MORNING RUN

Having slept a full night and abated the jetlag, I decided to start my Saturday morning with a jog around the adjacent lake. I was told that a trail circumnavigated its irregular border. I emerged from my bed and strapped on my shoes, fashioning my new Sri Lanka T-shirt and gym shorts. With cell phone in hand, I set off for some exercise. I pushed the opener of the huge steel gate that protects the entrance to the compound and said good morning to the cow tied up in the front yard. Jena, the new mother of five puppies, followed me out of the driveway and down to Lake Road. This road, like all roads in Sri Lanka, does not have a street sign. Many roads also have several names – making navigation something of an obstacle. Fortunately, though, the trishaw drivers all seem to know how to navigate this poorly planned spider’s web of roads flawlessly.

The morning traffic was light and running across the road was easier than I expected. As I set off at a trot, I instantly began to sweat. As vehicles drove past, the sour air of diesel exhaust burned my throat and my eyes. I picked up the pace and ducked off the road onto the lake trail. The red earth was dressed with fallen palm leaves, garbage, and the excrement of various animals – some of which may have owned the shacks just off the road. The lake was green and opaque. A carpet of bugs lined the surface of the water. Along its shores, the lake had a wreath of trash. I would later learn that the garbage not burned was taken by barge into the middle of the lake and sunk. Despite this, the lake was beautiful in it’s own right. It provided a perfect mirror – reflecting the misty image of the morning sunrise. A multitude of long, lanky white birds stood upon the lily pads, stretching to absorb each morning ray of sun. Along the road I would pass other people out for a morning walk. People would sport polo shirts – top button fastened, and running shoes with calf socks. Many people wore their daily clothes, but had running shoes on. With every encounter I was greeted with a large smile and solid attempt at “good morning.” The gap between the have and have not was in stark contrast. One home had a large cascading yard with swans and fishpond. Leaning on its perimeter fence was a lean-to wooden shack with an elderly woman sweeping out it’s floor; and act of tradition rather than efficacy to be sure. I asked if I could take her picture. She swayed her head from side to side like a bobble-head doll on the dash of a car – a gesture all to common among Sri Lankans. It doesn’t mean yes, or no. It doesn’t even mean they necessarily understand what you are saying. It simply acknowledges that they are listening to you. Fearing that she had no idea what I was asking, I pointed to my camera. She came to the doorway and smiled. Taking this is a yes, I gently raised my camera and took a picture. Stuh-tee. Thank you.

A dragon! I couldn’t believe it. With its arms swaying back and forth at its side, this gigantic lizard moved through the water with grace. Minotaur (dragon) lizards, a relative of the iguana, are endemic in the green lake. Its body was the size of a household dog. If I was patient enough, I could see its 6-inch long, black tongue protrude from its mouth while viewing through my telephoto lens. I wonder how this beautiful creature can survive amidst such decomposition. Ironically, I had thought this of many neighborhoods passed while commuting to CCS in a trishaw.

Tonight we are going to the movies! We dragged all the furniture out of the meeting hall at Lotus Buds and mopped the floors. A rat had made home behind one of the decaying wooden bookshelves, sending the girls a scurry onto the chairs in the middle of the room. We mopped the floors clean, partially with the sweat dripping from our foreheads. A projector from the KidzNet office was position in the middle of the room to turn the plain white East wall into a movie screen. With borrowed sound equipment and three rows of chairs, we had our movie theatre. Tonight’s feature film is Fire Proof. The kids have been selling homemade tickets for the past week as a fundraiser for Lotus Buds’ 21 anniversary. If they waited for the 25th anniversary, most of the “children” will have moved out – now all grown up.

Tomorrow the family is going to church, a 3-story building that runs concurrent services in Singhalese, Tamil, and English. This will be interesting, especially in the context of a Buddhist country in the midst of a religious and cultural civil war.