Little life in Paris.

Paris ohh what a city. Most Beautiful city in the world. But you can’t even think the real life in Paris. I am going to talk about it. Before I am coming to France I thought this is a life time opportunity but when I arrived here I thought this a place which I never come again.

I had to face many problems which I never faced in my life. Slept in many places, met new friends (In real time they are not helping you and they don’t care about you) and if you can’t understand the French culture you are done in France.

But I met awesome 24 friends. They are good, helpful and at least they gave a hope. Among them there is a special person who helped me a lot. From the beginning I thought it’s a fine help, but after sometime I felt, my god this is not fine, this is brilliant. But I screw everything because lack of communication and couldn’t understand the French culture.

But there is a hope all the time so i am waiting for that.    

Paris ohh quelle ville. La plus belle ville du monde. Mais vous ne pouvez même pas penser la vraie vie à Paris. Je vais en parler. Avant que je vienne en France, j'ai pensé que c'est une occasion de vie, mais quand je suis arrivé ici, j'ai pensé que c'est un endroit que je ne reviendrai jamais.

J'ai dû faire face à de nombreux problèmes que je n'ai jamais rencontrés dans ma vie. J'ai dormi dans de nombreux endroits, rencontré de nouveaux amis (en temps réel, ils ne vous aident pas et ils ne se soucient pas de vous) et si vous ne pouvez pas comprendre la culture française que vous avez fait en France.

Mais j'ai rencontré des amis géniaux. Ils sont bons, serviables et au moins ils ont donné un espoir. Parmi eux il ya une personne spéciale qui m'a beaucoup aidé. Dès le début, j'ai pensé que c'était une belle aide, mais après quelque temps, j'ai senti, mon dieu, ce n'est pas très bien, c'est génial. Mais je vis tout parce que le manque de communication et ne pouvait pas comprendre la culture française. Mais il ya un espoir tout le temps alors j'attends.

Sri Lanka the Miracle of Asia….

The island of Sri Lanka is located in the Indian Ocean. This island of Sri Lanka is the 25th largest island the world and the second largest island in the Indian Ocean after Madagascar discounting Java and Sumatra islands of Indonesia.

If you see the world map Sri Lanka Island is only a small speck south of Indian peninsula in Asia. But this tiny island nation is home to 20 million people! That is as much as there are Australians in the world there are an equal number of Sri Lanka people or Sri Lankans.

This country was formerly known as Ceylon and you guessed right if you it has to do something with Ceylon Tea. This is the island from which you get the famous and best brands of tea collectively called Ceylon tea. World famous tea companies such as Lipton Tea, Dilmah Tea all made their name from this small almost unknown island in the Indian Ocean.

But the island is not as small as you might think. It is 25,600 square kilometers large. That is more than double the size of the state of Israel we hear so often in media. The island resembles the shape of a pear or mango fruit with the a small peninsular tips called Jaffna making the north. From north to south the Sri Lanka island measures more than 400 Km and from east to Colombo in the west coast it measures 230 odd kilometers.

This Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka is blessed with natural beauty of every kind. The only thing we don’t have is snow and winter seasons, what with it being a tropical island near the equator does not allow snow to fall in the island. The country is surrounded by the water so it has many beautiful beaches and in the center of the country you find mountains double the height of the tallest mountains of its former colonial master’s mountains in Great Britain.

The island has a rich written history spanning more than 2500 years. So there are many heritage cities and historical monuments in this island. The commercial capital of Colombo boasts of every luxury and modern amenity found in the world and you find all people of every major world religions living in harmony in this paradise isle on earth.

Major tourist attractions in this island country are important historical and tourist cities like Dambulla, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Kandy, Kitugala , Karunegala, Matara, Mt Lavinia, Negombo, Nuwara Eliya Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura, Trincomalee and Sigiriya. The tourist attractions, Buddhist sites, the beaches and the landscapes makes Sri Lanka a sheer delight for tourists. Sri Lanka is also popular for its cricket stadiums and sports complexes. You could shop for tea and handicrafts here.

