One Week To Go!

This time next week I'll be on a plane making my way to the west coast before spring-boarding into Asia. Just getting over there will be a journey unto itself! I leave Nashville Sunday 4:00 p.m. central time and arrive in Colombo Tuesday 11:30 p.m. local time. I will be traveling for a day and a half solid while picking up a dozen hours or so along the way. I'll have the entire day on the 30th to wake up, collect my thoughts and take in the surroundings of Colombo before being picked up on the 31st for the 7-8 hour bus ride to Galle with the other volunteers. I hear the less than roomy travel accomodations make introductions nearly automatic.

Since I'll have a full 3 extra days after my 2-week commitment to explore Sri Lanka, I may use this time to arrange a trekking adventure into the hills of central Sri Lanka around Kandy. There are a lot of monasteries and Buddhist shrines in this area and is almost a must stop. I've seen several 2-3 night treks advertised online so I know it's possible to do, but I don't want to be nailed down to a specific itinerary just yet so I'll leave that to plan for when I get there.

If you enjoy maps, you'll be pleased to know Sri Lanka is in one of those unique areas of the world where they seem to do things on their own time, literally. I will be 11.5 hours ahead of our central time zone. Not 11 or 12 hours, but 11 and one half hours. Other countries that have this distinction are Suriname, Iran, India, Province of Newfoundland and Central Australia, but India is to blame for Sri Lanka's time warp. India, sitting right above Sri Lanka, spans 2 time zones but they wanted only 1 time for the whole of India. Apparently they took Ghandi's idea of sharing one step too far and instead of allowing Bombay to be 10:00 and Calcutta 11:00 they said both could be 10:30. It seems Sri Lanka didn't want to show favoritism to either side and agreed the half hour designation would be best for all involved as well.

I have received 5 immunization shots so far with 2 to go, 4 typhoid immunization pills, 1 preventative prescription for malaria in the form of 8 pills and 1 prescription for a Tri-Pak for diarrhea should it occur. Oh, please stay in the bottom of the backpack.

My passport is a story all by itself which I hope, wish, and pray to receive tomorrow. When we last left our little blue friend in an envelope and a check for $115 it was on it's way to Pittsburgh for a rapid 2-week turnaround, I was in an optimistic mood and was hoping for the best. Why shouldn't I be, right? This is the US Passport Agency and they do this sort of thing full time. No worries mate! When my check cleared on 1/24, roughly a week later, I knew we had good progress. When I did not receive my passport some 3 weeks after that point I began to grow suspicious of my previous enthusiasm. A quick call to the passport center confirmed 2 things; My passport was lost somewhere in the mail and Homeland Security is a joke/myth.

My US passport, the one I had been taught was the most important item on any US travelers body or elsewhere, was sent to me from the US Passport Agency via regular mail on time and within the alloted 2-weeks but it never showed up on my end. Hmmm. I asked if they were
worried about this. They weren't. I asked shouldn't they be and don't they ultimately have as much if not more of a vested interest in it's well being as I? Yeah, probably, but it seems they've been asking the State Department for years to be able to send these registered mail to no avail. What?! Here's the deal, nobody there really cares if you get it or not. Whether or not some dude in some mail room is snagging these little babies for his cousin's operation over the border somewhere.

It doesn't matter because our job in the grand plan of Homeland Security is just to worry. Not to help or volunteer somewhere but just to sit, wait, worry, and watch the lights change from yellow to orange. No action has been asked of us or expected from us during this never before experienced security crisis as it was asked of citizens during WWII. Standing in longer lines at the airport should be the minimum expected of us, not the standard. Anyone remember rubber and various scrap material drives and other calls-to-action in the early 1940s which banded citizens together against the common cause? There was a group goal in mind and a clear objective. Raise and collect the necessary tools needed for the fight while boosting morale and jobs at home. Sounds nice huh? Today, our troops lack the necessary body and vehicle armor but we're just asked not to get too upset or as Donald Rumsfeld suggested, "You go to war with what you have." I call BS. I say you go to war WHEN you have what you need and if you don't have it we'll get it. But why is the DOD unwilling to ask for our help? Why is the government assuming it's solely up to them to handle this? When did America become a nation of and about the government instead of the people? We are the nation. We are the government. We are not in control. No we don't need rubber drives today, but we do need each others involvement. Complacency is the enemy of freedom. Write or call your representatives today and ask for a call-to-action of citizens. Ask for volunteer programs to secure borders and ports. Do something.

Now, it seems, our objective is to quietly remain consumers but not to bother with helping secure our borders even though it's quite obvious the government needs help. Why are they pretending it's all been covered? It they put the call out for volunteers to enlist in regional watches and trained them to help out at border crossings, ports, and other U.S. gateways, I'm sure we'd not only fill every spot needed but actually relish the opportunity to get involved. I've already learned that much from my planning and talking to other volunteers. People want to get in there and get involved! Show us where you need help and we'll step in and fill that need. I expect our government to guide us and protect us but not babysit us! Give us the truth about our security and allow us to help and we will gladly help. This nation wasn't built on consumerism but it is being guided by it and we are just watching the parade go by.

Sorry for the rant, but you know the old saying, "You can't get to Sri Lanka without running into a Wal-Mart 3 times or across government incompetence twice." Since the USPS and the Passport Agency play for the same team, couldn't they just, I don't know, mail passports for free? Is that a crazy thing to ask? How about free and registered mail for all US official documents instead of paying Fed Ex to do what our government facilities are already paid to do. That would be a good start. Maybe someone out there can take care of this. Thanks. However, there is some good news for me and the rest of the color-coded country. After years of asking, the Passport Agency seems to be just on the cusp of being allowed this revolutionary system of shipping AND tracking US passports just like a real business. Amazing. Can we please have a law that makes the USPS ship all such official US documents via registered mail at no charge to other agencies? It all comes out of the same grab bag of money anyway.

Anyway, it appears when your passport is "lost" in the mail, they void that specific passport number, print a new one from your digitally stored photo, and ship it to you overnight via Fed-Ex. Yeah, that makes sense right? Why do something right the first time for free when you can screw it up for an increased cost next time. Now, I have a tracking number that won't track thru the Fed Ex website so, once again, we shall see.

I'll be doing some last minute grabbing of things this coming week in Nashville like a cheap pair of work boots and a useful yet cheap digital camera. I picked up a military duffel bag for $16 at the local GI Depot. It's a 36",heavy canvas, olive drab army duffel and it will serve several purposes. It will allow me to protect my tough but not quite international-airport-tough backpack from grease and rips, transport extra relief supplies directly on top of my pack without having a separate bag to haul, hide all my flashy American gear from prying eyes, and cinches up nicely with a heavy metal shoulder strap. The extra room on top which will be filled with crayons/toys for the kids on the way over there will be filled with souvenirs on the way back. I'm thinking this system will work out well.

I've received several emails from returning volunteers and it seems they all very much enjoyed their experiences. "Organization" seems to be a bit disorderly but is improving all the time. Hand tools can be difficult to find at times and some volunteers have wondered from site to site looking for additional work whenever there was mass confusion or downtime. Either way, there's loads of work to do and lots of appreciative people. They were and we will be constructing 3-room homes for the local fishermen of the coastal villages. I have been asked to locate Bob's project home to get a completed photo for him and an update on it's new owners. Their house was only a week from completion before they had to leave.

One thing rang true from all the volunteers though. They met some really great people from all around the world who they say will be lifelong friends to go along with lifelong memories. I'm hoping for a bit of the same.

-Chris