10-25-05

Reading the English edition of the local paper is not unlike reading the National Enquirer at home. Here are some example headlines of articles:

Local man fined 20,000 Rs for killing an iguana for food

Pregnancy confirmed after deliver-that’s right, a mother of one child told the doctor she wasn’t pregnant then gave birth. I am always mystified when I read these things.

When the current president retires she wishes to work on environmental issues because Ministers and Deputy Ministers indulged in environmental degradation by denuding the forests. Several politicians were illegally cutting down trees.

Chief jailor remanded for taking bribe from pedophile prisoner.

Who needs television with this kind of entertainment?

Someone asked about the weather here. The lowest temperature in the night is around 76 degrees. However, humidity ranges from the high 70’s to the high 90’s making it feel warmer than it is, in the same way a wind makes it feel cooler than it actually is. So today the current temperature at 4:00 p.m. is 84 but with 79% humidity it feels like 94! It’s what we call hot, damn hot. The weather.com site is my source of facts and figures.

Our hotel is located near a mosque so I can hear the call to prayer throughout the day. It is quite lovely and I will miss it when we move. Who knows, we may be located near a mosque when we move.

10-26-05
Somehow the day got away from me. Not sure how that happened since I spent most of the day in my room waiting for a call from Anton who is to hook me up with real estate brokers. Turns out he was out of town and they forgot to tell me that when I left a message in the morning.

This morning was actually cool. I don’t know what the temperature was but I could actually walk along Galle Face Green next to the ocean at a rapid clip which I have avoided until today due to the heat. It lasted about 30 minutes then the cloud cover lifted and it got hot again. I loved all 30 minutes of the cool weather.

Galle Face Green was built in 1863 (if I remember correctly) for the ‘benefit of the ladies and children of Colombo’ by a British governor. It is a wide promenade along the Indian Ocean and a wonderful place to walk. Many young couples can be seen there in the morning (I usually go around 9 or 10 to avoid the heat). They sit close together on the many benches that face the ocean. It is very sweet. My guess is there aren’t many places to “court” here. Due to the economics, I would guess young people live at home until married. Along the promenade, there are vendors every 50 feet in identical stands that are about 10’ x 10’. Most are closed that hour of the morning but the ones that are open sell the identical foodstuffs-cold drinks, bottled water and snacks like chips and candy. Yesterday I passed an ice cream vendor who was selling ice cream at 10 in the morning. Yikes!

Today I got to see my first rental. It is near Ron’s workplace and fully furnished. I do mean fully. All we need to move in is food in the pantry. The owner was quite nice, got a master’s degree on a Fullbright in Indiana in 1955. The house was fine but I wasn’t wild about his taste in furnishings. I told him Ron would have to see it and made arrangements to return on the weekend. This came to us via networking. Someone who works at the Foundation was at a private hospital where the owner’s daughter works and somehow he found out about the rental. I hope to see more starting tomorrow.

Last night I went by Richard’s apartment, another TAF employee. I did this to get another idea of the possibilities. It was a great apartment, plenty of room and a fabulous roof top terrace. Great place for entertaining and growing pots of bougainvillea. One consideration here is security. Most homes have high walls and/or hired security guards. I am hopeful we will be able to find a place that doesn’t require a guard but will hire one if needed. I don’t want to have to worry that our computer will disappear if we leave the house.

By the way, we will add photos to the blog just as soon as we get our air shipment that has our technical equipment needed to display the photos. It’s here we just can’t have it until it clears US Embassy customs. Don’t ask because I don’t understand either.

Someone noted that I (Tricia) was doing most of the blog entries. That would be because I am not working and don’t have much else to do until I start house hunting in earnest. If we get an unfurnished place, I will be doing a lot of shopping so maybe you will be treated to entries by that cute guy Ron.