The Island has an unbroken expanse of beautiful golden beaches from the soft brown sands and warm blue waters of the Indian Ocean on its South and West Coast, to the world renowned beauty of its UN spoilt expanses of beach on the East Coast.

No less than seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Sri Lanka. They include the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the cave temples at Dambulla dating back to the 1st Century, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy and Sigiriya - the rock fortress in the sky said to be the 8th Wonder of the World.

The Sinharaja tropical rain forest is designated a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and the white-washed seaport of Galle with its impressive Fort is declared the only Living World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka.

Lahiru Attanayake CC

The Pride of Sri Lanka.

Most cricket experts and locals fans were under an illusion that Sri Lanka could never win a cricket world cup. They believed that the country's 1996 triumph could not be emulated in near future, not in their lifetime.

Their beliefs too were reasonable in a way as winning another world cup has been so near and yet so far for Sri Lanka, having lost four World Cup finals in recent times. When Sri Lanka made it to their fifth World Cup final in the ICC T20 tournament beating the West Indies in the first semifinal, many thought last Sunday's final against India would eventually turn out to be another bitter experience.

But Sri Lankans were fifth time lucky as they produced a miraculous performance to humble the mighty Indians by six wickets to reach the pinnacle of T20 world cricket. It was only Sri Lanka's second world cup cricket title and the first World T20 title. Sri Lanka's only other milestone in world cricket was achieved under Arjuna Ranatunga when they beat Australia by seven wickets in the Wills World Cup final played in Lahore, Pakistan on March 17, 1996.

It was a long 18-year wait for Sri Lanka to conquer the Mount Everest in cricket once more though they had figured in four global cricket finals prior to the 2014 World T20 tournament. Four successive defeats in World Cup finals are undoubtedly a frustrating experience and many wondered whether Sri Lanka may not be able to break the hoodoo this time too.

This was that best possible chance for Sri Lanka to win a T20 World Cup before the retirements of two former captains and veteran batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. On the other hand, all other members of the Sri Lanka team was determined to find that elusive win in a cup final to make it a fitting tribute to the duo who had made immense contribution to Sri Lanka cricket.

They just didn't say good bye to T20 Internationals. They did that in style - in the most unforgettable fashion. More importantly, their team mates were more keen in giving them a fitting farewell with nothing else than that elusive World Cup! They achieved that cherished goal by beating India by six wickets in the final of the ICC World T20 final played in Dhaka on Sunday night before a packed stadium.

What else could Mahela and Sanga ever dream of than that glittering T20 World Cup in their farewell international match of the latest version of the game! Retiring with the climax, reaching the pinnacle of world cricket is the dream of any cricketer but only few of them would achieve that goal. Mahela and Sanga belonged to that exclusive club.

Sri Lanka produced some top quality cricket to break the jinx of becoming runner-up in four successive World Cup finals. The Lankan bowlers teamed up effectively to restrict the strong Indian batting line up for an unimpressive 130 for 4 in 20 overs after captain Lasith Malinga elected to field first.

Sangakkara had not been that impressive in his lead up to the final, but his willow did the talking when it mattered most. Sangakkara's explosive knock of 52 not out off 35 balls shattered any hope India had in defending that modest total.

A golden chapter in Sri Lanka cricket was unveiled when Thisara Perera lofted Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for a massive six in the penultimate ball of the 18th over as Sri Lanka made 134 for 4 in 17.5 overs.

Overall, it was a life-time experience for most as the cricket-crazy Lankan fans of all walks of life came in their numbers to support the national team. It was a cherished moment which displayed national unity with all Sri Lankans uniting in support the national team, sans political, ethnic or religious affiliations. People in the Northern town of Killinochchci as well as those in the Southern city of Galle came to streets to celebrate that memorable win.

The people across the country cerebrated the team's victory lighting crackers and fireworks. The cricket fans gathered before giant screens erected in major towns, clubs and other public places to catch the action and were seen celebrating until the wee hours.

