Tales from the Teardrop Isle

The Hard Part is Over

2008-06-15T12:24:00.001-07:00

With Euro 2008 moving into its final group games and elimination rounds, I've got passed the most difficult stage of late nights. For the past eight days, I've faced two games per day, the first at 9.30pm, with a second at 12.15am. That meant only a few hours sleep afterwards, and a reliance on catching a few z's during the day. Now I've only got the 12.15 kickoffs to aim for, which gives me a chance to have a few hours either side. The tournament's starting to get interesting, following a fairly dull opening. Then again, my interest was more on Bhutan's march to the semi-final of the SAFF Championship.

On Wednesday, I sat down to watch Bhutan take on India in the Maldives, and despite a much-hyped, high-powered Indian team, it was Bhutan who took the lead in the first half. Not put off by the interestingly named Climax Lawrence in the Indian midfield, Bhutan performed admirably. Unfortunately, India equalised and the game went to extra time. I only got to see the first half, as then I headed off to the Sugathadasa national stadium to watch Sri Lanka's semi-final against the Maldives. So I left with the place in the final still up for grabs.

There was a massive crowd at the stadium, and we weren't able to get out usual seats in the main stand. We therefore walked around the side of the stadium - passing one of the Maldives players on the way - and piled in with the Sri Lankan folk in the cheap seats. Cheap in that the guards just waved us on through without having to buy a ticket, or worry about crushing the people in front of us. Health and Safety has gone to the other extreme in Sri Lanka, particularly at sporting events.

The game had already kicked off by the time we got inside, and the atmosphere was buzzing. We were accosted by some of the more zealous supporters just after reaching the stand, but after fighting our way through that we went in search of somewhere to sit and watch the game. We eventually settled just behind the goal, with massively restricted views, including a guessing game when the ball was in the nearest penalty area, as it was obscured by the advertising hoardings.

The bad news came through that India had won 2-1 with a goal right at the end of extra time, so that made me fairly despondent. Sri Lanka didn't do much better. The first half saw them under the cosh quite a bit, and despite an early second half flurry of chances, they couldn't score a goal. It was the Maldives who took advantage, with the decisive goal in the second half. In the end I decided not to go to the final on Saturday, I was eager for some well-earned rest, and without Bhutan, was there really any point?

Exams are almost over at school, and thus marking is all that's left. Plus reports of course. Still, with less than three weeks of teaching left, it should be a fairly straightforward - if frustratingly disjointed - run in to the finish. Then I'll need to start thinking about my return to the real world.

1-0 to the Czech Republic at half time, gert Jan Koller popping up with a header. It's shaping up into a decent championship after all. Romania still in with a decent chance of making it through. Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal all look pretty decent outfits, and Croatia joining them as a fourth group winner. Probably the most annoying thing though - aside from the silly time difference, is the small selection of adverts which get played over and over again during the breaks. Really only four adverts they show, each with some annoying feature that makes me want to turn over, or even go to bed! But I'll battle on, an easier solution is just to mute it during the breaks.

Football. Lots of Football.

2008-06-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's two years since I last had the pleasure to watch a major footballing championship, and now I get to watch two at the same time. Obviously some might say the European Championships are bigger than the South Asian, but those people probably haven't had the pleasure of sitting next to their heroes in the crowd.

Bhutan went into their final group game against Afghanistan knowing that with a win and favourable result in the later game, they could still go through. They started brightly and got an early goal, then spent the next seventy minutes of the game defending doggedly. Afghanistan, a much more physical and imposing side than Bhutan, but lacking quite noticeably in fitness, had some good chances, and even a goal disallowed for offside. Their defending became quite sloppy however, and ten minutes from time, Bhutan hit them on the break to make it 2-0, and five minutes later repeated the feat for a comfortable 3-0 lead. Afghanistan got one back just before the end, but Bhutan ran off deserved winners.

In the gap between the games, I relocated down to the visiting team area, and just after the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh game kicked off, the Bhutanese players came up to watch the first half. We ended sitting next to a few of the players, including the scorer of two of their goals. To top things off, that striker was also playing for Transport United, and was present in their lopsided defeats back in the Presidents Cup club competition.

In a fairly dire second game, Sri Lanka won 1-0, and finished top of the group. Bhutan were second, and now travel to the Maldives for Wednesday's semi final against India. India are quite heavy favourites, but the plucky Bhoys from Bhutan can't be ruled out.

