Erica Oakley, '07
Sunday, January 1, 2006
Leave for Nuwara Eliya – lots of driving today!!!
We saw an approximately 9 year old boy with flowers in hand waving at the bus. As we were snaking our way up the mountain, we kept seeing him – he would run up the hill to catch us at the next bend. This went on for what seemed like 30 minutes. By this time, everyone on the bus was looking for him and when our bus came around to where he was I could see his chest going in and out really fast because he was out of breath. Everyone on the bus wanted to give the boy money for the flowers – we stopped the bus and Upali spoke to him. He wanted Rs 500 for the flowers and Upali offered him Rs 100 and then Rs 200. When the boy said no to both offers, Upali got back on the bus and we drove off. Upali and Nadee then told us that children were not allowed to work until the age of 14 and for a boy of that age to have Rs 500 was not safe. They also said that the parents would make the kids work and then the children would not finish school – this would become a vicious cycle. So even though it was painful to see us drive away without helping him, it was in the better interest for him for us to have not given him anything.
On our way to the tea plantation in which we would have a tour, we stopped at another plantation (Hillbode Estate) by the road to have a look around and see the women picking tea. When we got off and everyone started taking pictures, the women all posed and then came up to us asking for money. I began to feel smothered because they were all around us asking for rupees. I saw Dr. Webb give one woman some money and told her to share it. The woman snatched the money and became very angry when the other women started coming towards her. I know then that she would not share it with anyone. I was quite glad to get back on the bus where I felt safe.
Our next stop was to Glenloch Tea Factory in Katukitula. When we got to the factory, I noticed that everyone had a red dot between their eyes with a streak of white underneath (and the women tea pickers we had seen earlier had the same). I asked Upali and he said that they (the Hindu) had gone to the temple that morning because it was the first day of the New Year and received the white and red substance on their forehead. The unmarried women also had a streak of red through the part of their hair. We were given a tour of the plantation and it was neat to see the process that tea goes through from growing in the fields to steeping in my cup. We noticed that all of the workers were women and we were told that the women are 90% of the workers and that the men do the heavy labour and spray pesticides. The women were approximately 4 feet 10 inches in height – I felt like a giant. The amazing thing to me was that these tiny women lift approximately 30 lb crates of tea all day like it is nothing – such strength!! After our tour, we made our way into the gift shop/restaurant area for a cup of tea and so that we could buy some tea ourselves. The tea was quite good and I bought 2 kilos for only Rs 600 each – (6 USD)!!!
As we got back on the bus and continued our journey, we came across some road construction sites. I must say that we have the BEST driver in the world. Ananada maneuvered our bus around like it was nothing. At times it felt like we were hugging the mountain and other times when looking out the window all you saw was the mountain going straight down – no road at all – SCARY!! I noticed that the construction works wore either flip flops or no shoes at all – OSHA would have a fit here!!
We stopped in Nuwara Eliya for a bathroom break at the Grand Hotel. The hotel was gorgeous and was the former residence of Sir Edward Barnes, Governor of Sri Lanka from 1830-1850. This area is known as “Little England” or “Switzerland of the East” due to the cool and damp weather.
Next, we stopped for lunch at Grand Ella Motel. When walking into the restaurant, it didn’t seem any different from any other place, but then they showed us to our tables and it was beautiful!! We were seated in the grassy areas overlooking the valley – such a surprise. The flowers were gorgeous, the mountains were gorgeous!! I didn’t even care that it was chilly and drizzling – I was too engrossed with the natural beauty all around me.
While waiting for our lunch, Mary Covington began trying to play with 2 adorable little twins that were running around. They would look at her and then when MC waved they would hide behind their mom’s legs. MC had small toys from New Year’s (the night before) and offered it to them. Their mom said it was ok and then they came over and grabbed the toys from her hand and then ran off again. They were the cutest things!
After lunch we started our journey again but then stopped shortly thereafter at Ravana Falls. When I got off of the bus I heard music and saw a band playing a distance away next to the road.
We then headed for Yala and our hotel Yala Village. When we arrived at the entrance to our hotel, we were given wooden plaques with rules for the hotel on them such as: don’t make loud noises so that you won’t disturb the animals, etc. We were also given a cool, damp green washcloth so that we could wash our faces and hands – so refreshing. The road was unbelievably bumpy! We came to a very narrow bridge – only one lane – and as we were driving across it, I looked out my window and couldn’t see the bridge – only water. This was not a comfortable feeling, but I had faith in Ananada!
During the two days that we were in Lovigahawatha there are many moments that will remain with me forever but there is one particular memory that is extra special to me. I had become close, well as close as you can in one day, to a girl named Dilshani. The night before, a small group of us had gone down to Lovigahawatha and visited the home of Malani and had a lovely time getting to meet the children. When it came time for us to leave, Dilshani grabbed my hand with a big smile on her face and walked with me as far as she could.
The next day at the party, Dilshani came up to me with that same big smile on her face. During the party, pictures that Rebekah Meek had taken on a previous trip were given to the families. Afterwards, Dilshani began walking around with me and I showed her how to use my video camera. She videotaped for about 15 minutes and then she disappeared. After a few minutes she came back and handed me the picture of herself that Rebekah Meek had taken. I told her that I could not take the picture but she insisted. This brought tears to my eyes. I don't know if she had any other photos of herself though I'm quite certain that they had probably all been destroyed in the tsunami. I could not believe that she willingly gave it to me and I began to wonder if her mom knew. I took a picture with her and of her and told her that I would post them to her once I got back to America. I will treasure that photograph and the memory it holds forever. After the party and when it was time to go back to the hotel, Dilshani once again grabbed hold of my arm and walked with me all the way back to the hotel and we said our goodbyes. The next morning when a group of us went walking along the beach, I saw Dilshani walking towards me in her white school uniform. It was a wonderful surprise to see her and be able to say our goodbyes once again, but I'm hoping that it wasn't a final goodbye.
