chartandwaters

I just wanted to call a blog that. Safe and passing through Colombo,
Gabi

P.S. I've just returned to Colombo from the Galle area. In Colombo I'm trying to get up the energy to see some more NGOs; feel like I've nearly but not quite done enough in that area, but am finally in the mood to see some large Buddhas, so will do that tomorrow. Am going to India Friday (Sri Lanka visa expires Sat) and then Bangalore Saturday to see Venkatesh (my American NGO's India contact) receive an award for World Disability Day (he specializes in providing art classes to children with disabilities).

I stayed more days in the south than I expected but the beach was really beautiful and blissful--I have definitely never been so "ahhhh, the BEACH" as I was here, and I do feel nice and clear-headed. Galle was an amazing surprise--a small city whose prize is an old Dutch fort built on the ocean, inside which is a bunch of residences, a few extraordinary hotels, some guestlodges and restaurants. You can walk along the fort walls and stare out at the ocean; when I first got there I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and in the days after, if I strayed from the fort, I found myself longing to return to that sanctuary and the old timelessness and strength of the walls. It was reminiscent of Fort Jeff in Florida (and probably all the forts built on oceans, nach) and there's something so beautiful about walls that were built with so much strength that they would last so long against the ocean, in such a climate.

I know my future plans are always changing, but I really am interested in the issues NGOs face in coordination, and am thinking of next steps in that area. (The obvious ones involve going to, say, Louisiana or Biloxi or Pakistan.)

All for now. Girl with a Pearl Earring is an amazing book. The Bookseller of Kabul is okay so far.