Break day one

I just returned from the most action packed break I have ever had.

 

Below is a few stories and attached are some pictures to help along the imagination.

 

On the 22^nd of April, Caroline and I departed from the ship (still in Dry Dock) to go and meet Lenhert and Eileen at the train station. At that point, all I knew was that we were meeting at the train station and eventually we would make our way down to Galle. So at 0945 we caught the train up to Hatton. I had now idea about Hatton and I had no idea what was in store. We did not even have any accommodation booked on the other side! On the train, we were booked into third class tickets. (In Sri Lanka that is the best, in South Africa it’s the other way around). I made some friends with a bunch of 10 year olds who couldn’t stop staring. So I started taking pictures of them hanging out the window and they in turn to pictures of me on their phones. Once I showed them we talked a bit about South Africa (and our embarrassing display at the recent CWC), the rice paddies and what they were doing on the train. (It was Easter weekend so they headed up to spend it with family).

I loved being on the train. It brought back SO MANY memories from when I was a child. [Our family used to catch the ‘sleep train’ and head to the coast for the weekend. We did this about 3 times I can remember and it was always a highlight.] Sitting on this train made me miss my dad so much. He loves trains so I spent the majority of the day taking pictures of random train bits. J I hope to mail this to him so he can see this too.

The closer we got to Hatton (located in the ‘Hill Country’) the cooler it got. Some of the pictures attached shows the beautiful clouds we saw that day. Travelling with Lenhert naturally meant that it would NOT be dull at all. He was hanging out the train pulling faces – being Lenhert. J Once we arrived in Hatton the rain poured down and we were stuck at the train station. Lonely planet (affectionately known now as LP) helped us identify some places to stay. We had a taxi driver with other ideas. Eventually out of desperation and tiredness (the train ride took around 6 hours) we booked into the first place we came across that had empty beds. MISTAKE! This place was not the cleanest, best place. We spent the next 6 hours playing cards and in-between taking a break to have the biggest plate of rice this side of Taiwan! During this 6 hour card-a-thon I was able to learn the art of shuffling from the master herself. Caroline took me under her wing and helped to learn this much needed skill. J At around 23:00 that evening we went up to our rooms to spend the night shivering in bed. Yes…it was cold. We came prepared for the hot weather we were experiencing in Colombo…not the cold Hatton weather. Since this hotel/motel/inn is situated so close to the railway station sleep was constantly interrupted by the sound of speeding trains and unsafe busses. What a short night! Add to that the mosquitoes and we have ourselves a guaranteed night of sleeplessness!

 

Day two to follow

Part 2_It is hard

Since posting part one i have been wanting to write about this subject. Yes, dry dock life is hard. I sweat more in this dry dock time than what i do combined the rest of the year. There is no aircon which means i stick to the desk. The paper sticks to me, my shirt sticks to me everything sticks to something. My skin is so irritated by the constant dampness that it is borderding on the heatrash others are experiencing. But this is not really what i wanted to post about. For the past few days i have been in a foul mood. My job is creating more stress than blessing and i am getting to the point where i just do not care. I am sad at the fact that i can cruise along on auto-pilot very easily. Yesterday after fighting in my head with some biLastg shots, i was ready to pack my bags and go. They want to do my job for me...i say let them. They think they can do it better...great. I vented, i shared with my very humble and patient leader how i felt. Last night i heared some bad/sad news last night. It breaks my heart that i can not be at home to comfort my sister, or cry with my mother or even just sit with them. They are going through this all by themselves and i am here...far away. To make matters worse my heart is silent...no art not inspiration...just silent. This afternoon during our daily lunch time devotion, the ship's doctor had an opportunity to lead it. He shared about the making of a sumo sword. As i listened it became clear what he was getting at. The steel needed to go through all the tough times in order to become the sword. Then he said some words that changed my outlook on the whole 'difficulty' issues. "Don't waste your sorrows." It is so true. I was here sitting and regretting all teh pain i had gone through during this VERY trying and difficult year. Now, after hearing this message (which i had heard from so many other speakers in different forms) i am looking at all the sorrows seeing how God is using them to help me. He is growing me. I do not always understand why it is happening...dont think i need to...now i can just take comfort (again) in the fact that God will use these sorrows to create the mother of all artworks with my life. Pray that i will not waste my sorrows by becoming despondent, depressed or swing into the moody bunch that always complain. I want to be joyous, even when the fire comes!

Part 1_it is hot!

Firstly...i have blogged in my head so many times the last 2 weeks! And it frustrates me so much that none of those posts made it onto the blog! Oi! Proof that i am not a finisher. One day i will be! Watch this space! Secondly...it is hot. Not just the 'i-am-hot-lets-get-a-fan' deal. No! The extreme one. The type where if i stay seated long enough, i might need a rag to wipe up my pool of sweat that accumulated under the chair. Excuse the bluntness (is that even a word?) of this post. I just need to vent somewhere and then it will be all better. Okay...not really but i dont want to be the person whining infront of the big guys who do all kinds of hard working stuff. Oh, wait. Did i even mention that it is Dry Dock time again? Yes. The ship is out of water. We are sitting on the blocks at the moment. The aircon is shut down (oh how i miss her sweet whispers!) and the pleasant clean smell has been replaced with the constant smell of sweat. I have much to report: I finished 2 pieces recently. A sketch of a sumo wrestler (for the games night on friday) and a painting of a jar for some friends. So much for the 'artwork per day' deal. Life just exploded... I spent most of yesterday in a van with an introvert (like myself), a sleepy French guy and a quiet American. We left at 06:30 and returned around 22:45. Had no breakfast, no lunch and no dinner...we did have 3 cups of sweet Sri Lankan tea and about 13 hours worth of thinking time. Wait, i need to go. I am hungry and it is supper time...