HoneyMoon

Hola,

Finally I am writing the post about the Honeymoon!!!

It was a wonderful and relaxing week. It was only Paul and me, without any other thing around us to worry about. A perfect honeymoon for a one year married couple!!!

As I told you in my previous posts, after Sri Lanka we went to the Maldives for our late honeymoon, where we spent seven days in a resort called Kurumba.

Maldives, for those who don't know, is located south west of Sri Lanka and is an Island Nation composed by 1189 islets. It is formed by 26 atolls or coral islands usually surrounding an interior body of water, called a lagoon. You can't imagine how beautiful it is to see the Maldives from the air. You feel like you are flying above a paradise. It's simply amazing!!!

When we arrived to the airport we were picked up by some people from the Kurumba Resort and they took us there. It was a 20 minute trip in a very nice boat. Paul and I were so happy that those 2o minutes felt like five. When we arrived two people from the resort welcomed us at the entrance, took our luggages and then directed us to a reception room, where another person received us with cocktails. Everything was so beautiful and the service was excellent. They informed us that the rooms we had booked were not available and that they were going to upgrade us to a better one. Can you imagine? We were upgraded to a Garden Villa, which was a very big room supplied with all kind of things, a very big bathroom and a jacuzzi in a garden. They also gave us a bottle of wine!!!

Kurumba resort has seven restaurants: Lebanese, Chinese, Italian, International, Japanese, Indian, Ocean Grill, a cafe, a bar and a rendez-vous lounge. There were two swimmingpools (including a professional one), tennis courts, gym, a spa, table tennis tables, a Scuba Diving school and a wind surfing school that offered a range of fun activities - Parasailing with platform boat, Waterskiing, Wakeboarding, Kayaking, Banana Rodeo, Fun Tubes and Sailing Safaris. Every night from Wednesday they had live bands and special dinners and activities. During they day they also offered trips to other islands.

The beach was extremely beautiful. Clean, calm and empty. Although the hotel was full we hardly saw anyone on the beach. It was also difficult to meet the same people every day or even find them in the restaurants. This place is so well designed that you feel you are the owner of the whole resort.

However, we did meet a Colombian couple with a baby. Definitely Colombians are spread out all over the word. This couple lives in Baku, Azerbaijan and he works with British Petroleum. I would say he is part of the Colombian brain drain. It was very nice to meet them there, to speak Spanish and learn about other Colombians succeeding in the world.

During the week we did several things. We went in a glass bottom boat to see the coral and fishes around the island. We did kayaking, went to the gym everyday, played table tennis, snorkelled, relaxed, ate a lot, spent romantic nights listening to live bands, singing, drinking wine, walking around the beach, playing with small sharks and being together.

One night we were invited to a presentation about the Maldives. The presentation was run by the Manager of the Resort and they gave us information about the history of the Maldives and about the Resort. I learned that Kurumba (the name of the Resort), actually means a six month tender coconut, that the Maldives used to be a Buddist country and they were converted to Islam because of the power of the Quran. For those who don't know, Maldives is the smallest predominantly-Muslim nation in the world. 99% of the population is Muslim. They also explained to us how the Government is making a lot of efforts to keep the Maldives an environmentally friendly place. The Resort itself has a lot of mechanisms for recycling and processing waste, as well as harvesting the power of the sun with solar panels.

We also went to an inhabited island called Himmafushi. Fushi in Dhivehi, the local language of the Maldives, means island. Local people make their living by building ships there, which later are sold to resorts or big companies. We went around Himmafushi, visited the local school, the cemetery. They also sell many handicrafts and delicious coconuts there!!! Very expensive though. I was really happy to see how people lived there and to spend time walking around a place where, perhaps, I will never come back to again.

The last day we went to Malé, which is the capital of the Maldives. It was a very beautiful city. I was expecting to find a lot of traffic jams, dirty streets, many beggers, but it was totally different. I didn't spend much time there but I got the impression that life there is very interesting. They also had a very big Mosque, unfortunatelly I couldn't get in but it seems that this country is a very peaceful and harmonic place to live in.

It was a wonderful time to learn more about Paul and discover more about myself. I really enjoyed being in this part of the world and discovering the real meaning of a honeymoon!!!

Thank you Paul for a wonderful time together!!!

Malu

Dan's Wedding

For those who don´t know who Dan is, he was the President of AIESEC in Sri Lanka during the time I was there. He was also my roomate for almost five months and my AIESEC buddy (something like my baby sitter, hahha). Dhanushka finished his term in AIESEC and went to Sweden to do his Master in Development Studies and came back to Sri Lanka to marry Chanuka. Congratulations dear friends!!! They now live in the south part of Sri Lanka and Dan is working for USAID.

The wedding was an incredible experience. It was held in Kurunegala, Dan's and Chanuka's home town. The weddings in Sri Lanka are normally composed by two ceremonies: the wedding ceremony, where they formally get married and the Home Coming, which happens on another day and which is actually the welcome of the bride to the groom´s family.

The first ceremony was carried out in a very nice hotel in Kurunegala and started at 10h00. All the guests were waiting outside the room for the groom to arrive. The groom came with a group of Kandyan dancers and drummers. Once the groom was inside the room waiting for the bride, together with other two bestman, the bride came announced by the dancers.

Then they assembled close to the Poruwa, which is a beautifully decorated wooden platform on which the traditional Buddhist marriage ceremony takes place. Therefore this event is called the ‘Poruwa Siritha' (Ceremony). I took most of the explanations from a website I found in internet: Buddhist Weddings

How it usually works is that the bride's father places the right hand of the bride on that of the groom as a symbolic gesture of handing over the bride to the groom.

