Life's too short to stuff a mushroom. So . . . .: Auybowan Olu Ella Inn. Ayubowan Sri Lanka

We returned home to Olu Ella Inn on a high note after such a great trip and immediately the usual home - y things began.

Sign on road, before the car park

People to visit, people visiting us, family and guesthouse business to be attended to, washing and packing to do, writing the list of what to bring next trip . . . .

Olu Ella Inn's Pool - the We Oya

Last swims in our very own cool pool . . . . . .

Olu Ella Inn - Our guesthouse home

From our balcony we can enjoy the river

Sam has been trying to get work done to complete the car park but in the absence of people willing to appear to do the work, decided to leave it until our March trip. Happily it is sufficiently completed to be able to use!

One day we took a walk up the village as far as the school and the temple. This is always a very pleasant walk with people to meet and greet, changes to note, the village's unique environment to appreciate all over again.

I think that this walk energises our spirit and gives us a reality check, a balance on life. This is where we come from. I include myself in this because it was here that I really became an adult and to understand the person I was, and wanted to be. All this, because of the generousity and love of my husband's family. I have gained so much from my connections to this family and village.

When we reached the school, I was pleased to see that there were men actually working on fixing the roof. They had actually removed it completely from one of the buildings and were putting a new one. Things are looking up - a few months ago the school got a sign board on the road down the mountain and now . . . . .a new roof !

For three years now, I have been trying to find a group of senior school students in Australia who would be able to come to this school during the holidays to interact with students and staff and assist with resources. It looked as if this was going to be a reality until the State Education Department here refused permission on the grounds that there was too much risk to the students. So now I am hoping to attract a private school as they pretty much make their own rules in these matters.

Dombepola School

The reason I am keen to do this is that not only did my high achieving husband start his education at this remote and poor school but also the staff here are very motivated to achieve the best results for their students and actually set themselves attainment goals several years ago - and have met them. [Haven't heard of that in SL before, but maybe this is more common now.] These goals relate to keeping their 90 students at school, improving their OL exam passes by yearly incremental percentages, persuading students to stay on and do the AL exams AND eliminating absenteeism of the girls who are prone to be kept home to assist with housework and childminding for their parents and older married sisters or aunts. THAT really resonated clearly with me!

Former student and his school, Dombepola

It is worth saying that the increased passes in the external exams has come about by teacher dedication as these students do not have access to the normal tuition and cramming that is a daily after school activity for almost all other students. This is the country where the class teacher waits until the tuition class to do the teaching the government has already paid them to do. I must add that one of our relatives is currently studying the ethics of this entrenched behaviour and at last there is a glimmer that people are questioning this unethical practice.

Dombepola

What the school would really like is for one of their buildings to have a small room added on to the end of one building so that they can have a small library. At present all they have is a cupboard in the small room that is also the Principal's office and staffroom. That cupboard contains some English readers that have not been used because the teachers don't know how to use them. This is a simple matter to rectify because I could teach some Australian senior students how to use these books and they could use them with the young schoolchildren. I think that then the teachers would feel more confident to bring them out of the cupboard ! It would have to be done in a casual manner . . .

The building of the library would be no big deal - no permits to get, plans could be drawn by Sam and the parents would provide labour with their normal shramadana ie a working bee. We would need to employ only a couple of paid workers. It would be easier to just give the relatively small amount needed to do this but I think that involvement by Australian students would give the small school a huge boost of confidence that would resonate for a long time and the Australian students would gain a life changing experience themselves. I also believe that the villagers have to contribute themselves and all they can give is their work. While there is sometimes the expectation that all should be given by those who apparently have to those who feel they have not, I never support this attitude. I do support those who are educationally ambitious, show initiative in helping themselves and do not expect others to give to them.

Right ! I'm off my soapbox!

After we had visited the school - holiday time so only the builders were there, we climbed up the steps to the village temple. This really is a small shrine under a Bo tree that seems to be part of the huge rock that it sits on. There is a small hall where the sermons and children's Buddhist classes are held and also community meetings. This is a community that has a village Committee that takes care of the community's needs such as assistance with funerals and so on. You can't have secrets when you live in a village perhaps because people walk everywhere, stopping to chat and give out news as we ourselves do!

Paddy fields - not at Dombepola though

We then took an invisible path through paddy fields to our old family home a little lower down the mountain where we stopped for a while at the graves of Sam's Mother, Father and sister. This track was the best place to take photos of part of Olu Ella Falls on the opposite side of the river gorge.

Olu Ella Falls, dusk and in the mist

While all this normal activity was ocurring, we were processing our experiences for the ten days we were away touring. For Sam, while he appreciated the deeper insights into his country's history which also shed light on things that he finds so very frustrating and limiting as well as the civil and structural engineering delights of the ruins, the highlight was the Elephant Safari at Kaudalla. Melanie also loved the Elephant Safari, was keenly interested in the ancient history of the country of her birth but could not name a specific highlight. By now she has probably processed everything and made a decision ! For myself, seeing so many elephants in their own environment, roaming at will was especially thrilling. The intense feeling of exhiliration and achievement coupled with the unique social atmosphere at the top of Adam's Peak is something that I think I will feel for the rest of my life. Of the ruins, Polonnaruwa is my favourite place for its beauty, enticing glimpses into ancient Lanka and links to the days when my marriage was young. So many happy memories from the old past and now from the new past to give me energy and sustain me during whatever the future may bring.

Olu Ella Inn and Dombepola are a huge part of our lives. We make a big effort to present the best product we can with the guesthouse, keeping it beautifully clean and well maintained. Maintainence is not easy in this climate and also with the prevailing work ethic. Materials are not easy to access and although it is a small island, this part of Sri Lanka is somewhat remote because of road networks and conditions. But at least we do the work ourselves if workers don't turn up when expected and we put the money in. The rooms are completely cleaned, floors washed, bed linens new for every client. This was not the case at two places we stayed at during our tour - they were absolutely shockingly maintained, the owners simply not interested in providing cleanliness and value for money. On our return, Melanie made the statement that Olu Ella was the cleanest place of all - she was probably just about right although I thought that some guesthouses were really good.

Happy - the former baby, Sad - the father

During this visit I kept thinking back to the previous times we had visited Polonnaruwa . . . and was surprised to realise what four decades actually meant in terms of change in those areas. The same is happening with us and for Sam and his 'batchmates" it is obvious that time is passing just a little quickly. This is why we spent our last night in Colombo - a place we usually take care to avoid. We stayed with one of Sam's friends who lives overseas but was currently in the country so he and Sam caught up with each other's news and chatted about their school days and school friends until late into the night.

In the early evening we went to Kollupitiya to the street where we lived many years ago when Melanie was a very small baby. What a shock ! It was so very changed with the alley of family houses with individual gardens, trees, with the sound of the sea in the background - gone. In its place ugly, paint lacking structures with storeys added, high fences in its place. This peaceful area is now sandwiched between Galle Road and another parallel one that roars along a few meters from high tide mark.

Galle Face Green, Colombo

Wanting to end our visit on a more upbeat note, we headed to Galle Face Green. This is where we used to come with our baby daughter to enjoy the evening sea breezes. It did not disappoint! Families and tourists alike strolled along the embankment between the stalls selling food, drinks and souvenirs.