The Hills Are Alive and so is my Hair

I am almost half-way through my placement. When I think about that, I can’t believe it. Not because the time has flown by (although it has – sort of) but because I feel like saying “is that ALL?? HALF WAY?!?!” Take this weekend, for example. It just flew by. One minute I was packing up my computer, plugs, adapters and the various accoutrements that I schlep everywhere (I swear, the weight of my knapsack is going to lead me to return to Canada an inch shorter than when I left). The next minute I was back at my desk unpacking it all again. The minutes and days seem to fly by here, yet the months amble along like the cows on my road.

On Friday night, most of the Colombo volunteers – and a fair number of the out-of-city vols too – headed out to a suburb at the north end of the city for a goodbye party for Helen. Helen is one of the VSO mental health volunteers and she is awesome. She will be greatly missed, as evidenced by the big party thrown by her neighbours and colleagues in her honour. It was at her neighbour’s house which doubles as a neighbourhood gym that Helen attends. The owner moves the furniture aside for the ladies’ exercise. On Friday, the furniture was moved for dancing. Wee!

When we arrived, all of the volunteers who were already there were sitting outside under a protective awning from the rain. Helen offered me a drink and I went inside to help her with it. “If you come in, you’ll have to meet everyone,” she said and meet everyone I did. There were about 30 women and children lining the walls of the room and I was introduced to all of them. A DJ was pumpin’ out some kickin’ tunes but no one was dancing… yet.

Eventually, Helen came around with a tray that had a glass on it. Apparently the custom is to touch the tray and that indicates that the food is ready… and I guess that you’re also ready to eat it. There was a huge spread of tasty catered food. When the party reached a critical mass, everyone was ushered inside and given a piece of paper with lyrics on it. Then we all sang a Sinhala song to Helen. It was a lovely moment… a “farewell and best wishes, dear friend” kind of song that none of us westerners ever quite got the tune of. Then the dancing began. And oh how we danced. I made a new best friend on the dance floor: this sweet young girl who was all about shakin’ her bootie. Ahh, kindred spirit.

On Saturday, the rain sort of let up. It was still overcast and humid but it remained dry for most of the day. Perhaps in some flurry of dry-weather-induced madness, I decided to cut my hair. So I grabbed the scissors and lopped off about three or four inches. “Sh*tting hell,” said Jesse, as I hacked off the first piece. And after walking away for a second he returned to help me (save me from myself?)

So now it’s short. Shorter than I had intended. And when I wear it curly it goes really short. Like barely brushing my shoulders short. And when I sleep it goes wild. Like electric socket wild. Not good. But it will grow back. Hopefully healthier. Hopefully fast. J

With my newly shorn locks, I played soccer with the boys at a covered facility. I got a hard ball to the back of my head — I thought it had knocked out my contact lenses — and decided to take it easy after that. After the game, I headed to Paolo’s for some pre-theatre rice and curry. A bunch of us were going to see a stage version of The Sound of Music, which I figured would be insanely campy. It turned out to be much better than I anticipated, although Captain Von Trapp could teach a course at the Keanu Reeves School of Painfully Wooden Acting. Maria had a lovely voice but didn’t have the fitness to really project it and move around the stage at the same time. It made me appreciate singers like Madonna, Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera who have very active stage shows (yes, Dean, I know most of them are probably lip-synching but allow me the dream J). Still, it was 250 rupees well spent.

On Sunday I went for a desperately needed massage. Hunching over my non-ergonomic workstation every day, going home to my uncomfortable furniture and falling asleep on my university-grade futon has taken its toll on my back and shoulders. This time, my massage wasn’t Quest for the Butt Crack Part 2 but a legitimate Swedish massage.  I left the place looking like an oil slick but I was a relaxed oil slick.

Helen with the tray to start the eating

Helen and the girls start getting down

Put your hands up in the air!

Geeking out for the camera

Fernando breaks it down for the crowd

 

 

 

In case anyone is curious, the answers to the quiz questions are:

Highest check-out in darts: 9

Number of balls on snooker table: 22

Single-colour flag: Libya

Holes in Chinese Checkers board: 121

Longest hole in one:  445 yards (I think)

Marathon in yards: I don’t remember the answer

Adaggio means slowly

Bronte Sisters: Anne, Charlotte and Emily. And Shaniqua.

Betting question: 35,000

Isosceles – two equal sides, Scalene – no equal sides, Equilateral – three equal sides

30 degrees Celsius is 86 degrees Fahrenheit

Volume question – I can’t remember, but it’s 1/2diameter times pi times the height, if I remember correctly from high school

An airplane’s black box is orange

Pedologist studies soil

Song: Holiday by Madonna

33^rd president – Truman

Olympic rings – red, yellow, blue, green, black

Nothing comes after thrice (although I maintain that we should have got a point for “four times”)