First Days

So Duncan has his first official day of work 25/01 which constitutes a meeting with the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross) to agree the project details that they will be working together on. He comes back very excited and impressed with the Red Cross and slightly in awe of the prospect of building 11,000 homes in such a short period.

I meanwhile am a lady of "leisure". Go to the gym, check out another bit of Colombo (gradually gaining my bearings), have a coffee, read my book for an hour and then DY's home - my how time flies! At this stage I'm struggling to conceptualize what working is like, especially given the horror stories I'm hearing about some of the work environments i.e. computers breaking down because of the humidity when the offices are unairconditioned; ladies not going to the bathroom for 8 hours because they are so grim; 4 people sharing a desk etc etc etc

Australia Day and we get a guernsey for drinks at the High Commission, a surprisingly friendly and low key affair. Kids running in and out of the pool, beers (Sri Lankan - very good too) and of course a BBQ. I meet a senior chap in the Red Cross, so send my resume the next day (fingers crossed). Joking aside, I prefer working to being a lady of "leisure"!!!

Friday night dinner at The Gallery Cafe with yet more Australians - where are they all coming from? Shane and Junko who live up the road from us have just arrived as Shane is working on a project here, and Ian who is a long term consultant to various projects in SL. A fantastic meal in a beautiful setting for $40 a head including boooooze - expensive for here. Next day we set off for shopping with Robyn which requires Herculean energy levels. There is now not a homeware shop in Colombo that I haven't visited, so those requiring gifts/ information just let me know what you want.

Sunday and Duncan and I go for an early morning stroll around Galle Face Green (euphemistic description, there's not much green left), a large open area fronting the ocean. I have renamed it "Galle smooch Green" because no matter what time of day you are there, there are canoodling couples of all ages hiding behind umbrellas (and praying that none of their relatives walk past). I'm intrigued by this especially as so many marriages in SL are still arranged, and even more surprising fall over at the final hurdle if the 'horoscope' is not auspicious. No kidding - horoscopes are make or break in the marriage game here. So, given that at least 50% of marriages are arranged and the horoscope juggle is mandatory, how does illicit smooching fit in? Any answers gratefully received!

After listening to some jazz at Barefoot, we wander back to the Galle Face Hotel, a magnificent (if in parts ramshackle) colonial building fronting the ocean with a beautiful pool and drinks area. We watch the sun go down before heading off for dinner at the Cricket Club. Eating in is hard to do when food cooked by others is so cheap, and good.