I'm A-Okay

So it's been a week and I have finally recovered from my flu...it was not any sort of weird Asain flu of any kind so don't worry...no chickens were involved.

I'm still cautious of what I eat and I tire easily but I'm definitely on the mend. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me. I really appreciate it!

Learning to eat with my hands

So I guess that they title and pictures basically explain it all. I am learning to eat rice and curry with my hands. It is much harder than it looks. I shot a piece of meat across the room during lunch that day!

My hands are soooo much bigger than I ever thought that they were! Eating with your left hand is considered rude so I am careful not to. I don't want to offend anyone. I'm very messy when I eat. I get it all over my hand. Blossom who is sitting beside me says that it takes practise. She is a teacher at BHA.

Bingo vs Pongo

So Micah has this toy that goes on the side of his crib. It's a dog that plays music and has other distracting contraptions on it that spin, jiggle and light up. The song that the dog plays is, "Bingo". You know ..."farmer brown he had a dog a bingo was his name-oh. B-I-N-G-O" Well...this song reminds me of my cousin's dog, Pongo. I always sing a slightly modified version of the song to Pongo who always patiently listens to me while I do so. It goes like this....

"Michelle Farmer had a dog and Pongo was his name-oh. P-O-N-G-O." Her name just works so perfectly in the song...

Could you give Pongo a hug from me? I miss the little guy.

Sick-o

Ya so I feel as about as good as I look. I've got some sort of flu. I can't eat anything other than bread and tea or I puke it up. I ache and I'm tired. Matt has been covering my classes. This would be why I haven't blogged anything new this weekend. I've got losts to tell but you'll have to wait. Please pray that I'll get better quickly. Thanks friends.

A Beautiful Day

Now that I've been here awhile I've been noticing the differences between my culture and the culture of Sri Lanka. It can be very frustrating at times. I had been feeling really tense and my back was sore so I went for a massage. There is a spa in the Grand Hotel which offers massage. I was delighted to find this out ... those of you who know me well will understand! The best thing in the world is to have a massage.

So I did laundry on Saturday morning and went for my appoinment at 1pm. As I was approaching the hotel I saw Hector Perera and his wife Sriya. They run the spa and happen to be students in my part-time english class. Hector informed me that he had arranged for me to have a one hour massage instead of the 1/2 hour I had booked. He said that I would only have to pay for the 1/2 hour. It was very kind of them to do that for me. It was an amazing massage. It helped me to destress which is a very good thing.

After that I went to meet Matt and Rebecca at the school and found out that we were invited over to Murray and Esther's for pie. I love pie. Pie is right up there with getting a massage. While we were at their house it looked like it was going to rain so I went home to take in the laundry. On my way back to their house there were some men trimming the hedges of the school across the road from our school. I'm not sure what kind of hedges they are but when cut they give off a rich citrusy smell. It was delightful.

Further down the road on my way back I came across a wedding celebration. There were many people singing and dancing. Some of the activity had spilled out onto the road. It was nice to see everyone dressed up in bright, fancy clothes. There was a van load of young men who were having a great time. They made me smile. One of them was beating out a rhythm on the side of the van and they were all singing at the top of their lungs...they were not intoxicated incase you were wondering. They were having so much fun and as I walked by they all smiled but kept on singing ... remember it was raining ... I had my frog umbrella.

The pie was amazing ...it was rubharb...hmmmmm...rubharb pie. It was a good day with not too much stress but more than that it was a day where I was able to enjoy the wonders that God has created. I thank Him for that.

Gravestones at the Anglican Cemetary

A celtic looking gravestone


Major Pain
This gravestone got my attention because the man's name was Major Pain! There was a little cement wall around the grave. Matt said that if I stood in it I would be in Major Pain! Ha Ha.


Angels watching over.


another angel


incredible attention to detail on some of these gravestones.


one more

Hmmmm...Ice cream....hmmmm.

So there is a wonderful thing that I have discovered about Sri Lanka...they make wickedly good ice cream. Not only is the ice cream creamy and smooth you can get it in a wide variety of flavors. Now they have the same kinds as home like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, butterscotch and the such. The cool thing is that they also have some different kinds that you wouldn't find in Canada. Flavors like ginger cookie, pineapple (with actual fruit), mango (with actual fruit, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg) and last night I tried a flavor that I am sure we'd never find in Canada...

Avocado!!! That's right folks. Last night I ate Avocado swirl ice cream. It's like chocolate swirl in that the flavor is swirled through the vanilla ice cream. It was totally weird to see green swirled through the vanilla!!

I liked it. It doesn't have a really strong flavor...it doesn't taste like guacamole for those of you who are wondering! It had a kind of nutty flavor or at least that is the best that I can describe it.

If you ever have the chance you should try some.

Meet the Principal

This is Ruth and me at Anusuya's baby shower. Ruth is the principal of Beacon Hill Academy. She came with Rebecca to pick me up at the airport when I arrived in Sri Lanka. She's a wonderful person and I'm glad to know her.

Church time

The first Sunday of every month is combined services at the Assemblies of God church. That means that the service is spoken in English, Tamil and Sinhala. The service today was three hours long. When we have combined services we have communion. I find the combined services difficult because I don't understand most of what is going on. Most of the worship is sung in Sinhala or Tamil and when it's in English I usually don't know the songs.

