Luggage Party!

I got word today that my luggage has been found and is now in Colombo. This is great, except that I am in Hambantota, and I'm the only one who can sign for my luggage. So, tomorrow I will travel back to Colombo to recover my luggage, eat a quick lunch, and then come back to Hambantota, all in the same day. It is frustrating, but well worth the trip to get my stuff back. I have spent every morning before work hand washing the clothes I wore the day before. It takes 2 days for clothes to dry, so I rotate among 3 shirts.

I have tried more new food than I can name so far, and it is only the third day at work. I am not usually so receptive to new foods, and I have found that the secret is to try everything first, before I ask what the ingrediants are. It keeps me unbiased. We eat with our hands here, and that in itself is odd. Right now, the most difficult part of eating is persuading a Sri Lankan to eat first, so that Meg and I can learn how it's done.

Some of the guide books I read recommended that single women pretend they were married, and that they should come armed with not only a ring, but also a photo of the husband that they could produce at a moment's notice. I brought the photo, but not the ring, and maybe that was a mistake. There are very few caucasions in Hambantota, and we get waved at and honked at a lot. Since we are American, we represent a way into the country and it took less than 2 days before someone suggested that they come to the U.S. with me.