And as for the Euros? The time difference is unfavourable, so my experience in relentless staying up during the 2006 World Cup while I was in Japan is coming in handy. If anything, this tournament is worse with early games at 9.30pm, and the second games at 12.15am. Still, there's no reason why I can't watch all the games, and that is indeed my goal. So far nothing spectacular, with Germany looking the most useful side so far. With no English presence, my loyalties have gone to Romania. They drew with France earlier this evening, in a poor game. Now I'm watching Italy-Holland, so hopefully that'll be a bit better.

School has reached the end of term exams, which thankfully means I don't have to teach much after ridiculously late nights. Games finish at 2.15am, I wake up a few hours later, so hopefully I don't keel over with exhaustion!

Surely old hat by now?

2008-06-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Then again, coming face to face with one's heroes never seems to lose its lustre.

It's been a busy few weeks since returning to Sri Lanka, now I find myself with barely four weeks left in the Teardrop Isle. Once again, the best laid plans to be a more frequent commentator on life here have hit numerous snags, the most important being not actually writing in my blog. Still, it does offer me the opportunity to reflect on the past six weeks.

I had visitors from England not long after I got back from the home country myself, which is always enjoyable. Barely a week to see the sights and sounds and smells of Colombo and beyond, and to share my reflections on the life I lead here. I think my second set of guests enjoyed their stay. Unfortunately due to work commitments, I was unable to chaperone their entire visit, but it was very jolly indeed.

Since then, I've remained so busy with school, football practices, exam preparation, report writing and parents evenings, that I've had little time to get out of Colombo. That's been fine by me, as I've enjoyed trying to give as much to the kids as I can before I leave them in the lurch in a few weeks. More of them seem to know that I'm leaving - not that I kept it a secret - ask why and suggest that I should stay. Such attention is of course flattering, but on balance, I'm comfortable that I've made the right decision, and sometimes I do need to do what's best for me.

Last week saw the girls football team face an international schools 4-aside tournament. I was tasked with shepherding them through the group matches, and through a combination of good fortune, dogged determination, and despite some controversial refereeing decisions, we made it through to the final undefeated. The final itself was a tense affair, and despite our early goal, it ended in a 1-1 draw, which meant penalties. The best penalty was when Sung-Hee, our star defender, took the kick before the ref had blown his whistle. She subsequently received the only yellow card of the whole tournament, settled her nerves with rampant giggling, and cooly slotted home the retake. We won 3-2 on penalties, so it was a very successful four days over all.

Plans are afoot to recreate the 5-aside premier league tournament we held last term, this time with the younger generation of players. The auction was held this week, and once the exams are finished, we can look forward to a decent send off to the football season.

Yesterday saw the first Colombo matches in the South Asian Football Federation Championship. Bhutan (now my third favourite country in world football) faced the might of Bangladesh, and typical Bhutanese grit and determination saw them score a late equaliser and earn a valuable point. But surely the highlight was in the second match, when the mighty Bhutanese team took their seats in the stands in the row in front of me. So close to my heroes. This is a fringe benefit of knowing a teacher who is also a Sri Lankan footballing legend. Perks of the job I suppose.

Bhutan play Sri Lanka tomorrow. In the hosts' first game against Afghanistan yesterday, the Sri Lankans started slowly, and trailed twice before salvaging a point with a late penalty. With this live football competition to watch, plus the European Championships starting on Saturday night, the last few weeks in Sri Lanka should fly by with a veritable flurry of football.

I'd be perhaps overly optimistic to expect more than one or two more posts before I depart these shores for good, but hopefully at some point I'll be able to sit down quietly and really do the experience of the past seven months the justice it deserves. Perhaps not life-changing, but certainly eye-opening and maybe life-affirming in some ways. Still need to take the time to mull over everything that's happened, and see where the Tides of Fate take me next.

Talking of the Tides of Fate, I'd be remiss in concluding this post without making reference to my first self-published book, which I suggest everyone who possibly can rush out and buy. Trust me, it's awesome, and would I lie about something I produced? Of course not...

http://stores.lulu.com/homuhtpublishing

Until next time. Possibly the last time as well...

Back to the Teardrop Isle

2008-04-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

I returned to Sri Lanka yesterday morning, after a delightful few weeks spent back home in England. My brief stay in the Teardrop Isle now only has a fraction over ten weeks remaining, but I have already made a worthwhile start to my time. Last night I caught up with most of the teaching chums I have at the local watering hole, swapping stories of vacation shenanigans in various locales, such is the way of things here.

