What I want to be when I grow up

Since I was young, people have been asking me what I want to become when I grow up. Everyone around me seemed to know. A lot of girls in my class wanted to become a mom (None of the boys wanted to become a dad, however I won’t use this blog for ranting about equality) or a flowergirl(?). One of my childhood friends wanted to be an inventor, and is actually designing escape rooms now. I never knew what I wanted. I knew I liked to help and teach, but I didn’t like school. I didn’t excel in any specific subject in school, I got good grades when I learned properly and didn’t when I didn’t learn. Nothing I excelled in, so far. Although there was one thing. I was smart enough, creative enough, to find ways of ditching the classes I didn’t experience as useful. Because I felt like that was a waste of time and energy. Teachers either liked me or hated me, because if they didn’t know their subject well, didn’t respect us and didn’t acknowledge that they are human and make mistakes as well, I was an annoying piece of shit (only when they deserved it). When they acted like human beings and treated us like that, I was kind and funny and very helpful.

For the last 7 months I have been doing a job where I was working at a desk on a computer 5 days a week. I knew I am not made for that, but now I proved that point as well. I felt stuck, I felt suffocated, I felt like all my energy had no way out and reflected back inside me, slowly turning my mood and energy black. I felt like I was doing too many things I didn’t want to do or learn. Clearly this is not what I want to be when I grow up. So then what? 

Waste of resources

I think it is a waste of resources if you are working at a company, (partly) doing things you are not good at, you don’t like and you don’t want to learn. This world is full of diverse people who all like different things. Some people love administrative tasks or finding the best way through the tax system. It’s waste of time and energy if you are trying to find your way through the tax system if you don’t like it, you don’t want to learn it and you know others can definitely do a better job. Especially if the right resources like time, information, help and the right programs aren’t provided by the company. It’s also frustrating, because you are well aware of the fact that even if you have an okay result, someone else would have an awesome result with much less time and effort. So instead of wasting your time and energy on things you don’t excel in, like or want to learn, you could better use your energy for things you are making a significant difference in. I know it’s not as black and white as described here, but I believe many resources like energy, time and also money are wasted on following job descriptions or on order of the boss. If a freelancer would do better work in one day than an employee in five days, it might still be cheaper and smarter to hire a freelancer.

What I want to be when I grow up

So I still have no freaking clue what I want to do when I grow up. But… I do know what I want to be while growing older.

What I want to be is a happy human being, someone who adds value by using her qualities to make this world a bit better.

 

Like I said, I am not specifically good at one thing and I like many things. So I don’t want to specify, I want to be able to take different opportunities and bring something to places with various goals.

So I decided to start as a freelancer. What my company will be about? About me. Imaginary voice inside my head: Well, that’s very self-centered of you. How do you think a company functions that is centered around the owner of the company? Well, the company will be about me using my qualities to add value. I think in an ideal world, people shouldn’t brainlessly follow the job descriptions, but job descriptions should be adapted to the person. If everyone would be their own brand, doing the things where they add the most value, resources are spend more wisely. If this works? I have no freaking clue. But if you think this should or could be the way, I could really use your help to make it possible.

I’ve never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.

If you happen to have, see or know any freelance opportunities that you think suit me, please let me know! List of passions, qualities and interests below J

I want to learn, I want to develop, I want to grow. But most of all, I want to be me. Because I am much more powerful, creative and happy if I can be me.

 

Also, I am up for tea, coffee or hot chocolate to chat about life, Pipi Longstocking, new opportunities or anything else, hit me up with invites!

P.S. No worries, I am not actually planning on growing up. Pipi Longstocking is still my biggest role model.

 

 

What are my qualities, passions or interests?

Besides passion on the listed subjects, I also have a whole lot of experience, check my LinkedIn or my previous blog if you want to learn more about that. Or just ask me.

·        Working with people. Together you’re smarter and stronger. Everyone has something to bring. To recognize that and see how to support someone to bring as much as possible, is one of my strong points.

