By Catherine Stidston, Assistant Country Manager, Sri Lanka

After a 10 hour flight, I couldn’t wait to leave the airport and catch a glimpse of the country that was going to be ‘home’ for the next 6 months. I wasn’t disappointed.

As soon as I walked out onto the street with huge backpack attached, I was hit by a wall of humidity and greeted by an array of taxi drivers and tuk tuk men who seemed unbelieving of my “I’m meeting someone here, thank you”. With the beeping of horns and the buzz of people milling around me, I knew I’d arrived!

On the drive to my hotel I couldn’t help but stare at everything. The first thing that struck me was how tropical it seemed despite being in a city. Lush palm trees, market stalls of fish, fruits and vegetables of all colours, shapes and sizes lined the streets along with scratchcard sellers, street food vendors and a stray dog here and there. This was combined with buses, cars, bikes, lorries and tuk tuks chaotically dodging and weaving and breaking and beeping around one another.

Since arriving in Sri Lanka I have passed rice paddies, rubber plantations, salt mines, banana plantations, grazing water buffalos and a comical elephant cruising down the highway in the back of an old truck. I’ve spotted monkeys swinging on telephone cables and caught glimpses of huge lizards, little geckos, beautiful birds, cheeky squirrels and even shared the bathroom with a frog!

I’ve sampled the amazing delight that is Sri Lankan cuisine. They really do know how to make a good spicy curry with delicious accompaniments of dhal, roti, sambol, hoppers and much more! I’ve seen the beautiful stretch of palm tree lined coastline that extends over the West side of the island and I’ve been touched by the kindness, friendliness and happy smiles displayed by the people of Sri Lanka.

All of this I have seen in just two weeks. There is so much more to see, do, learn and experience and I really can’t wait to explore and discover more of what this beautiful island has to offer!