To pick up where we left off last time....
We got our Suburban fixed (well, sort of - Dad reports today that it's not running again), got everything packed, and headed for St. John's for the night on Wednesday. The two little dogs knew something was up, as they both refused to leave my side during the trip. The snow started coming on as we finished up some last minute items. And the baleful look of my Shih-Poo as Mom and Dad pulled away from the hotel broke my heart. They drove our truck back to their place in a wintry blast all the way to Whitbourne, where it suddenly turned into a beautiful evening for a drive. Poor little Essie (my first dog, named Essex after my first new car, a Dodge SX) cried all Thursday because he missed his momma.
With yet another snowstorm forecast for Thursday morning, we were relieved to see clear skies when we awoke at 5 am to go to the airport. As we walked into the lobby a scant thirty minutes later, the heavens opened and we were in whiteout conditions. By the time we got to the airport, just five minutes later, all incoming flights had been cancelled, and our flight was scheduled to be the last one to leave.
And leave we did! Although, admittedly, it was more than a little disconcerting to be in 70 km / hour winds, with snow whipping everywhere at -31 C, and snowplows clearing the runway in front of the plane as we took off!
With all of the opposition we had faced while getting ready for this adventure, it was no surprise to be given this one last kick as we left for warmer climes.
In the meantime, my husband (who claims to be an introvert and anti-social) happily spent an hour at the gate chatting with former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Beaton Tulk about politics, books, the oil industry, finance, Kevin King's back country cabin, Mr. Tulk's 76 year old house that he and his wife bought and restored in Musgravetown, and my first-cousin-once-removed Eli who is a good friend of his and whom Steve spent a day this past summer helping to put up a fence around a cemetery where many of my ancestors are buried - part of yet another cemetery restoration project envisioned by my great-uncle Sim who is celebrating his 91st birthday today! Our many hours long stop-over in Newark also saw my husband happily chatting away with the guys at the pizza stand in the airport food court - in Spanish, Sinhala, and Tamil.
The flight from Newark to Mumbai was an uneventful but long fourteen hours. It was rather strange in some ways, because we left on Thursday, but were flying east, so we had an extremely short day and landed in Mumbai shortly before midnight on Friday. It did give one pause for thought as we flew over Afghanistan, grateful to be flying at over 30 000 feet. But the sunset high in the air over Pakistan was truly spectacular - there is no word to describe the colour of where the saffron and cobalt of a Middle Eastern sunset meet as the sun is just sinking below the horizon. And one doesn't often hear this about airline food...but it was incredible. Curried chickpea wraps for snacking, some sort of crunchy grain salad and cauliflower curry for supper, mini samosas with sweet chutney and curried sago for breakfast.
The airport in Mumbai was incredible - the terminal has been completely renovated and now doubles as one of the pre-eminent museums in India, with 3 kms of exhibits! And, unlike American, Canadian, and other Western airports, photography is encouraged. With ancient and modern arts and crafts, frescoes, and archeological displays, it is truly breathtaking.
While wandering around and exploring all there was to see, I happened to stroll down a side hall in search of 'the facilities'. As I passed by a huge open double-door leading to a florescent sterile tube shaped corridor that apparently runs around the entire outside perimeter of the shopping, duty-free, and display area, I caught a glimpse of a large man with Asian features being held and forcibly removed of his jacket and backpack by three security officers. Needless to say, I did not stick around to see how this ended.
A couple of hours later we were on the final leg of our journey - Mumbai to Colombo - where again, the airline food was delicious - a spiced pancake with a vegetable korma and fruit salad (the one thing I did not like was a piece of fruit found in the fruit salad which tasted the way I imagine socks that have been worn for far too long in old hiking boots would taste), and Moong Dal for snacking. (This treat reminded me of a student I once taught who was supposed to be autistic and had been placed in my hard-to-serve regional autistic program. While trying to find some way to reach him, I visited him and his family at their home, where I discovered that he was a very different person at home than at school. While he obviously did have some intellectual delay, he could communicate just fine with his family, showed all sorts of social skills that he did not display at school, and did not have many of the repetitive behaviours that were his hallmark while in the classroom. After speaking at length with his huge extended family, I determined that the boy could not speak or understand English, but spoke Urdu at a child's level, and that Dal was his favourite food. I started bringing Dal to school to share with him whenever he became agitated, and miraculously, many of his autistic behaviours disappeared, and he was later moved to a program that better fit his needs as an ESL learner with intellectual delay, rather than an autistic program.)
