My first day in Sri Lanka, I slept all day from jetlag and time difference! The second day, I went to meet Prof. Kotagama, a well-renowned ornithologist in Sri Lanka, at the University of Colombo and he was very nice. My first field trip was to Kerunegalla. I was very excited to meet the monks because I had never been in such close proximity to monks before, so I was very much thrilled. I was also thrilled to see how the method of the project is being carried out and to explore forests and nature. The first temple we went to had loads of monkeys! I had never seen so many monkeys in my life before, not even at the zoo! This is the trip where I also had to sleep in the temples. The first night, we could not find the temple we were going to and it was very late and dark, so we stayed at one of the driver's, Ravi's, friends house, where I first experienced Sri Lankan hospitality. The family was very nice, gave us tea and biscuits and comfy beds to sleep in. They also made us tea in the morning and packed us up a bucket of kiributh (milk rice pudding) for the field. The first temple we went to, the monks offered us breakfast and lunch, so we ate both meals there. The monks were very pleased to have us and they were also very excited to use our binoculars. At the time, I didn't realize that some monks had probably never seen a binocular before or know what it is. I was very much shocked, however, to know that the monks in forest temples have cell phones! I also learned a lot about Buddhism on that day, Kasun, the grad student on the project, did a good job of explaining a few things to me. He explained the alms giving to me and how the villagers are assigned to bring food for the monks at the temple. That night, we slept at a temple. It was not fun sleeping in the temples because of lack of facilities and thousands of mosquitoes that were after my sweet blood, but it's an experience of a lifetime. At this temple, there weren't any food places close by or any running water for cooking, so we had to eat whatever we had with us--crackers, bread, cheese, jam, etc. On this night, I had to shower in the dark forest with a water pump, literally had to pump water to bathe. Teng's (a researcher on the project) girlfriend, Nim, was with me, so I would pump water for her and she would bathe and in return she did the same for me. Woke up the next day and did the same thing--went to the temple for breakfast and lunch and interviews with the monks and villagers. When Kasun would go in the field to survey the birds and butterflies, I would go with him. On the first two days, I got all of the butterfly names wrong and even mixed them up! Kasun probably wanted to kill me for messing up the names, but he was very patient. The temple we went to on the 3rd night had an entire village overnighting there to cook for and feed the monks early in the morning. All the people from the village rented a Tata bus and went to the temple. At night, a monk came and gave a few prayers and scriptures. Of course I did not understand a single thing he was saying, but I still sat attentively! It was also the night our driver, Ravi, took on a father role and stood outside of the bathroom and waited until I finished having a shower. He was worried that one of the villagers might do something to me. When the villagers found out that I was a foreigner, they were all very excited. They were all very kind and gentle, brought us food and gave me coconut water to drink. By the 4th day, I was covered with mosquito bites everywhere and very tired and happy that we were returning to Colombo for some of life's luxuries such as an inside bath, hot water, air conditioning, clean clothes, etc. The place that Enoka, my field supervisor, arranged for us in Colombo, the Cottage Bungalows, was very nice. The caretaker of the place was very welcoming and kind. He would order Chinese food for me whenever I wanted and made sure that everything was okay. After going for 4 days without any meat or fish in the field, I ran to KFC as soon as I got back to Colombo!!!
After the first field trip, we had two or three days of rest in Colombo. One day I went to the zoo and was very much impressed with the amount of animals they have there, a lot better than the Bronx zoo. I have used the advantage of looking like a Sri Lankan to the fullest while I was there. To get into the zoo, the local price is 100 rupees, the foreigner price is 2000 rupees, so I paid the ticket for the Tuk Tuk guy to take me into the zoo as a local, so I saved 1800 rupees! Nobody bothered to ask me any questions because I look like a Sri Lankan =) Another day, I rented a Tuk Tuk and went with Teng and his girlfriend around town to do some sightseeing. Some of the places we visited are the Gangaram temple, the Hindi Pantheon, the World Trade Center, Odel shopping mall where I bought lots of tea, and the replica of the stone Buddha.
On the second field trip, we didn't go very far away from Colombo. We went to Kegalla and neighboring areas. On this trip, we did not sleep in the temples. We slept at a research facility, but it wasn't much better than sleeping in the temples. I still had to shower outside amongst trees and creepy crawlers! We visited the store and home of Mahinda J. Stone on this trip and a rubber forest and waterfall. There was a different grad student with us this time, Devaka, and he talks a lot, so he told me a lot of reincarnation stories while we were in the field. We also met some people from Colombo who were visiting a temple to give alms and they treated us quite well too. Sri Lankans are very nice people. I've experienced their hospitality myself firsthand. Many villagers would offer us tea, biscuits, and fruits in the fields during the interviews. One lady who gave us tea and fruits told me to come back and bring her lots of presents!
The night we came back from the 2nd field trip, Enoka came from Singapore to Sri Lanka. I was very excited to meet this face I had been hearing so much about! The first day she was there, we all (Myself, Teng and his girlfriend, Enoka, and the driver Ravi) went to visit Prof. Kotagama at the university and we went to the national museum. Again, I used the advantage of looking like a Sri Lankan and paid the local ticket fee for the museum. It was a difference of 25 rupees and 600 rupees! The next day, Enoka took me to a wedding homecoming with her in Galle, so I got a bit more exposure to the culture. On our way back from Galle, we stopped at a coconut stall along the beach and stuffed our faces with coconuts! She was surprised that I knew how to drink coconut water from the coconut without a straw, but I was born in the tropics, so it's in my nature!
