Monday morning was time to relax a bit. I slept in until nine. I said my good byes to Benjamin's sister Sarah the night before, she returned to work in Colombo before dawn. It was nice to have her perspective on things. I hope she travels to Portland some day and I can return the generous hospitality I have found from the Arumugam family.

I spent much of the morning trying to convince Hoài Anh and Thắng the value in following Benjamin's advice and hiring a driver for the remainder of the trip. Both Hoài Anh and Thắng were leaving the following weekend and it made sense to me that we maximized our time together. They had yet to experience the hot, stuffy and crowded conditions of the public bus system, so it took a little convincing for them to pay the $360 for six days use of a personal driver with intimate knowledge of Sri Lanka. We finally agreed to split the cost fifty-fifty and the headed to Adam's Peak that afternoon. That meant that I would not see the Pinnawala elephant orphanage but according to Benjamin Pinnawala was a bit like a zoo and it was better to see the elephants in the wild. I will never know.

In the early afternoon Benjamin's mom took me around her garden. Showed me how she ground coconut for palsambul and the Goya fruit used to make the delicious jam we ate that morning for breakfast. In her amazing garden, under the shade of banana, coconut, papaya and orange trees, she asked if I would miss them after I left. It melted my heart.

It was too soon to tell if my time with the Arumugam family has changed me, but in my brief visit I was overwhelmed by their overwhelming generosity and their openness to take in a complete stranger and make me feel so welcome so quickly. The village and its people have a special place in my heart and from the experience I feel different. I want to give it back and to pay it forward. The question will be, when I return to my big screen TV, iPad, computer and cocoon of easy living and quick entertainment will this desire to give and live through others remain.