After a Month in Sri Lanka, I am still loving this country it as much as when I arrived if not more. Life is different, slower, and not so superficial (I say this after I noticed the many bottles of white enhancing lotion today at the pharmacy). Tuk Tuks are the new Uber and instead of an air freshener you smell freshly caught fish as you pass by the markets. Cows and stray dogs wander aimlessly along the road, families bathe on the banks of a river, and monks head off to their morning worship.
My days are pretty relaxed here working 6 days a week 1:30-7:30 Sunday to Friday. I am working for a family with 3 boys – 16 month old twins George and Lawrence and 4 Year old Dimitri/Dima who has Downs. Their Dad Dom is from the UK while their Mom Anna is from Russia. Dom was in the Marines and has had quite the interesting life so far as the first man to kite boat across the Atlantic, earned himself an Inuit name meaning musk ox after being charged by one in the Artic during a kayaking trip, and was living in Egypt when he met Anna before moving to Turkey because of the Revolution. He owns multiple villas here that he rents out to travelers and is also an author.
The property we live at is on the beach in a small community called Gintota. We have two small grocery stores that are about the size of a gas station convenience store, a bakery, a fresh chicken shop, a spice shop, a silk store, a vegetable market, a fruit stall, and a car shop where you can reload your phone. I stay in a separate house from the main house which has another guest room, kitchen where the chef cooks, laundry room, security room, and gym. It is a great set up and I’m adjusting to the lizards that scamper away when you walk in, the leaky roof when it rains hard and gives off a sprinkler effect with the fan on, and the spotty wifi. The chef cooks lunch and dinner here for us and there are also two girls who do the cleaning and laundry. There is one main security guard who opens the gate and keeps an eye on all the cameras. There are also two men who do maintenance. There is a man who lives a couple hundred yards north who is our tuk tuk driver if we need to go anywhere. Dom also owns a Land Rover we use for school runs and day trips. There is a pool and the whole property is gated in with a massive sliding door on the road side and gates to the beach. It is a quiet area with mainly more villas around.
My first week here was very full on – learning about my duties and being a bit overwhelmed with the idea of keeping track of 3 active boys. It has all settled down now after learning all the tips and tricks. Monday to Friday if the surf is good I hop in the Land Rover for the school run and get dropped off from 8-12 at Dewatta Beach for a morning surf. My board’s nose has quite the ding from the ever reliable Air Asia flight so I have been renting a board from a surf school for about $5 for two hours. The guys are super friendly there and I’ve got to know them well after renting boards, having them fix mine, and popping a fin off one of the guy’s boards when his board collided with mine. There are usually a handful of tourists that are taking beginner lessons and a few more experienced out in the line-up. There are maybe 5 surf schools and a great café along the beach. I head back at 12 and have lunch before my day starts with the boys.
When I start we usually all hop in the pool for 30 minutes and work on some swimming skills before I take Dima up for his nap and feed the twins. Then I take the twins for a walk on the beach with their dog Buddy and have some playtime for two hours before Dima wakes up. Then its bath time dinner and I’m off. We will go into Galle about one time per week for ice cream with the boys and go to the fruit market once a week.
The parents are great and very thankful for me to be here. They have had trouble with locals before not being reliable work wise. Once they work for a couple of months and make enough money to get them by for a while they just don’t show up again. Dom is very historical and smart, used to surf, and is great with the kids. He has a good one liner here and there. We were talking about how difficult the UK was being about the twin’s passports and he was talking about the system and how ridiculous it was and he said it was like a hot lesbian – just not fair. He usually swims with the boys or takes them for a walk on the beach. Anna is quieter but just as funny. She has some Russian superstitions I have found amusing like no whistling in the house or they will lose all their money. Today I also shaved all three boy’s heads with an electric razor – first time for everything – and she saved the hair. That one was a bit strange. The twins were very good about it. Anna held them and we made quick work. Dima had to be held by the security officer and it was quite a struggle. He is a really sweet boy most of the time but can get a bit rough with the twins when he’s excited or needs to burn off some energy. Thank Buddah for the sweetest mom who gives me breaks when I get crazy eyes after running after the boys who seem to have a constant death wish, after cleaning up poo of an insomniac 4 year old who decided to smear it all over his room, or dealing with the cleaners who I have a love/hate relationship with. They can be a life saver when the boys are running crazy but when they come to say hi to the boys they cry every time the girls leave the house. They are very sweet though and have lots of laughs together.
