A terrific and busy day today. This is our last day in Pesaliai. At nine, Jim and I went to Karthi’s grandfather’s so I could take more photos of the grandfather and his ox and his wagon. We got there and were immediately invited into the house to sit and wait because the grandfather was away milking. Oh, I would love to see the milking! So off we went on the backs of motor cycles! It was hard for me just to get onto the back of a motorcycle. I didn’t know the driver, but I hung on tightly! Jim followed on the back of someone else’s motor bike and Grandfather’s daughter, Nancy road her own scooter. I told Nancy that I have a sister Nancy and she announced that she is my Sri Lankan sister. We saw their garden and their palm plantation. They dug up a seedling so we could see the roots. Then we had some palm jelly. They lopped off pieces of the nut with a machete. “Use your finger like a spoon to dig it out”they told me! Then another chap said “come with me” so of course we did. He walked us to his house and he sat us in the shade and brought us toddy to try. It was good, but since we were on the way to the school and I didn’t know if or how alcoholic it was, we didn’t drink much. We definitely could have spent the entire day, as we were ushered into several wonderfully coloured houses. I guess having given them the little painting of “Grandfather and his Ox” and then getting Nancy for my Sri Lankan sister broke the ice! It was a real treat for me to see the kitchens, ( the fridge, if there is one, sits in the living room), the prayer room, the sleeping rooms and the bathroom, the living rooms. Eventually, with me carrying a tiny puppy I was handed, we walked back where I could take some photos of Grandfather and his ox. Now you can compare a couple of photos of Grandfather and his ox. For a painting, I like the ones where the ox has some spunk and Grandfather has his work cut out for him, not the boring ones of just man and ox standing nicely. My motto is always look for the story.
Then we went to the high school and were ushered in to the vice principal’s office. “Our school does not offer art” he told me. And “what religion are you?” So we chatted some more and eventually he told me I could have four classes of grade nine for ten minutes each. I was given a short nun with a big ruler to facilitate and translate. The first class with thirty five went well, but then she put the other three classes in one group. They are rowdy and bad she told me. And there WAS a brawl while we were in the corridor. You can imagine that many kids in one little classroom in this heat! But I did my best.
Then we took a tuk tuk to the elementary school. I was given all of the grade threes and fours from this six hundred student school.
Thirty eight years ago, I left my toddler, Kelsey with my friend Anita and went to teach art in Valley elementary for a day. We were going to do puppets. They gave me the entire school in the gymnasium for two hours! I hoped I would never be faced with this situation again. The good part of this ancient history day was that the principal made sticky buns for the staff room to welcome me.
And today again, I dutifully did my best. The woman vice principal at the elementary school was a great translator and didn’t have a ruler so that was a plus. I shook hands with every one of the students and the staff and they were disappointed that I couldn’t return tomorrow.
Jim will post some photos from the schools and hopefully, I can share them.
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