·        Facilitating workshops, trips and trainings. About diversity, self-esteem, body confidence, innovation, behavior, playing outdoor, creating an inclusive atmosphere and anything else that I feel passionate about.

·        Employee engagement. Happy and content employees are the key to a good functioning company. Are you listening to your employees? Are you providing the elements they need to do their work well?

·        Innovation. Everything changes all the time. So as a company you can’t always keep doing things the exact way you did them before. But embracing change isn’t that easy, it has to do with power structures, culture and most of all, people. Seeing the whole picture from different sides is what I am good at.

·        Traveling. Because there is no better way to get to know yourself. I also love guiding tours, trips and travels.

·        Helping organizations and companies to reach a goal. Like ‘playing outside more’, by activating the employees to come with sustainable solutions to the identified problem, because I believe employees know the practical situation best so have a better view on what makes the biggest impact.

·        Outdoor therapy. (0-20 years old, personal or in a group) Being outside, playing together, learning about yourself and others. While having fun, experiencing what your qualities are and how to work with others to reach the full potential. Learning while playing outside, in natural surroundings. More news about this will follow soon.

·        Working with kids. Kids (and their educators) need support to be able to reach their full potential. They have to know themselves, believe in themselves and be able to communicate with the world around them. Also they need support and love, to be able to believe in themselves and find the strength to go on adventures in the outside world. From there on they can start learning. Helping kids by providing a nurturing environment around them, is something that excites me.  

·        Improving the social/care/school system. The current social system in the Netherlands (and I know we are very lucky to have this system, it’s already so much better than in many places) bureaucracy makes it hard sometimes to really put the kids/clients in the center of the provided support. So I'd like to work on making it better or work on other solutions outside of the system.

·        Organizing, hosting, hospitality, etc.. I can do many things J

·        Being creative and thinking differently. Always seeing endless possibilities, a non-believer of impossible and a believer of the good in people.  

Employee opportunity

Things I notice while I am on the hunt for the job that suits me:  

• If I count all my volunteer work, internships and side jobs, I have more than 8 years of experience compared to a normal fulltime job (1920 hours a year). I am only 24 years old. How can anyone tell me I am not experienced enough? (You can check the list of my job experience in hours on the end of this page)
• The keywords ‘world changer job opportunity’ don’t give me a lot of hits on Google. I would love to do all kinds of jobs, and I think I am very capable of doing a whole list of different things. I just want to work together with others to learn, explore and develop myself and my surroundings, so I can leave the world a bit better.
• I am accidently quoting the scouts law in every letter I write, in one way or another (see above). Also the mission and vision statement from WAGGGS and WOSM and quotes of Baden Powel regularly pass my desk. I don’t do this on purpose.
• There are not enough women on the right positions. All boards are mostly men. I am your opportunity to change that!

• Why did I ever choose to study social work? This is my field, this is where my heart is, this is what I want to do, maybe not even now but at least at some point in my life. I don’t want to work in IT, finance or HR. But it would be so much easier to find a job in a sector like that!

• I am getting crazy of adapting my passion and vision to the job I apply for. It’s not like I am lying, but I do have to adapt the spotlights. In the end, I almost feel like I have a split personality disorder. One identity loves that job, the next one that other job, and so on... (Voor de Nederlanders: Hoe heet het als je dat waar jij voor staat een beetje veranderd zodat het beter past bij de functie? Een AanPassie…)

Every company wants to be the only true one for you. Like love at the first sight. First of all, I don’t believe in love at the first sight. Also, I don’t know if I believe that much in monogamist infinite love. And then what? This is about jobs, not true love, and I just need to earn some money. Of course I only apply if I like the job. But that one suit fits me perfectly, and I really love it, doesn’t mean I cannot have another equally favourite suit. Or dress, for that matter.

Why don’t we turn it around? Why don’t the companies come to me and prove me they suit me well? Hereby my employee opportunity:

EMPLOYEE OPPORTUNITY: WORLD CHANGER WITH PASSION FOR PEOPLE

Are you looking for that employee that fits perfectly to the job opportunity you have? A connecter with empathy and feeling for people and culture? Don’t look further. You found her here!

