Some photos....

So we left Galle today and drove 5 hours in the van up to Kegalle which is in the hill country.  On the way we stopped at this memorial site for the victims of the tsunami.  It's located where the train flipped over.  Apparently hundreds of people thought they would be safer on the train so they swarmed it, and then when the water hit it filled all the compartments and they all drowned.  There's this massive bronze carving that depicts a horrific scene. 

We are staying in a hotel for a week because the host family doesn't have enough space for all 3 of us because there are volunteers from North Carolina who don't leave for another week.  The hotel we are at is on Elephant Bath Road, fitting because every morning and afternoon you can watch the mahouts from Pinnawala drive the elephants down to the river to bathe.  Best part is, we can watch them walk right under our balcony.  We were warned not to go down to the river because apparently you have to pay for the privilege, instead broke college students that we are-and on a tight budget-we figured that if we went early enough we could sneak down there. So we walked down to the river at one and snuck into the restaurant that overlooks the river and is owned by the orphanage and ordered some drinks so we kinda looked like we fit in.  Although the restaurant was kinda swanky and we didn't exactly look the part.  But it was worth it, at two, all seventy seven elephants walked through the street and into the river and we got prime time viewing access! The elephants were all playing with each other in the mud and we also saw a three legged elephant, her foot was blown off when she stepped on a land mine in northern Sri Lanka (during civil war with the Tamil Tigers), so sad watching her sort of hop down the road.  It was an amazing sight though, and the three of us (Tiffany, Tom, and I) are unbelievably excited to start work with them tmrw morning! Although i would hardly call ti work ,it's going to be so much fun!

washing in the river