Old McDonald Had a Farm

I’m not really sure where I left off but I will try to find the right place!

One thing I forgot to mention about my weekend in the village is that one of the girls sang a song to the group. She cleared her throat and began “Old McDonald had a farm…” All the animals she listed were not properly matched to the sounds they make (pig said moo, etc). It was cute and she said ‘thank you’ and bowed after 3 verses. Some young kids also did a rendition of “Are you sleeping brother John” or “Frere Jacques” (however you spell it). It was cute to see the kids sing and I am still just so proud of myself for singing Oh Canada to the group. I must say it was solid except for the last note… That got a little shaky!

So I arrived home after a shorter bus ride… almost 2 hours to Colombo on the nose. Then it was about 45-60mins to Moratuwa (HQ) in another bus. The traffic was bad because it was rush hour. Normally it takes more like 30 minutes in the quiet times. It wasn’t a big deal though since it was raining on the ride home… then magically stopped once we reached our destination.

Yamuna and I stopped at the doctors, got a random assortment of drugs (some I’m not taking) and got a prescription allergy pill and cream at the pharmacy at the Keel’s (grocery store) in K-Zone (Mall). It was only like $2.00. The cream worked wonderfully as now my ant bites are very small aside from the scabs left over from my scratching. They aren’t itchy anymore, just ugly still. Yamuna and I took a tuk tuk from the doctor to K-Zone; he waited and then took us to HQ. It was 150Rs, or about $1.00. It saved us a lot of walking in the off and on rain and I was super anxious from my whole body itching. By this time the itching was my left arm, left pinkie finger (covered in bites), right elbow, left foot, left lower back, and little spots here and there. I also had a heat rash under my grandma’s ring on my right hand. I am still mad that I forgot to leave her ring at home. Every day I check it and make sure it’s still flawless.

Right, so I got back to HQ and showered and applied the cream. Since I had scratched my arms they burned in the shower, especially when I used my body wash. It felt like acid. The cream provided such fast relief. I got dressed and went out for dinner because the canteen was closed. I took a tuk tuk to Galle Rd (which would be about a 15 minute walk). I was a little hesitant because by 7:00pm here it is pitch black outside. But I noticed lots of traffic still and streetlights were on. It cost me 50Rs. I then walked a block or two to Pizza Hut. I had the “Super Solo” deal, which was a personal pizza, garlic bread or potato wedges, and a pop. I chose the Italian Tomato pizza, which ended up being cheese and tomato but it was still awesome. And for 550Rs (About $4.50) it was still an awesome deal. Most importantly, I was full. I had brought my flashlight my dad got me and used it as a potential weapon (haha) and a light to guide my steps. There were lots of people walking on Rawatawatta Rd (where HQ is) and I felt ok to walk until I stepped in dog poop. Then I wasn’t happy. Some group of guys said “Good Morning. Can I have some money?” I responded with “It’s good night, and no,” pulled my purse in front of me and kept going to HQ, which was within a stones throw away.

Once home I Skyped with my parents I believe. Then I had an allergy pill and went to bed. I slept solidly but I could have used some extra hours!

This past week I have been working at Suwasetha with the orphans there. It’s been good and I think I’m getting the hang of their schedule. When I arrive at 9am people are mopping and we prepare to bottle feed the 2 babies. Then we change the babies and let the toddlers out of their cribs to play. Around 10:30 the 6 toddlers get bathed and get put in their cribs. We prepare to spoon feed the other 2 babies at 11:30. Afterwards we clean the chairs, wipe them up and sweep the floor where rice has been spit out. Then we set up a corner area with high chairs and plastic chairs for the toddlers to be fed around 12-12:15. They are also wiped clean and the area is returned to its original state. The floor is mopped again. I leave and come back at 3:00 where the cycle pretty much begins again. In the down time, we change babies, change the sheets, fold up cloth diapers (I’m a pro) and have tea. They give me milk tea and biscuits. They used to give me like 6-8 biscuits but now they’re just putting a package of them on a plate. Haha, they encourage me to eat and won’t really let me share. But I certainly can’t eat a whole package. Having around 10 cookies sounds great, but just a bit too much. I have tea in the morning and the afternoon. I usually drink alongside Damayanthi, who is doing paperwork at her desk that overlooks the courtyard. I try not to disturb her but it’s just nice to have someone to sit beside.

