Unexpected Goodness

Another day in Sri Lanka, and another new destination for us. In our planning to come here, we got a bit excited about exploring all of the exciting locales and sights that Sri Lanka has to offer. That means that since we touched down here we have not stopped moving. At times it has been exhausting moving to new places so much, but at at the same time it has been great to see and experience so many amazing places, sights, smells, and tastes. In two days we will be slowing our roll big time as we hit the beach for a straight week. Today we commented that we are for sure earning our beach time.

Today found us rolling into the town of Tissamaharama (say that 10 times fast!) This town is most known for being the jumping off point for safari trips to Yala National Park, where we are going tomorrow. Since we are not jungle treking until tomorrow, that left all day for us to fill and find out what Tissa had to offer.

In reality, Tissa does not offer all that much. But we made it our mission to see it all. We are staying at a great little hotel that has a sweet garden. We posted up for a good long while and read our books and played scrabble. After a much needed nap (our scrabble game got pretty intense) we went on a self guided bike tour around town. It felt like we were in a movie as we rode down dirt roads, through banana groves, with children chasing us with a chorus of "hellos". For a town that supposedly does not have much to offer, we had a very nice first day here.

Heidi was to coolest person in Tissa riding her fixed gear bike around.

The sweat was well worth the view over the lake in Tissa.

Adam cruising through banana groves. Awesome.

Arugam with Azi

Our new location in Sri Lanka is on the east coast in a beach town called Arugam Bay.  Arugam is known for its world famous surfing -- famous surfing from the months of April to October.  The remainder of the year the town shuts down.  Somehow, despite this, we decided it would be a good place to visit.  As we arrived yesterday, we definitely second guessed our choice.  We drove past boarded up shops, closed restaurants, and checked into our empty hotel.  The owner pointed out the one place we could eat and we began to panic.  However, as we always try to look at life as an adventure, we decided to suck it up and make the most of this quiet location.

Flash forward to an amazing dinner, a few Lion Lagers, and a viewing of Meet the Fockers and we were already feeling much better about our choice of coming to Arugam.

This morning, we loaded up with our new friend, Azi, and his Tuk-tuk to head out on a three hour tour.  We did not realize that our "tour" translated to "doing whatever Azi thought we, as Americans living in Kuwait, needed to do."  We spent the day cruising around the region in a 3-wheeler seeing ancient ruins, spotting crazy animals, hiking up more than un-safe mountains, eating breakfast with the locals, hearing stories of Azi surviving the Tsunami, and shopping for Azi's groceries -- all in the period of 7 hours.  By the time we were dropped back off at our hotel and by the time we said goodbye to Azi, we realized that sometimes quiet and desolate can be an awesome experience after all.  In all actuality, Arugam is awesome.

Things always look better with delicious Sri Lankan food and a cold, cold beer.

The beach.  The water is brown because the dam from the river is open which releases all the river water into the bay.

Azi took us to an old marriage site for the ancient king.  He decided that he was not only our tour guide but also our personal photographer.

We went to a national park where we saw:  thousands of cool birds, peacocks, snakes, turtles, monkeys, buffalo, dingos, lizards, crocodiles, and a ton of cows and goats.

Our ride through the Arugam Bay area.  7 hours in class and comfort.

Buddah.  This one survived the Tsunami.

In a rain storm, Azi had us hike up a mountain, barefoot, to take in the view.  We can't make this up.

It was a stunning view but somehow the fear of dying on the ascent and descent over-rode the beauty ... well, almost!

The Start of the Holidays

We are officially on Christmas break. This year to celebrate, as soon as the school bell rang, we quickly caught the first flight out of Kuwait to the magical land of Sri Lanka.  We have been talking of traveling Sri Lanka for about 3 years now so we were very excited to see this if this place lived up to the hype in our mind.  About two minutes after exiting the airport we knew we had made the right choice. 

Sri Lanka is like paradise -- green trees and plants EVERYWHERE, kind people, delicious spicy food, cheap beer (which is actually good cheap beer -- err, wait ... perhaps our standards for beer cannot be trusted anymore), and lots of cool birds and animals.  We drove straight from the airport into hill country to a town called Haputale.  It is known for its tea plantations and some cool mountain hikes.  The town did not disappoint.  Our hotel was gorgeous and the view was not so bad either.  Despite being rained on and fogged in, we saw some amazing sights, drank tea IN a tea field (Heidi thought that might just be what heaven is like), ate too much curry, drank aforementioned cheap beer like we might never see it again (thanks, Kuwait), and had many great conversations with local people.  All in all, it has been a great way to start a much needed vacation in the land which just might be the original Garden of Eden (no, seriously!!  Look it up).

This picture does not do the view from our hotel justice.  From our hotel, high in the mountains, we could see 5 different provinces in Sri Lanka.  And, on a clear day, all the way out to the ocean.

