Galle First Impressions

On Monday I left what had become the familiar of Colombo to start my new life in Galle (pronounced Gaul by the Brits and Galla (like the Bingo company!) by the locals). I've got a flat on the 2nd floor of my landlord's house which was only built a couple of years ago. I'm the first person to rent it (for the grand sum of 25,000 Rupees or ~£140 per month!) which meant that the kitchen was still being finished for the first couple of days after I arrived. This was a tad frustrating as I couldn't unpack everything and clean all the nooks and crannies. I think cleaning is going to become a major task here as the dust seems to collect instantaneously and the ants quickly follow. Fortunately I haven't encountered anything much worse than that at the moment.

The flat has really high ceilings and so is very cool (by Sri Lankan standards, that is!). It has 3 bedrooms, a large kitchen and a sitting area. It's been built well but the finish is a bit slap dash. I've been provided with some furniture but it does feel a little spartan at the moment. If you come and stay I'll be able to offer you "convent cell 1" or "2". Make sure you bring your hair shirt for the full experience! I plan to get curtains made and cushions etc. so hopefully, over time, it will feel a little more homely. I'm in a very residential area about 3km from work and so I'll be buying a bike this week and will run the gauntlet of the roads here. Driving acumen isn't something the Sri Lankans are famous for!

My first day at the Galle District Chamber of Commerce was greeted with a powercut for the entire day so the room where my desk is was stifling. They haven't had a volunteer before so clearly don't have any idea what to do with me so I was left to my own devices. Since then I've plonkled myself in front of everyone and tried to get as much information out of the staff as possible. Some of the guys speak English quite well. The rest have limited English and their confidence to speak it is even less. I've started to get a bit of a clue as to what to focus on but I think it will take a few more weeks to become truly clear.

The Chamber is situated in a building just off "Main Street" in the centre of the Galle New Town. They're renting out half of the building to a bank and some sort of commercial property agency. The rest of the building could do with a great deal of TLC (as you can probably see from the photo). There are 15 permanent members of staff at the chamber and then 30 Directors who volunteer their time alongside running their own businesses. This means that getting time with them is difficult. I'll meet them all at the Board meeting on the last Saturday of this month. It starts at 7pm and sounds like it turns into a bit of a drinking shop ending at about 1am - can't wait - not! We did have a staff meeting on Thursday and, even though there were numerous important issues to discuss, the provision of tea at 10am and 3.30pm for all staff got the most air time! I was really looking forward to wonderful tea here but the most common way for it to be served is with tonnes of milk and sugar. When I say tonnes, I mean it looks like you're actually pouring milk into your cup and not tea! I've learnt to ask for no sugar and milk on the side in Singhala. This week I was asked if I was a diabetic because I didn't want sugar in my tea or coffee!

Yesterday Sarah, one of my fellow VSO-ers who is based in Colombo, came to stay and we visited Galle's famous fort which was built by the Dutch, expanded by the Portuguese, and then taken over by the Brits. It is a stunning olde worlde area which oozes history. The ramparts ensured that the tsunami caused limited damage to the houses inside. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Galle new town which still has the scars of devastated homes and businesses all along the sea front. People don't really like talking about it at all.

Talking of water, the heavens have just opened so the expected Monsoon season must be upon us. Fortunately I just need to head downstairs tonight for dinner with my landlord and his family which is nice of them. Poor Sarah will be soaked as she heads back to catch the bus or train to Colombo.

Do keep in touch and send me your Skype ID if you have one.