Keith in Sri Lanka

I had a very pleasant day off today, as I got up a bit later, then went over to the school lobby, where Madam Sandra had arranged for her driver, Gayethri, accompanied by her housekeeper, Monika, to take me to the top of Elephant Rock, where an enormous statue of Buddha overlooks the city of Kurunegala. Neither Gayethri nor Monika speak English, and I don't speak Sinhala, so it was an interesting excursion conducted mainly through sign language. The Buddha statue is an impressive sight, and the views over the city and surrounding countryside are quite spectacular, so I enjoyed being there again. Madame Sandra had gone to Colombo for the day, so it was very kind of her to arrange this trip for me. She had also arranged for Gayethri and Monika to bring me back to her house for lunch, which consisted of dhosas with daal, and some hot coffee, which I very much enjoyed, using the time there to catch up on yesterday's blog. Around 14:00 they dropped me off in town at 'No Limit...

After such a busy day yesterday, today was the complete opposite. I slept in a bit later and had breakfast at 09:00, as I had the whole of the morning off today because of the ongoing preparations for the Sports Meet this afternoon at 13:45. I attended this last year as Guest of Honour, even having to make a little speech. Ravi has let me off any official duties this year, for which I am extremely grateful, as it meant that I could just sit back and enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed it enormously, from the processional march into the stadium following the school's brass band to the dissipation of the crowds of staff, students, and their parents at the end of the event in the evening. The weather made it all the more glorious, as it rained a little just before the event, followed by a slight drizzle, so it cooled down significantly, and by the evening it was extremely pleasant sitting outside on the sports field in relatively cool temperatures. The Royal International School certainly k...

This was my first proper working day at the Royal International School and it was a busy one, starting with a 90-minute interview of two members of staff, then a work scrutiny of Grades 5, 6, and 7 English, Maths, and Science books, a further 60-minute interview with another member of staff, and finishing off with a debriefing session with the Managing Director. I returned to the apartment around 17:00 and felt really exhausted with it all. I love the work I am involved with at the Royal International School, as it is a perfect match for my skill set from my career in education, so I was very much in my element today. I have been provided with my own air-conditioned office, so I work comfortably in school generally, unless I am in the classrooms, and I don't know how the teachers (and the students) manage all day in that level of heat, but their bodies presumably have a natural predisposition to it. The exhaustion isn't because of the work, but due to the intense heat here in K...

There are wall clocks in the lounge and the two bedrooms in the apartment. Yesterday when the maintenance guy was here, I noticed that the clock in the spare bedroom wasn't working, so I asked him for a battery. He came back with one almost immediately - like magic! This morning, I woke up and looked at the clock in my bedroom, which had been working fine when I woke up the previous morning, but had now stopped - and guess what - there was no battery in it! I think that little story pretty much sums up the standard of the Maintenance Department here, but let's just be generous and call them 'resourceful'! It certainly got my day off with a chuckle, and what a beautiful morning it was on Independence Day here in Sri Lanka. I had only had one hour-long meeting yesterday afternoon, and it was clearly such an overwhelming, exhausting experience that I was rewarded with a day off today, but I was going to make the most of it! Madam Sandra had invited me to take a trip with h...