Today it was back to school and I kicked off with a reasonably busy day, but a decent day's teaching in most respects. Having shuffled the students around to keep them on their toes, I enjoyed my lessons, and look forward to this term's work. The heat on the other hand has not been particularly welcome, if anything it feels a great deal more uncomfortable than when I left. Now that might be because I transferred from a brisk English spring to full on Sri Lankan humidity in a scant few hours, but it's been rather difficult to acclimatise to. No doubt that by the time I do readjust, it will almost be time to leave, but such is the way of things.

Tonight's entertainment was quite unexpected, but no less enjoyable for that fact. I returned to the Sugathadasa national football stadium, where I'd seen Saunders defeated by Ratnam in the premier league final, this time to watch Ratnam reap the rewards of their victory, with the first of three games in a preliminary round of the Asian Federations Cup. Their opponents tonight were Transport United FC of Bhutan, whose footballing pedigree was slightly below par, and despite a hatful of missed opportunities, Ratnam still managed to run away 7-1 winners. The curious aspect for my fellow spectators and me was that after the fifth goal went in, the crowd started to leave in droves, despite there being 20 minutes or so remaining. This act was repeated after the sixth and seventh, which left us most perplexed. Still, over here it's best to take such oddities in one's stride, and enjoy the strangeness all around.

It has been a while

2008-04-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Firstly an Apology

I have most decidedly been neglecting my scribe duties, and while I might claim that is because of some overwhelming workload, such a claim would be an outright falsehood. The fact is recently I have been doing other things and have not set aside the requisite amount of time in which to keep interest folks up to speed with developments in the Teardrop Isle. As I write this I am not actually in said island, but rather the island of my birth during a three-week spring vacation.

Fortunately the security situation in Sri Lanka has quietened down considerably since I last wrote, and while it is far from hunkydory, it has been a good couple of months since the last major bomb blast in or around Colombo. Clearly the current climate requires vigilance, but the spectre of indiscriminate destruction has been lifted slightly.

Visitors from a faraway land
In early March, I played host to visitors from home, my parents, brother and his lady friend. With their arrival delayed by a considerable amount in Doha, I had the feeling that all of my carefully laid plans could go horribly wrong and the holiday would be an utter disaster. As it was, that was really the only hiccup in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable visit.

Following a couple of days to acclimatise in Colombo (or in the air conditioned bedroom which my Pops discovered), we boarded the train in Fort and set off for a couple of nights in Kandy. The journey was hindered somewhat by an engine that seemed to be on its last legs, but that didn't detract too much from the stunning vistas from the tracks across the hillocks and mountains nearby.

Our stay in Kandy was fairly brief, but we enjoyed an early morning stroll around the lake, particularly memorable for the abundance of interesting flora and fauna. Following that we took a two-hour jounce north to visit Sigiriya, the famous lion rock fortress of yore. Despite the imposing appearance, and the torrential rain which swept in just as we were approaching the summit, the climb to the top wasn’t bad at all, and we were treated to decent views under a menacing sky. Unfortunately, though we were able to shake off most offers of assistance, one doughty guide refused to take no for an answer, and eventually got his due on the way back down. At Dambulla’s cave temples I felt slightly underwhelmed, but we did get to see some fairly sinister-looking monkeys.

The following morning we took an early train back to Colombo, and after a brief change of attire and equipment, boarded our van to go down to the beach at Unawatuna. We stayed at the Beach Resort, probably the best of the various houses of accommodation, and proceeded to spend the next few days lounging on the beach, reading, eating, and for the rest of the party, dipping in the sea. I completed my must-see Sri Lanka list with a morning stroll around Galle Fort, and now there’s not a whole lot left that I’m dying to see. I had to return early for work, but the folks stayed down in the south for an extra night, before our rendezvous in Colombo for the final couple of nights. A dinner at the Bayleaf placed the capstone on a very successful trip, and I’m looking forward to my next go at hosting the weekend after I return from England.

CISPL
On the last day of my family’s visit, I attended what was supposed to be the second matches of an international schools football tournament, organised by the British School. The first matches for the boys and girls teams were called off because of a waterlogged pitch, despite the fact that the grounds were playable. There were further fiascos as some of players were not registered properly, which meant that though the boys fought to a hard-earned 1-1 draw, the match was awarded 3-0 to the opposition. The girls fared little better, and lost 1-0. The remaining matches were also rained off, so the tournament ended in complete farce.

Spurred on by that overwhelming disappointment, some of the CIS teachers (myself included) decided that we needed to give the football players a proper send off before a large chunk of them have to disappear into the labyrinth of exams after the holiday. We came up with a single day of five-aside football on our playground at CIS, with just our players to fight out a boys and girls tournament. To make matters more interesting, we modelled our team selection on the recent Indian Premier League cricket, with icon players, staff captains and a player auction.

