I arrived in my hometown of Karachi, Pakistan last night Ц I leave for Colombo tomorrow morning. Between Washington, D.C. and Karachi, I have had 20-odd hours to think about what IТm going to find once I get to Sri Lanka. Part of me thinks the summer will be the proverbial piece of cake, but another, equally substantial part is convinced that IТm in WAY over my head. I am accustomed to working with small, under-funded, and often chaotic NGOs, and I grew up in a developing country in South Asia, so the summer shouldnТt be too much of a challenge. On the other hand, I speak none of the local Sri Lankan languages, IТm not much of a fan of the heat, and the guesthouse IТm staying at is all out of air conditioned rooms. The word УdisasterФ comes to mind.

But regardless of whether the summer will be a light-hearted breeze or a grueling misadventure, I know it will be meaningful. Many of the briefings and reports I read to prepare myself for the summer identify tsunami reconstruction and abatement of the government/LTTE conflict as the two major hurdles to Sri Lankan development. How often does one get an opportunity to work with an organization thatТs working on both? This fact alone is enough to make me look forward to my time with the Home for Human Rights, be it a cakewalk or a catastrophe.

All these concerns, however, can wait till later. Right now, I need to beat my jetlag.