Home » Sri Lanka » April 19, 2005 Sri Lanka

Lots of news to report. First of all, I have gone swimming in the sapphire sea in Unawatuna and loved every single, blissful, cool second of it. Cathartic. Not that my panic attacks are totally gone. I locked myself in the bathroom at a restaurant and thought I was going to faint. Ridiculous really. But, the swim....ahhh. I needed to do it.

April 19, 2005 Sri Lanka

Lasulo
2006-01-06 18:59:39

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Lots of news to report. First of all, I have gone swimming in the sapphire sea in Unawatuna and loved every single, blissful, cool second of it. Cathartic. Not that my panic attacks are totally gone. I locked myself in the bathroom at a restaurant and thought I was going to faint. Ridiculous really. But, the swim....ahhh. I needed to do it.

Last night, Sam, our translator and local guide, took us to the temple to get a protection bracelet from a monk that he knows. Because we went with Sam and his family, who I also adore, we were treated like Sri Lankans and not tourists. Just as we arrived it started to thunder and lightning, yet the place still emanated a peaceful, spiritual feeling. The monk showed us around the temple, gave us tea and cakes, and then prayed with us while he tied the white bracelets around our right wrist.

Today we visited the orphanage. My god, what sad stories there are in that place. And it is ‘redone’. Sam said that before it was absolute hell. An American couple have really done a fantastic job turning the place around, but the stories of how the children were treated beforehand are unbelievable: babies not being changed for days, all the kids had scabies and lice, one child had congenital syphilis and was not diagnosed for THREE years and now has permanent brain damage, kids with skull fractures, kids with atrophied muscles because they never left their cribs. I could go on and on. Before they arrived one child died every month. We have given them 30,000 dollars and may give more to start a women’s shelter (lots of issues here with that, but that is for another email).

I know this is way in advance -- but anybody interested in coming to Unawatuna next Christmas break for the year anniversary? I'm definitely coming. There are so many reasons to visit. You can see all the work that has been done. They need tourists! It's an amazing place. I now have lots of local friends here so you will have a great time. It's dirt cheap. We are spending about 20 dollars a day. Think about it. Plus it's hot, and the beach and ocean are stunning.