At 5 am we landed, and quickly made our way through customs and immigration, found our driver (named Walleterad), and marveled at the beauty of a Sri Lankan early morning in 33 degree weather.
Of course, there was a mix-up at the hotel where we were supposed to be staying (are you surprised? given the nature of our trip to this point, we certainly weren't!) and our reservation had been lost. The owner of the hotel was very apologetic, especially after he learned that I am Canadian. He lived in Calgary for several years and loves Canada, but it was too cold for him although his wife loves it! First they lived in England, but it was too expensive, then Arizona where he loved the weather but it was a terrible place to raise children, then on to Calgary which was great for his children and he even considered buying some farmland, before deciding to move back to Sri Lanka, "the most beautiful and best place in the world!"
Fortunately, however, his son and daughter-in-law or daughter and son-in-law (it was a little confusing to follow) own a hotel across the street from his establishment, and Steve quickly arranged for us to stay there.
And so, here we are - from a North Atlantic blizzard to Sri Lankan humidity. And only 64 degrees change in the temperature!
Showing posts with label Preparations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preparations. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Final Preparations: A Soap Opera in the Making
The plan? Finish packing up and cleaning the house by Friday evening, do last minute things on Saturday, leave right after church on Sunday, get to Newfoundland Wednesday or Thursday to leave the dogs with my parents while we are gone and meet our new nephew and spend a week with family before leaving for Sri Lanka.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans....
Week One - Packing:
Week Two - Driving:
Week Three - Visiting:
Honestly, we couldn't make this stuff up if we tried!
A couple of days here in Newfoundland with family, and then we leave for Sri Lanka on Thursday, arriving on Saturday. Praying and hoping for smoother travel the rest of the way!
But you know what they say about the best laid plans....
Week One - Packing:
- Two blizzards = four day delay moving out of our house.
- Sub-zero temperatures = destroyed wiring in the Suburban. (Three garage visits later, the wiring is finally fixed.)
- Blizzard #3 = broken windshield wiper motor. A huge thanks to the little garage behind my brother-in-law's house in Bellefonte, where they were able to fix it quickly.
- Unknown cause = sick-in-bed daughter at my brother-in-law's. A huge thank you to him for taking care of her and cleaning up after her while we finished up at the house.
Week Two - Driving:
- Overturned fully-loaded semi = two hours sitting in rush hour traffic in Scranton, PA, while road is cleared.
- Cramped spaces + jealousy over who was sitting in 'mommy's' lap = multiple dog spats.
- Daughter's stuff in dog beds + two cranky fighting dogs + me separating them = finger bitten to the bone.
- Delays in leaving = stop at a K-mart in Massachusetts to buy dog food, resulting in me leaving my wallet at the store, which we discovered when we got to Bangor, ME, 230 miles (372 km)north.
- Misunderstanding by FedEx = two day delay in Bangor while we wait for UPS to deliver my wallet so we can leave. Thanks to Jenn, the manager at the Tewksbury, MA, K-mart, for taking care of things on her end so UPS could get my wallet to me.
- Violently ill daughter = one overnight emergency room trip.
- Slippery roads and snow = 200 yard slide down an ice covered hill on the way to the hospital, just missing a car on the side of the road.
- Sub-zero temperatures = me and the dogs sleeping in the running car so it would not destroy the wiring again.
- Bad weather = UPS missing the next day delivery flight. Thanks to the call center, the customer service department, the local delivery warehouse and the UPS driver who went an hour and a half out of his way to get my wallet to me on Friday instead of us having to wait until Saturday. And, thanks to the Quality Inn in Bangor for putting up with us and not charging us for an extra day when the delivery came late in the afternoon.
- A chain of storms on the West Coast of Newfoundland = more than 200 miles (330 km) of absolutely wretched ice covered roads and intermittent snowstorms and whiteout conditions, and two near misses as people were not driving according to weather conditions.
Week Three - Visiting:
- Coldest night of the winter = dead vehicle in driveway.
Honestly, we couldn't make this stuff up if we tried!
A couple of days here in Newfoundland with family, and then we leave for Sri Lanka on Thursday, arriving on Saturday. Praying and hoping for smoother travel the rest of the way!
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Have Visa, Will Travel
On Wednesday my husband and I went to Washington DC to get our Visas at the Sri Lankan Embassy. We were told that it could be done in an hour, but we didn't really know if that was true.
