Blogs from Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 44

I have had to make an unfortunate pact with the spiders residing in my bathroom. I uphold my end of the bargain sitting idly by and watching as the arachnids encroach upon my space while, for their part, they eat all of the mosquitoes and ants unlucky enough to wander into one of their ever-growing webs. As spiders fall into the Jayme creature category of things with two many legs (accompanied by centipedes, squids, octopi, millipedes, crabs, and lobsters), I am not particularly fond of the situation, yet the dozen new bites I acquire every day have compelled me to let nature run its course. That is, until I discover a spider bite. Then those suckers are out of here. This afternoon I drank most deliciously disgusting drink I have ever had the pleasure (?) of ... read more

I went into Kandy on my own for the first time the other day, accompanied by my classmates Carolina and Katie. It was an exciting trip for me, if for no other reason than it gave me an excuse to practice speaking Siŋhala with the three-wheeler drivers. “Mee three-wheeler eke yannewade?” “You want three-wheeler?” “ŋ… ŋ… ou. Three-wheeler eke yannewade?” “What?” Much to my dismay, I have found that Sri Lankan Siŋhala speakers simply cannot understand my accent. In the end we usually fall into a Siŋglish discourse, whereby I repeat English nouns followed by the word ekak to indicate that I am not, in fact, speaking English, but rather an ill informed version of Siŋhala. “Notebook ekak tiyenewade?” “What?” ... read more

I used to find the fact that all of the electrical outlets in Sri Lanka must be switched on cumbersome. It was not until what I shall call the Incident of Applied Behavioral Conditioning that I came to know better. Without switching off the electrical outlet by my desk, I crouched next to the door to plug in my computer. Bzzzsshhhtt. The shock knocked me into the door and away from the electrical socket, clutching my right hand and cracking all of the four afflicted knuckles. I picked up my computer to ensure there was no damage and my fingertips sensed a peculiar electrical field emanating from the keyboard. Every subsequent time I have plugged my computer into the wall, the electrical field has come back. I have taken to placing my computer on the desk ... read more

Five people live in my home in Sri Lanka: mage amma (Kanthi), mage taattaa (Susantha), mage nangi (Sajani), mage balla (Teena), and Mr. Hamma. My amma (mother) is a small, round woman with long black hair she wears in a ponytail that reaches down to her hips. She wears linen saris for her work at the ministry but can most often be seen in long housedresses with large, floral prints. Although I have not been able to glean the specific nature of her job, it seems she teaches individuals with no other marketable skills to make artificial flowers for a living. The house, therefore, has at least one vase in each room teeming with fabric flowers. My taattaa is a skinny man only a little taller than myself, with graying hair and distinctive features. He works ... read more

This afternoon we walked with Professor Ram and his wife (also a professor, come to think of it) to the University of Peradeneya to see four of the religious centers on campus - the Hindu temple, the Muslim mosque, the Christian church, and the Buddhist temple. The Hindu temple was set on top of a mountain overlooking the University. It was dedicated to the younger son of Siva, who moved to Sri Lanka after fighting with his brother Ganesha over the ownership of a mango. Siva set his sons a race around the world to decide which would receive the fruit, and while the younger brother set off on a peacock around the world, the elder simply turned in a circle because his father had always told him that he was the world, creating and ... read more