Bill and Wendy's ickcillint adventures

Effectively I have been retired for one year, so finding myself back to work with a routine and a schedule is challenging me.  Lunch packing is a challenge.  Getting out the door by 7:30 is a challenge.  Leaving behind reading my emails and checking my stocks over several cups of coffee in the morning is a challenge.  Taking a bus and trishaw to work is a challenge.    However, none of these things challenge me as much as the workplace itself.  Imagine seeing those CNN television clips of third world hospitals: dark, concrete, spartan beds, thin sheets, barred windows and mud streets and you will get a picture of the hospital where I work.   It is a 20 bed adult ward and with no seclusion or special care unit.  However, the men's side and the women's sides are both locked wards and any children admitted to psychiatry are placed on the female side of the ward.  People wear their own clothing and are not in hospital garments, not even those newly admitted, which is most often the

We have found a house to live in for the next six months! We now officially live in Nuwara Eliya! We departed Colombo on January 23 rd and travelled 115 kms along the Kandy Road to Kandy. These 115 kms took us 3.5 hours! No breezy country sides and long stretches of land between places, but back to back villages and hamlets. These villages sport markets of tambilli, keselgeDi (that is how it is spelled) and other mixed and sundry fruits. The streets are lined with cars, bicycles, trishaws, pedestrians, cows, people and vendors. Women in saris and children in school uniforms walk hand in hand on the road. It is like driving through a fair ground on festival day. Needless to say, it was slow going. We rested in Kandy overnight in the Lakeside Guest House and were awakened by thundering on the metal roof of the guest house. We erroneously assumed this noise was a thunder and lightning storm. Lying in bed, looking out the window, Bill saw a small black hand grip the bars on o

Many of you who know me well, know that I am healthy as a horse.  Now before you allow yourself a visual image of me as a horse, I want to clarify the breed of horse.  I am not the sleek thouroughbred you might have imagined, but rather am more like the Morgan Horse breed: stout and strong. So, with that description in mind, it was a surprize that only two weeks into my new country, the Morgan had to see the vet, er, I mean, doctor today.  My left eye was red and sore and getting goopy.  Within one hour of phoning  the clinic, I secured an appointment, saw a nice, English speaking female physician who took several personal calls during the consultation, was given the perscription on the spot and it cost me $1850 rupees ($18) for which I will be compensated. DX:  conjuctivitis of the eye. TX: 1.  eye drops for the infection         2. fermentation of the eye - hot compresses         3.  Two days off work to "rest the eyes"         4.  Avoid contact with others. O

Today, VSO provided a lecture on gender issues in Sri Lanka.  This lecture was largely framed around the experiences reported by previous female volunteers to Sri Lanka.  Female volunteers in Sri Lanka are subjected to incidences of sexual harrassment; noises, comments, requests for kisses from trishaw drivers, "will you suck it" from professional men,  and the most bizarre incident - a penis was stuck under a volunteer's arm on a crowded daytime bus.  Now, I admit, it is the young, delicious female volunteers that are targets by the men who issue forth these inappropriate comments and behavioiurs. Grannies, like myself, are apparently not as appealing to Sri Lankan men.  As I cruise the streets of Colombo, it may be that I am exempt from these incidences due to my body guard.  He is usually just two paces behind me.  His name is Bill.  He is quite useful to ward off men.  However, as useful as he is to protect me from inappropropriate men, he is quite ineffective agai

Mage name Wendy. Man mahatea Bill. Man social worker kenek. Bill retired judge kenek. WendyTa BillTa lamaiy hat denek. Man KaenaDawen. WendyTa ispiritaale WaeDeKaranawa. Translation, you say? Ok. Hello. My name is Wendy. My master/ (choke) spouse's name is Bill. I am a social worker. Bill is a retired judge. Wendy and Bill have seven children. I am from Canada. Wendy is working in a hospital. So, from this little script, you can imagine that language school is intensive, difficult and completely overwhelming to us both. However, we can communicate in very basic ways and have been given enough language to order meals, shop, ask for directions, tell time, count etc. How I am supposed to work in the language is beyond me. However, most professionals have quite good English, at least where we are, in the capital city of Colombo. Bill and I relocate to Nuwara Eliya, a city in the interior of the country, on January 23rd. This city is in the heart of tea plantations. We will

Bill is an affectionate man.  Anyone who knows him knows that he hold hands with me, puts his arm around me in restaurants, the church, or at movies and occasionally, he kisses me in public.  I am the recipient of his affection and appreciate his attentiveness. I, on the other hand, am a snuggler. I will snuggle up to him on a bus, link arms with him as we stroll along and nuzzle for warmth from time to time. This behaviour has screeched to an abrupt halt.  Kissing in public is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka .  As well, hand holding or displaying affection with another person causes embarrassment for Sri Lankans who might observe the affection.  This is particularly true for married people who display affection toward one another.  Affection toward the opposite sex is somewhat more tolerated for young lovers, although signs in the park (where young lovers might lurk) remind citizens that kissing is a criminal activity.  We have been told that fire fighters “hose down” young lovers si

Sri Lankans eat with their fingers.  I don't mean dainty-like finger eating either.  After spooning the food onto their plate, they proceed to dip their fingers into the delectables upon their plate.  This plate may hold food like rice, chillis, beets, onions, and curries.  Once the plate is full, they begin to massage, mash, press, pick, grasp, mess and squash the food together. Then, when mixed perfectly, they ball up a golf ball size of the mash between their fingers and proceed to press it into their mouths. This is all done with their right hand only. Between bites and while chewing, they continue to mash and squash.  Rice and goop sticks to their fingers right up to the palm of their hands.  If they carry on a conversation, they stop mashing and eating, but keep the messy fingers dipped in the plate, awaiting a break in the conversation.  Yesterday, my queasy belly came close to wretching as I reluctantly watched those fingers with rice and spice stuck on them, snaking arou

    We arrived, yesterday afternoon (Jan 4) safe and not so sound in Colombo, Sri Lanka, following a gruelling flight of 22 hours in the air.  I didn’t sleep, but Bill,naturally, slept like a baby.  I found his gaping open mouth a bit much to look at for such a long time.  The long flights and so much sitting caused me fluid retention and this filled my ankles like camel humps while my hands resembled pork sausage links.  I don’t travel well. Upon arrival at the Colombo Airport, we were promptly met by Manchula, the VSO Legal Compliances and Support Officer and Upali, the VSO transport officer.  After stashing our worldly possessions suitable and/or necessary for Sri Lanka (stored in huge, bulging backpacks and front packs) into their spacious, white Land rover, they placed our life in danger as Upali careened through the tangled traffic.  Given that they are still in holiday mode for the New Year, Manchula explained that traffic was “slow.”  Oxen and cart, cows, trishaws, motorcyc

Happy New Year, everyone! We are finally off to Sri Lanka tomorrow.  We fly out at noon to Vancouver, then on to Heathrow Airport in London, then to Doha, Qatar and then, finally, we arrive in Columbo, Sri Lanka;  a total of 22 hours of flying time that that doesn't include the waiting time between flights.  It is hard to believe we are actually going and no matter how prepared and ready we thought we were to go, there seems to be yet a lot of last minute things: empty the fridge, more, and yet more, deselection of items to not go into the suitcase (50 lb. limit), income tax to file, banking arrangements, laundry etc.  It is all coming together. With Dad passing away and saying my many good-bye's, I have shed a few tears this week.  Chocolate has been my consolation.  I need to get back to healthy eating.  I suppose it will be rice and dahl and curry!  Bill read that foreign women gain weight in Sri Lanka while foreign men typically lose weight.  I plan to be an anomoly