As we’d hoped, the weeklong build up really captured the students excitement, and following the auction on Wednesday, my two captains and I had an interesting afternoon bouncing around Colombo trying to sort out team kits by Sunday. We managed it, and the team colours were delivered on Saturday night just after the school play.

Heavy rain on Sunday morning didn’t dampen the atmosphere, and the sun soon came out and I promptly got rather sunburned. Still, despite that, and despite the fact that my boys team, the Titans, lost every game, we had a really good day. The girls I was coaching, the mighty Penguins, managed to make it to the final, but were beaten fairly comprehensively. The inaugural CISPL was a resounding success, and we are hoping to repeat it again, perhaps with a minor adjustment or two, before the end of the school year.

So, I’m going to enjoy my time off, I hope you do likewise, and hopefully more regular updates will follow after I return.

Of Elephants and Men

2008-02-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

According to Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror:

“Navam Perahera, the spectacular performance conducted annually on the Navam full moon poya day by Gangaramaya Viharaya in Colombo to illustrate historical events is one of the prestigious Buddhist religious events apart from the Esala Perahera of Kandy Sri Dalada Maligava and the Duruthu Perahera of Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya.”

What that means in practice is a two-night parade spectacular featuring troupes of dancers, fire twirlers, and dozens of elephants. It was well worth attending, which I did last night, on the first of the two nights.

After passing through a couple of fairly intimate police body searches, a trio of colleagues and I reached the Gangaramaya temple, where the streets were lit up and bordered by rows of seats. On one side of the road, the seats were neatly arranged, and bore the legend “For Tourist”. As the bearers of Sri Lankan residence visas, we shied away and sat on the slightly more dilapidated rows of seats on the opposite side of the road, and despite the best efforts of the men trying to usher us over to the tourist seats, we stuck by our original assessment.

The first sign of an elephant took a while in coming, and it the largest and most spectacularly adorned of the lot, bearing the Buddha relic (I assume not the real thing) that forms the focus of the celebration. The crowd was upstanding (at least our side of the road was) as the elephants lumbered past, their metal-clad tusks worryingly close to skewering any member of the crowd who deigned to stand too close.

The parade proper started a few minutes later, but we soon realised that we were sat in a rubbish position, near to the end of the route. So we abandoned our chairs, satisfied that we’d not coughed up the tourist rate and stood to watch the parade. It was worth the effort, as a spectacular show of dancing, costumes and decorated elephants passed by us.
The highlight of the evening, however, was when one of the elephants got spooked and started a fairly sedate rampage. While we initially had no real idea what was going on, dozens of terrified Sri Lankas ran past us, jumping over walls to get to safety. When we actually saw the loose elephant, we stepped back against a nearby wall, and waited for the pandemonium to clear. It was quite amusing at the time, as none of us was scared, just more concerned that we couldn’t see what was happening. Nothing like a good rampage.

Yeoman Service

The other big event here recently was the Colombo Gold Cup final, played on Sunday between Saunders and Ratnam. Saunders sought to avenge their loss in the Premier League Championship last year, and my colleague Andrew was seeking to win a cup on his third time of asking.

Now I am a recognised, albeit infrequent, member of the Saunders training squad, I was invited to sit on the bench with the players, so I had a very good view of the action. Saunders started the brighter, but started to lose their way, and conceded two goals five minutes before the end of the half. Sudara pulled a goal back with a thundering drive into the top corner, and Saunders seemed to be back in it at half time.

Rain started to fall during the break, and it increased in intensity over the first few minutes of the second off. Andrew had just been substituted when the heavens opened, and the puddles started to collect on the pitch under the deluge. A few minutes later, the game was called off, as the players and spectators scampered off to the cover of the pavilion.

No telling when the replay will be, as is often the way here, pitch availability is always the biggest problem. But, whenever it does get replayed, I will be there to support my chums and hope that Saunders will add another trophy to its extensive collection.

Beyond Colombo

2008-02-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Around the Neighbourhood

Strolling around the neighbourhood is something I do with quite regular frequency. Mostly during the weekend, or on public holidays - of which we’ve had three so far this year (since I returned in early January), it’s nice to get out around dawn or dusk, when the fierce sun has yet to appear, or has packed up and left for the evening.

I have a variety of walks that I take, some more picturesque than others, and I was especially intrigued to discover that a certain Sir Arthur C. Clarke lives on the road adjacent to mine. I always hope that one day I’ll see him popping out to the local newspaper shop, but I have a nasty suspicion that he’s not in the best of health. Still, when you get to 90, that’s quite understandable.

