aviss

have you seen,Iin the Mood for Love?
what it must be like, to be loved that much, at least once, and to have known it too .I don't know anyone who has been loved like that and that is sad for i know many who profess to know love, and none that i can point to (no doubt in my muddle-headed ignorance) who I can say,there goes a man, who has truly loved and been loved no matter how short it lasted.

anyhoo.

a major donor visit for which the weekend was spent preparing presentations and powerpoints and dealing with obscure formatting issues and how to print in high-resolution glossy prints without emptying the bank. but then all arrived, despite immense flight delays and the breakdown of the major luxe transport vehicle and were fed and watered and then transported the next morning to a school in the depths of rural Avissawella. All 300 children stood in neat lines towards the entrance of the school as we drove up in our gleaming chariots and there was a band and a dance parade into the library.

Then a class filed in and a speech was made in English by a 12 year old thanking the donor for the books and the library and a song was sung full of exercise and then the donors were paired off with groups of children to chill for a bit and then suddenly it was as though a switch had been turned off (or on) and all 65 children turned into hyperactive happy children and mobbed the donors, screaming and yelling , just happy to be near foreigners who had given them. Pictures were taken, books were read out to each other, everyone was happy and coconuts broken.

On the way to the school, we were leading the way with the entourage following and our Buddhist colleague decided to get out of the car and drop some coins into a temple as a ritual and a blessing for the trip ahead. Only when we got out, everyone jumped out of the van as well and then we had to sheepishly explain that it was a Buddhist blessing. (or something). the world never ceases to amaze.