Last
time I wrote, I was preparing to visit the Islander Center, which turned out to
be an excellent trip. I went there expecting to focus on environmental
conservation projects and the impact of the center on the landscape, but the
highlight of my time there was learning about the center's residential leadership
program for rural Sri Lankan youth. Youth from all parts of the country come
together for three months to learn organic farming, business management,
nonviolent communication, and other leadership skills while designing projects
to address livelihood issues in their home communities. Every morning and
evening, I worked in the garden with the students, and I participated in their
nightly program of sharing songs, stories, dances, and games with each other.
Occasionally, I would join them during their free time to play volleyball or
cricket, two sports that they all have considerably more experience with than I
do. Although conversations were hard, especially with those who come from
Tamil-speaking parts of the country, I loved spending time with and getting to
know these people, and I, as a foreigner, was incredibly popular among them.
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| Watering the garden |
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| Carrying tools back after gardening |
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| Volleyball! |
More recently,
I just returned from a short trip to South India. Last week, was the Fulbright
mid-year review conference for South and Central Asia in Chennai. It was really
fun to meet Fulbrighters from other countries and hear about what they’ve been
working on. I even enjoyed giving a short presentation on what I’ve done so
far. After the conference, a few of us headed down the coast to spend several days
in Pondicherry, an old French colonial town, where we explored the city, saw
some South Indian beaches, and celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colors,
during which people throw and smear paint on each other. We also visited the
ancient city of Mahabalipuram with its rock carvings and temples.
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| Holi in Pondicherry |
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Sarah and me at Mahabalipuram
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I’m
back in Kandy now, and it feels good to be home. I’m spending the next few
weeks writing up what I’ve done so far and making plans for the next stages of
my research.