I am a creative, energetic, positive person. I finished my Bachelor degree Pedagogy (social work, child development) last year in July. After doing volunteer work in Sri Lanka for a couple of months, I am now on the lookout for that job that makes me happy. Because I believe that if a job makes me happy, I will be the most dedicated and hard-working employee, manager, trainer, researcher, leader or whatever you want to name me, that you have ever known.

I am a scout leader since ten years and also a trainer in diversity, gender equality and body confidence. I am fluent in three languages (Dutch, German and English) and know the basics of three more languages (Dutch sign language, Sinhala, Frisian). I am also an experienced tour guide.

What I am looking for in a company or oranisation: 
I want to support people, preferably children and their educators, to reach their full potential. To reach this, an environment should be created where people feel secure and supported, and dare to rely on their own strength.  

I like to be challenged, so I can use my creativity to find innovative solutions no one ever thought of before. I am empathic and able to see the situation from different perspectives. I love traveling, connecting with others or helping others to connect, learning new things and diving into new situations or cultures. I am cultural sensitive and enjoy working with diverse people.
I love learning new things or practicing new skills.

I am an idealist, a warm-hearted peopleperson (direct translation from the Dutch word ‘mensenmens’) looking for that new, exciting challenge. Do you dare to challenge me?

To apply or for more information, contact me on:

nynkezandhuis@hotmail.com

My job experience:

A fulltime job is 48 weeks a year times 40 hours, which is a total of 1920 hours a year.

ü  As a scout leader, I have a total of 1600 hours experience, 400 Saturdays spread over 10 year. A quarter of this experience is as a team leader.

ü  As a participant, volunteer or leader I have a total of 7200 hours of camp experience, as well on a regional, national and international level. (3.5 years of fulltime job experience)

ü  As a trainer I have more than 300 hours experience which is a total of 70 trainings or training days.

ü  5200 hours or 2.5 years of fulltime job experience working in restaurants, of which 1/8^th as a manager.

ü  Tourguide and animation work: 90 days, 16 hours a day; 1440 hours or half a year of experience.

ü  Living in another country: a total of 1 year in Sri Lanka (8 months) and Austria (4 months)

ü  Internships social work: 1540 hours of internships in social work with children with difficulties because of their backgrounds or abilities.

ü  Working in an after school club: 1000 hours in total or 0.5 year.

This is a total of more than 8 years of job experience. I am only 24 years old. This is not including any studies I did, seminars and trainings I followed or certificates I have.

Why busses in Lanka are awesome and terrible at the same time

I can give tons of advises on taking the bus in this country. It’s a real sport to travel the bus like a proper local, and I’m still not quite there, but I am slowly getting better at it. It's between five to fifty times cheaper than a tuk for the same distance, so that's one of the reasons why I love it.

colourful busses at a parking in Colombo

Every single time it’s an adventure on its own. I’d like to tell you how I take the bus, and some of my crazy experiences.

First step: finding the right bus

Taking the local bus in this country, is a real adventure. First of all, after a total of 8 months in this country, I still don’t know which bus to take where. So I just go to the station and ask the conductors of the busses. I might end up walking around the whole bus station before finding the right bus. I always ask more than one person which bus is the right one. When I am waiting at a bus stop, I will ask someone who’s waiting to point out the right bus, and check again with the conductor or the driver.

There are different kinds of busses; some are ‘village busses’, and they stop about everywhere where someone wants them to stop. Just keep an eye on google maps and tell them where to stop. some are ‘express busses’, they race much harder and stop only at certain places. Even when you have a seat, you have to hold yourself. Then there are the ‘luxury busses’, which are smaller, air-conditioned and a bit more expensive. I don’t like them, because mostly they are pretty old and crappy and you get ill of the dirty air-conditioning. I’d rather sit next to an open window in a local bus.

On some tracks, for example Matara-Colombo and Galle-Colombo there are air-conditioned highway busses. They cost a bit more, compared to the local busses, but they are very convenient and fast. At your hotel/hostel/guesthouse they will be able to give you advice on the best way to travel by public transport.

