So Many Goodbyes

Well, I figured I can make one last post before I head back to the States for my 3 week holidays. life here has been pretty good in general. Work has been extremely busy and our Country Representative (my boss) has left the country for his holidays. That of course means that I am now responsible to make sure everything is moving forward. This makes busy even busier! Ugh! But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. On sunday I start making my way down to Colombo and will spend xmas with some friends at a swanky resort. Then Tuesday I travel to Colombo where I will frantically try to finish my work AND do some xmas shopping. Finally, my flight leaves for SF on Wednesday night. Phew! I can't wait. I am really looking forward to seeing my friends in SF and visiting my family in Wisconsin. My Dad sounds like he is doing great and recovering well from his surgery this fall, and my mom is retiring on January 2nd! Wow, what a milestone. I am so proud and happy for her. Congratulations Mom!

I apologize, but I have no photos to share with some holiday sentiment. There doesnt seem to be too much holiday spirit here in Trinco. You can hear the occasional xmas song being played at the two hotels here (interesting note: for some reason, ABBA qualifies as christmas music here. hmmm, figure that one out). In colombo, there are xmas lights everywhere and people are shopping like mad. Seems they have embraced the commercial aspect of xmas as much as anywhere. Anyway, back to the photos. People have been leaving Trinco by the dozens for some time now and it is really pronounced these days because many peoples missions are finishing up. It will be 2 years this 26th that the Tsunami hit the shores of Sri Lanka so many organizations are wrapping up their projects and sending the staff home. This is making Trinco a much lonelier and quiet place. Just the other day, our good friend Florian left for Germany after nearly 2 years here. He was one of the first people I met in Trinco and he kind of took me under his wing during my first few months here, introducing me to everyone, telling me how the projects worked, and making sure I knew where the next party was! So on Tuesday, we invited Florian over for a last Italian coffee at our office. :( Good Luck Florian! We miss you already!
"The last coffee" Same like the last supper, but different.

Me, Florian, and Pietro. Some of the last original Trinco Gang.

A blast from the past. Me, Shophie, and Florian at last year's holiday party. -looking pretty fresh considering the photo was taken at 5:36 AM.

When Snakes Attack (more oddities)

Here is my latest installment of Oddities in Sri Lanka. I’ve been wanting to post this pic for months but have been waiting to get the image from my friend Petra (thanks Petra!). When the rainy season starts here in the Northeast of Sri Lanka, a few things happen: of course everything gets more green, the frog population seems to quintuple, and accordingly, the number of snakes increases dramatically. Moreover, they become very active! Within a few week period, the number of snake stories going around Trinco went from almost none to everyone having one better story.

Sri Lanka has one of the largest numbers of poisonous snakes and has the highest snakebite mortality rate in the world. Of course for me this is an opportunity to scare the wits out of our new intern, Marco. It started with Pietro and I making up a story that we had a big snake in our office. Well, at the time it wasn’t true, or at least as far as we knew it. But then when we traveled back to Trinco with Marco for his first visit, we found a 5ft long snakeskin right in my office. It wasn’t there when we left a few days before! And keep in mind that this was where we were sleeping at the time. Needless to say, Marco was terrified and our story could not have been more effective.

So later that week, we ran into some friends at dinner and were discussing our story when they told us about their experience the previous week. Get this: they walked into their bathroom to find a big black snake swimming around in their toilet bowl. I know this sounds like something straight out of a horror film, but it is 100% the real deal. And here is the pic to prove it.

You better check the bowl before you sit down the next time!

If you'd like to see more freaky things from SL, you can find previous oddity posts here, here, here, here and here.

I'm Comming Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, at least for a few weeks… I cant wait, it will have been 1 months since Ive been back in San Francisco. I can’t wait to see all my friends and family, eat burritos and sushi, and enjoy beautiful California (I know, it’s the rainy season). I also get to see the winter wonderland that is Wisconsin in January, but this too will be a welcome change from Sri Lanka. I will return to Sri Lanka in Mid January and then will finish up my contract here at the end of March 2007. After that, who knows! I may travel around for a while or maybe come back to the states and get reacquainted with my homeland.

