, whenever they want! 

2.). The cow

They are quite literally in the middle of the road!  

3.) The roads 

Many of the roads in Sri Lanka are very narrow and cars have to wait for each other to pass.  

4.). The motorcycle

Similar to the tuk tuk, these vehicles go wherever they want and squeeze in to small openings between cars.