After my family returned to Bangladesh from Sri Lanka in August 2022, I continued living here for work. During that time, I stayed in the office dormitory with some of my colleagues. Life was quite simple then.
In June 2023, my family came back to Sri Lanka. With them returning, it was time for us to move out of the dormitory and find a proper home. After ending the contract of our previous rented house, we moved into a new house in Sri Lanka.
The house is just a minute’s walk from Kotadeniyawa town, making daily life very convenient.
It is a single-storied building designed in a simple European style. The house has three bedrooms, a drawing space, a dining space, two kitchens, and one bathroom. Each room has a large window, so sunlight easily enters the rooms and keeps the house bright throughout the day.
We arranged two bedrooms for sleeping. In the master bedroom, we installed an air conditioner because the daytime weather feels warmer compared to my previous stay in Sri Lanka. Another bedroom belongs to our twins.
As usual, they quickly discovered the large white walls of their room and happily started using them as a canvas for their drawings. However, they draw less than before as they grow up.
The surrounding space of this house is smaller than our previous one. Still, compared to our house in Dhaka, it feels quite spacious.
At the entrance of the house, there is a beautiful Night Flowering Jasmine tree. Every morning, my wife enjoys collecting the fallen jasmine flowers from the ground. Their soft fragrance makes the whole entrance feel peaceful.
Inside the boundary, there is a small playground for the kids. On many weekends, they even turn the playground into their bathing area and enjoy playing with water there.
You can also find Alphonso mango trees and marigold flowers around the yard.
When we first moved in, there was a pumpkin plant in the backyard. We enjoyed cooking pumpkin leaves from it, although we had to clean the area regularly because insects gathered there. Later, we replaced it with papaya and green chili plants.
Like many houses in Sri Lanka, the owner decorated the house with many outdoor bulbs. The lighting looks beautiful at night. The interior fittings of the house are also quite impressive.
The front veranda has two sections. One part is where we usually spend time together as a family. Weekend breakfasts or evening snacks often happen here. The other part is used for parking the car.
There is also an outdoor kitchen under a shed with enough space for small Bar-B-Q gatherings.
Inside the house, the main kitchen is spacious and well arranged with nicely designed racks. We found the space more than sufficient for organizing our kitchen items.
The water supply system of this house is also better than our previous one. There is both a government water supply and an underground well. A submersible pump pulls water from underground to the upper tank. The sewerage and waste management system is also well-maintained.
The best part of this house is its location.
Unlike my previous home, this time we have neighbors around us. There is even a Bangladeshi family living nearby, which made us feel more comfortable.
My kids were especially happy here. Within a few days, they made many friends in the neighborhood.
What surprised me the most was that language never became a barrier. None of the children spoke the same language fluently, yet they managed to communicate perfectly while playing together.
Almost every afternoon, the kids gathered at our house for snacks and games. Sometimes it felt like a small kids’ party happening in our living room.
My wife and I enjoyed watching their activities. It reminded me of our own childhood days.
Among all their friends, a Sinhalese boy named Sabitu became their closest friend. Watching my kids walking around the neighborhood to call their friends to play together often brought back childhood memories.