Another thing I noticed this morning was that of the people who take dogs for a walk, the majority carry big sticks with them, much as one would expect Teddy Roosevelt to do. It took me a moment to realise that these sticks are most likely used to beat away the thousands of stray dogs who litter the streets. I’ve read about attempts to organise neutering campaigns, but judging from the sheer number of flea-bitten mutts roaming or lying around, these campaigns leave a lot to be desired.

Heading South

A couple of weekends ago, I joined a group of colleagues from CIS on a birthday weekend in the southern beach resort of Unawatuna. Among the dozens of beach communities devastated in the tsunami of 2004, Unawatuna has been promptly rebuilt, though many of the guest houses are precariously close to a very small amount of beach.

Still, it was my first time south of Colombo, and a very pleasant beach it was too. I’ve come to the conclusion that my days as an enthusiastic beach goer are behind me, and the thing I most enjoy when heading to the seaside is to find a nice shady spot where I can read my book. That was facilitated by me waking up very early, and having plenty of time before the other folks surfaced. I was therefore able to enjoy a gentle stroll along the beach, then lounge around having a read for a good few hours. The sea itself holds very little attraction for me, but it doesn’t half sound nice. Very appropriately, the book I was reading, Sir Arthur’s The Fountains of Paradise featured a Sri Lanka in a couple of centuries’ time, with some important plot points taking place in a location I visited the following weekend.

The Hill Country

Far more my cup of tea, is the hill country in Sri Lanka’s interior. As long as you don’t mind enduring the bone-rattling journeys, and as long as you accept that getting anywhere is going to take a lot longer than you might expect, it’s well worth the visit. In Nuwara Eliya, the climate is very different, around ten degrees difference from Colombo, with much more tolerable humidity. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning stroll in the fresh air, and was greeted with very pleasing views of the surrounding hillsides.

I went with Andrew and Sarah, another couple of teachers from school, and with Andrew I went to Badulla, another sizeable town to the south east of Nuwara Eliya, where the Saunders football team was playing an Independence weekend exhibition match. I finally got to suit up for the team, and while I didn’t play, it was great to be part of such an occasion, even if it was rather surreal on occasion. When the game’s start is delayed for an elephant to bring on the trophy, a minister to shake hands with all the players, and the long version of the national anthem, it becomes apparent quite quickly that the game itself is of secondary importance to the pomp and ceremony. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, with Andrew missing a penalty that he was not really expecting to take.

Our big excursion the following day required an early morning start as we needed to get to Horton Plains national park, and particular the view from World’s End before it was obscured by cloud. We were some of the first few people inside the park that day, and it was well worth the visit, to see the kilometre-high drop at World’s End. Later we visited a former tea plantation, accessed by the narrowest lane of the whole trip, but which ended in an exclusive boutique hotel.
On our way back to Colombo on the Sixtieth Anniversary of Sri Lankan Independence, we took a diversion via Adam’s Peak, the Sacred Mountain of The Fountains of Paradise. I was a little bit disappointed to find there was no space elevator there, but we still climbed up the mountain, despite arriving mid-morning, and climbing in hot and humid conditions. At the top, there was about twenty minutes of decent visibility before the clouds rolled in, and by the time Sarah and Andrew joined me, there was nothing much to see. All that remained was the descent, followed by the three and a half hour drive back over similarly dodgy roads.

Sadly, as had been feared, the Independence weekend was marred by a number of bomb blasts. They started on Saturday with a bus bomb killing twenty or so pilgrims on their way to Anuradhapura. A very large bomb at Fort Railway Station in Colombo the next day killed a dozen more, injured over a hundred. Among the dead, as we found out later were seven baseball players and a coach from the government school down the road from CIS, D S Senanayake College. There were further blasts in the north and east, making for a particularly bloody commemoration of independence. The security situation remains quite precarious, but while other schools were closed last week, CIS remains open, and will stay open unless forcibly closed I feel. Oh well, have to stay safe, which I manage to do quite well.

The Distant Rumble of War Drums

2008-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

The New Year in Sri Lanka has seen the end of the ceasefire agreement, an upsurge in the number of bomb blasts and clashes between the government and LTTE forces. Perhaps Colombo is not the safest place in the world to be at the moment, but as I discussed with a colleague a few days ago (while we warmed up for our football practice), our direct contact with the violence is much the same as our friends and families back home - TV, newspapers and internet reports. It is slightly worrying that recent attacks have killed civilians, but the focus of the campaign still seems to be government ministers and military targets.

