lalottacontinua

The morning was very hot and since there was another power cut all afternoon I was so happy when it started raining this evening! First it was just a short rain but as soon as it was over it got all hot again. But later the big rain came with thunder and now its cool and fresh – I welcome it with open arms.

I have started to get bites on my stomach and on the sides, big red dots that are itching but not intense like mosquito bites but on the other side they stay there very long. These dots has increased in number the last days and after some thought I think they come from one of my mattresses. The bed is too short ao I sleep across the two beds and since I only get bitten on my upper part of the body, I think its "only" one of the mattresses that has bugs. So Runi will change the mattress – hopefully the bugs go away – at least for some time.

There is plenty of writing to do, so I did my best today but will continue tomorrow to get done with the stuff so far. And I feel my English is getting worse the longer I stay here in Sri Lanka – I get heavily influenced of how they speak English around here.

Now its one more week here, then I will go to Batti or hopefully Arugam Bay next weekend and then – its time to go back home!

The alarm was set on seven this morning  but snoozed 45 minutes for no good reason. I just told the dutch people yesterday to go for the Srilankan breakfast because its so much better than the toast bread and jam you get if you order the European style. Since Im on a budget deal with Runi, which means that they choose the breakfast for me and of course I got toasted bread and jam this morning. And of course I eat it all. Somewhere here I realized that there were no electricity, so no fan.

Then I got picked up by Seelan and his 3 wheeler and went of to the visits of the day. At around one I came back and looked forward to spend an hour in the confy chair under the speedy fan, but no electricity so no breeze. And since they pump up the water in the tank and it’s a electronic thingy, there were no water in the taps.  So was not very rested when we went for out afternoon visit. Came back at five and still no electricity and no water… The reason for the power cut was a tree that had fallen down but just before dawn the electricity came back – praise the Lord!

Very tired today, my brain is overused I think ;-). So need to spend time in the confy chair just drinking water and doing nothing in the evening. But the truck drivers came, so then the peaceful times are over because they sit down at a table and talk very loudly on the phone and drink arrack…

So I enjoyed my bed side lamp and read a bit. For dinner I joined the dutch couple and tried not to talk all the time and actually asked them to share something about themselves with me but soon found myself doing most of the talking again… What to do?

Tomorrow I will go to the beach and try to find the beach hindu temple.

Today there was a Dutch back packing young couple arriving to the Guesthouse so I actually had company  at dinner tonight. Also I have been talking a lot and they have been listening with big eyes… Said sorry for talking so much before we said goodnight but believe it or not, they said they appreciated it.

Today Runi cleaned my room – it was about time… Now he put some chalk around my bed and around the room against insects and from here I can watch a big beetle slowly get more and more white from the chalk…

The event of the day was a man who after talking for some time slowly but firmly tried to convert me to Islam. He was really worried for my life after death. He used exactly the same arguments I remember from my childhood at church – could hardly keep myself from smiling – the missionary rhetoric is the same everywhere no matter religion.

Later this afternoon I was sitting in a garden where chickens and shitty small turkeys were running around my legs, quite ok but was worried if they touch me but they never managed to, The garden was full of high trees, I was sitting under a mango tree so it was nice and cool. Suddenly I heard noises from branches moving up in the highest trees and could then see monkeys swinging themselves from tree to tree. After a while they came down towards the ground and as Im a bit scared of monkeys after a nasty incident with Lola a few years ago, I was sitting there hoping they would not get any closer. But they did but thank God then one of the sons came out with a slangbella/slingshot and started to aim at the monkeys, so they soon disappeared. I was relieved.

Finally I have managed to buy a bedside lamp. It was not hard to choose because there were only one shop selling it and only one model. Well, actually I could have chosen another colour, but I stayed with green. Its plastic, very plastic and it was 7 euros/70 spänn.

I dragged myself to the beach this morning and of course it was lovely, then had a nice calm morning with lots of time to hang in the confy-chair.

When I got back late this evening one of the Dutch guys were sitting in it. Immediately I felt a bit upset, because I was planning to throw myself in it. But he said hello and Oops, Im sitting in your chair and moved over to his girlfriend at the table – good for him!

So its Sunday and Im lazy – but for a good reason – had a tropical stomach attack last night, so am a bit weak but now well again.

To share with you my cuttlefish experience it was not really un-eatable but, no, had to leave most of it. Runi stated that I didn’t like cuttle fish and I answered that No not so much. And instead I got crab on Friday night – pretty nice. I am being spoiled.

Yesterday I woke up early and went to the beach and of course it was lovely.  But on Tuesday I think I will try Kalkudah beach, now everyone is saying that its much nicer than Pasakudah… OK, I will give it a shot, it’s the neighbour bay that is three timea as big, and as I remember it ten times bigger and stronger waves, but I will report back on Tuesday- Of course with pictures.

Yesterday I had a busy day meeting people and then I went back here for a late lunch (at 3pm) and then took a 3wheeler/tuktuk to Batti. It was such a change, big road with hardly no bumps and then huge road building constructions more or less all the way.  Its really high development and construction activity around. And I didn’t have my camera out then but two young dusty guys, standing barefoot tur´ning and smilling and waving at me, at the same time they were holding a machine that is crushing the old asphalt two centimeters from their naked feet (you know that kind of machine that is jumping up and down and makes the arms vibrate). Somehow a very Srilankan experience.

Then I met with Dan and his fiancée in their house by the lagun and I must say it was a veeeery nice house, veeery nice fiancée and a happy Dan. They had a BBQ going and there were other international people working with development coming and suddenly it all felt very familiar to me. You meet and introduce each other and after two minutes you talk like you have known each other for years, kind of. Of course we had to sit up att catch up three years after all the guests has left, so it got very late. And not even was I going back very early (not so hot I thought yesterday when I planned this) and on top of this a tropical stomach started during the night.

So when I finally came back to Kalkudah and my room at 8.30 I just went back to sleep.

Tomorrow we will go to Ampara, the district south of Batti, it will be very nice to see some old faces and places from  before!

And yes, Im now invited to Dan and his finacée wedding in Bangladesh in the end on November!

Put the alarm on this morning but continued sleeping, so no beach this morning

Had an amazingly tasty breakfast. It was coconut bread, shaped like a pita bread, and inside there was vegetables and a bit fish. I got two but could only eat one. Don’t know why they give me so much food… maybe because this is how they serve with big portions, or maybe they think I need to eat a lot… hehe. Runi’s wife looked a bit disappointed when she saw  I only had one of them. She doesent speak English but I still told her in English it was so tasty and I could not eat both because it was too much. Still she didn’t look convinced.

I finished my morning coffee in the confy-chair and enjoyed the speedy fan. When I was sitting there Runi’s wife came with incense/rökelse and above my door there is a Hindu symbol of an animal and she reached her arm towards that picture with the other arm a bit crossing the other holding the incense/rökelse. Then she went to the end of the veranda and came back and putting her hand together in front of the picture. I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do right there and then… I was sitting there drinking coffee with my legs up on the two chair-extensions, laying there like a parsha… so I smiled and looked a bit at her and a bit not.

I just said to myself yes may God bless this room and the whole place and then I rushed off on my bicycle.

After some assessments and observations I actually think this is a special hindu day, either Fridays is hindu days (I should know this by now , no…) or this is a special day. Will find out. My memory is good but short.

And I actually think there is a tamil dog language. I realize that they all sound exactly the same when they bark and howl/ylar.  Its especially clear when I go to bed and hear all the dogs in the neighbourhood. Makes me smile.

Tomorrow I will go to Batti and enjoy myself so probably no blogging until Sunday.

Last night I was watching Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake – a just ok movie, barely. Then I had a good night sleep!

Woke up this morning and put on my surfer shorts and took the bicycle to the beach. Same procedures like last time, as lovely as last time.

Then I went back, had a shower, had a breakfast – this time it was milk rice with fruits and cashew, simply very tasty. A bit like “risgrynsgröt” but less creamy.

Got a bit late but jumped on the bicycle and went into town to meet people. When I was going back I was quite far away from Kalkudah and it was 1 o´clock = veeeery hot and the sun in zenit. So it took me 15 minutes to bike, no hills at all, just flat but still I was totally soaked with sweat when I came back. Sat down in the confy-chair, had 1,5 litres of water and then lunch, rice&curry of course.

Took a shower and then read in the confy-chair. Hard life, no!?

Then Sanoon came and we talked for two hours about the days ahead, very nice and exiting. Actually before he arrived I swiped the veranda, or one half of it because it was soooo dusty, made me feel useful. The Runi family had many projects going on today so they had no time for cleaning I think. It has ben windy today so much sand and dust on the floors.

Just a few minutes ago a room with AC just got ready, some AC workmen has been installing it for two days. So when they left the whole Runi family went into the room and closed the door and put on the AC. It worked well Runi said afterwards and the fuse did not go either! But I will stay in my room, its in the middle of the building and not so hot.

Tomorrow afternoon I might go to one of the fancy hotels and have a fruitjuice or something – want to try the feeling.

Oh, I just heard I might get cuttle fish for dinner - horrible... ok, will eat a lot of rice....

Oh Im so tired now and a bit down for no good reason – maybe because Im tired…

I have been riding my bicycle in the area today during the day, so that might be the reason why Im a bit exhausted now.  And I didn’t sleep well last night… OK, I just had to complain a bit.

Otherwise everything is so nice here and people are so friendly and happy to meet and talk to me. And it feels a bit strange to talk about things but with a different role. Again I have to say Im so lucky to have Sanoon helping me – because he really is! He has suggestions and ideas that really are super duper good.

But we are both a bit lazy, or we realized that we  hasn’t done anything workwise for months and are still on vacation mode. So when Sanoon suggested we would meet at nine this morning I looked at him and he said yes, that is too early, no! We met at 10.30 instead.

Runi is a bit concerned, I think, that Im too much lonely in the evenings, that nobody comes visiting. So tonight he sat with me while I had my dinner – very sweet! He told me he had read in the newspaper about a guy in Indonesia who had seven dogs and went away for a two-week vacation. The guy just left the seven dogs inside his apartment and locked the door. When he came back after his vacation and opened the door, the dogs ate him! The neighbours found the luggage standing by the door and… Runi was very upset (and I got upset as well) how a man can treat animals like that. He said that man should have stayed alone, not being aloud to keep animals.

Tomorrow I will get a bedside lamp ( or Runi will get one for me) so that I can read in the evening. Otherwise I have only a naked energy saving lamp in the roof, not so cosy.

Good night everyone – tomorrow is another (busy) day!