Today we took a field trip to Galle, one of the major port towns (and 4th largest city in Sri Lanka) just 15 minutes north of Unawatuna. We walked along the ocean edge of the old stone fort, taking pictures at the guard towers. Not as impressive as the pillow-and-sheet forts I used to construct, but still cool. A group of spectators gathered around Kyle as he did Tai Chi. We left the fort on a mission: to find 1) Sri Lankan flags, stickers, patches (I’m collecting from every country) and 2) a shot glass for my best friend’s collection. We found number 1 in a small Buddhist store, after an hour of being directed and redirected down numerous alleys. Number 2 – no luck. Mission impossible, they told me. We’ll see about that… Once again, we made it back to Unawatuna in time for me to join the locals playing volleyball. There was an intense game of 3-on-3 at one point, sand coating everyone’s body (except for the narrow trails left by beads of sweat). It was great. After the game, one of my teammates/friends invited me over for dinner. Her name is Thushanti and she is awesome – the only girl to play volleyball with the guys, and the only female chef in Unawatuna. She had her own restaurant, The Pink Elephant, but it was wiped out by the tsunami. I hopped on her motorcycle and we went grocery shopping, stopping at tiny stands along the main road for the necessary ingredients. She then used them masterfully, preparing a feast in a very modest kitchen (more like a bathroom). As I watched her cook, an impressed look on my face, she said, “I told you I am best chef in Unawatuna. The Pink Elephant was famous here, ask anyone. You didn’t believe? Now you know.” With overflowing plates in hand, Thushanti led me up stairs to the roof of the building. She had sprinkled the concrete floor with candles and hung lanterns from palm tree leaves. Like a private restaurant. As the waves crashed and clouds drifted past the full moon, I savored my last night in Sri Lanka (and the food, of course).

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