Hello all. I am sitting in HHR’s Colombo office with a combination of feelings I don’t think I have ever experienced before. This day has consisted of last minute packing and shopping as I am set to depart tomorrow at 1:30PM for Dubai. I have a wonderful 10 hour layover then a 14 hour flight to New York City. It is going to be a long day(s)!

Part of me is very excited about going home. I am looking forward to seeing friends and family and watching the Razorbacks, Titans, and Bulldawgs this fall. I am also happy that I don’t think I will be experiencing any more bomb blasts like I did yesterday. A claymore mine, targeting the Pakistani High Commissioner, went off killing seven and wounding several more about a kilometer away from my house. My room shook and I could feel the blast through my bones. Though we all put on a brave face, it was a pretty scary moment. Therefore, part of me is happy to be heading home. However, part of me feels sad and almost guilty that I “get” to go home. I have become close with those in my office and will greatly miss all of them.

Because Sri Lanka is so far away from the US, I have no idea when I will be able to return here. I have learned a great deal about tsunami rehabilitation, but I have learned more about living in a war zone and the atrocities associated with it. I.F. Xavier works tirelessly for those who can’t help themselves amidst conditions impossible to understand in the US. HHR works amidst manmade and natural disasters acknowledging the difficulty of their work while always helping those who have suffered. It has truly been an honor and a priviledge and I hope that one day, I will be able to return the kindness HHR has shown me in my 2 and a half months in Sri Lanka.