A few days after I arrived, Anna’s mom Natalia came for a visit – first one she has had since Dima was 1. She has broken English but was very enthusiastic about everything especially the food. Fruit isn’t common in Russia so she wanted to try as much as she can and Anna always teased that if we had any leftovers she would clean them up. She asked me for a lot of translations and was just curious about life. The boys usually watch a DVD while they are eating and she would feed Dima while I fed the twins. Natalia got in the habit of repeating everything said even things like Disney DVD when it first started. This made Anna crazy which was pretty funny to see all in good fun. While she was here a man from Sri Lanka came to talk to Dom about remodeling and he mentioned to Dom that he had a handsome girl here – pretty common translation mistake here. He asked if I was married. Natalia thought he was speaking about her even though he was probably younger than Dom. She got a picture with him and was on Cloud 9. Later I hear all of this at bath time and was told I had my first marriage proposal. Anna didn’t recommend it since most guys live with their moms here as long as they are single. He was 40 something.
Sri Lanka has a few interesting differences – mainly to do with personal interactions. Everyone here calls women Madam – I think this is mainly for travelers. Whenever Anna and I take the boys into a store the locals who work there are enamored by them and come up to them, touch their heads, and try to pick them up – usually the boys aren’t having it. Parents here but winter hats on their toddlers or babies – I have seen this at least 10 times even in the 85 degree weather. For funerals everyone wears white and the casket is carried from wherever the funeral is to the cemetery. Everyone walks along the road and it’s the one time traffic slows.
Here are a couple tips for travel: bring hand sanitizer or wipes with you if you plan on buying mango or other fruit and eating it on the go – first off your hands won’t be clean and after eating a mango they are pretty sticky. Restaurants generally don’t have a restroom for you to wash your hands either. If you happen to use buses for long trips be aware you will have to pay to use the toilets in the bus area – or at least you have to in Matara. These are the floor and sprayer toilets as well – still something I have been able to avoid. Be aware of your backpack in busy places like bus or train stations when you are very close to everyone and keep valuables on the bottom of inner pockets. Wear sunglasses on tuk tuk rides as they are very windy and you are catching exhaust and dirt from cars around you. I wear a baseball cap on buses as well as they are windy with all the windows open. Buses are often not tackled by travelers but they are a great cheap and direct mode of transport and very easy to use. My first bus ride was the worst – most buses only slow by bus stops and you have to hop on and hop off very quick. This bus wasn’t a local bus so was driven by a pretty crazy driver. I swear we almost crashed 3x. The concept of personal space on the bus and on the road is as far off as the concept of driving lanes as everyone passes whenever there is a chance. Buses are king mainly due to the size but also the crazy speed they drive at. All the rest of the buses I have been on are much better. There isn’t a schedule anywhere but you can tell the conductor where you are going and they will generally help you find a connecting bus if you have to switch. Be flexible with your schedule. If hours of Sri Lankan music is not your thing, bring along some headphones for long bus rides. If you visit any gardens or anywhere near stagnant water for even 5 minutes have some bug spray. Mosquitos are terrible here and use your mosquito net if you have one at your accommodation. On average pay a tuk tuk driver 100rs/k but first let them quote you a price as it may be cheaper. Always get a set price before hopping in or they will screw you over. Use Maps.me and download the map of Sri Lanka to use maps and directions without wifi – very useful. You can also save locations and bus stands. If someone approaches you about a tuk tuk just say no thank you and keep walking. Many drivers will ask you where you are going and give you recommendations of places and keep talking for a half an hour. If you aren’t interested just keep walking. They won’t give up. Also when you are in the tuk tuk many drivers will want to stop at herbal gardens on the way or other tourist destinations – I have had guys turn off from the route and after saying no thanks 5x they get the idea and you are back on track. Be firm and stubborn. Elephant pants. They are awesome. Yes they are touristy but you can find other designs and you can usually buy a pair for 1000rs or $7USD. They are light and long so good for being modest in temples, avoiding bug bites, staying clean, and making travel easier. Shorts especially denim are not comfortable especially in the heat and humidity here and ride up when you wear a back pack. Elephant pants fold up very small and feel like you are wearing nothing. If you are white you already get plenty of attention and after being here a while it gets old.
We just had some major rain which resulted in loads of flooding and mudslides which have taken the lives of 160+ people so far with countless unaccounted for. We are okay where we are but the major river only 5 houses down has merged into the ocean and has created whirlpools and a chaotic rush of water flowing back and forth to the rest of the ocean. This is where most families bathed in the quiet lagoon. Now people are stopping on the bridge to watch the swirling waters. I just got back from a supply run with Dom to a convant in Galle. One of the sisters there contacted him saying they were headed up to help out some communities effected by the floods and were lacking basic necessities. We went to the grocery store and piled up on water, milk powder, rice, onions, toothpaste, sugar, and salt. We are supposed to get more rain this weekend but not so bad – waves will be 12ft at the local break so good news for the surf!
Life is good, tea is a now 3x/day religion, and I’m embracing the day to day on this beautiful island.
the nomadic nanny 