So my itinerary is pretty heinous. I will be in almost every major airport between here and Milwaukee at one point or another. Ive included a summary of my travels here for your amusement. Remember, there is about a 12hr time difference between Sri Lanka and the US.

Departure: December 27^th, 2006 – 9pm India Standard Time
Colombo – Male (Maldives) 1hr 30mins, 484 miles
Male – Tokyo 9hrs 0 mins, 4,740 miles
Tokyo – San Francisco 8hrs 53 mins, 5,131 miles
Arrive SFO 9:18 AM PST December 28^th, 2006
Total Duration: 25hrs 48mins, 10,335 miles

Departure: January 8^th, 2007 – 12:48pm PST
San Francisco – Denver 2 hrs 21mins, 954 miles
Denver – Milwaukee 2hrs 17mins, 907 miles
Arrive MKE 10:07pm CST
Total Duration: 7hrs 19mins, 1,861 miles

Departure: January 16^th, 2007 – 9:15 am CST
Milwaukee – Chicago 45mins, 75 miles
Chicago – Tokyo 13hrs 15mins, 6,286 miles
Tokyo – Singapore 7 hrs 29 mins, 3,311 miles
Singapore – Kuala Lumpur 1 hr 0 mins, 197 miles
Kuala Lumpur – Colombo 3 hrs 30mins, 1,524 miles
Arrives Colombo 10:25 AM January 18^th 2007.
Total Duration: 37hrs 40mins, 11,393 miles

Total Round Trip Duration 70 hrs 47mins, 23,589 miles
10 Take offs and landings
9 different airports
6 countries.

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look forward to seeing you all soon.

Lunch in the Village

I thought I would share these pics from one of my last site visits where Sewa Lanka prepared lunch. Its pretty interesting to see how the kitchen works in the village.
This is a pretty standard kitchen setup in the village. It is usually outside and often has its own separate shelter. Here they are preparing chicken curry and rice.

It is a little hard to see but this guy is holding the knife between his toes and using it to cut up the brinjal (eggplant). Ive seen them do this several times even with chciken.

Yum Yum Yum! This lunch was particularly spicey!

Thanksgiving in Sri Lanka

So this is my second Thanksgiving in Sri Lanka and I decided that I would host a nice dinner for my good friends here. Many of you know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (next to Halloween of course, but that is a different matter), and you know how I like to make a big dinner for my family or friends. We had a great evening with good food, considering what I had to work with, and fun conversation. So I though I would share some of my evening with you here since I wasn’t able to be there with you all.

The Menu:
Appetizer
Roasted Garlic Heads
Cashew Nuts

Main Course
Citrus Roasted Goose with Cranberry Sauce
Bread Stuffing with New Zealand Apple
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans tossed with Garlic and Roasted Cashews
Sweet Pumpkin Squash Curry
Slivered Carrots in Butter Sauce

Dessert
Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream
Italian Coffee

This is Gary the Goose. I found him at one of the small seaside beach resorts that we often visit. I could not find a turkey for the life of me and was pretty disappointed. But it turns out that Gary was pretty tasty! My friend Petr pointed out that this was like a real Thanksgiving, as we received our bounty from the natives and not the grocery store.

We forgot to say grace but I did get to share a little bit of the Thanksgiving traditions with my non-American friends. For most of them, this was there first American Thanksgiving. Clockwise from left: Marco and Nicola (Italy), Florian (Germany), and Petr and Jana (Czech Rep.). We were later joined by Petra and Ivo, two more of my Czech friends.

