Claire Bryan Cosgrove, '09
One morning while staying at the Mt. Lavina in Galle, Kelly Beth, John, Anne, Bob and I went walking on the beach down from our hotel early in the morning. This was the most meaningful early morning walk I had during the whole trip. We left our beautiful hotel and had to have a guard let us down onto the beach. As we walked along a train came flying by that was totally filled with people. It was so full that people we literally hanging out the side doors. Our beautiful hotel stood on high ground above other villages down the beach. We were walking along looking for a specific woman that John and Rebekah had met during their last trip to Sri Lanka. Rebekah had taken her picture and wanted us to give it to her. As we approached the village that this woman lived in I noticed how much trash there was. On top of the rubble and cinder blocks that must have been left over from the tsunami were just piles and piles of trash. This surprised me because in other villages we had visited trash disposal did not seem to be that much of an issue. We showed different people we ran into the picture of the woman we were looking for and eventually found her. She was so excited to see John and her picture. She wanted to show us her house. She is living in the 2 rooms that are left of her house after the tsunami with her husband and two daughters. The space that they live and cook in was tiny, they did not have a single bed to sleep in. This woman was amazing and when my mom asked her how they were doing she said that she was fine and happy as long as her children were safe and happy. As we were leaving she kept on giving us hugs and when I told her good luck, she said no, no, good luck to you. As I was walking back to our hotel, I kept on thinking how much more she needed the good luck than I did. .
I can’t believe that I have been to Sri Lanka and back in what feels like 3 days, although it was really more like 12. Going to Sri Lanka was more fun and meaningful than I ever could have expected. Now I am sitting in my room in Poteat and can’t help remembering how I use to think my room was so small. We met so many families who lost everything and now live together in a room smaller than half of my dorm room. Being back in Raleigh with all the comforts that it offers it amazes me to look through my pictures and see people living in our world who have so little but can still laugh and smile at you. Our trip to Sri Lanka opened my eyes to a place and people that are so different yet so like us in so many ways. Something that struck me about the children was how much they wanted to give you hugs and were so much more willing to run up to us than most children I have come in contact with in North Carolina. Our trip to Sri Lanka was a wonderful introduction to 3rd world travel and taught me so much about how to conduct myself in a society that is much different from mine. I have traveled before and always have been ready to get home but I was so sad to leave Sri Lanka. I was so sad because I know that there are still people there who lost everything and who do not have the resources or the right inside sources to get back on their feet quickly. I hope that the time we spent with the children and people of Sri Lanka had as much of a positive impact on them as it did on me.