As we walked down a quiet street lined with embassies and former embassies, it began to sink in that this adventure of ours is not, indeed, a dream. And then we saw it, the saffron, green and maroon of the Lion Flag of Sri Lanka. We walked through the small but well-tended garden passing beautiful reproductions of ancient Sri Lankan statuary, approached the door to the passport and visa office, down a short flight of steps....
And the door was locked.
So, we went back up the stairs, past the beautiful statuary, up another flight of stairs, into a portico, and through the main Embassy entrance, where we were met by the Liaison officer, a young bright-eyed graduate or intern. She came with us back to the door, but also could not open it. Newly appointed to her position, she tried every little doorbell and knocker she could find, and eventually hit the right one. Turns out the door wasn't locked, just stuck! The gentleman who came to our rescue gave a huge smile when Steve spoke to him in Sinhala, one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka.
The liaison was surprised to hear that Steve spoke both official languages - Sinhala and Tamil, and after a brief discussion about the merits of various universities where one could learn them and Steve's Fulbright project, we were invited to attend the Ambassador's Independence Day Party on February 4th. This national celebration commemorates the political independence of Sri Lanka from the British in 1948. There are flag-hoisting ceremonies, dances, parades, performances, a presidential speech, tributes to national heroes, a two-minute period of silence, a show of military might, and religious observances, all designed to promote ideas such as commitment, bravery, confidence, dedication, national unity, patriotism, nationalism, peace, national responsibility and awareness of national history in the minds of people. Unfortunately, we were unable to accept the invitation, but were invited to meet with the Ambassador when we return to give him a report on our trip and Steve's research.
Everyone who passed us expressed happiness and surprise that Steve could speak the language. The woman at the desk told him that his Sinhalese was very good, and promised us that she would have the visas ready in an hour. We were invited to have some Sri Lankan tea (Our answer was " මම තේ බොන්නේ නෑ", roughly pronounced Tay bon ee nay, or "I don't drink tea") and to wait in the sitting area if we liked. After looking at the many wonderful pieces of art in the small but cozy lobby, we sat on the traditional cane furniture. Steve read a Sri Lankan newspaper, in which there was a full-page spread on the use of the English word 'need'. This was lesson 48 in the series, so it was readily apparent that many Sri Lankans are interested in learning English. I read a pamphlet that discussed the seven senses found in Sri Lankan culture - the five that we use (sight, sound, taste, touch, scent) and two others (feel, balance). Feel is concerned with the relation between form and function; balance concerns the wellness of the soul.
After a few moments, the person at the desk came out, and informed us that she did not realize that I was a Canadian, and returned a portion of my Visa fee. I looked at Steve, smiled, and said, "See? It pays to be Canadian!" Since both Sri Lanka and Canada are members of the Commonwealth, we do not pay as much as Americans for the visa.
As we waited, Steve continued to speak Sinhalese to anyone who passed by, including a woman who told him about a Sri Lankan restaurant nearby. A scant thirty-five minutes later our Visas were ready, with an added surprise - the Ambassador had decided to grant them gratis (no charge) because Steve was a Fulbright recipient.
We left to do some other errands, and then later that evening went to the Banana Leaf Restaurant for my first experience with authentic Sri Lankan food. What a feast! We began with Masala Vadai (lentil patties with Sri Lankan spices), Spring Rolls (potato, green onions, and spices covered in a crispy batter), and Vegetable Cutlets (reminiscent of a samosa, but without the wheat wrap on the outside), served with hot sauce and mint chutney. I usually do not care for mint chutney, but this was far and above the best I have eaten. Nor do I usually eat spicy food, but I decided go for the hot sauce anyway, and to my surprise, found that it was delicious and did not upset my stomach at all. But it was HOT! One tiny drop touched the soft palette at the back of my mouth, and instantly the blocked sinuses and ear canals that I have been struggling with for nigh on two months cleared. I could hear again!
Next we had String Hoppers, "a famous Sri Lankan dish made with spaghetti like strings steamed on small cane trays accompanied with kiri hodi (coconut and onion gravy) and coconut sambol." I could have eaten these all day! The coconut gravy was so good that I actually used a spoon to eat the remainder like a soup.
This was followed by Coconut Roti (a sort of unleavened bread made of wheat and coconut flour and served with an onion relish). The piece de resistance was the Vegetable Lampris, a neat little package packed full of goodness: "A special dish created by Dutch who lived in Sri Lanka 600 years ago and it has been remaining since now and became a very special festival meal. Specially cooked saffron rice.... Accompanied with cashew curry, eggplant moju, seeni sambol, ash plantains, boiled egg.... Wrapped in a Banana Leaf and baked."