Second step: figuring out the local price

I try to figure out the right bus price before paying the conductor, because they tend to make up special prices for foreigners. So where a local pays 20 rupees, if I don’t know the right price, I might end up paying 40. This is still only 30 eurocents but it feels like a rip off. I ask a local for the correct price. Just wait for the conductor to come up to you to collect the money.

Third step: Get in

Once I found the right bus, I put my fingers in my ears and get in. Fingers in my ears? Yes. There’s a big chance I am entering a disco-like bus, including flickering Buddha lights (or Jesus or Hindu, depending on the religion of the bus driver and conductor) and really loud Sinhalese bus music. I turn my thumbs (the Dutch way of saying ‘keep my fingers crossed’) that I have a seat, because otherwise I’ll end up standing in the isle and flying through the bus with every hold or go, collecting some nice bruises along the way. Big bags I put next to the bus driver.

Be aware that personal space isn’t in the Sri Lankan dictionary, so people might be standing too close to you in your opinion. As a girl, make sure hands of fellow passengers don’t end up at places they don’t belong, scream at anyone not respecting that. They are not used to girls speaking up so they’ll probably back off.

People don’t get up or aside to let you through. By waiting you won’t be able to go anywhere, so you have to push yourself through. If someone is sitting in the aisle seat and the window seat is free, you can sit in that seat, but this person will probably not move even an inch to make this easier for you.  

Fourth step: Choose a seat

This is where the sport gets serious, because there's so many things to take in account by making a decision which seat to sit in. If I have a choice which seat to get, I check if my window opens (you don’t want to sit next to a window that doesn’t open) and try to sit next to a woman and avoid scary men.

Also, I try not to sit in the front seats. The first seats on the right are reserved for monks and some other seats in the front for pregnant ladies, elderly or people with special needs. Last time I was sitting in a bus, and a monk came in. I got up and aside, like you are supposed to do. Apparently people are able to move aside in the bus, but just for a monk. Next to the monk, the man that was sitting next to me before sat down. There was one more seat, and I wanted to sit down on that one. But the people in the bus told me ‘no no no’ and another person was pointed out to sit on that chair. I didn’t understand why that person was allowed to sit there, and I wasn’t, and I thought it was unfair. Nobody tried to explain this to me. Then I figured that I am a woman (I forgot about that difference for a moment) and apparently as a woman you’re not allowed to sit in the same row as the monk.

Fifth step: Look around you and enjoy

When I am finally sitting next to an open window with earplugs in and a friendly woman next to me while holding myself to not fly through the bus, I look around. I love looking at the view, at the colourful food stalls and interesting shops, temples, paddy fields, the sea, the mountains or interesting tuktuk wisdom.

Just a colourful shop along the road. You see them every few meters but they never get boring to me.

But I enjoy looking around in the bus as well. I once saw a busdriver picking his teeth with a safety pin while calling his whole family and driving like crazy. Oh yeah, and closing the door again every once in a while because it didn’t close properly. And if the music didn’t make me deaf yet, the horn will. The combination of music and the horn will also make every conversation impossible.

If you’re lucky, you are in a bus with a TV screen, and you might be able to watch the live show of the music playing, a magic show or some crazy home videos which have nothing to do with the music playing, or some dramatic romantic video clips belonging to the music which makes you able to follow the story of the music.

If you pass a temple, there’s a chance that the conductor and some of the passengers pray quickly. The conductor might spray some water on the Buddha on the little altar in the front of the bus, and maybe runs out to put a coin in the giftbox to ensure safe travels.



Taking pictures from the bus isn't that easy, but I caught a nice pic of this temple!

Don't worry if the bus stops at someones house and makes a strange turn. Probably they just have to deliver some rice or so. Also you might get someones bag on your lap if they have to stand. Or a baby. This is all discussed without words but only eyecontact.

And if you think the bus is full, wait and see. At least 40 more people can fit in. With their weekly groceries. And after that, they are still able to move aside when a monk gets in.

