Abi's homework

Abi's homework, a set on Flickr.

Last week a friend contacted me to ask if I would help out with her 9 year old daughter's school homework. After receiving the lovely email below, and a list of rather impressive questions, I was only too happy to oblige. Apparently the whole class has to find out about Sri Lanka, but Abi think hers will be the best! I have a feeling she might be right and thought it was worth sharing. Sorry, it's a little longer than my usual posts. But then again, I don't get interviewed every day! I hope you learn something new.

Hello Beth
I have got my questions about Sri Lanka for you. They are on the document mummy has attached to this email. Thank you very much for helping me.
Love Abi xxx PS can you attach one or two photos please when you email

Do you like the food in Sri Lanka?
Yes, I like the food very much. Sri Lankan people eat a lot of rice a curry. It is cooked using lots of spices and coconut. Most of the curries are very hot and spicy. A typical meal is a big pile of rice with some dal and lots of different curries which people eat using their hands. Rice and curry is eaten for breakfast as well as lunch here! I really enjoy the food, but prefer to eat a big slice of papaya and some toast in the morning! Also, I am not very keen on the dried fish which they tend to put in lots of cooking here. Yuk! Luckily there are lots of other tasty foods to eat , including delicious tropical fruits (see photo), short eats (little snacks like fish buns, vegetable roti etc), string hoppers (noodle like balls served for breakfast with dal) and traditional home cooked sweets.

What clothes do people were in Sri Lanka?
Traditionally, women wear saris and men wear sarongs. There are 2 different styles of sari, which are wrapped in different ways. They come in many beautiful colours and designs. I wore one recently for a friend's wedding. Not everyone wears these traditional clothes though. There are many skirts and trousers worn too, and some younger people in the city dress similarly to people back home in jeans and t-shirts.

Why did you go there?
I have come to do some voluntary work for a development organisation called VSO (this stands for Voluntary Services Overseas). I am an Occupational Therapist and am helping out with a mental health programme they are running here. I did not specifically choose to come to Sri Lanka, although I am happy I came. When you apply to VSO, you don't get to choose the country. Instead, they send you to the places where they most need your help.

Is it warmer or colder in Sri Lanka than England?
It is much hotter in Sri Lanka. It is very close to the equator so it is hot all year round, usually around 30 degrees centigrade. It is also very humid which means it is incredibly sticky all of the time and sometimes feels closer to 40+ degrees. It is even hot at night. They do not have seasons like the ones we are used to in England. Instead, there is a monsoon (rainy) season and a dry season. For half of the year there are regular torrential downpours and enormous thunder storms. The rain can bring some welcome cool air, but this doesn't last long and it soon heats up again.

What kind of animals do you see?
Since I have been here I have seen some very interesting animals including lots of monkeys (see photo) and also some elephants. Sri Lanka has some national parks where you can see herds of 50-60 elephants gathering at certain times of the year. I've not yet seen any in the wild, but I hope to before I leave. I have seen some elephants being washed and dressed up in the park before a big street parade (see photo). There are also lots of beautiful colourful birds and including some very noisy ones. The animals I see most of are palm squirrels (see photo). There are hundreds of them. They like to run up and down the tree outside my house and along my balcony and they make a funny high pitched squeaking sound, particularly first thing in the morning. There are lots of geckos running around the walls of my house too (see photo). I often see cows walking down the middle of a busy main road between the buses and cars! And once I saw a monitor lizard walking down the street! As yet, I have only seen 1 snake. Sri Lanka has many snakes. Some of them are very poisonous, so I'm not that keen to see any more. My friend here has seen about 6! I think he should think about becoming a snake charmer!

What is your house like?
My house is a 1 bedroom flat with my own kitchen, bathroom and living area. I live upstairs from my landlord and his family. I am lucky to have a lovely home which is very light and airy. It has big high ceilings and a small balcony at the front and back. I have a ceiling fan above my bed to keep me cool at night, and another in my living room. Without them I would never stop sweating! I also have 3 pet goldfish. The floors are all bare, as carpets would get soggy very quickly from the humidity.

What job do you have?
I work with other Occupational Therapists at a big mental health hospital and also at a University. My main role is to help them develop the services and treatment they provide. I do this in various ways including offering individual support and also running teaching and training sessions for groups. I also get to work directly with patients at the hospital, like running some tai chi sessions, but mostly I am helping the staff here to develop their skills so they can do this better. My work is very varied with no one day being the same. On the whole, I really enjoy it, although it can be very challenging too.

What do you do in your spare time?
I often go swimming after work and at the weekends. I need to try to keep fit what with all the delicious food I am eating! I am a member at a school pool which is within walking distance of my house. I am also trying to learn Sinhala, one of the languages spoken in Sri Lanka. This is very difficult, but fun too. I try to speak it as much as possible when I can, but there is also a lot of English spoken in Sri Lanka so you can manage without learning too much. I have done quite a bit of travelling around the country at weekends too. I live in a big city called Colombo. It can be very noisy, smelly and dirty with all the traffic and so many people. It is lovely to get away and visit quieter and more beautiful places including some nice beaches and the hill country. In the hills you can see women picking tea leaves in big plantations (see photo). Lots of the tea we drink in England comes from here!