While I was being driven back to Colombo from the airport last weekend, my driver told me that the minister who had been assassinated a few days before when he came out of a temple was a parent at our school. He had three children in the primary section, and I cannot imagine what life is like for those poor children now. Sadly, that is not the first untimely death with close links to our school. I have been in Sri Lanka for barely three months, in which time the father of one of my students was murdered in a dispute over money, and a young woman working in the library was killed in a bomb blast which targeted a popular shopping centre. The situation seems to be deteriorating almost by the day, and one wonders what atrocities will have to be wrought before the bloodshed will be brought to an end.

On a lighter note, returning to school has been quite fun. I have been given charge of a tutor group, some twenty-odd students now under my direction. I’ve only had twenty minutes or so with them so far, but I hope to get to know them better over the coming weeks and months. It’s a bit more work, of course, but that’s no bad thing, and I find my days pass quickly with plenty to keep me engaged and occupied.

But to bring this entry to a close, the Tales from the Teardrop Isle will have a shorter life span than expected, as I have decided - after a great amount of thought and reflection - that I will only stay in Sri Lanka until the end of this academic year. This decision has spurred me on to get the most out of my remaining six months or so, and starting next weekend, I plan to take some trips around the country, perhaps get a different impression of Sri Lanka than Colombo provides. Photos will hopefully be forthcoming, as my adventures continue soon.

The End of the First Term

2007-12-19T05:24:00.000-08:00

And thus we reach the end of the autumn term. My stint was a mere eight weeks, but I think I managed to pack a sizeable amount of stuff into that short amount of time. Now I am on the eve of my return home for the holidays, a chance to be with family, loved ones and dear friends.

The end of term did drag on a wee bit. After the exam week, in which I had only a couple of lessons, the students seemed to take an optional approach to lessons. In many cases I had barely half the usual numbers, the others off on holiday, gallivanting, or in Singapore collecting royalty cheques for novels. (Perhaps the best excuse for missing class I’ve heard.)

Still, we teachers soldiered on with what we had left, and I managed to resist the constant calls for parties and to have fun (history? fun?) until the bitter end. Over the last days we had a Christmas social for the students, followed by a carol service (the little munchkins were jolly cute) and finished up with a staff social on Monday night. An extensive buffet, some teachers really dancing, just a shame the governmental ordinance against noise after 10pm meant we had to cut the festivities short.

Yesterday I attended a party thrown by my landlord, Mr. Anton Fernando, on the occasion of his fiftieth year as a lawyer. I chatted with his friends and acquaintances, included Colonel De Silva of the Sri Lankan army, Mr Peter, a businsessman from Singapore, and an old university friend of Mr. Fernando's, who used to work for the WHO in Bangladesh. Quite an occasion, and I was glad to be able to participate.

So the presents have been bought, all that remains is to pack the bags, and endure the 24-hour travelling via India and the Netherlands. Still, if it brings me closer to home, I do believe it’s worth the effort.
A merry Christmas to you all, and look out for more scribblings from the Teardrop Isle in 2008.

The Test

2007-12-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

The Barmy Army is a curious cultural phenomenon. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this concept, in its purest form, the Barmy Army constitutes a rag-tag assortment of England cricket supporters, who travel the globe to cricket-playing countries to follow the team. And as the England team is currently playing a test series in Sri Lanka, several thousand English cricket fans have descended upon the Teardrop Isle like a veritable swarm of cricket-loving, lobster-pink English folk.

Last week was the first test in Kandy, a cultural city in the central hilly area of Sri Lanka, and while I was not able to attend in person, I did follow the match quite closely on the television. After a positive start, England managed to lose on Wednesday night. Following the conclusion of that game, the team, and its entourage of thousands of fans decamped to Colombo. Today, at the Singhalese Sports Club ground, a cricket ball's throw away from school, and by extension, just round the corner from my house.

I went along to the opening day's play, paid my 50 rupee ticket fee to take up a seat on the grassy bank next to the scoreboard. And thus I spent the next four hours or so watching the game unfold, England on top at first, but by the time I'd become too sleepy and lethargic to handle any more, and returned home, Sri Lanka were in the ascendancy. Whether I'll be able to go for any more days is debatable, but I do hope to go along at least one more afternoon.

It's been quite a sporty week, both in the watching and the playing. Thanks to one of the other ex-pat teachers at school, this week I started training with a Sri Lankan premier league football team, Saunders FC. Their training ground is in Pettah, home of the bazaar-type markets, where whole streets are entirely devoted to one particular good. Such as umbrellas, brooms, and so on. In the midst of this eclectic and hectic entrepreneurial activity is the Saunders ground. The pitch may not be the best in the island, but the players are keen, and they have hundreds of kids practicing before the main adult team plays. It's hard going, partly because of the heat, partly the surface, and partly because the other guys are very, very good. Still, I've enjoyed the workouts so far, and I'll be going again tomorrow.

