SWISS!!!!!!

Hello again. I know what you are thinking, two postings in two days and you are right I have found an Internet Café here in Batticaloa.


So, why am I putting pen to paper today. I have to tell you it is for purely selfish and triumphalist reasons. I feel the need to share with you a small, but important victory. Last night I had, for the first time since arriving in Sri Lanka a dry night (No, I have not become incontinent in my old age, I did not sweat all night long). This may not seem much to you, but to me, it is worth shouting from the rooftops.

Let me explain the phenomenon of Semi Wet In Slumber Syndrome (SWISS), but to do that, once again I have to set the scene for you.

The TRO is not an International organisation with air-conditioned Land Cruisers, large offices etc. It is a Sri Lankan organisation run by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankans in a somewhat modest fashion.

We travel on foot, bicycles, buses, the back of motorbikes or if you are very important in the back of an open pick up truck. They also do not waste money on expensive offices, air conditioners or accommodation. Stick with me, I am getting there. Hence my room is modest, but it has a fan which, when there is not a power cut, works admirably.

Now last night we had rain, by rain I mean tropical rain. I have not experienced this before, but it is of biblical proportions. This is the kind of rain that has the ducks cowering in the bus shelter and rivers flowing down streets!!, but more importantly it brought with it a cool breeze and lower temperatures (not low, I hasten to add, just lower than very hot).

So last night when I went to bed it was cooler than usual.

Getting the speed of the fan above the bed just right at nighttime takes a bit of trial and error. You can’t have it too high, as it is not possible to sleep with a gale blowing through your locks! but too low and you get no cooling. I have found set on level 2 with my head at the fan end works really well, and then about 3am when its a bit cooler, swapping round and putting your feet at the fan end is the best system.

Now, my friends we reach the crux of the problem, and the story. The fan makes the top of your body (be this back or front) quite cold, and sweat free, however (and this, dear reader, is SWISS) the side of the body on the sheet underneath is sweating. So you have to perfect a technique of rolling over every 10 minutes or so to dry the sweaty half, and make the dry half sweaty. I think you get the picture, but do not dwell on it too long.

So, finally the point of this epistle is, the rain brought with it cooler air and last night the under side of my body did not sweat, hence my small, but important, victory.

Do you care? – NO, am I happy, YES.

Have a nice day.