Today, I returned to Gandarawatte after nearly a year. I was very excited to see Dhammissara, the resident Monk. As Hayley and I pulled up outside his home in a tuk-tuk, he came hurrying out to great us and on seeing me he excitedly exclaimed ‘Ah, Laura!’ before hesitating and adding ‘you have been modified’! This caused us both some puzzlement and I could see Hayley glancing at me with some confusion. It took me a moment to realise Dhammissara was referring to my hair, which I’ve had cut short since last year.

It was lovely to return to the pre-school and see the teacher, Daya again. We did some singing with the children before the Monk, in typical style, requested we go for breakfast. When we returned, the children were setting up a fair in the pre-school which members of the community attended. They all brought items of fruit, vegetables and sweets to sell on their little stalls. After a while, some of the children got a little bored and began to eat their profits but everyone took this in good humour and the kids did seem proud of the sales they made.

Once the children had gone home, we returned to the Monk’s house for a huge dinner where no less than five desserts were served, including jelly and ice cream! During the break before after-school activities, Hayley and I wandered over to visit the Gandarawatte Temple. It is customary in Sri Lanka for a Monk to give Alms to a statue of the Buddha which is an offering of the first portion of all food to the Buddha as a sign of respect. Amongst the dishes of rice and curry there was a small pot of jelly and ice cream and I found this quite amusing. The Lord Buddha is such an ancient, noble and revered figure in Sri Lanka and the traditional offering of rice and curry seems somehow appropriate, whilst the Western-influenced jelly and ice cream, so out of place. It was an odd contrast in culture and it’s a memory that makes me smile every time I think on it!