I have discovered that when I share a photo on my blog, there is not much room for text, which is why I have been cut off mid-sentence. So i am now going to write at length, hopefully, without a photo.

Yesterday, we went to another village where there seemed to be more poverty and ,more war trauma than in Batticaloa. I posted the photos earlier of this place. They had so little and need more resources. We then went on Passikuddah beach to find that this accessible beach had been taken over by rich developers and there was little space left for public swimming. I did go for a swim in my pyjamas as part of the cover-up that women have to do, but it was not a fun experience. I felt weighed down by water and sand. The only fun bit was throwing a ball back to the young Sri Lankans swimmimg there too. I appeared to be the only foreigner. I was able to remove my wet clothes in a special women's changing facility which had been there for years. What had not been there for years was a huge new luxury hotel further up,the beach, which had privatised part of the beach for itself. No Tamil was spoken in this hotel which was revealing. The Sri Lankans in the swimming pool were speaking English which indicated thieir status. Altogether I felt sad for the ordinary people as they are gradually excluded from their beautiful sites. Unlike the aboriginals in Australia where the same thing has happened, they are not in a position to fight back. A military presence is still very visible here.
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Making curry in Earl's Beach cafe at Passikudah beach. The curry was wonderful, but the beach view had been completely obliterated by gross hotel development.

I

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A happy Christmas- Tamil style. This was taken in a petrol station where we stopped to fill up the Institute's tuc-tuc before continuing on an ,at times, extremely bumpy journey. eventually ending up at Passikudah beach.

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This a better picture of the village children in the scool garden. On the back row are two of the Tamil teachers, and Sandrine, the French organiser of the project.

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I am fortunately well hidden behind these village children with whom I did some spoken English work. They were absolutely delightful and responsive. We helped them to make their own flash cards.

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This is how many people access their water here, a well with a dipping bucket. This is the water supply for the school we are trying to set up in a village sevral kms north of Batticaloa where the children are poorer and have been more affected by th

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This is a photo of a typical lagoon fisherman. Their fishing techniques have remained the same over hundreds of years. Each day they risk being eaten by the salt-water crocodiles, but they continue with their work. The family with whom I am currently

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Further reflections

After several days In Batticloa (and realising that my postings appear to have come to a halt in mid-sentence), I shall try to complete some thoughts.


On our journey here, we stopped at the home of an elderly Sri Lankan political activist who also believed in diversity of cultivaiton and sharing one's food with those who had none. He has a smallholding himself on which he grows a variety of fruits and vegetables. By his reckoning if 100 households shared their crops, growing different items there would be enough mangoes, avocadoes, pineapples, beans etc. to feed the whole village so that those without money would not starve. 


This idea seemed great, if you have land, but many people here do not. This same man also said that many young people, highly qualified, cannot get work in this country because they are trained for the wrong jobs (something simlar is certainly happening in the UK). This leads to restlessness and frustration. So badly needed is wise political leadership. This made me think about what I am doing helping Tamils to speak English but it will open so many doors for them, I hope.

On a lighter note, our journey also brought us past Asian elephants, hundreds of sacred cows on the road during a tropical storm,  and goats, dogs, motorbikes, bicycles, tucs-tucs (3 wheelers) and lunatic buses all in the most amazing traffic melange I have ever seen. Survival of the fittest would be the best way to describe it.

Memories that remain are the sound of Budhhist chanting through the night in Colombo during the Buddhist feast of Poyaa, the flaming torches of the processions going through the streest during a crowded Colombo night, the beautiful green hills of Kandy, and paddyfields forever. In Batticaloa, it is the fishermen in the crocodile-infested lagoon with their centuries old method of net fishing who stay in the memory. What a diverse  and vibrant country this is.

This is a typical Sri Lankan house. It was taken on the shores of the lagoon at Batticaloa. This place was swamped by the Tsunami, then very bad floods occurred last year. Thus it in recovery mode with much building work occurring . The memory of bei

This is a typical Sri Lankan house. It was taken on the shores of the lagoon at Batticaloa. This place was swamped by the Tsunami, then very bad floods occurred last year. Thus it in recovery mode with much building work occurring . The memory of being swamped by water is still very present in the damage to roads very visible in Batticaloa.

Sue At Earl's English Academy Batticaloa

Arriving at the English Institute,

Arriving at the English Institute, everyone seemed very pleasant -- and slim! Maybe some of that will rub off on me! The studnts have been making Guacamole with a young American man who knows about Mexican cooking. Only girls showed up for the cooker

My first day in Batti.

My first day in Batti. Slept well under my mosquito net, but still eaten by rogue mossies. Others off up the coast as I meet my hosts for the next few weeks.

My First Blog Entry

Sri Lanka 's country and people very beautiful. have arrived in Batticoloa ready to teach but have had to deal with the mossies and gippy tummy already. The food is wonderful but i shall have to take it slowly. Sue.