That same night when we came back from the wedding, Teng, his girlfriend Nim, Kasun, myself and a different driver, Tanuja, went to Anuradhapura for the last field trip. On our way to our guesthouse at a university, we were stopped by policemen and had to pay a bribe. The policemen claimed that the headlights on the van were not functioning properly. The next day, we went to a temple in Mehintale where a guy stood and stared at us for 2 hours straight in the morning. Later that day, we were scolded by a monk and chased away. The monk was very upset that we were asking him personal questions such as his age (the first few questions on the survey are personal questions) and proceeded to tell us that Buddhism is all about conservation and there are no questions about it, something to that effect. Even later that day, we stopped at a restaurant nearby to grab a bite and while Kasun was trying to sort out the bill at the counter, I was approached by a drunken policeman and accused of stealing betel leaves. I was standing behind Kasun at the counter waiting for him and there was a basket with betel leaves in front of me, but I did not even touch the betel leaves or look at them. I was looking at a bottle of water when the policeman approached me and harassed me. Luckily, there was a guy, Priyantha, standing next to me and he chased the policeman away. That was a bad day, but still an experience, makes a good field story! The next day, my saviour, Enoka, came with the other driver, Ravi, to the the field and we had a good time. After work in the field, we did a bit of sightseeing in Anuradhapura. On our way back to Colombo, Enoka asked to driver to drive through Kandy so I could get to see it. I went to the Tooth relic temple in Kandy and again used my Sri Lankan looks to my advantage!
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a beautiful culture. It is very rich in nature conservation. My favorite thing about the culture is to see people come together and work together, especially at those alms giving events. I feel like that closeness amongst people is lost in many other cultures, even my own. I would go back to Sri Lanka for the king coconuts (Thambili), to see the monkeys, and visit Enoka.
After the first field trip, we had two or three days of rest in Colombo. One day I went to the zoo and was very much impressed with the amount of animals they have there, a lot better than the Bronx zoo. I have used the advantage of looking like a Sri Lankan to the fullest while I was there. To get into the zoo, the local price is 100 rupees, the foreigner price is 2000 rupees, so I paid the ticket for the Tuk Tuk guy to take me into the zoo as a local, so I saved 1800 rupees! Nobody bothered to ask me any questions because I look like a Sri Lankan =) Another day, I rented a Tuk Tuk and went with Teng and his girlfriend around town to do some sightseeing. Some of the places we visited are the Gangaram temple, the Hindi Pantheon, the World Trade Center, Odel shopping mall where I bought lots of tea, and the replica of the stone Buddha.
On the second field trip, we didn't go very far away from Colombo. We went to Kegalla and neighboring areas. On this trip, we did not sleep in the temples. We slept at a research facility, but it wasn't much better than sleeping in the temples. I still had to shower outside amongst trees and creepy crawlers! We visited the store and home of Mahinda J. Stone on this trip and a rubber forest and waterfall. There was a different grad student with us this time, Devaka, and he talks a lot, so he told me a lot of reincarnation stories while we were in the field. We also met some people from Colombo who were visiting a temple to give alms and they treated us quite well too. Sri Lankans are very nice people. I've experienced their hospitality myself firsthand. Many villagers would offer us tea, biscuits, and fruits in the fields during the interviews. One lady who gave us tea and fruits told me to come back and bring her lots of presents!
The night we came back from the 2nd field trip, Enoka came from Singapore to Sri Lanka. I was very excited to meet this face I had been hearing so much about! The first day she was there, we all (Myself, Teng and his girlfriend, Enoka, and the driver Ravi) went to visit Prof. Kotagama at the university and we went to the national museum. Again, I used the advantage of looking like a Sri Lankan and paid the local ticket fee for the museum. It was a difference of 25 rupees and 600 rupees! The next day, Enoka took me to a wedding homecoming with her in Galle, so I got a bit more exposure to the culture. On our way back from Galle, we stopped at a coconut stall along the beach and stuffed our faces with coconuts! She was surprised that I knew how to drink coconut water from the coconut without a straw, but I was born in the tropics, so it's in my nature!
That same night when we came back from the wedding, Teng, his girlfriend Nim, Kasun, myself and a different driver, Tanuja, went to Anuradhapura for the last field trip. On our way to our guesthouse at a university, we were stopped by policemen and had to pay a bribe. The policemen claimed that the headlights on the van were not functioning properly. The next day, we went to a temple in Mehintale where a guy stood and stared at us for 2 hours straight in the morning. Later that day, we were scolded by a monk and chased away. The monk was very upset that we were asking him personal questions such as his age (the first few questions on the survey are personal questions) and proceeded to tell us that Buddhism is all about conservation and there are no questions about it, something to that effect. Even later that day, we stopped at a restaurant nearby to grab a bite and while Kasun was trying to sort out the bill at the counter, I was approached by a drunken policeman and accused of stealing betel leaves. I was standing behind Kasun at the counter waiting for him and there was a basket with betel leaves in front of me, but I did not even touch the betel leaves or look at them. I was looking at a bottle of water when the policeman approached me and harassed me. Luckily, there was a guy, Priyantha, standing next to me and he chased the policeman away. That was a bad day, but still an experience, makes a good field story! The next day, my saviour, Enoka, came with the other driver, Ravi, to the the field and we had a good time. After work in the field, we did a bit of sightseeing in Anuradhapura. On our way back to Colombo, Enoka asked to driver to drive through Kandy so I could get to see it. I went to the Tooth relic temple in Kandy and again used my Sri Lankan looks to my advantage!
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a beautiful culture. It is very rich in nature conservation. My favorite thing about the culture is to see people come together and work together, especially at those alms giving events. I feel like that closeness amongst people is lost in many other cultures, even my own. I would go back to Sri Lanka for the king coconuts (Thambili), to see the monkeys, and visit Enoka.