The bride and groom enter the Poruwa leading with the right foot. They greet each other with palms held together in the traditional manner. Shilpadhipathi (master of ceremonies) presents a hand of betel leaves to the couple, which they accept and hand back to him to be placed on the Poruwa.This symbolises the offering of betel to the gods.

The bride's maternal uncle, in this case was her father, enters the Poruwa, ties the small fingers of the bride and groom with a gold thread and then pours water over the fingers. Water and earth being the eternal verities, the water poured and the earth on which it falls are intended to be the lasting witnesses to the marriage.

Next, the groom's mother will present the going away saree to the groom. The groom hands it over to the bride and she in turn gives it to her mother. The bride's mother will then present a plate of milk rice and kavum, cooked with special ingredients befitting a marriage ceremony, to the bride who feeds a piece of each to the groom. The groom feeds the bride in return.

As the newly weds step down from the Poruwa, helped by a couple from the bridegroom's party, Shilpathipathi, in this case was someone else, breaks a coconut in two. The bridal couple lights a brass oil lamp to signify their resolve to keep the home fires burning.

After all the rituals comes the legal ceremony and pictures with the families and friends. Then Chanuka and Dan went around the room talking to the guests. After that the lunch buffet is served, people ate and then the couple left. It was a very nice moment because is like the real good bye of the bride to her family and I noticed a mixture of feelings and faces in the couple. Of course, this is a big step in one's life, therefore all kind of feelings arise on this moment.

The Home Coming happened three days after and this was a kind of party, where relatives and friends came together and celebrated that Chanuka and Dan are finally together and that the bride is welcome to the groom's family.

I was amazed by the rituals and importance given to all the steps of the ceremony. It was a very beautiful wedding composed by religious and cultural customs that made Paul and I see another side of Sri Lanka that we didn´t know.

What a great experience and what an opportunity to share one of the best and most important moments of friends in life.

Hugs,

Malu

Visiting some friends in Sri Lanka!!

After a long time I am finally posting the message about my time in the land like no other. I went to Sri Lanka especially for Dan's wedding but also to visit friends from AIESEC in Sri Lanka and enjoy the beauty of this country. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stay longer but I really enjoyed my time there.

Thank you dear friends!!!

My friends from AIESEC organized a presentation about Quality Education run by me for the members of one of the AIESEC local chapters in Colombo. It was a pretty good experience and oppotunity to talk about one of the areas I am working with and to share with AIESECers a topic that needs to be tackled by leaders today.

We also had a small party, ate Swiss chocolates, saw the video of my wedding, shared experiences and talk about many things. I also had the chance to go out for lunch, dinner and a cup of tea with some of them.

I enjoyed special moments like staying at PJ's house, talking to Suchith about the world, having a special dinner with Sahan's family, sitting in the AIESEC office, visiting old neighbours, walking around Peta, eating Sri Lankan food, going to an Indian restaurant with friends, getting to know new AIESEC members, practicing my poor Singhalese, recognizing places and people, relaxing and feeling the magic of having simple and beautiful memories.

Sometimes one doens't need holidays to go only to the beach but just to meet old friends, wherever they are, and find yourself caught by moments of friendship and real happiness.

The life for one day of one who sees the arising and vanishing (of things) is better than if one were to live for a hundred years not seeing the arising and vanishing (of things).

Dhammapada 113

Hugs,

Malu

Amazing Experience in India

Hello my friends,

I am finally back in France/Switzerland and in this post I will tell you about my experience in India.

I went to India to a workshop on Ethics Education for Children organized by the Global Network of Religious Organizations for Children, GNRC in cooperation with a very recognized NGO in India called Shanti Ashram

It was an amazing experience, not only because it was my first time in India but also because I always wanted to visit this beautiful country and experience its culture and people.

Seven days in the south part of India seemed like experiencing Sri Lanka again. I found many commonalities not only in terms of language but also in terms of infrastructure and landscapes.

I was in a small town called Coimbatore and spent one day in Chennai. The workshop lasted four days, more than 60 kids from Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Canada, Jordan, Lebanon and India attended the workshop and learned from each other about their differences and similarities. There was so much energy and happiness around that the Indian spirit was hard to miss.

Kids singing, dancing, smiling and sharing their innocence made me feel like a child again. So many emotions aroused from the feeling of being facilitating a workshop that aimed to empower children to transform their own communities and enhance their values, that sometimes I felt it was like really "Changing the world".

We also visited many religious places. First we went to a Sikh temple, then to a Jain temple, a Synagogue, a Christian Church and finally a Hindu temple. It was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences I have ever had. The connection with people from different beliefs and the presence of God in every place made me feel an incredible power. It's amazing how one can recognize the face of God in a place that seems to be far from our hearts and minds.

We also went to a small village and talked to the community, learned from them and discovered small changes that local people are making to transform their worlds. It was wonderful.

The last day we celebrated a Peace Festival to commemorate the anniversary of Hiroshima and pray together for peace in the world. More than 300 children from the Tamil Nadu State joined us to tell the world that war can not take place anymore in this world.

After the workshop I went to Chennai for the day and then flew to Sri Lanka to spend a wonderful week with my friends.

I will post more pictures of the experience in India and my comments about Sri Lanka and the honeymoon. More coming soon.

Tomorrow I will go to Paris with Marce and I will be back on Sunday. Hopefully next week I will be able to post all what I owe you!!!

Hugs,

Malu