On Saturday we played a football game against Colombo Lions, a team made up predominantly of ex-pats, and quite angry ones at that. There was a particularly unsavoury incident, where tackles went in, there was a lot of pushing and shoving, and one completely unnecessary bodycheck on one of our players. In the scoring, we went 2-0 down by half time, but came back after the incident to lead 3-2, but just slipped up and conceded a goal in the last few minutes. Still, our team played very well, and apart from that moment of distastefulness, it was a good run around.

Last full week of term coming up, many kids clamouring for their end of term exams to be returned. But, if they're not ready, there's not much I can do now, is there?

Right, busy day tomorrow, so off I trot.

Day to Day

2007-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

There were a pair of bomb blasts in Colombo today, one targeting a rival Tamil MP, the other just outside a busy shop at rush hour. Meanwhile, across town, I was strapping on my football boots about to have a couple of seven-a-side friendlies with the boys from Dialog, a company team. Such is the at times surreal day to day life in Colombo, that these two completely divergent events can occur at the same time.

Whether there will be any longer term fallout from these renewed attacks, which were most likely the LTTE's response to government attacks in the north, is difficult to say. Will it change my day to day life? I doubt it. Colombo 7 is probably the safest part of the city, with a visible police presence, plenty of road blocks and foreigners. Of course, that does not mean it is entirely safe, but then, with indiscriminate violence and mayhem a fact of life throughout the world, is there really anywhere that is entirely safe anymore?

My personal feeling before I came here, and it remains true after just over a month in country, is that I would be just as likely to be hit by a bus, or a speeding police car in London, or Somerset, as I am to be in the wrong place when a separatist attack happens. Is it worrying, of course. Can I do anything about it, realistically, nothing more than I can do to stay safe in England. Of course I will be careful, but I see no reason to change my daily routine because of something completely out of my control.

The political situation here is much like the weather. A little too hot at times, causing a gentle simmering which suddenly breaks out in a tremendous downpour which threatens to obliterate all traces of humanity. But then the waters die down, the streets dry up, and life goes on. What else can it do?

On a lighter note, my Sunday was spent watching the England cricket team in their final warm up game before the first test in Kandy this weekend. The highlight of the day was certainly ascending the rickety, steep ladders into the scoreboard, which afforded excellent views of the other nearby cricket grounds (and there are a lot), as well as our school. Definitely worth the price of admission, which didn't cost a single rupee. A very enjoyable day's entertainment, and here's hoping England continue to improve and restore some national sporting pride after the football debacle. And to think I woke up at 1.30am to watch it. More the fool me I suppose...

The scoreboard at the Nondescripts Cricket Club, Colombo

The somewhat precarious view down from the scoreboard

Monty walks back to his position during the second session of the first day

Sunday Strolling

2007-11-18T03:31:00.001-08:00

Fourth weekend here in Colombo, which means I’m coming up to a month away. I do hope the consular people return my passport soon, as I’m only allowed to stay for a month on the current one. It’s not a nice feeling not having one’s passport, especially when overseas in a country with a slightly dubious security record, but so far it’s not been a problem. With any luck, and with allowances for the Sri Lankan bureaucracy, there may be a freshly stamped passport returning to me this week.
Talking of Sri Lankan bureaucracy, on Friday our interminable wait for the TV and internet connections was finally satisfied. I returned home from school after my last lesson of the week, to find a couple of little chaps fixing up the satellite, and then twenty minutes later, another man came to sort out the internet. TV’s working just fine, so we’ve been able to watch real films, sports and some news, while one of the internet cables is working. Perhaps the other one will be sorted out this week, but again, you never can tell with these Sri Lankan cowboy internet connectors.

My other big worry has been alleviated somewhat. Foolishly I didn’t think very far ahead and didn’t change a lot of money at the airport when I first arrived. Seeing as I’ve not yet been paid - though I do have a bank account here now - I was struggling to make my cash reserves stretch to pay day. My efforts to withdraw money from a multitude of ATMs had been thwarted at every try, but finally yesterday I found a bank in which I was able to get a bit of money to tide me over. Of course the genius that I am, I soon spent a silly proportion of it on buying some sheets and dishcloths from a blind and deaf school door-to-door salesman. Still, perhaps I did my little bit for the day.