And what sort of celebratory dinner would it be without dessert? This was another dish I could have eaten all day - Watalappam, a rich pudding made from coconut milk, jaggery, cashews, eggs, spices that was originally from Malaysia.
Just like the door, where we tried and tried and were finally greeted by a nice surprise, our dinner was also a nice surprise for me. I cannot wait to sample more Sri Lankan food, and perhaps learn to make some of the dishes myself.
Have visa, will travel...will eat!
As we walked down a quiet street lined with embassies and former embassies, it began to sink in that this adventure of ours is not, indeed, a dream. And then we saw it, the saffron, green and maroon of the Lion Flag of Sri Lanka. We walked through the small but well-tended garden passing beautiful reproductions of ancient Sri Lankan statuary, approached the door to the passport and visa office, down a short flight of steps....
And the door was locked.
So, we went back up the stairs, past the beautiful statuary, up another flight of stairs, into a portico, and through the main Embassy entrance, where we were met by the Liaison officer, a young bright-eyed graduate or intern. She came with us back to the door, but also could not open it. Newly appointed to her position, she tried every little doorbell and knocker she could find, and eventually hit the right one. Turns out the door wasn't locked, just stuck! The gentleman who came to our rescue gave a huge smile when Steve spoke to him in Sinhala, one of the two official languages of Sri Lanka.
The liaison was surprised to hear that Steve spoke both official languages - Sinhala and Tamil, and after a brief discussion about the merits of various universities where one could learn them and Steve's Fulbright project, we were invited to attend the Ambassador's Independence Day Party on February 4th. This national celebration commemorates the political independence of Sri Lanka from the British in 1948. There are flag-hoisting ceremonies, dances, parades, performances, a presidential speech, tributes to national heroes, a two-minute period of silence, a show of military might, and religious observances, all designed to promote ideas such as commitment, bravery, confidence, dedication, national unity, patriotism, nationalism, peace, national responsibility and awareness of national history in the minds of people. Unfortunately, we were unable to accept the invitation, but were invited to meet with the Ambassador when we return to give him a report on our trip and Steve's research.
Everyone who passed us expressed happiness and surprise that Steve could speak the language. The woman at the desk told him that his Sinhalese was very good, and promised us that she would have the visas ready in an hour. We were invited to have some Sri Lankan tea (Our answer was " මම තේ බොන්නේ නෑ", roughly pronounced Tay bon ee nay, or "I don't drink tea") and to wait in the sitting area if we liked. After looking at the many wonderful pieces of art in the small but cozy lobby, we sat on the traditional cane furniture. Steve read a Sri Lankan newspaper, in which there was a full-page spread on the use of the English word 'need'. This was lesson 48 in the series, so it was readily apparent that many Sri Lankans are interested in learning English. I read a pamphlet that discussed the seven senses found in Sri Lankan culture - the five that we use (sight, sound, taste, touch, scent) and two others (feel, balance). Feel is concerned with the relation between form and function; balance concerns the wellness of the soul.
After a few moments, the person at the desk came out, and informed us that she did not realize that I was a Canadian, and returned a portion of my Visa fee. I looked at Steve, smiled, and said, "See? It pays to be Canadian!" Since both Sri Lanka and Canada are members of the Commonwealth, we do not pay as much as Americans for the visa.
As we waited, Steve continued to speak Sinhalese to anyone who passed by, including a woman who told him about a Sri Lankan restaurant nearby. A scant thirty-five minutes later our Visas were ready, with an added surprise - the Ambassador had decided to grant them gratis (no charge) because Steve was a Fulbright recipient.
We left to do some other errands, and then later that evening went to the Banana Leaf Restaurant for my first experience with authentic Sri Lankan food. What a feast! We began with Masala Vadai (lentil patties with Sri Lankan spices), Spring Rolls (potato, green onions, and spices covered in a crispy batter), and Vegetable Cutlets (reminiscent of a samosa, but without the wheat wrap on the outside), served with hot sauce and mint chutney. I usually do not care for mint chutney, but this was far and above the best I have eaten. Nor do I usually eat spicy food, but I decided go for the hot sauce anyway, and to my surprise, found that it was delicious and did not upset my stomach at all. But it was HOT! One tiny drop touched the soft palette at the back of my mouth, and instantly the blocked sinuses and ear canals that I have been struggling with for nigh on two months cleared. I could hear again!