Our first stop in Sri Lanka -- the duty free liquor store.  This is Adam doctoring our afternoon coffee to make it a little cup of delight.

So beyond happy to be out in nature and GREEN space.  We went on an awesome evening hike in the hills of Haputale where ...

...we stumbled across an organic spice garden in the middle of nowhere. 

We would like to point out that this trip was made possible by Columbia Sportswear.

Driving up, up, up, up, up into the tea fields to a place called Lipton's Seat.  At some points, we had the In'Shalla attitude that if our jeep tumbled off the side of a road and down into the deep villages below then it was meant to be.

When our jeep could no longer navigate the mountain roads, the driver had us get out and walk.  Heidi hiked through tea fields!!

We were so high up that we were in a cloud.

The view from the Top of the World.  Supposedly the best 360 degree view of Sri Lanka.  All that walking for this!

Thankfully a local villager found us without any view and invited us in for some tea and freshly fried veggi samosas.  Heidi drank tea in a tea field with a tea worker.  HEAVEN.

We stopped at a local tea factory where we learned how in 18 hours and 46 minutes, freshly picked tea leaves become the ground, dried tea product it is.  Adam channeled Ken Soper as he walked through and explained cooling and sorting to Heidi.

Our final Haputale stop = a monastery builty in 1931.  We paid about $1 to walk in the rain to see a living room and old books.  Literally.

Busy, Busy

December in Kuwait is crazy busy.  Somehow between first report cards, parent/teacher conferences, judging debate competitions, reffing soccer games, working on committees to re-accredit our school, tutoring, and training for races we still have found time to enjoy all the Christmas season has to offer. 

This past weekend we were able to celebrate the pending holidays at two separate parties -- one dressed in our ugliest sweaters and the other, some fine attire.  Regardless of what we were wearing, we were able to step back, enjoy good food and fellowship, and reflect on the spirit of the holiday season.  We also realized that come joy and sadness, love actually is, all around!!

Nothing says Christmas season like an ugly sweater party at a good friend's home to ...

... our school's formal Christmas party.  So much fun and a much needed bright spot in our holidays.

Hairy Holidays

It was crazy hair day at AIS Elementary School.  This is the masterpiece that showed up.  Brilliant! 

That's his hair with fake tree and ornaments.  It makes perfect sense for a student who is not Christian!

Art Night

Last night our school hosted a art exhibition. This was a chance for all of the students that are involved in the various arts programs to display and show off their work and talent. This was the first time that this had ever been done at our school. The art teachers were very excited yet still nervous that things would not go as planned or that people would not show up. To show our support, we made it a goal to make sure that we attended (we actually even left our work bags in our offices to make us go back later in the evening).

We were absolutlety blown away when we walked back through the main doors of our school later that night. The entire first floor of the school had been transformed into a full blown art gallery. Hundreds of pieces of student art work were arranged throughout the building. There were also a variety of poetry readings, singing groups, music combos, and drama productions. We even got transported back to the Folk Life Festival for a quick second with the drum circle that was going on.

The talent and dedication that was on display was amazing. It is always fun to see the talents that students possess that maybe you don't get to see on a everyday basis in the classroom.

We were welcomed to the exhibition by one of Adam's students playing piano. This guy is legit.

For weeks there had been an announcement that the art department needed used coffee cups. This is the final product of that project.

This was cool. One of the art teachers was painting another one of the art teachers while she painted a big art piece.

student work

One of our favorite pieces from the elementary school.

A whole stage was set up for student music groups to perform. It was a very cool experience for both the students and everyone that attended.

Ever-Green

It has been a rough week in team SoPierce.  Our spirits have been low and it seems that no amount of working out, homemade pizza nights, or Christmas carrols could help them rise.  Saturday morning, after a good long chat, we realized that our souls needed some refreshing.  So, we did some quick research and headed out to the #2 tourist attraction in Kuwait -- Green Island.

After picking up our picnic lunch of falafel with pickles, putting on our long sleeved layers, and paying our 1 KD, we arrived at our destination -- a man-made island located in the gulf.  We were warned that crowds might be swarming the island on a Saturday afternoon and despite this, we decided to brave the crowds to improve our sanity.  Well, it looks like "crowds" means about 16 other people, because the island was desolate (as Adam pointed out, why be outside when they could all be at the mall).

In all actuality, we really enjoyed ourselves.  We walked the island a few times, enjoyed the cold breeze coming off the ocean and were actually able to hold hands without getting evil stares and being told it was haram!!  As our moods lifted and we walked in circles praising man made green spaces, we decided that Green Island will stay in the weekend repertoire.

Adam on the oh-so-crowded island.  Despite how it looks, it was cold and very windy.

This picture turned out cool. 

