20.9 – 30.9 2019

I had a very tough week because of lots of different reasons.

Steve returned to England to support a very long-standing friend who has sadly lost his wife Caroline to a brain tumor.  Steve was the Best Man at their wedding 27 years ago, and she was a God Mother to Emilka.  A dear friend and a wife and mother with so much to give who has departed this Earth far too soon.

Me? Alone with kids for nine days in Colombo city where we know but a handful of people and with regular school transport still not sorted out! On Sunday we then found out that we had no internet during the day as you have read on a blog post of Steve’s.  Thankfully, I had some mobile data left on Steve’s Sri Lanka SIM card and so was able to order taxis and do essential things. I still don’t have my own phone as I don’t want PAYG and the local bank account set up needed for a contract is still dragging on.  Things are so slow and bureaucratic.

Living in a new city without access to the internet is very difficult the way things are structured; it is automatically assumed that everyone has full access. I have very few friends I can call on for help and most don’t have a car.  Helping kids with homework was a nightmare as we didn’t have unlimited access to online books (especially French) – or even to establish what the homework was! 

The first weekend we were trying to busy ourselves and were invited for supper to the English family we have become friends with, and on Sunday we invited the Czech family to ours.

The week was okay-ish with school runs, meetings and homework, cleaning and cooking, looking after the family. I would wait for the internet to come on at midnight to book the morning taxi for kids or use Steve’s 4G data to do it as I was too tired to wait that long getting up each day at 6am.  My mind was frequently wandering back to poor Caroline and her grieving family and I would just burst into tears unexpectedly. 

It took me all morning to find out, with my DK Sri Lanka book guide, where to find a church which is open after 5pm that I could take the children to. It was the old white and spacious St Lucia Cathedral more or less at the same time as Caroline’s wake, we lit the candles for her as her husband David wished, and we wrote him a letter from each of us. It was dark by the time we left; we went to find something to eat (McDonald was conveniently on the corner to kid’s amazement) and too Tuk Tuk home across the whole city arriving home just after 7pm, everyone feeling somber.

After my stressful, frustrated and emotional time managing on my own, I was thinking to go away to a hotel for the second weekend, but I decided to stay at home and chill. As it happens with DVDs, Mary Poppins, Puss in Boots and agent 007! We did treat ourselves, on Saturday morning, to a fantastic buffet breakfast at the five-star Hilton hotel where we stayed 8 years ago when the kids were less than 4 years old and I remember like it was yesterday. It has not failed me and once again, we experienced the variety and choices, they had including real bacon and baked beans!

Sunday was with homework, more chilling with agent 007, swimming and a quick Tuk Tuk ride to our Czech friend’s café for a sourdough sandwich and 60 mins on internet as kids needed a “gaming fix”! 

We had occasional phone calls or chats with Steve, but as the nature of the sad occasion, the 4.5 hours’ time difference and no internet, we were very limited. We will be very glad to have him back home on Monday morning (I am planning to surprise him at the airport going with his driver), to tell us all about his week and knowing, there is another person (with connections and knowledge of this big city) to rely on. Not for long though, he is off to Boston early Saturday morning for a conference, returning on Friday-week.

I knew life here will be tough, but not that tough!