Hello everyone!

Well we had quite a day at our workshop today. I am all after the outcome. That is another article though.

On Sunday I embarked on my first trip as a solo "resident" of Sri Lanka. I was working like mad on Sunday on the presentation and Moodle site for today. I was questioning if I should go out or not but I eventually said heck with it and decided to take a break. I really needed it.

I called a cab and they came in about 15 minutes. My main objective was to go to Mass at St. Lucia's Cathedral, which is kind of close to the hotels downtown. Since Mass wasn't till 6 I decided I would burn some time at the Hilton. That was nice. I made it in time for High Tea. This is a decidedly British tradition that the Sri Lankans adopted from their former colonial masters. It is a neat time. What people usually do is have little finger foods and of course a cup of tea around 4 in the afternoon. The Hilton had a buffet with all kinds of little treats. They had fried scallops, fried cheese n veggie bites, little sandwiches, salmon patte, fresh made crepes, little cakes and pies, and small cups of chocolate and cream cheese moose. Mind you this is just what I remember. There was quite an assortment of different treats. They say the Hilton is not the place to go though. Supposedly the Galle Face is the real deal as far as High Tea goes. Anyway, I also had some Italian Almond tea which was sooooooo delicious. The almond taste was very evident and it was just excellent. 

I left the Hilton after a bit on my way to Mass. I had a cab driver who didn't know where to go. Sorry to say I didn't find that out until I got out of the cab. I was in a bit of a rush and since I saw columns and a clock on the church he dropped me off at I figured that it must be what I was looking for. Turns out that it was a Catholic Church but it was a Sinhala and Tamil only church. Not only that, I was 15 minutes late for the service. SOL. So I called the cab company back but the problem was I didn't know where I was anymore. SOL again. I saw a map near by and checked it out. I saw that I was not that far from the Cathedral so I sucked it up and went strolling down the street. Trippy stuff. I was trying to go as fast as I could since it was almost 6 and I was not sure how long the walk would be. As luck would have it, a trivila (tree-vee-la) guy asked me where I was going and offered to take me for 60 LKR ($.60). I obliged.

The Cathedral is a very beautiful place that was first built in 1760. The present version is about 119 years old. The statues inside are quite a sight. The people of the Cathedral are also special. As Father was walking down the asile after Mass, he picked me out of the crowd (wasn't that hard I think), shook my hand, and welcomed me to the Cathedral. Then, as I was taking pictures of the place, one of the volunteers gave me a guided tour of the place and introduced me to some of the others working there. Very nice indeed. I finally made my way outside and Father was still talking with some people. We shook hands and had a conversation about the Cathedral and my purpose in Sri Lanka. He invited me to various goings ons and then left me to attend to some business. I was very impressed. I was standing outside waiting for my cab when one of the Brothers came and beckoned me to Father's quarters. So I came along and had another conversation with him. Good stuff. They were having a feast for the altar boys and after he found out that I used to serve, he invited me along. I declined though. I figured I didn't want to go somewhere I couldn't direct a cab to. Not only that, I had already called them. So I bid them farewell and as they pulled away my cab arrived.

Quite a nice adventure indeed!