Jana had the nicest looking plate. I think we were laughing about Gary Goose…

In the end, everyone really enjoyed the food, which was a big relief. I was afraid that everything was going to turn out strange.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

School Rehabilitation Project

I visited one of our other projects today where we are rehabilitating a girls school in Kinniya, Trincomalee District. Kinniya is about 45 mins southeast of Trinco town and has an overwhelming majority of muslim inhabitants. I have had almost no input on this project as it was started and substantially completed by CESVI before I was working with them. This school will be state-of-the-art, especially by Sri Lanka standards. Even more so by the standards in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

This is the new building. It is strange to see a school that is a color other than tan, and with glass windows.

Two girls playing hop-scotch on the newly block-paved walkways. This older, existing building in the background. Note the color scheme, and grill work on the windows. This is typical construction for schools here.

Marco, our intern and resident chef-extraorinaire, brought a bag of italian sweets and was quickly the most popular man on the site. Also note the grass. This is absolutely unheard of here, especially for a school. I actually cant think of many other places that have grass, except for the lavish military bases maybe...

We were definetly the main attraction (or distraction???) today. And yes, the schools here do tend to look like prisons. However, you wouldn't think so if you looked around town in the early afternoon. School seems to let out at 1:30 most days and doesn't really start until 830 or 9am. After 2pm, traffic, even in modestly sized Trinco, can be a nightmare while trying to navigate the sea of uniformed school children.

More Oddities...

Time for another installment of oddities from my life here in Sri Lanka.

So, I've shown you photos of the ubiquitous beach dogs and beach cows, but here is a shot of the ever elusive beach reindeer. This pics was taken at the commemoration event for the 17 slain humanitarian aid workers from ACF in August.

Each house that I have lived in has always had one iguana living in the garden. This one was from my last house.

I watched this guy climb up this pole in about 6 seconds, barefoot, with no safety device or pull straps. Obviously, the power lines are not yet energized.

If you'd like to see more freaky things from SL, you can find previous oddity posts here, here, here and here.

Ok, thats it for now. Hope you all are happy and well.
Ciao!

New Digs

Hey y'all,
I thought I would post a couple of pics from my new house located in Orr's Hill, Trincomalee. we have a nice view of Trinco Harbor and Trinco town from our 2nd Story balcony, where we spend most of our time when at home. I have two Italian roommates, Pietro and Marco, both are great guys and we get along well. Pietro is taller then me and used to play professional basketball in Italy. And Marco is a fantastic cook, something that we take much advantage of (thanks Marco!)

I will try to post a few more pics from the house later this week.

Our balcony faces east and it is great to sit out here enjoying my morning coffee. My bedroom has the same view and I get the first morning light shining on my bed, pouring in my windows each morning. Its a great way to wake up, along with the sounds of dogs, raking of the garden, and all the noises that are Sri Lanka.

Our landlord lives next door and was harvesting the king coconuts from the palms in our front yard. This morning he rang our bell at 7am (this being mid-morning as everyone here gets up around 430 or 5 AM) to give us a couple of them. They are great if you but them in the freezer for a bit to chill the sweet juice inside. Most people love them here and they are quite refreshing, but I'm not really a huge fan. Marco and Pietro will enjoy for sure.

This pic is from our balcony, before it was ours. Our czech friends had us over for dinner one night. From left to right: Priya (CARE International); Marco (CESVI and current roommate); Veronica andPetr( People in Need- Czech Republic); Pietro (CESVI and current roommate); and Petra, Matej, and Ivo (People in Need- Czech Republic).

Healthy days are here again

Great news! I spoke with my father this weekend and he is back home and is recovering well. Of course he is still is a bit sore, but I can tell by his voice that he is doing quite well. He has already been walking around a fair bit and it seems as though the circulation in his legs is noticeably improved. It was such a relief to hear him in such good spirits. Great job dad! Im so proud of you for going through with the operation. I know it was not an easy decision.

Also, it sounds like Hetal and Doug (my kidney swapping friends) are also quite peachy. I am so relieved!

