Most of the time, Thilanka Munasinghe is a regular college student.

He attends West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., sleeps in late on the weekends and earns a little money at his cousin's new Blacksburg restaurant, Burruss Square Tavern, during breaks from college.

But the 21-year-old native of Sri Lanka grew up quickly when disaster struck an area near his family's house in Panadura, Sri Lanka. While he was home during winter break the tsunami pummeled the nearby coast, and Munasinghe was dispatched as a student volunteer for the American Red Cross. He also had to deal with the news that a childhood friend was most likely swept out to sea.

"I've spoken to his parents," Munasinghe said this week about his friend. "They are crying."

Munasinghe was in bed on the morning of Dec. 26 when his mother interrupted his slumber. Something was happening outside. People were running everywhere.

The Munasinghe family lives on Galle Road, a main artery in the coastal city of Panadura, which is 16 miles south of Colombo, the country's capital on the Indian Ocean coast.

Munasinghe got dressed and headed toward the source of the commotion. He walked in the direction of his uncle's house, which is about 300 yards from the shore. As he approached the house, water was flooding roads and buildings. He was up to his knees when he finally reached the house.

His relatives had gathered there and had already taken a head count. Everyone was present. The group headed to safer ground at Munasinghe's house.

It wasn't long before phones went dead and the power went out. Luckily, Munasinghe never lost service in his cell phone. Of his immediate family - his mother, father and sister - his mother and sister were at home at the time of the tsunami. A servant who works for the family was also safe there. Munasinghe's father had left earlier for his job as a tour guide in Kandy, further inland in Sri Lanka. The family called him on his cell phone, and he was fine.

Munasinghe later learned his friend had probably perished in the ocean. Denish Warnakulasuriya, 21, was last seen in a beach cove with a group of friends who had gathered to socialize in the early morning hours, Munasinghe said.

"When the seawater was coming and it was so high,they didn't realize it would come so close," Munasinghe said with a mixture of sadness and regret.

After the tsunami, residents whose homes suffered damage took refuge in temporary shelters in churches, mosques, schools and government buildings.

By the evening of Dec. 26, the power was back on. The government issued a special television message for residents to collect dry rations to donate to their less-fortunate neighbors.

Munasinghe was having lunch Dec. 27 when his cell phone rang. The Red Cross needed him to report to the nearest municipal building to help with the recovery effort. He was placed in "distribution."

"My job was to collect food and distribute it to appropriate places," said Munasinghe, who has been a student volunteer for the Red Cross for three years.

He used a government van to collect canned food, bottles of water and clothing and drop it at buildings where people were staying.

Munasinghe only saw evidence of the true devastation of the tsunami on television broadcasts. Graphic images of bodies were part of the coverage.

"They showed everything," he said. "It was so shocking."

He and his family members wondered: "Do we know some of those people?"

On Dec. 28, Munasinghe heard the loud chopping of helicopters over his house. But the next day and for the rest of his stay, life became a little more normal. However, government officials asked residents not to celebrate "31st Night" out of respect to victims.

Munasinghe left Sri Lanka on the eve of the new year and landed in Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 1. His cousin, Shammika Rodrigo, who owns Burruss Square Tavern, picked him up and drove him to Blacksburg, where he stayed for the next week to visit and help at the restaurant.

Now back at college in West Virginia, Munasinghe keeps in close touch with his family while enjoying his classes and the friendly people he has met.

Munasinghe has been pleased by the outpouring of support by the world community, including America. He said the visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell impressed him, since Powell is "a top person."

"I'm really happy about the Colin Powell visit," he said. "It has a good potential energy. It generates a good relationship between two governments."

Munasinghe recently e-mailed a network of Sri Lankan friends to ask for photographs of the destruction in their various hometowns. Some images show water rushing through a hotel and bodies being loaded onto trucks.

He said he was fortunate to never see those scenes firsthand, but they may be forever imprinted in his memory."When the seawater was coming and it was so high, they didn't realize it would come so close,"

Thilanka Munasinghe

Relief worker"When the seawater was coming and it was so high, they didn't realize it would come so close,"