Settled

We are now settling into our new home in Jaffna. We know where stuff is, we have found stuff we couldn’t find and we feel a bit more organized, now that we have some furniture, a garbage can, a couple of tables and desks. We have a lovely big yard, albeit weeds and sand and now Bill has a place to putter about with his laundry lines. I popped the tire on my new pedal bike and he fixed my bike. He replaced the fender on his new bike. He can sit outdoors at the patio table and contemplate.

It is monsoon season here and it really rains. I mean it rained in Nuwara Eliya too, monsoon rains, but there, it rained all day – cold rain. Here, the skies open, I mean open and water is dumped from the clouds like God pouring from a giant bucket. It isn’t really like individual rain drops, but more like a wave of rain. It lasts about 10 minutes and then, suddenly, the rain stops. The streets run with water, puddles are so large, they flood alleys. People ride bicycles with an opened umbrella. This I didn’t know.

The other day, at lunch time, I cycled my bike out in search of some lunch and got caught in the rain. Despite diving under a tree that I shared with another cyclist, I got drenched. I might as well have dove into Kamloops Lake. So, I cycled home for dry clothes. However, the rain was warm and so was the day. I didn’t mind.

We have green parakeets with bright red beaks and vivid blue tails fluttering about the yard, playful squirrels chasing each other about, red headed woodpeckers, a lizard living in our tree and our own giant pet gecko. Garry lives in a beam that runs across the ceiling between our entry and our living room. A small hole exists in the beam from which Gary emerges, like clockwork every evening, once the sun is down. How he gets fed is beyond me, because he rarely moves more than about 2 inches from his hole. He seems to like us and we like him, although he is significantly larger than most cute little geckos.

As long as he stays on his beam, he can visit. Otherwise, I will be sending Bill on a trapping mission. Already, Bill has a rapid response to my cry, “Bug Patrol”. The Bug Patrol is constantly removing 5 inch centipedes, one inch caterpillars, baby frogs, grasshoppers and other assorted and sundry buggy type critters coming into the house for a visit. The removal is all done with hands heavily encased in toilet paper.

We feel happier here. Bill plays loud music and is dancing about the house again and yes, he is singing at the top of his lungs.

We are comfortable in our body and not struggling with the cold all the time. This climate is what we imagined we were coming to, tropical. Our house is a house, not small like an apartment and we have our own private grounds. The large windows reach nearly from floor to ceiling and the morning sunlight floods in. Yes, it feels like Jaffna is more like home. It feels good.