Touching Down in Sri Lanka

We touch down at Sri Lanka's Colombo airport at noon. I gather my things, looking forward to meeting my friends Mrs. A and her daughter Loku again. They aren't in the waiting room, however. I sit. I stand. I walk around. Finally I decide to change some money and get a SIM card so I can call them. The early morning departure must have made me sleepy; it takes me four trips back to the phone counter to get everything set up correctly. When the call does finally go through, I discover that they are waiting outside, just 100 meters away. 

The family consists of Mrs. A, her husband, who I call Uncle, and their daughters Loku and Podi. Last year, Mrs. A studied at my university in Changchun. During the spring semester, her daughter, Loku, came for a month-long visit. I talked to them both a few times, and eventually asked about the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka. They invited me with open arms, saying I could stay at their home and that they would even take me around to a few places. It was when they said that the best time to come is in February, which just happens to be the second month in our 2-month winter holiday, that I knew I would visit.

The five of us get into a bus heading to Colombo since the airport is still about an hour away from the capital city. We chat about China and about things to see in Sri Lanka. As the bus fills up, a young man with curly hair sits in front of us. He must have been listening to our conversation because he turns to me and asks, "You study in China?" I tell him yes, to which he responds, "I study in China, too! I live in Tianjin." What an unexpected surprise, to randomly come across another foreign student in China on my first day in this small country!

 

From left: me, Mrs. A, Loku, Podi. In front: Uncle and the curly-haired boy.

In Colombo, the family wants to eat at KFC. I don't want to decline an offer on my first day, but I'm really hoping for something curry-like, or at least homemade. I can eat at KFC in Changchun, after all. Luck is on my side, though, as we find out that KFC is closed, probably because it's Sri Lanka's Independence Day today, February 4th. Across the street we find a shop that sells rice and curry! It takes a very long time to convince Uncle that I can eat spicy food, and that I can just try whatever they have. I'll let him know if it's too spicy, I tell him, but he's rather unconvinced. The food is great! I eat with my hands, too, when I see that that's the way it's supposed to be done. The family is a little shocked, and over the next week, grow to be only mildly amused. Oh, look at the foreigner eating with her hands, I'm sure many patrons think as they see me enjoy my meal. After filling up, I wash my hands and we get on another bus.

 





Our luxurious abode

Tonight we will stay in a nearby town where Mrs. A's nephew has a luxury guest house. When we arrive, I'm exhausted and still very stuffed from lunch. I take a late nap in an air-conditioned room. When I wake up at 9 o'clock, dinner is ready and, thankfully, I'm hungry again. After dinner, I'm surprised by being able to fall asleep again so soon. It must be from the lack of sleep on my two-day Singapore binge. In the morning, we hit the road again. For the first few days, I'm seeing Sri Lanka mostly from buses, so I figure, you can too! Click here for a ride through Colombo.