On the island looking back to downtown Kuwait.  You might also spot the #1 tourist attraction we previously posted about!

Adam enjoying the quiet of the island.

Heidi getting up close and personal with the greenery of the island's namesake.

Christmas Spirit

We needed a little holiday cheer in our lives as of late.  Over the past few weeks, the weather in Kuwait has turned cold, grey, and rainy, work has become overwhelmingly busy, and the newness of being in a different county has officially worn off.  So, to brighten our spirits we decided to bring a little Christmas cheer into our lives.  We headed out to our local Hypermarket in search of seasonal decorations.  A few minutes and a couple dinar later we were headed home with cheer in a bag. 

It actually felt a little like Christmas time as we turned on the holiday music station, drank warm tea, and decorated our tree.  Maybe it is not the typical look most westerners would go for but hey, when in the desert ... you can't be too picky.  And, most importantly, it did the trick for us and brought some much needed jolly and merriment into our lives. 

Adam with decorations in hand.  We went for a silver and red theme ... very tradtional.

We did forgo the overpriced fake Christmas tree and decided to decorate our house-tree instead.  Not only was a plastic tree a slap in the face to our Washington roots but it would also be a storage nightmare!

Adam got into the decorating spirit with the help of Justin Beiber and Mariah Carey.  Nothing screams Christmas like overplayed top 40 pop Christmas songs.

In front of our newly decorated tree with genuine smiles of happiness.

Our little pop of Christmas Spirit in all its glory.

And the ugliest stockings we could find.  We just hope Santa got our "change of address" for Kuwait.

MUN

This weekend Adam had the pleasure to take his Model United Nations club to their big conference here in Kuwait. For those that are not familiar with MUN, it is a really cool game of make believe. Over the course of the last three months, 65 students from our school have assumed the role of a country in the world. From the point of view of their given country they have researched a variety of pressing global issues that could be discussed at the United Nations.

This weekend Adam took his group of 65 to meet up with hundreds of other students from around Kuwait who have been preparing as well. What followed was a incredibly awesome display of international relations nerdiness to the highest level. For three days in a row, high school students played the role of diplomats as they debated, compromised, and discussed the pressing issues facing the globe.

As the conference came to a close, there was a "end of summer camp" feeling in the air. Students were reminiscing about awesome speeches they had heard, bragging how they had "totally trashed another delegates resolution", and even a tear or two. It is so amazing to see such young people engage and talk about some very real world topics. I think that if we can keep high schoolers thinking about tackling issues such as human rights, climate change, and nuclear disarmament, the world will be in good hands in the future.

Here is the MUN squad from our school. Part of the deal is that they all must dress up for the conference. Notice the young man in a tux. Classic.

With tons of debating and speaking to happen over the weekend, the organizers did not skimp on the water.

The conference was held at another school in Kuwait. The school had tons of green space on their ground.

Logo for this year's conference.

Day O' Thanks

It is Thanksgiving weekend and to celebrate, our school gave us Friday and Saturday off work.  Oh wait, that is just a normal weekend here in Kuwait.  As our school is a large community of American teachers, many Thanksgiving celebrations were planned.  It seemed that everywhere you turned, people were inviting you to some kind of Thanksgiving dinner or another.  As Adam is away at a Model United Nations Conference all weekend (look for an exciting blog post to come -- oh the anticipation!!), Heidi had to head out to consume too much food on her own.

First stop:  Sri Lanka Thanksgiving Mash Up.  Heidi was treated to a true treat at her dear friend Kira's home.  As Kira's partner is Sri Lankan, the spread contained not only all the traditional foods but also delicious, spicy Sri Lanka delight!!  After too much food and practicing the art of eating with her hands, Heidi had to wrap up party 1 and waddle to ...

Second stop:  Italian-American Thanksgiving.  Here, 55 of her closest friends and co-workers crowded into two apartments (on the same floor) to move through the buffet line to fill up on spaghetti and meatballs and turkey with the fixings, sit at living rooms that had been converted to camp dining halls, visit with friends, dance with kids, and somehow manage to stuff more food in her already crowded stomach.

Despite being away from home and Adam being MIA, Thanksgiving in Kuwait proved to be something to be truly, err ... thankful for.  It was a very strong reminder that while our family at home can never be replaced, we are blessed with a community around us who welcomes us, refreshes us, and who makes sure we leave their homes with a "to-go" box in hand!!

Getting set for the first dinner.  Somehow no matter where you are in the world, Thanksgiving always means TOO MUCH FOOD!!

Heaven in a dish.  This food from Sri Lanka was such a treat.  I am glad we will be seeing more of it in 1 month.

Kira explaining all the delicious food to us and how to eat it.  (Sorry turkey but you came in second, here).

Heidi sad that she was the only Pierce representation at dinner.

Dinner mash up.