Wednesday 12th February 2025

Amazingly, it was already another Poya Day today, as Sri Lanka has 25 public holidays a year (only Cambodia with 28 has more). It means that 4-day working weeks are not uncommon here, which is rather nice from my point of view. As I have already had Monday off for a wedding, this is actually only a 3-day working week for me, so I made the most of today, trying to 'chill out' on what I think has been the hottest day so far in this trip to Sri Lanka, as it was sweltering!

I still had an early breakfast at 07:30, as I had a WhatsApp meeting with Arina, a prospective Tea Leaf Trust volunteer at 08:30. It was a very positive meeting, and I immediately processed the follow-up paperwork, as she is hoping to volunteer with Tea Leaf very soon. I did some more paperwork, plus ironing a few shirts, before I ended up taking a little nap, as the heat was extremely energy-sapping, and I was feeling quite exhausted with it - a far cry from January in Nuwara Eliya!

Sandra invited Tharika, Evinka, and me over for afternoon tea at her house, and she collected us from school in one of her cars. It was lovely to spend time with them both, and we chatted a lot about all sorts of things, but particularly, of course, about school. As dusk approached on this hottest of days, it was extremely pleasant sitting in the patio area of Sandra's lovely garden, but eventually it was time for Sandra to drive us back to our apartments by the school.

Unfortunately, I had missed my early evening swim by the time I got back and was just in time to go for dinner at Razeena's at 19:30. I struggled to eat much, as I find I have little appetite in this heat but consume vast quantities of water to keep hydrated. It was one of the few days recently where I have found time to do my blog and complete my diary before the end of the day. I only have two more days to work this week before the weekend, so I'm feeling pretty 'chilled'!

Today's photographs are just a few that I took during my relaxing time at Sandra's this afternoon.







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