Ok, now no one else is allowed to have any major medical issues until after I come back, got it?

All this news comes on the tail of a great weekend. I really needed a break and decided to go to Colombo for the weekend. Although this is a common occurrence as I go to Colombo every few weeks for one reason or another. This trip was purely for selfish and therapeutic reasons. The whole weekend was jam-packed with social engagements (read: dinner, party, dinner, party…and maybe a bit of sleep). On Friday we went out to a club and danced until the wee hours. Then on Saturday, there was a great Halloween party at one of the UN peoples house. It was really fun and everyone dressed up. I had a great idea for a Halloween costume but was not able to pull it together in time. It was Steve Irwin, the Croc Hunter. I know, it is in extremely bad taste, but I could not resist. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it) I could not find the props needed to make it work. So instead, I was just the naughty/sleazy devil guy who is always whispering bad ideas in your ear. The party was a blast and the music was really quite good for a change. J

So now Im back in Trinco, hard at work and trying to keep this project going. As most of you know I am coming back to the states for the holidays and cant wait to see you all. I will post more details about my plans in a later post. Ms Kitty (faye), Ms Devil (Jo), Pothead, missing his pot (Tom), Fairy (Jodi), Giant Munchkin (some strange dude), Indian Princess? (Michelle), Sleezy Devil guy (me). and yes the pencil stashe is the real deal... There is a better pic coming from another friends camera that I will post later.

Happy Halloween!

The Hardest Thing...

The hardest things about being away from home is not being able to be there for your family and friends when they need you. In so far as this point, this week has been a tough one. Last Thursday my friend Hetal in SF had kidney transplant surgery and received a healthy kidney from our friend Doug Held. And now, as I type this entry, my father is having surgery to install a bypass tube from an artery in his chest to his legs to supply blood as the main vessels are 100% blocked to his legs.

The good news is that both Hetal and Doug’s procedure went smoothly and they are making surprisingly seedy recovery. It’s truly amazing what medicine is capable of these days.

I’m hoping that my father’s procedure goes as smoothly. My sister and her beautiful girls are there in Milwaukee with his wife Polly. I’m stuck in Trinco in this pond called Sri Lanka and was unable to come there to be with my Dad. Even calling is not easy due to the 11 ½ hour time difference and the piss-poor reception I have at my house.

I know my father was not looking forward to this procedure, considering that 9 months ago he underwent open-heart surgery. But he was strong and made the decision to go ahead with the procedure so that he would be able to enjoy all the things he loves like working outdoors at ‘Hawk Ridge’, snowmobiling, and being able to stroll through the beautiful woods of northern Wisconsin in which he makes his home.

So, all I can say or do is say ‘hang in there guys’! You are all in my thoughts and I really wish I could be there to give you my love and support. And thanks to my sister Michelle for picking up the slack for her baby brother while I am on the other side of the world trying to work this adventure out of my system.

I wish a speedy recovery to you all and am so sorry I can’t be there with you. I can’t wait to see you in December/January.

Much peace and love.

Back to the field....

Things are progressing nicely on our housing construction project, at least for the time being. we will see what the rainy season has to say about that. Our proect is on track to be completed in March 2007, a date that I am looking forward to for sure! I have been making several trips up to the field and thought that I would share some recent pics.

One day I showed up at the site and the my field manager informed me that the local government agents would like me to attend a meeting they were having to organize the local Community based Organizations (CBOs). We will work with these CBOs for implementation of our livelihood project in the comming months. We will be providing trainings and livelihood inputs (read: seeds and cows) for the CBOs. Of course the meeting was conducted in Tamil and I didnt have a clue what they said...


We completed nearly all 100 foundations and are noew constructing the first few homes. Its great to see some above-ground progress!

Working out issues in the field... Note the OSHA approved footwear. 

More Oddities

Well its time for another installment of oddities that I have observed in Sri Lanka.

