Writing about straddling the worlds of tourist and local got me to thinking a little bit about the ways that I have become Sri Lankan in my six month time here. As the proud holder of Sri Lankan residency, and having been absolutely immersed in small town life here, there are some things about rural Sri Lanka that I have adopted – often without even realising it. At the same time, six months is a short time, and there are some things I will never pick up, understand or agree with about life here. So here’s my list of ways that Norny has become Sri Lankan and ways she hasn’t.
Ways I have become Sri Lankan
1) I wobble my head from side to side to mean “yes”, “ok”, “thank you”, “I’m going now”, or if I can’t think of what to say.
2) I eat rice and curry twice a day with my fingers, and think it “tastes better” than with a knife and fork
3) I consider said rice and curry “comfort food” and know that spicy curry is good for an upset stomach
4) I think of chicken or soya pieces as luxury food and feel a get excited when it’s on the menu
5) Being very out of practice, I get a bit drunk after one glass of beer (this is like a Sri Lankan woman as men drink absolutely loads here!)
6) I shrug my shoulders and say “what to do?” if something has happened that is out of my control
7) I can tell the difference between “standard” and “semi luxury” buses even though they are pretty much the same (both hot, rusty, noisy, and overcrowded)
8) I haven’t seen an aeroplane (even in the sky) for six months (many Sri Lankans here have never seen one)
9) I know that “rice eaten?” means “have you eaten your breakfast/ lunch/ dinner?” (After all, all food is rice, isn’t it?)
10) I know what a “fancy house”, a “cream house” and a “hair saloon” are
Ways I have not become Sri Lankan
1) I will never agree that being at work equals doing work
2) I don’t tell people that they are “coming fat” and expect them to take it as a compliment
3) I don’t think that a size ten top is an XXL
4) In reference to 6) above, I don’t think that “what to do” is a good enough answer for why the piece of work or meeting is delayed. Again.
5) I don’t think that women who bathe in the sea with “just” a swimming costume on (and not fully clothed) are asking to be pestered and harassed
6) I don’t think that spending £3 on a three wheeler for a forty minute journey is a waste of money
7) I don’t rake up huge gobs of spit in public (or anywhere really)
8) I don’t think that wobbly brown slabs of coconut mixture, chewy squares of sweet rice flour or oil cakes are delicious homemade sweeties
9) I don’t think “coffee” is a watery greyish brown liquid with ten sugars mixed into the pot.
10) I don’t think that stinking fish with flies all over it is “fresh”
Some pictures
Lots and lots of rice
Eating my rice. With Jayamali and Amma doing the Sri Lankan sharing of food in the background
Standard...
...And semi luxury
Oil cakes. Yummm or actually, yukk
"Fresh" fish
