A Volunteer arrives in Sri Lanka: The first week!

by Steve Marpole (Germany)

A leap into the unknown Sri Lanka

A Volunteer arrives in Sri Lanka: The first week The flight to Sri Lanka, though fairly uneventful, was a most interesting experience flying in an Airbus 380 for the first time - the thing was colossal and extremely comfortable. In stark contrast, however, the drive from the airport to Colombo was an amazing, 100mph (not literally!) assault on the senses! Exotic sights, smells and sounds quickly banished all feelings of tiredness and jetlag, but at the same time conjured awe and surprise, not least from the way that they drive over here! I honestly thought my life was going to end within the first five minutes of being here, as a passenger-crammed bus thundered toward us on the wrong side of the road, swerving at the last second - horn honking loudly! Our driver didn't bat an eyelid and I have quickly learned that it's the very scary norm over here. I am in Colombo for three weeks while I attend a Sinhala language training course, attend briefings and lectures on Sri Lanka and the political situation here, as well as complete myriad admin tasks that have to be done before I deploy to Hambantota in the deep South of the country for the next two years. I will be training alongside three women from Holland, who arrived at the same time as me. They're all extremely nice and relaxed, as most Dutch tend to be. In fact, tonight, I am to become an Honorary Dutchman, as I have been invited to a function organized by the Dutch Embassy to watch the World Cup Final (between Spain & Holland) It should be a fun but long night, as the match doesn't kick off until midnight Colombo time. While living in Colombo, I am staying at a Guesthouse run by a charming elderly Sri Lankan couple and their Houseboy, Bala. The elderly gentleman, Austin, a retired career civil servant, is a former Sri Lankan ambassador to Pakistan and Iran, no less. He is extremely intelligent - speaking 6 languages, but utterly unpretentiousness - the same as most Sri Lankans I've come across so far. He has given me the run of his extensive library, which, like him, is a goldmine of information on the history and background to the present political situation in Sri Lanka. The language training we receive is both fun and interesting, and after two days I felt confident enough to try what I had learned thus far in a shop - much to the amusement, or should I say bemusement of the shop keeper. However, I eventually found that the time honoured speaking in English, slowly, with a slightly raised voice, while at the same time pointing vigouresly, got the desired results. Nevertheless, I will try harder! As you can imagine, the food here is hot and spicy! But I love it! My landlady, Nangani, is a fantastic cook and some of the food she has prepared has been truly amazing. She is a devout Buddhist though, so there isn't much meat around (in fact true of most of Sri Lanka) but lots of fabulous fish, prawn and vegetable dishes, plus ‘tonnes’ of excellent fruits - Papaya, Mango, Apples etc. I've eaten more fruit in the last week than I have in the last two years! There is some great architecture here. Well, in truth some of it is a bit ramshackle, but there are still many splendid examples of colonial buildings from when the British ran the place and from the Dutch and Portuguese before them. One splendid example, the Galle Face Hotel (oldest East of Suez apparently) is a tremendous example of colonial majesty, with nice gardens sat right on the edge of the rolling waves, where I recently had a fabulous evening, sat sipping a G&T and watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean. As I reflected on my first week here in Sri Lanka, smelling the salt in the air as I sat back and soaked up the atmosphere and contemplated this tropical sultry splendor, I just knew I had made the right decision and the thought of the next two exciting years brought the broadest of smiles to my face.