Today (June 19) a new girl was dropped off at the orphanage. She is 3 days shy of being 1 year old. She cried the whole day and when I held her she rested her head on my chest, sighed, and sucked her fingers. I kissed her head and stroked her head, back, and cheek. She does not have a father and her mother is ‘on probation’. I think that means she is now incarcerated. Maybe the mother can have the child back, I’m not sure. But it was heartbreaking to see a child in so much pain. I just wanted to hold her and tell her she is loved and will always be loved. I hope tomorrow the crying slows or stops. She won’t eat or play and I want her to! Please pray for her and her mother.

I took a shirt to the part of Suwasetha that teaches young women different trades. It was a little revealing and the chest part was closed with a safety pin. A girl there sewed it closed for me and now it is perfect! I can use my safety pin for my saree instead of borrowing them! The instructor also told me where to buy more pins (all I could find were giant baby safety pins) and offered to take me shopping for more sarees. They are apparently affordable here, so it would be nice to have one to wear at the orphanage and around work. I am nervous to wear the one my Uncle Jim and Carole got me because I get spit-up and poop on me at the orphanage. BUT the instructor invited me to a wedding of one of the workers at the orphanage. It will be perfect for that! I am super excited!

Today I also had a meeting with Amara (Aww-maww-raww) at the Women’s Empowerment Unit. This weekend I am going on a field visit to a village called Nelumpura (in Polonnaruwa apparently) to be a part of the open ceremony for a Family Resource Centre. This is a community of Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil in the same area. Apparently it is very peaceful, and I hope to learn more about how the opposing groups that were once at war can co-exist. Many of the women there are widowed and have children. They lost their husbands in the war. This resource centre provides information for women to become self-sufficient create a better future for themselves and their children since there are no ‘breadwinners’. We leave from HQ on Sunday (June 23) at 1:00pm and make the 6-7 hour drive in a private van to Nelumpura. We sleep in a hotel and the next morning we will go to the Family Resource Centre for the ceremony and unveiling. Apparently I will have a role in this process, perhaps lighting the oil lamp? This is a custom at the beginning of major events from what I understand. I will also be a guest of honour it sounds like. It’s pretty exciting! We leave Nelumpura after lunch for home. It’s a super short event (a couple hours) for the long journey. At least it will be an adventure and I will get to see more of the Sri Lankan landscape!

Tomorrow I have plans to wake up early, have breakfast and bus to Colombo. My visa expires tomorrow and I have to renew it for another 30 days… or 60 days if they’ll let me. Apparently it’s a super long process as two other guys from the hostel were at immigration for 6 hours. I’m hoping if I can get there super early that I can be first or close to first in line. I think it opens at 8am. I can’t find the information on their website. The two guys mentioned that your passport travels through many hands and when another set of passports come in they get put on top of yours, and yours moves to the bottom. That is not cool at all. They also went on a Monday, which may be the busy day since the immigration office is closed on weekends. Thursdays are lame days… Nothing special about them… hoping it will be dead. Then again, I’m in a city of 16million. There’s a good chance many will be in immigration for a variety of things.

I figured out what was wrong with my dongle. I was having trouble connecting to the internet and tried so many different ways to make it better. Then I figured out that the SIM card in my dongle is not compatible with windows 7. So I got a free set of megabytes and now that it has run out, the SIM card wouldn’t work. The SIM card is only a couple dollars so I was going to buy another one. The dongle is fine. Then I talked to the IT guy, Kasun. Apparently I didn't know what was wrong with my dongle. Kasun said I have to buy the data for the SIM card. He works for that company that deals with these things and says it's fine with windows 7. Kasun said you buy the dongle, then you buy a data-capable SIM, then you buy the data to load on to the SIM. What the... it's so confusing. Even though it says 'prepaid data SIM' it means that you have to buy the data to load onto the SIM before you can use the internet, not that it's already loaded on. Even there is post-paid SIMs when you get billed afterwards. Embarrassing! I’ve been trying to crack the code for like 3 days!

I believe that’s all I have to update on now. I have had 4 cups of tea today and really have to ‘spend a penny’ (credit to Aunty Nean!) and despite the sugar they seem to sneak into it I’m quite tired. I’ve got a big day ahead of me… Hopefully surviving in Colombo city and I pray I’m not at immigration very long! I’ll try to take more pics… I think I’m lacking in that department lately! Later!