It was a great moment which proved the power of sport as a great leveler.

This spirit of brotherhood and unity should be maintained in the country's reconciliation process as well.

Lahiru Attanayake CC

How Germany stole the dreams of Neymar and Messi  !!!

          

32 days… 32 teams… 12 locations… With the participation of more than three million viewers, in Rio de Janeiro at the Maracana stadium, the 20^th FIFA World Cup came to an end with a grand closing ceremony.

In the final match Argentina lost to Germany for 1-0. This is the first victory of a united Germany. That is after 24 years. Germany claimed the massive prize money $35 million. This is the biggest prize in the FIFA World Cup history. International media reported that about three billion people watched the game live on television. After 64 years Brazil got the opportunity to host the World Cup. The only hope of 200 million of Brazilians was to win the championship in their motherland. However, for the Brazilian super player Neymar’s unexpected injury and as the team captain Thiago Silva lost the semifinal, the twelve year record they had set on their motherland collapsed. This is the worst loss the Brazilian team experienced against Germany. It was 7-1. This is also the highest score reported in a semifinal match.

In 1986 and in 1990 Germany and Argentina battled in the final battlefield. Argentina in 1986 and Germany in 1990 became World Champions.  International media reported that critics had predicted that final match of this series would take a very competitive form. Argentina team was led by Lionel Messi who is considered the best football player in the world whilst the German team was led by Philip Lam. Both teams consisted of great players from renowned sports clubs of the world.

Since both teams failed to score a goal during the given time period of 90 minutes, extra time was given at the end of the match. During this extra-time (in the 113^th minute) the reserve player Andrew Shuler led the ball misleading the opposing team and sent the ball to Mario Gotze who successfully controlled the ball with his chest; who entered the field replacing the great German player Miroslav Klose . Gozte’s immediate left kick sent the ball into the net shattering the hope filled hearts of Argentina fans. By this time there were only 7 minutes left from extra-time. That is how Gotze turned upside down the game of which, not only viewers but also the players thought the winner will be decided by a penalty. Thus even the final game of the series became another game under the rule of reserve players. This is also the first victory achieved by a goal from a reserve player. It should also be mentioned that it is the reserve players that showed the best performance throughout the FIFA series 2015. 
Gotze’s goal is the 32^nd goal kicked by a reserve player. Accordingly reserve players are responsible for 19% of goals in the series. That is a record too. 171 goals have been recorded in the series.

Following the goal Germany scored, when the game was about to end, Argentina got the opportunity to score a goal as a result of the unruly behavior of the German player Mesut Ozil. Messy took a long time taking the aim for this kick which stopped the heartbeat of millions of Argentina fans. Messy should have kicked the ball like that many times. But he must have never been under pressure as in that moment, taking the aim for the crucial goal. The ball went above the net, unexpectedly shattering all hopes of Argentina.

The German players were eagerly waiting till the umpire whistles the whistle closing the game. Then the party began! Players as well as their spouses, lovers and children celebrated while the runners up; the Argentina team including the captain was seen in tears. President of the hosting country – Brazil and the German chancellor Angela Merkel were present at the final match and they joined also the award ceremony. The award ceremony was led by the president of the International Football Association Sepp  Blatter. As Germany claimed the victory it was recorded as the first occasion that a Latin American country won the FIFA World Cup. Also it was recorded as the first time that a country from a foreign hemisphere won the championship in a series held in a Latin American zone.

Argentina team’s captain Lionel Messi won the Golden Football for the best player of the series whilst the award for the best goal keeper was reserved for Manuel Neuer from Germany. The special award of the series, Golden Boot was claimed by the Colombian player James Rodriguez who scored the highest number of goals. He has scored 6 goals in the series. Now, Germans are the football champions. It is the reality that will not change for another 4 years. Another chance for a world cup will be open only in 2018. That is in the FIFA World Cup that is decided to be held in Russia.

Lahiru Attanayake CC.