Sixth step: Get out and rest

Keep an eye on google maps or ask someone when you have to get out of the bus. You might have to push quite hard to get to the door. Make sure you jump out at the moment the bus slows down, because if you’re the only one getting out, it won’t really stop. It will only slow down just enough for you to be able to jump out of the bus. Walk to where you have to be, and take a nap. Because traveling by bus in this country is interesting and exciting, but also terribly exhausting.

How to cross a road in Lanka without getting killed

A kingcoconut loaded bicycle and some busses

Like in the animal kingdom, the Sri Lankan roads have a hierarchy. If you want to travel ‘like a local’ and you won’t always have a guide or driver around you to help you, you will have to cross a road every once in a while. Also you will experience the crazy Sri Lankan busses. It’s such an adventure, every time again, that I like to share my experiences with you.

The hierarchy of the road:

The lowest place in this hierarchy is taken by the people walking on the road sides, watching their steps because there might be holes in the road. People walk relatively slow in this country, and they don’t really go aside if any vehicle blows their horn. Because it happens every few seconds, and you won't get anywhere if you go aside al the time. But with not going aside, the chances of getting crushed increase.



Also, don't stand in the middle of the road to make the perfect picture

You see quite a lot of bicycles here. Not as much as in the Netherlands, but still. Mostly older men with a lot of baggage, for example a big bunch of kingcoconuts.

The scooters come next, and the motorbikes after that. Very fast and crazy, if helmets are worn, they are mostly just there for decoration. I haven’t worn a single helmet that actually closes up like it’s supposed to. But a creative knot will keep your helmet on your head for most of the time ;) Also it’s the perfect vehicle to transport your five member family and the weekly groceries. At the same time.

Then you have the tuktuks, that fly like colourful birds through every hole and move quite fast. They are fragile as well though, and relatively expensive. To take a passenger tuktuk, will cost you about 50 times the price of the same distance by bus. (about 50 rs per kilometer). They aren't hard to find (except when you need one quickly). They will ask you 'madam you need tuktuk?' every few meters. You also have the bread tuktuks, which are like driving bakeries. You can't miss them because they always play a very loud and false version of Beethovens 'Für Elise' melody. There is a big chance you will wake up with this sound at least once during your stay. I think this is incredible, because this country can't agree on any single rule but the breadtuktuks somehow agreed to all use the same melody all over the country. There are icecream tuktuks as well, with a specific sound. They sell cheap and tasty icecreams. My favorite is the rainbow icecream for 40 rupees.

Nobody cares

The cars are relatively safe and comfortable, depending on the level of craziness of your driver.


How could I forget about the lorries and pick up trucks? There are the beautiful colourfull lorries which are transporting anything you could think of, from fruits to animals to elephants. 

An overloaded lorry in Pettah, Colombo

Then there are the pick up trucks, which also transport anything but mostly with an extra bunch of people. So a truck fully loaden with wood and 5 people standing on top or next to it, is quite common. Also sometimes they're used as a way to transport a family that is bigger than five members, so they don't fit on a scooter. Of course, they need a nice seat. So they just move there livingroom couch to the pick up truck and there you are, luxury open air family transportation!

The king of the road is definitely the bus. The express busses race. Not just fast, but highspeed. They blow their horn if something doesn’t get out of the way immediately. Some busses are slow, but still you shouldn’t ever get in their way. They win, I promise.

Crossing the road


Crossing the road in Colombo at sunset

Keep in mind this hierarchy. Depending on the speed of the vehicles, you can cross the road just by showing enough attitude. If you act like you are going to cross anyway, even if they wouldn’t stop, they will stop. BUT DON’T EVER TRY THIS WITH BUSSES. Jump aside, hide, run away. Don’t ever try to get in the way of a bus. It’s like getting in the way of an angry elephant. Just don’t.

As soon as you don’t see any busses, hold your hand up like a stop sign, close your eyes, take a deep breath and walk.

You will probably survive.

 

*The author is not responsible for any accidents or damage on account of this blog.

