The Kenwards In Sri Lanka

Hopefully the phrase "It's not over until the fat lady sings" is universal - if not - sorry to anyone who thinks this isn't a good title.

The Fat Lady Is Singing !
We've been back in our own place now for 4 weeks, we've unpacked, sorted out all the fun things like phones, mobiles, internet access and insurance and suddenly it really feels like the adventure is over.
Rachel returns to work tomorrow (1st Nov) after 26 months away from hospital pharmacy so that will be a shock, and Nigel is now applying for jobs etc as they turn up.

When we first returned everything seemed hard - we felt lost in shops, we had forgotten all the usual "cues" (i.e. which route to take to this place or that place) etc but even that is getting easier now.

Really the challege now is to settle back well and properly but to still be positively influenced by our time in Sri Lanka. Only time will tell if we can do that !

Finally, our new contact numbers (written to hopefully avoid them getting picked up by spammers):

Home is +44 (that's for UK) 1636 (that's for our town, Newark) 627195
Rachel Mobile +44 (for UK) 795434 and then 20 20
Nigel Mobile is exactly the same as Rachel's but with 21 at the end rather than 20 !

Well, tomorrow is our last day in the USA as by 7pm we will be flying back to UK.
Again this is with mixed emotions. The last week has been very relaxing as we've been "hangin' out" with Bruce, Pippa, Bethany and Josiah and have felt very relaxed. Of course this is a very unusual environment as it's definitely 100% holiday for us.
Once we get home we imagine that life becomes a bit more like the real world - there will be things we have to do and things that need to be done that we don't want to do etc. We realise that is the real world, but having a few days of total relaxation with NOTHING waiting for us "at the office" etc has been really refreshing - we have even found that we were sleeping until well after 9 every morning.

Of course it will be good to return to UK and see everyone again. It will also be different, our friends and family will have changed and we will have changed. We hope so anyway - it would be sad to think that anyone hadn't changed at all in the two years since we left !

It's about 6am here in Winnipeg !
We've had 3 days of meetings here and on Pennsylvania and although it has really good to meet up with people again and to sfill them in on our work in Sri Lanka, I think that jetlag has finally taken over from overall tiredness, and I am wide awake !
Can't remember the exact stats but I think that I (N) have now completed about 19 flights in the last 5 weeks ! I have just 4 more to go ! The time differences are huge too as Sri Lanka is 10.5h ahead of this part of North America.

First signs of culture shock so far:

Rachel ordered some coffee in Starbucks in JFK airport and couldn't understand what she was being asked by the assistant. It turned out it was the 5 (yes 5) different choices for what milk she would like in her coffee.
I had a similar experience when we went out for lunch. The menu came and the specials were announced and after 5 minutes I was compltely sunk by the choices of combos, 3 for $10 options, summer special sizzlers etc.
It's not like we've been away for 5 years, or that we haven't eaten out in SL, but it seems here that it's an art to discuss every possible option, permutation etc with the waitress until you get your double decaff half fat, room temp milk, whipped not stirred latte to come after your half order of rare baby rack ribs served on raddichio salad with a fat-free greek dressing and accompanied by the french fries WITH the skins on.

My answer
"I don't know ! My brain is full"

Tomorrow we fly to Indianapolis to visit the Garrisons - that should be great fun and it will be lovely to see them again. I'm just praying that they have only one type of milk to offer on one type of cereal !

As I travelled North from Tangalle (on the far South coast) yesterday we heard the news that there was a full tsunami warning after the huge earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. There was a lot of uncertainty but it transpired that there was a distinct possibility of another Indian Ocean tsunami at around 8pm last night.

We were driving through villages that had been decimated in 2004 and it was poignant and sad to see people's responses as they came to terms that it may all be going to happen again.

People were leaving their homes with whatever valuables they could carry. We saw people carrying TVs, HiFi, pedestal fans, mosquito nets etc. It set me thinking - what would I take ?
My conlcusion was that I really cannot and should not compare my situation with them. I think I would take documents (passport, insurance docs, photos etc) because I am fortunate and have insurance to replace anything of financial value, but these people don't have that luxury and so the things they had saved to buy were the things they wanted to keep. [Of course, this being Sri Lanka, they probably were also aware of the possibilities of their goods being looted if they left the home for too long during the night].
It was an interesting lesson in what people value and how fortunate we are in the west to have those insurances etc.

It also served as a humbling reminder as to why we have been here for the last 2 years. As I have said here before, we are tired and ready for home, but when I saw some of the struggles, stresses and fears of the people as they relived memories of 26th December 2004, it reminded me that what we have done was the right response at the right time, and that if even person has had their lives improved then we will have done something worthwhile.

And so we bid farewell to Balham (sorry, that was there for Dad K).
And so we say goodbye to Sri Lanka for a while. Who knows how long - but we always say that the world is a big place and we want to visit different parts of it while we can. Maybe so, but it remains a fact that we have now been to Sri Lanka on 3 separate occasions and it is a place we love - I imagine that at some point in the not too distant future we may well take a holiday here and enjoy the places that became home for 2 years.

The short answer is lots and lots- this week has been one of tying up loose ends, packing, saying goodbyes as well as hosting the MCC Evaluation team- a busy week
But decided I really needed to learn how to dress myself in a sari (only bringing 4 home.........) as Ranji will no longer be next door to help (and not sure how good neighbours Jean and Susie are at home at dressing a sari?!). So Viju very kindly offered to help- 5 easy steps plus 4 saftey pins. Confident about the 4 pins (at least)- not so sure about the 5 easy steps!