Elephant Crossing

Elephant Crossing
This is a male elephant crossing the road in UdaWalawe National Park.

A baby elephant nursing!

This was a very playful individual who came within inches of our vehicle and displayed its flexible trunk. Notice the collar around its neck, which reveals it was rehabilitated and re-released into the wild. Although such playful behavior can be amusing, it is not healthy for the elephants to interact with humans in this manner.

A gorgeous leopard snoozing in the crook of a tree. Yala National Park

Crocodile and water buffalo enjoying a watering hole at Yala National Park

How I Avoid the Leeches

How I Avoid the Leeches
How I Avoid the Leeches: From left: Kumara, the guide, Tharanga, Lizzie, Ashani, Ilja

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Mama Godak Shaktimat!

Thanks to Tharanga’s Sinhalese lessons, I have learned a new favorite phrase, “Mama godak shaktimat!” or “I am very strong!” Although I learned it just yesterday, I enjoy finding any excuse to use it and I thought it would make the perfect title for my running update. I mentioned a while back that Lizzie and I were going to run/bike together, however that idea never came to fruition, but not for lack of trying. There is either a problem with the tire pump, the bike tire itself, or our ability (or lack thereof) to pump a tire. Where ever the problem may lie, the bike tires are now more deflated than they were to begin with. Also, we have determined it would be pretty risky to bike along the main road. At least while running I can dodge off the side of the road as a semi whooses by (which is not too often), but maneuvering on a bike would prove much more difficult. Sidewalks do not exist in this country. The end result has been that I have been running on my own, which was quite daunting at first.

As a white woman I attract a lot of attention, no matter what I am doing. Running down the street in the Sri Lankan heat only adds to the spectacle. Not to mention that running gear is pretty outrageous. Sri Lanka is a very conservative country and therefore to avoid offending anyone I swaddle myself in a couple layers of clothing. Typically I wear my brother’s old, green Dartmouth workout shorts. They reach past my knees and I could almost fit both of my legs into one pant hole. On top, I had been wearing a sleeveless shirt with a long sleeve, loose fitting button-up shirt over it. And don’t forget the bandana! The end effect is that of a colorful, red-faced laundry heap cruising down the street. I am always greeted with smiles and chuckles and people often yell, “Come on, come on!” or “Faster, faster!”

For a while, I was running consistently every other day at 4:45 pm. The neighborhood children cottened on to my schedule and were often waiting to greet me…at a safe distance of course. They couldn’t quite decide what to make of me. After several encounters one group of children gathered the courage to tail me. I could hear their feet scuffling on the ground behind me, so I spun around to face them, grinning. They screeched to a halt, but didn’t retreat. They watched me warily, giggling nervously. Smiling, I slowly approached. By the time I reached them, they were blushing and looking nervously at one another. With a big grin on my face I said, “Ecka…decka…tuna!” (1…2…3!) And flung my hand forward. We took off, racing each other down the street. The kids were shrieking with laughter and I was smiling through the sweat dripping down my face. We reached their house, panting and smiling. It felt good to make some new friends, even very young ones, in a foreign country. That will forever remain among my top running experiences.

Because of the heat, I have had trouble running as long as I would like, but it feels wonderful to be able to stretch my legs at least for a bit. I have also been able to keep up with my Tough Mudder workout! For those of you unfamiliar with the Tough Mudder, please check out this website: http://toughmudder.com/training-prep/
And be sure to watch the video that is about half way down the page. For a couple of reasons, it took me a couple of weeks to get back into the Tough Mudder routine in Sri Lanka. First, I wanted to get to know the research crew before whipping out my exercise routine. It takes a special sort of friend not to judge your butt sweat stains and awkward exercise stances. Fortunately, I have a high tolerance for self-deprecation and I have a found an accepting group of friends. Secondly, I am lacking equipment and had to spend some time learning how to work with my new environment. I am now able to do most of the routine by substituting bricks for weights, but I am still looking for a good place to work on my pull ups…maybe the mango tree out front? I have caught our neighbors furtively glancing over the hedge, gaping at my unusual habits. Who knows what Uncle makes of it, maybe it’s best that I don’t know. But I can now say with certainty that you haven’t trained for the Tough Mudder until you have trained in Sri Lanka!

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