Christina Swan

Well, what can I say? I'm back in the cold and grey "homeland" (?) of Norway, and right now it doesn't feel like it compares to the amazing, warm, friendly island called Sri Lanka where I felt equally at home.

 

I had an amazing time. I don't think I've ever been to a place where people have been so friendly and smiley - if I have, I have forgotten about it.  

We did more "local" stuff the days we were alone than the week we were with the rest of the group. However, our fears of the rest of our holiday turning too touristy were quickly relieved when we met the group we were going to be travelling with. The group consisted of 13 other Norwegians, in the ages of 12 to 60 (?), a fun bunch of people whom we got to know quite well as the days went on. Okay - we were tourists to an extent. We did stay in fancy hotels with swimming pools and beaches (some hotels were a little too fancy, if you ask me). We did spent lots of time relaxing in the sun, we did have nice hotel buffets bordering the unnecessary, and we did travel around a bunch of white people on a tour bus with air condition. 

However, the highlights of our trip weren't these aspects of the holiday, but rather our visits to the Strømme foundation's projects on the island. We visited microfinance women's groups where a bunch of women had gone together in different loan groups and where women had set up their own businesses (from making notebooks to making thread, blankets and fishing nets) in the middle of their difficult life situation. One woman had a husband who was in prison on a life sentence due to charges of murder; the same woman struggled to support four children through her making and selling of notebooks to school children. Others had lost their relatives or homes in the tsunami, and struggled on as they tried to build themselves a new life. When the tsunami swept across the Indian ocean two years ago, 30 000 people died on Sri Lanka alone. The physical traces of the tsunami are represented in the many ruined houses and buildings we saw. What we didn't see so much was the invisible grief and the psychological problems the tsunami brought to many people.

 

What we saw was hope. We saw children playing and laughing in their schools. We saw diligent and intelligent women running their homes and little businesses with enviable integrity. We saw people on the street smiling, happy to be taken pictures of, happy to help us foreigners, just happy in general. And incredibly hospitable. Despite the many difficulties that life - and the tsunami - has thrown their way.

 

We also saw loads of money being poured into the Buddhist temples in front of gold-painted Buddhas, while people outside were begging for money for food... frustrating and upsetting, but what can one do?

 

What I will remember most is the hope that we saw. This hope could teach many Norwegians about the joy of just living, I'm sure. Regardless of how much or how little you have in this world. :-) Thank you Sri Lanka for a wonderful experience and a wonderful people, thank you for having me, and thank you Strømme foundation for taking me there!

 

Smileys from Christina