In spite of all that it is very sobering to see everyone coming together to worship. The worship services last at least on hour before the sermon is given. The worship has extended periods of free worship which I like. I do miss church at home in Elim though. It's what I'm used to and it makes sense to me. The preaching here (in AOG) is not as structured as at home. Perhaps we should send Mr. Kadyschuk over to indoctrinate them with Braga!!!

Braga rules, Braga rules, Braga rules all the way!!! (Sorry Dr. K)

During the sermon it is hard to keep track of what the pastor is saying because it is translated so many times. You loose all the flow of the message. What's worse is that they are trying to translate quickly so you get three people rattling off partial thoughts at you. It's like you are being assaulted verbally sometimes, especially when they are excited.

I enjoy the English service much more. The English service happens every Sunday except for the first weekend of the month. The whole service is in English and they have an overhead for the worship so if I don't know the words to the songs at least I can read them. Pastor Ramesh is the English Pastor. I like him. He is a very kind man.

There isn't many other differences than I mentioned. They are however very much more charismatic then we are which takes some getting used to.

Do you need an ego boost?

If you do I highly recommend wearing a sari into town here in Nuwara Eliya. I finally got the chance to do it. Here's what happened.

I went to pick up a few things on Wednesday with Esther. Anusuya (one of the teachers) is pregnant and we were throwing a baby shower for her. We needed to buy her presents so that was the main thing on the agenda. I totally forgot that I was wearing a sari...until we got closer to town.

Everyone was smiling at me and total strangers (like I know that many people yet!) would come up to me and tell me that I was beautiful. We had to stop by the market and pick up some vegetables. One of the guys at the stall we go to also told me that he thought that I looked beautiful.

At first it was weird that people would say that to me. When I walk down the street in Canada I don't attract that much attention, if any. After a while Esther and I were just laughing about it. It did get a little annoying by the time that we were done but it wasn't that bad. The reason that people said that to me is not because they think I'm some ravishing beauty...it's because I was dressed in local clothing. To them it means that I am interested in them and their culture. It pleases them so they compliment me.

No matter what their reason for telling me that I looked beautiful it was still nice to hear.

Plants and Flowers from around Nuwara Eliya.

These flowers grow in the school's yard

There are a lot of flowers here. Some we have in Canada but most of them we don't. They range in colors but all are very bright. They are so beautiful because they stand out against the plethora of green everywhere. I hope you enjoy seeing these. I am fasinated by them.


Calla Lillies grow everywhere here. You find them along the side of the road.

Kay I wish I could just pick some on my way home so we could use them in your wedding... don't think they would last though or that they would let me take them out of the country! When I first saw them everywhere I told Reb that you had thought about having them in the bouquets. If you decide to use them please don't tell me how much you end up paying...it'll make me cry.


The even grow under our water tank!


!


This tree is in the Anglican church yard. It is incredibly huge. I put my umbrella there so that you would have a reference as to how big it is.


This is looking up into the tree. The foliage is at the ends of the branches.


This is a poinsettia tree. Cool eh!

I love this tree because it barely has any leaves, just blossoms. They can be anywhere from light pink to dark Christmas red.


This picture is for you Auntie Lorri

Like the Calla Lillies these flowers grow everywhere. I think of you, Auntie Lorri everytime I see them, which is everyday, because you have them in your flower arrangment.


Two little orange plants sitting side by side (sing that to the tune of "10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed)

Oh Amanda! If only you could experience the orangeness of Sri Lanka. I think you would be quite happy here.


these flowers remind me of hibiscus flowers.

Have you ever?

Have you ever started a story saying, “Have you ever”? They are usually stories that you are embarrassed to tell others because you think that you are the only one to have ever experienced it. My friend Angie and I have shared a number of stories like this. We found that usually we both had had similar experiences. So I have a new “have you ever” story that I would like to share. I am afraid however that none of you will have experienced this one!

So I went to the tailor to have a blouse made for my sari. Wednesdays are sari day so I wore my sari with my new blouse. Everything was good. It’s the sari that I am wearing in the pictures that I posted. The “have you ever” did not happen until the next day…

Lately the power has been out in the morning when I get up so I have to shower and get ready in semi-darkness because my room faces west so there is no sun in the morning. So I’m getting ready for work and I am putting on my deodorant and it looks like I have a rash in my armpits. I think that’s weird because they weren’t itchy or sore. I lean in for a closer look…
Much to my dismay I realize that it is not a rash but an orange stain… My sari blouse has dyed my armpits orange!!!!!! So….

Have you ever had that happen to you? I doubt it.

Sari Time

Rebecca and me in our saris. Wednesday is sari day at school for any of yhe teachers who wish to wear one.

C'est moi

Check out my completely girly, sparkly sandals. They are gold and the design on the strap is a flower. I know this seems completely out of character for me but I needed appropriate shoes to wear with my saris and these were the only shoes that I could find that would fit!! People have really small feet here. The heel of the shoe is clear acrylic! They feel like play shoes!

To Market We Go

This is Rebecca. This is where we go to buy fresh vegetables and fruit.

the Dudes

This is Moses (on the left) and Micah. They are Matt and Rebecca's children.


Here's Micah