**I love this country. This blog is just meant to be funny and informative. 



Trying to carry the world

Hoping the wind will create some space in my head

When you try to carry the world, but it feels like it is so broken and messed up that you can only carry a couple of pieces. When you pick one up, you drop another. And you will have to walk over all the pieces you didn’t pick up to carry on following your path. But you can’t choose, because all the pieces feel equally important.

WARNING: Heavy blog

Everyone who knows me personally, knows that I am always trying to make this world a better place, and striving for that with everything I have in me. So I had a mini-identity crisis last week. When you travel, you face yourself more than being in your own environment. On one hand it’s good, because you are the only one to decide who you want to be and what you want to do. On the other hand, it can be hard, because who is it exactly you want to be? Which values are the most important to you?

I enjoy writing my blogs, and I had a feeling in this way I was creating some awareness between both Sri Lankans and western people, or in general between people from different cultures. And that’s what a lot of comments were about, people liking my blogs, being inspired.

But some people didn’t like my blog. They told me I was generalizing too much, because “not every house has those flipflop rules”. Or they told me I didn’t check my white privilege; “This country is ruined by colonialism by countries like yours, and now you come bashing that our country isn’t well organized. But that’s because colonialism messed up our country.”

And I thought, naively, that I was only creating some awareness by sharing my view… But apparently I was criticizing and hurting a lot of people, creating the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted to create a positive flow of respect and understanding of people with different views, cultures or habits. I didn’t want anyone to think I was bashing about this country, I didn’t want to hurt them by making them feel like I know better because of my skin colour.

Because I don’t know better, I just know different.

So it made me feel like I should never write anything again. I started to doubt all my values and choices, feeling insecure about everything. I didn’t know how to do good anymore…

How can you strive for equality if you are only looking at one side of the story? But how can you change inequality if you don’t recognize it and don’t pay attention to it?

I don’t want to exclude or hurt another goal or value equally important.

It’s the same with feminism. I truly believe that everyone should have the same opportunities, and women all around the world still don’t have the same opportunities (also in Western countries, send me a personal message if you don’t agree ;) ). So we have to empower them. But by only striving for feminist goals, I feel like I am separating women and men even more, which is the opposite of what I want to do. So how can I ever strive for something without creating another bad thing, in my own eyes or in the eyes of others?

And for the Dutch under us; this is the same with black Pete. Read my four year old but still up to date Dutch blog about that here http://nynkezandhuis.blogspot.com/2013/10/vijftig-tinten-bruin.html.

Life isn't always about roses

Conversations help to sort out your thoughts and worries. After doubting my whole existence on my own, I luckily started talking (and crying ;) ) with some friends. They helped me to figure out the following:

I can’t pick up more pieces of the world than I can carry. I try to pick up as many pieces as possible of this world. I am aware that I am only picking up some pieces. Only by following my very own path with confidence, I can be strong enough to carry some pieces and make a change. And I might generate some strong responses with my choices, but at least I make people think. I might make mistakes, but I can make at least a small difference.

Respect is the key.

Everyone has a different version of a better world. Only with a combination of striving for your values and respecting other values we can reach something. Listen to both your heart, and the heart of that other person who is trying to pick up one of those other pieces of the world. This doesn’t mean your pieces aren’t important.  It just means that other pieces might be more important for other people.
By respecting and understanding the other side of a story, you might be able to learn something and to see where your pieces connect

Because it is impossible to carry all those pieces of the world alone, but together we can!

Travel by trust

People asked me to write a more positive blog this time. First of all; I never meant my other blogs to be negative. They describe my experiences (others might experience it different), and yes, my frustrations. But it’s one of the reasons why I love this country; it never fails to surprise me. This blog will start off with a negative story, but will end positive, I promise ;)

Some suitable Tuktuk Wisdom: 'Come as a visitor, leave as a friend'.

My whole live, I’ve been warned. For strangers, for men, for traders, for girls… Tell me a person, and I’ll be able to tell you I’ve been warned for them in one way or another…

Especially since I’ve been traveling in my own in a ‘foreign’ country (which feels like home), people feel like they have to warn me even more. “You don’t know anything about this country”, “a girl isn’t safe anymore those days”, “You don’t know what terrible things some people are capable of”, “Drugs, rape, alcohol. Be careful”… I could go on and on.

