One Day In Sri Lanka

I liked all the ingenius ways of selling things I saw at the Pola in Negombo. Desima explained that the Pola inhibited what was a street from Monday to Saturday so everything we saw, the booths, the display racks, the stalls would be dismantled at the close of the day and removed. Notice the way of maximizing space by using the vertical is common in the smaller shops around Sri Lanka – I should not have been surprised to see it at the Pola.

These guys had a great way of selling – just plop yourself in the middle of your wares and sell!

There was a real variety of goods to sell – It always amazes me how much care some of the vendors put into the display of their goods.

This weekend I got some time to just walk around the streets in the neighbourhood and shoot… my kind of day!

I just like this one…. Perhaps it’s the blue and the rust, or the pattern in the lime and chili’s… I dunno…I just like it!
The above selection was available outside a temple.

One of the most popular advertising methods in town seems to be large banners. They are everywhere. I decided that using a banner might be a good way to show my China photos. This banner does double duty since it blocks the air conditioner from blowing on me while I’m at my computer. To get the banner printed it cost $13 Canadian… I didn’t think that was too bad…the stand cost me $13 as well – I’ve since found a better one for the same price that fits various sized banners and folds a bit smaller (this one is too long for a suit case).

Hey, 2007 has rolled around… Mark and I are currently in the United Arab Emirates on holidays until we get back to the grind this weekend….

If you thought my postings have been ’spotty’ since August…I have a small excuse….

I started a new contract position for Simon Fraser University at the Open University of Sri Lanka under the Distance Education Modernization Project. It’s a short contract…which will end in early February. My official title is: Education Technologist/Instructional Designer/Multimedia Specialist – quite a mouthful but it’s actually a dream job for me as it involves some multimedia development and troubleshooting, working with Faculty to develop high calibre online courses, training sessions on multimedia, instructional design, etc, I’ve had to teach an online course and last but not least, my time is spent advising the university about online course strategies and policies.

Here are a few photos of the campus and office:

Yesterday Mark’s project had a major event at the BMICH Conference Centre in Colombo. Besides having tea with the Minister of Education other highlights included, being part of the opening procession complete with Kandy Dancers and Drums and lighting of the ceremonial oil lamp. No photos yet from the actual event – just these from the advertisements in the paper….

Recognize this good lookin’ fellow?

I have to admit, it wasn’t until I saw this full page ad. that I realized how big a deal the launch was!! Here’s the ad….

A close up of the top half of the ad: