Ron spent a lot of time this weekend posting photos of South Africa and India so take a look at www.rtsla.photofreeway.com

It’s been a day in hell in paradise! Today is Monday and let me tell you, I have not been having any fun. I started by going to the main post office to mail three packages (two to the US and one to Thailand) and to buy stamps. It took me 95 minutes and numerous hassles. I was required to fill out three forms in duplicate using carbon paper for each package. Each form required my full name and address, the addressees name and address, detailed description of contents (as if I could remember everything I crammed into those boxes for our kids), value, etc. So I took the boxes off the counter and carried them over to a low table. I placed them nearby and pulled a chair over to the table in order to complete the forms. I have discovered the hard way that your pen won’t work on the paper if you sweat onto it. So I used the backside of one of the forms as a blotter for my sweaty arm. Filling out the forms took a while. Then I returned to the counter and was instructed to go to a different part of the counter, then behind the counter so I could be questioned about the contents. The inspector asked me to open one of the boxes because it had jewelry in it. I had no means to open the package so asked for a knife. He inspected the jewelry and closed the box. I asked for tape and was instructed to go to the shop and buy some. I then discovered that they had cut open another box so I had two to reseal. I went to the shop inside the post office and bought tape. It was worthless. Every time I tried to peel it, it would tear off in little pieces. I tried borrowing the knife to get a good start on it and gave up. Back to the shop and demanded better quality tape. Back to borrow the knife. They weren’t too happy with me by this point and I was ready to throttle someone, anyone. Keep it mind my nose is running and it is hot in the unair-conditioned post office. Once I sealed the boxes it took an inordinate amount of time for the clerk to weight the box, figure the charges and process the paperwork. $125.00 but I had expected it would be worse so was pleased about the cost.

Once done I went to another counter to get stamps but was summoned back to the box shipping counter. They were questioning the address on one of my boxes so the clerk rewrote the address to the left of where I had written it. Go figure. Back to the stamp counter. You should know that Sri Lankans do not stand in a cue or line. They all hover at the counter nudging each other and trying to get ahead of you. For a person like me who is slightly claustrophobic this is a real trial. It took two people a long time to sell me stamps. They did not have stamps today for postcards (17 rupees) so I was sold three stamps for each card that totaled 17 rupees. I got enough for 20 cards to avoid this craziness for a while. Then they didn’t have any stamps for foreign letters so I bought two stamps (16.50 rupees per stamp-that’s 16 and a half cents!) and again got enough for 20 letters. All of this took one hour and 35 minutes. Oy vey! I went postal at one point (yes, in the post office) and was walking through the post office muttering obscenities aloud. Things like ‘this is f—king unbelievable’ and such.

Okay then I went to get a prescription. More crowding around the counter. Then to the grocery that happens to be one of the largest stores in town and they didn’t have the juice or soy milk I needed. Whaaa! I came home and ate lunch and rested. Then I checked the mail and found a notice saying our electricity would be shut off in two days due to no payment… but of course we have paid and have the receipts to prove it. However, that probably won’t mean a thing to a Sri Lankan bureaucrat! Tomorrow the offices are closed due to one of the 29 holidays per year and we’re leaving Wednesday night for India. That means I’ve got Wednesday morning to take care of this!

Gosh I feel so much better having whined and complained for several paragraphs here. Thanks for listening.

The one bright point of the day was when a young Cambodian woman introduced herself on our morning walk. She lives two lanes away from us and is here with her husband, Peter and two daughters. Peter and Leasna came over in the evening to check out our mattresses as they are starting to look for a king size bed, as Peter is 6’6”. He is a program manager for UNICEF and Leasna is an at home mom right now with a five month old. Her other daughter is 12. They have been here since January. We are thrilled to meet some neighbors and make a good connection. We look forward to spending more time with them. Peter grew up in LA as did Ron.

It is now Tuesday and I am staying at home and resting today to try and get rid of this cold. It is the Holy Prophet’s birthday so many offices are closed. My health continues to improve but I am not well yet. Today I am coughing a lot but am hopeful the antihistamines will kick in soon. I am delighted to have a day where I am not leaving the house. It rained again last night so I don’t need to water the garden today that usually takes about an hour. It also has helped to keep the heat bearable at least so far today. It’s 10:30 a.m. I plan on reading some and spending some time researching investments on the computer and learning more about Cochin where we are going tomorrow. What a life! Can you believe how blessed we are? Goodness, we keep pinching ourselves thinking this is all dream. At some level I guess it is but we happen to be living our dream.

I took my electrical bills and cut off notice to Veena to get her help in understanding if I had done something wrong or missed something. She agreed with me that it looks like their mistake. But the amazing thing is she said she would go in tomorrow and handle it for me. I was floored as I don’t see it as her responsibility but she said she wanted to handle it. I am most appreciative because it is difficult when you don’t speak the language and I must say that is frustrating at times. I had a representative from the electrical board hang up on me yesterday because she didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Sinhala. I told Veena I owed her big time. I can’t tell you how I was dreading going in and dealing with the problem knowing that I wouldn’t understand half of what was being said to me.

Yes, we are still taking Sinhala lessons but when you are starting out you learning how to say your name and introduce yourself, how to shop at the vegetable market and such. We are a long way from learning how to resolve billing problems.

Well that’s it for the day from Paradise. We leave tomorrow for SW India and will return Sunday so probably won’t have a posting before Sunday. We understand that Cochin is beautiful so we are quite excited to see it. Until then.