Chronicles of Shah

Its been raining these past few days. Well, it is december, wht am I xpecting? Snow? Ahakz. Took a short walk round my neighbourhood earlier on. It was drizzling... I juz luxuriated the coolness of the air and the raindrops against my skin. Indeed... it is so good to inhale fresh clear air. (Look who's talkin as I'm a frequent smoker) Niway, here's the second part of the lost entries...

31th May 05

Day 2, Dadalla

Was not feelin too well when I woke up. Muz be due to the fact tht my body still adapting to this place. I was assigned to the cooking team today. Priss made a rotating roster where each of us are assigned to a four person per team tht will take care of breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Supper not included, if u want thn u hav to prep ur own)

My 1st thought was damn, we hav no supply of meat right here. We do not hav any fridge, and there's a shortage of meat products. The nearest convenient modern grocery store (Mustaffa center springs to mind) was like a good 8 clicks away in Galle City.

Haha.. what happens when there's like 14 ppl and only one toilet? U gt tht right, its toilet usage singapore style! U guessed it, 1st cum, 1st serve! LoL! Its a real quack to see most of us eyeing the toilet weariy and tht claiming "I'm next!" Well, at least no one hogs the toilet. All of us try to moderate toilet usage for showers and etc etc to 15/10 min per person. Of course, the guys tends to be faster in our usage time.. LoL!

Oh yeah, its like i'm back in kampong days again. I showered very much like the days when our dad showered frm the perigi (well) coz we collect the clean water by the container full. As I brushed my teeth my mind tried to improvise on wht to cook for the whole day. While the rest of the team will racce the DTS College for restoration efforts, its the cookin team's responsibilities tht we all r well fed. After all, how can we werk on empty stomachs aye?

Breakfast was already preped by Priss and Rena. After all, I was the second last to shower (I gav way to the ladies and those in adv party personnel) Thus its only fair tht I and Honyun prep lunch. Thought tht i'd drop by the backward grocery shop (more like a rickety shack) juz opposite our house to see wht they hav in stock.

Feelin refreshed and much more awake after my oh so good shower, me and honyun check out wht we could cook for lunch. Nuthin much here.. wht I meant was tht no frozen product. So we bought sum dried salted fishes, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Thx goo they hav fresh supply of eggs though. And yeah, bought loads of calamansi lime too. I mean calamansi lime does a good job of coolin heated bodies.. after all, there's definately no isotonic drinks there. Its a good thing tht I hav prior training in field cookin back in NS.

We went to the field to gather information on the locals abt wht they really need and to recount each and everyone of the local's version fo what happend on tht 26th december 04. Once again I find myself among the partial ruins and debris of houses along the coastal areas. Most of the skelatal remains of the houses are abandoned... I concluded tht the survivors(if any) muz be traumatised by tht incident and hav a phobia on staying by the coastal areas. Either tht or they hav no financial means to rebuild their shattered homes. There were a number who still live among the ruins of their homes though. An old man still live wif his daughter (He was showering in the now open air toilet) when we came across him and asked for a moment of his time. All of them were more than eager to share and talk to us. Priss and Honyun did most of the talkin and askin however, I merely walked around surverying the damage and takin photos of the ruins and debris. I did caught snippets of their conversation though. The gists of it were the sudden receding tide and then this dark wall like the height of coconut tress appearing from the ocean. And then the usual panic as everybody abandoned all their belongings and house to run further inland. Its really sad to see their shattered homes. Indeed... we hav much to do.

Got this particular guy tht stood out from all the ppl tht we interviewed. His name was Danish. He really reminded me of my NS fren Kushe.. its like his mirror image u knw. Well, ppl always say tht we all hav our 'twin' sumwhere in the world. Pity Kushe was not here to see his own mirror image. Niway, wht really impresses me was tht he spoke decent english. He knws more than most.. all the happenings (as well as unofficial channels tht i feel tht I muz not write down in this field journal) Suffice to say that they are all effected.. sum even lost their kids. Well.. sum of them r even in denial they their children are forever gone. Its really sad to see the misty eyes of a middle aged couple when I asked them "Where's the rest of ur family?" (Cum to think of it, i shouldnt hav asked them tht) Their response was "I'm still waiting for them to cum home..." Poor souls.

As dawn decends on the land, we left the coastal areas and made our way home. Dinner had already been prepapred earlier (juz need to reheat) Once again I found myself gazing towards the heaven and marvelled at the so many stars, noting sum familiar constellations back in Singapore. I thought of her and wandered if she too am lookin at the very same constellation and thinking of me.

Galle.. to an xtent Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, untouched and undamaged by modern progress. The kinda place that I dreamed of retiring to frm the rest of the world when I hav pasteured. But for now, we now knw the xtent of the damage and the suffering the survivors had endured. I am here to do good, to make a difference. All these years, I kept askin myself if one man can make a difference...

Tomorrow the real beginning of field werk will commence.

Shah DarKSidE

"Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an Action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny" Quoted from an Anonymous"