If I would get 10 rupees (which is about 3 eurocents) for every warning, I would be rich. Not just in Sri Lanka, but also in the Netherlands. Also, if I would listen to every warning, I would have no friends and I would never experience a single thing.

We have lately seen that bad things can happen everywhere, even when you’re biking home after work or school.. Even in a ‘safe’ western country like the Netherlands. So yes, bad things can happen in Sri Lanka as well.

But let me tell you something: Life is deadly, and most people die in bed…

And I don’t want to die in bed, lonely, without any good adventure to tell… I’d rather take some risks and enjoy life, with my Srilankan friends and family.

So I decided to travel by trust. Of course I trust my gut feelings (or feel my water, as we say in Dutch), and I pay attention. I don’t do anything that doesn’t feel good. But I believe, most people on this planet actually mean well. And you will sort out the people who don’t mean well quick enough. I know both my parents and my extra pair of Sri Lankan parents are really worried about me, and wish I wouldn’t do this, but I decided not to listen to all the worries and warnings and to travel by trust. Not only trusting others, but also trusting myself in my ability to take care of myself.

Since I arrived, I have only paid for accommodation for 6 nights, out of 54 nights since I arrived. Not because I didn’t want to pay for accommodation, but I feel like you experience so much more awesome things when you travel on trust. I have said yes to almost every trip or invitation. It makes me warm and thankful and makes me appreciate everything so much more. This was possible thanks to my amazing friends, and also to a lot of new friends. People I didn’t met before I stayed at their place. People who just wanted to be kind to a fellow person on this earth. I’ve had awesome tours from friends of friends. I’ve hopped into cars from the mountains around Kandy down to the city, because they were going down anyway. I’ve had lunch and dinner at houses of people I just met. People are very kind, friendly and helpful in this country. All around the world they are, but I feel like people are even nicer in this country. They just want to assure that you have the very best time and that you stay safe, on their paradise island. Sri Lanka, which literally means majestic island, is despite the regular frustrations of locals, the country of their heart. You come as a visitor, you leave as a friend, they say. And it feels like the whole country, including nature and weather, works together to make sure you will. Almost everyone who visits, falls in love with this crazy country and returns at least once.

Even the animals help to make sure you will fall in love with this country

But I am convinced that this concept doesn’t only work on this island. 

We all have been warned for strangers our whole life, and we probably all have warned others for strangers.

But what if, instead of warning and being afraid, we try to help others? If we wouldn’t spend our time and energy on worries, we could have fun instead. We would be connected by kindness and trust.

Then we won’t be strangers anymore.

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I want to thank all my old and new friends who made this possible

·       Aisha and her family (and cats), for picking me up at the airport and for not only providing me a bed, but a real home (with books), immediately after arriving

·       Thilini’s family, for adopting me as their daughter (and sister, including the teasing) while Thili is in Australia, and taking care of me as real parents, even after my blog about the flipflop rulebook ;)

·       Seta and her family, for hosting me and taking me to different religious ceremonies (I even fed an elephant!), and Seta again for being my personal trip organizer

·       Imco, co-owner of Surf City Guesthouse, to provide me a place where I can have some space for myself and do a relaxing morning swim and an evening beachwalk

·       Yamuna, for taking me to the most special party ever, hosting me in her house and lending me her bike

·       Father Ruwan, for hosting me in his priest and nun house for retreats and renewals and for praying for me, my family and friends, and his helper Lalith

·       Lucky and Aravinda, for proving me Kandy is indeed a beautiful city, if you know where to look

·       Buddhi and Thanu from Villa Windsor Castle for providing me a home without curfew

·       Sister Grace for the special lunch at the convent

·       Trevor, for allowing me to feature his tuktuk wisdom picture

·       All the other people who made me tea or food, took me on trips, showed me around, gave me tips or brought me in contact with people who might be able to help me

·       My friends and family at home for their love and support

Thank you!! I feel blessed