Commonwealth War Graves, Borella, Colombo

This morning’s walk was much shorter and closer to home than my usual jaunts. During our basketball trip last Tuesday to the British School just around the corner, I’d noticed that there is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in the large graveyard nearby, and so decided I should investigate. I walked there today, and managed to find the well-tended and understated war graves section amid a jumble of audacious and in some case, quite gaudy tombstones. Some of the groundskeepers let me into the place, and I spent a good while walking among the graves and reading the names of the fallen. They were all from the Second World War, but constituted a variety of nationalities and religions. There were East Africans, Indians, Ceylonese and even someone from Bristol. In one particular row, graves marked a Jew, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian resting side by side. Quite a poignant symbol I felt, and only slightly sullied by the confusion with the groundskeeper over whether he wanted to be paid or not. That did upset me somewhat, but I suppose the realities of life soon interfere with attempts at remembering those who gave their lives for king, country and empire, as well as the not inconsiderable matter of freedom.

Tales from the Teardrop Isle

2007-11-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Tales from the Teardrop Isle

Teaching History in Sri Lanka
by Christopher P Bartlett

Sunday, November 4th - Colombo
9:15 pm

It’s not exactly the same as Wells, or Sobudai, or Bend, or any of the other places I’ve stayed for any considerable amount of time. Some people might ask if I came to Sri Lanka to find myself, and to be honest, I might ask myself that question. Did I find myself here? Not as such, as I was probably here (as in inside me) the whole time, but now I have another different perspective on how the world works, and how I work.

Sri Lanka is an interesting place, or at least, it’s proved to be quite different from places I’ve been before. The climate is oppressive, that is for certain. In Colombo it is quite difficult to get through more than a few hours without feeling the need for a refreshing shower. Those few minutes under the cold water are the only time I really feel clean. Hence the need to have more than one most days. A two-shower day is the norm, though on some rough days a third is required. It’s not just the heat and humidity though, as Colombo is awfully polluted. When I first arrived in the apartment, practically every surface was covered with a layer of dirt and grime, the legacy of excess particulate matter in the atmosphere of Colombo.

I am quite fortunate to reside in one of the fanciest neighbourhoods in Colombo, the Cinnamon Gardens area, more commonly referred to as Colombo 7. Across the road from the apartment that I share with Ali - a French teacher of North African descent, who came to Sri Lanka via Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds - there is round-the-clock army protection for the residence of the High Commissioner of Pakistan. I thought it might take longer to get adjusted to the sight of armed soldiers on many street corners, but it’s been less than a week, and now I just smile and nod at most I pass. Roadblocks are an everyday sight, though I’ve only been pulled over once with my tuk-tuk driver, and as soon as they saw I was foreign, they let us continue on our way.

The tuk-tuk or tri-shaw is an interesting experience in itself. Since my bargaining and haggling skills are virtually non-existent, I probably overpay considerably, but I didn’t really realise quite how much I might be getting had as a foreigner until I took a ride with Ishan last night. Ishan is one of the boys that my aunt met when she visited Sri Lanka, and she put me in touch with him so that I might have a friendly face upon arrival. He came to stay over the weekend as he has an English exam coming up, and last night we went to the supermarket to buy some food for cooking a Sri Lankan meal - though a simple one of course. The journey from the supermarket to my place normally costs me 200 rupees (less than one spondulick), since I found out I can walk there (along the polluted streets) in 2o minutes or so. With Ishan, it cost 300 for a round-trip with waiting time in the supermarket. Little rube that I am!

School has been good so far, with one week under my belt I’m feeling very relaxed. I think the biggest influence on my teacher training was certainly being in America. Ever since then I’ve taken a much more relaxed attitude to planning and teaching, and have found it much easier and more effective. Of course the temperature makes some lessons quite sweltering, but then that’s compensated by a significantly reduced timetable from a British school, and students who are predominantly well-behaved and eager to learn. As if the keenest kids from schools back home were copied a few hundred times and used to populate the school. Then there are the staff, predominantly Sri Lankan, but several ex-pats, both new and seasoned, which serves up an interesting mix.

Thus I spend my days with school work, the odd parents evening (70 sets of parents over the course of one afternoon, mostly just introducing myself and reassuring them that their kids aren’t completely at a loss in history), strolling around the streets of Colombo in 30C heat, and watching rugby. Sri Lankan airlines sevens tournament the first weekend, then the beginning of the Asiad Rugby competition, with huge games including Sri Lanka versus China, and today’s humdinger between Pakistan and India.

I’m sure that other experiences await me, such as the beaches, the hill country and tea plantations, wildlife, cricket, etc.

Doubt I will get up into the Tamil Tiger country, but you never know what might happen...