Next we had String Hoppers, "a famous Sri Lankan dish made with spaghetti like strings steamed on small cane trays accompanied with kiri hodi (coconut and onion gravy) and coconut sambol." I could have eaten these all day! The coconut gravy was so good that I actually used a spoon to eat the remainder like a soup.
This was followed by Coconut Roti (a sort of unleavened bread made of wheat and coconut flour and served with an onion relish). The piece de resistance was the Vegetable Lampris, a neat little package packed full of goodness: "A special dish created by Dutch who lived in Sri Lanka 600 years ago and it has been remaining since now and became a very special festival meal. Specially cooked saffron rice.... Accompanied with cashew curry, eggplant moju, seeni sambol, ash plantains, boiled egg.... Wrapped in a Banana Leaf and baked."
And what sort of celebratory dinner would it be without dessert? This was another dish I could have eaten all day - Watalappam, a rich pudding made from coconut milk, jaggery, cashews, eggs, spices that was originally from Malaysia.
Just like the door, where we tried and tried and were finally greeted by a nice surprise, our dinner was also a nice surprise for me. I cannot wait to sample more Sri Lankan food, and perhaps learn to make some of the dishes myself.
Have visa, will travel...will eat!
Friday, January 23, 2015
Sometimes Life Brings Changes When You Least Expect It
For the past few years, my husband has been applying for grants to do research overseas. We were disappointed once again last spring when we received yet another rejection letter. We moved on, made plans, I got a job working part-time in an after-school daycare in the town where we live, I went back to school, he started planning his classes for spring semester, our daughter enrolled in dance classes and a basketball league...and then, he got a call saying that a major grant institution - Fulbright - had changed their minds and he was getting his grant after all. Five months to study and record a little-known language in Sri Lanka.
Not a problem! we thought. He could teach his semester, I could take my courses and work until the last week of the semester, our daughter could finish out her activities, and then we would go. After all, they generally give you four to six months to work out all the details, get visas and other documents together, and basically arrange your life so that you can be gone from it for an extended period of time.
Little did we know! Somehow, the Sri Lankan authorities, Fulbright, and my husband's work all agreed that we should leave as soon as possible, and they would make it happen. Suddenly, instead of four to six *months*, we had four to six *weeks* to get everything ready! I'm not saying this is a bad thing - given the choice of spending winter shoveling snow in Pennsylvania or spending winter sitting on a warm sandy beach in Sri Lanka, I would rather do the latter!
And so, we are almost ready to go. Our rental house is almost packed up and most of our belongings are put into storage. We have arranged for our daughter to be home-schooled while we are away. Our big 100 lb+ dog is staying with a very generous friend nearby and our two little dogs are moving back in with their 'grandparents' in Canada. My husband was released from his classes for the semester. I decided to take the semester off. And sadly, I had to give my notice at the daycare. I will really miss each and every one of those little treasures, who made me laugh every day. It has been such fun watching them grow and learn and discover. And I will miss my co-workers as well, most of whom have been so helpful over the past four months.
We are just one week away from the beginning of this new chapter in our lives.
Let the adventure begin!
Not a problem! we thought. He could teach his semester, I could take my courses and work until the last week of the semester, our daughter could finish out her activities, and then we would go. After all, they generally give you four to six months to work out all the details, get visas and other documents together, and basically arrange your life so that you can be gone from it for an extended period of time.
Little did we know! Somehow, the Sri Lankan authorities, Fulbright, and my husband's work all agreed that we should leave as soon as possible, and they would make it happen. Suddenly, instead of four to six *months*, we had four to six *weeks* to get everything ready! I'm not saying this is a bad thing - given the choice of spending winter shoveling snow in Pennsylvania or spending winter sitting on a warm sandy beach in Sri Lanka, I would rather do the latter!
And so, we are almost ready to go. Our rental house is almost packed up and most of our belongings are put into storage. We have arranged for our daughter to be home-schooled while we are away. Our big 100 lb+ dog is staying with a very generous friend nearby and our two little dogs are moving back in with their 'grandparents' in Canada. My husband was released from his classes for the semester. I decided to take the semester off. And sadly, I had to give my notice at the daycare. I will really miss each and every one of those little treasures, who made me laugh every day. It has been such fun watching them grow and learn and discover. And I will miss my co-workers as well, most of whom have been so helpful over the past four months.
We are just one week away from the beginning of this new chapter in our lives.
Let the adventure begin!
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