365
This is the 365th day of my internship in Sri Lanka (and #100 posting). It doesn’t differ much from the other days on the outset but it bears symbolical meaning for me. In the beginning I was trying to survive day by day, getting used to the new environment. I was counting days, weeks and months that I had done. I remember how insurmountable the time ahead felt when I had completed one month. 17/18 to go I thought.
Now I’m no longer afraid of the time ahead of my stay; I’m more ahead of the time ahead after the internship. Or not maybe afraid, but I wonder if I’m ever going to see the world as it was, if I’m at all able to adjust to the hasty European life-style, even if I have anymore what it takes to survive a Finnish winter. Not to mention the challenges ahead in the professional life. At the same time I feel a bit sad. This is my home now and after the last 1/3 I have to leave home behind. But I know I will come back sooner than later.
I was thinking how I could best amplify the importance of this posting; whether I should be talking about the 10 things I hate/love about Sri Lanka or something else that would sum up the experience so far. But it all feels so shallow. Because in the end it’s not the country as such that makes your experience complete. It’s the people around you. I realized I haven’t given enough emphasis on the people who have been there for me every day; my fellow interns, the citizens of Rome.
Jara
I start the series of introductions with Jaroslav Pekachek, or Jara, who was working at the same office with me in the beginning. He was the one who showed me around and made it so much easier to face all the peculiarities of the new culture. He was the one who offered to be my roommate when I learned to hate my lonely heat-hell (the first room assigned to me).
I admired, and still do, his adventurous approach on life. Apart from his extreme hobbies like climbing, snowboarding and mountain biking he genuinely lives for adventure. He has managed to combine his love of adventure with his tendency to help others in the project in India that I’ve already mentioned a couple of times.
But more important is what he is, not what he does. I never saw him angry, hardly ever even a least bit
anxious. He always carried a smile on his face and made himself easy to cope with. His laid-back attitude was contagious. In his company you could just relax and enjoy. When offered a drink he wouldn’t spit in the bottle; he lived every day as it came by. If he felt like partying to 4 AM and climbing roofs he did it with genuine commitment whilst holding himself accountable to wake up at six in the morning for work.
So that this wouldn’t sound like obituary I must thank him once more for his hospitality in his home country Czech Republic. We had such a nice time together on my visit there. And yes, he’s still alive – more than ever! Thank you Jara for being such a great friend!
anxious. He always carried a smile on his face and made himself easy to cope with. His laid-back attitude was contagious. In his company you could just relax and enjoy. When offered a drink he wouldn’t spit in the bottle; he lived every day as it came by. If he felt like partying to 4 AM and climbing roofs he did it with genuine commitment whilst holding himself accountable to wake up at six in the morning for work.
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