I found this stick bug while I was near trinco buying a bunch of fresh prawns and crabs (13 lbs for 13 USD!) Last night I saw a praying mantis while we where having dinner, but I didnt have my camera...

This spider was living outside my old house. If you look closely, this guy looks like he has Felix the cat jumping on his back.

This is one of my friends little kitty. She is pretty cute. Puppies and kittens are ubiquitous here as NO ONE gets their animals fixed and they all roam the streets.

One Year Later

I have been here for just a few days more than one year now. This has really been one heck of an experience, and one that I will never forget! So, its time to give a long over due update on my situation here in Sri Lanka… Like I said in an earlier post below, I made it back from Bali well rested, refreshed, and recharged. Man it was so good to relax and be in a different environment all together. Sri Lanka is a beautiful place but it can really wear on you. Anyway, the trip was great and I hope you enjoyed some of the pics I posted below.

I am now back in Sri Lanka and many things have changed, most of them for the better. First of all, I have recently signed on with an Italian NGO called CESVI. They are the main donor and partner organization for Sewa Lanka and my housing project. So this means a couple things: I am still working on the same project and have similar responsibilities and work with the same people; I now my peers and superiors are expats, and Im getting paid! Yep, insurance and everything! I am really good friends with all my coworkers and we have a lot of fun working (and playing) together. This is really a great opportunity because it gives me a chance to stick it out and see this project through to completion. I think you can understand that it would be much more gratifying to see these houses build and the people move in rather than just saying “ok, my 1 year is up, good luck to you all!”. Truth is, the project would be in dire straights if I left right now. So I think this solution works well for every one. I am sad to leave Sewa Lanka but am looking forward to my new opportunity.

This enthusiasm for my new working situation should not be confused with my excitement for returning home. I miss all my family and friend soooo much. I miss San Francisco so much. I miss climbing and snowboarding every other weekend, and road trips on smooth roads. I miss good food on every corner. I miss high-speed internet connections, wifi cafes, and good coffee. My plan is to come back to San Francisco for New years for a week or two, then off to the Midwest to see the family and more friends. I will come back to Sri Lanka for a few months to close the project and leave at the end of March 2007.

I should also let you know that the security situation here has gotten better, at least in Trinco. The gov and the LTTE are still battling it out in various places in the North and east but Trinco has been really calm and quiet. Now that I am working for an international organization, the security protocol will be more strict than with the local org. I was well cared for with Sewa Lanka but CESVI will be even more conservative. So I am in good hands. :)

So, thank you again for all your support. I really appreciate all of you that have been staying in touch and especially all the nice care packages, even if they take 4 months to arrive sometimes! I miss you all. Stay in touch and I look forward to seeing you all at the end of the year! Ciao!

This is a pic of me with many of the Sewa Lanka-Trinco crew at the beach for the commemoration of the killing of 17 local humanitarian aid workers in August. Still suffering from Sri Lankan haircuts... 

More Bali pics

Well, finally getting around to posting a few more pics from my Bali trip. Once I finsh posting these pics I will post an update on my situation here in Sri Lanka, which is better than its been for a long time! :) Enjoy!
Yes, another sunset photo... Can you really have enough though? This is from Kuta beach where I stayed at the begining and end of my trip. It has quiet a few tourist and the locals really seem to appreciate the beach life too. Local people fly these very large kites everyday at the beach. It seems to be a national passtime and is really beautiful. Everyone comes at to watch the sunset.
This is a family that runs a guest house in Ubud, the cultural captial in the foothills of the mountain region. There house looks more like a temple and all the buildings are beautifully decorated. I stayed in my own bungalow for about $4.50 a night, with breakfast!

Traditional Balinese dance is a popular activity in Ubud. I went to two performances while I was there and they were really entertaining. They seem to enjoy themselves which makes the show even more entertaining
!
Everyday local people prepare offerings to the gods. They start each morning by making the small baskets by hand out of grass leaves. It adds color to even the dullest of streets. 

Bali Pics

Well, Im finally getting around to posting pics from myBali trip. This first set is from my stay on a small island off the coast of Bali where I stayed for 4-5 days. It was really peaceful and had excellent diving!

The beach was protected by a coral reef and when the tide went out you could see all of the seaweed farms.
View of the main volcano on Bali from the beach I was staying at/
The first night I was staying here there was a shipwreck on the reef. The boat was not from the area and was unfamilar with the reef. I walked out there at low tide to find the crew stripping the vessel of anything valuable. Locals mentioned that boats like these often are pirate ships that steel fish from the local fisherman. Apparently it happens a lot down here.

It was a bit of an adventure to get out there. Walking through the seaweed farms and over the coral. I lost my flip flops 3 times as it was getting dark and got pricked by 2 sea urchins. Ouch!
I rented a motor bike and drove around this little island and there were some fantastic views. This is another bay where they are haresting seaweed.

Its not Lebanon but….

It certainly has not been so good here lately. It seems that the powers that be are hell-bent on tearing this country apart. I am doing fine and have been keeping safe. I have just come down to Colombo and am taking a long overdue, and long planned leave starting tomorrow. I will travel to beautiful Bali for two weeks of R&R. Yippie!

In the last few weeks Sri Lanka, and specifically Trinco (district), has seen some pretty heavy fighting. Those of you who have been following this mess at all know that the recent flare up has been the result of a water dispute in the southern part of Trinco district, about 40 miles south of Trinco town. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) have been bombing, shelling, and attempting to advance ground troops in this area for weeks. In addition to this, the LTTE launched an attack on the town of Mutur, just on the other side of the harbor. 100’s of civilians, SLAF, and LTTE cadres have been killed in the recent fighting, including 17 local staff (Sri Lankan nationals) of another NGO working in Trinco. The later being a tragedy that I cannot even begin to process.

Following the attack on Mutur, nearly 70,000 people have fled the area and are now living in several makeshift camps located a about 20 miles away. Most of them walking the distance with out water and at great risk of being caught in the crossfire. Both arties agreed to a brief ceasefire to allow the civilians to leave but I can assure you this, the ceasefire was not well observed.

What this has meant for life in Trinco is that there has been daily (and seemingly endless) shelling and bombing of the LTTE controlled area on the other side of the water. Trinco has not been spared from retaliation though and received incoming artillery fire directed mainly at the several SLAF bases in and around town.

I have been working almost non-stop through this period both trying to assist with the ongoing relief efforts for the tens of thousands of displaced people, and trying to complete some time sensitive project work for our housing project. Of course we are making an evaluation of what work we can continue in this environment.

There are so many things that I could write about regarding things that have happened: things that I’ve experienced (both good and bad), and things that are not appropriate to discuss in this venue. I can say that I am feeling significant guilt about leaving right now when so many people are suffering and while many of my coworkers and colleagues are up in Trinco. But, I would be lying if I said that I am not relieved that I am taking this break. Like I said, I am doing fine but certainly am a little burned out.

So, Bali here I come!
I’ll be back in Colombo in September. Ciao!

Temple Hike

The morning after the Pera Hera festival, we got up at 430am to hike up to this temple located on a high hill. It is about a one hour hike up to the top and you are required to do it barefoot! Needless to say, my feet were pretty sore by the time we got to the top. The views from the top were quite nice, although it was hazy on this day so we could not fully enjoy the sunrise. Thanks again for the pics Tom!

(Photo by Tom Ramsson)
Some of the volunteer (pilgrams) and Raja on our way up.
(Photo by Tom Ramsson)
Colorful hindu priest we met on the way. I was struggling to keep up with these guys on the way down because my feet were so sore.
(Photo by Tom Ramsson)
Another hindu priest. Great pics Tom!