Yarl's or Yaal's?

There’s nothing like Jaffna crab curry. Two of my favorite restaurants in Sri Lanka are both called Yarl’s (well, one is spelled Yaal’s). Both are located in Wellawatta (Colombo 6), and are off of Marine Drive. Tissa (head of the US-SL Fulbright Commission) told us about Yarl’s last November. It is a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant that gives you an authentic experience eating crab curry. The owner is from Jaffna, the crabs are fresh, and the food is finger-lickin’, lip-burning GOOD. Whenever we go, Utsha, Ruth, Kirti, and I are the only girls in the whole restaurant and make a real spectacle of ourselves eating the crab. There are no utensils so we spend a good hour smashing the crab with our fingers, splattering spicy sauce all over ourselves, sweating profusely, giggling, and finally scarfing down pitthu, paratha, and yoghurt to try and subdue the fire blazing in our mouths.

Recently, we discovered Yaal’s. The menu is the same and the food is delicious (I hate to say it but the crab is even more succulent and tender than Yarl’s). The restaurant is much classier and more established, but it doesn’t give the same authentic experience as Yarl’s.

I can’t decide which one I like better. After eating at either restaurant I leave on a natural high. It’s that good. And so much fun to eat J

The original Yarl's

Notice the sweat beads

The new Yaal's

English Week

A few weeks ago was English week at Sujatha Vidyalaya. Utsha and I prepared our students the week before by going to classes during their library period and having students put on skits and presentations to practice speaking English publicly. One of the skits that I had my students do was:

Assign one or two girls in the group the role of the foreigner. This/these characters have never been to Sri Lanka before and are looking to you for answers about Sri Lankan culture, practices, history, etc… The rest of the girls in the group are responsible for sharing this information with the foreigners, and thus the rest of the class.

Then I assigned each group a specific aspect of Sri Lanka, such as: Matara, Sujatha Vidyalaya, historical sites, places to visit, food, and religions.

The students amazed me with their portrayals of Sri Lankan life as well as their witty commentary. Although many of my students are still extremely shy and giggle more than they speak, most of the students had fun with the project. Students playing the foreigners took on different accents from foreigners they have seen and delivered their lines with a comic flare. The girls’ creativity was a lot of fun to witness and I learned a lot from the information they presented. Students have so much pride and knowledge about their school, city, and country. I know I wouldn’t have been able to present so many historical facts about my own school/city/country.

I think that this activity helped prepare the students for English week because it went very smoothly. Girls participated in dictionary races, photo caption contests, oral reports, and dictation competitions. The week concluded with phenomenal performances by the older students acting out and singing English songs. 

English Plays at Sujatha Primary

Sri Lankan Backstreet Boys

"As Long As You Love Me"

Titanic of course

Vesak Poya

Happy Vesak! For the past few days we have been warmly welcomed to join in the celebrations of Vesak, a holiday in honor of the birth, enlightenment, and death of Lord Buddha. In honor of Lord Buddha, the Dhamma (his teachings), and the Sangha (his disciples), two holidays are given and all slaughterhouses and liquor shops are closed. Utsha and I came down to Matara to celebrate with some of our favorite teachers and get a more personal holiday experience. It was interesting attending all of the celebratory events and services. Throughout the last few days I have gained a deeper understanding of Buddhism as well as the culture that it fosters.

On Vesak Poya day (full moon), the city was quiet. Most celebrate the holiday itself with their families or attend worship services at temples and Buddhist centers. We took a walk to the local YMBA (Young Men’s Buddhist Association) where we were welcomed to join in the Sil that was taking place. Sil is a day-long worship that all can attend. While listening to different speeches and joining in song with the monks and other leaders of the worship service, hundreds of people sit together on the floor from morning ‘til night. Two meals are served to all in attendance, keeping true with the giving spirit of the holiday. As soon as we entered, we were each given lunch and welcomed to come and sit with different families and friends. I feel extremely privileged to have been granted access to such an event. After a few hours I left with a warmed heart, thankful for the kindness of the people we had just met and shared a meal with.

We spent the evening with a teacher and her family that we have become very close with over the past few months. We joined them at the Maha Bodhiya temple where we gave alms. The temple, bo tree, and dagoba were all colorfully lit with lights and lanterns.

The next evening we attended a dansala at the YMBA, a free meal for anyone who wishes to attend. The YMBA serves around 2,500 people each meal. Again, we were warmly welcomed into the event and enjoyed delicious rice and curry with new friends.

Yesterday evening, when walking to meet friends for dinner, we came across another dansala in the street. Although this one was far less organized and grand as the one at the YMBA, it had a flare of it’s own. Music was blasting, boys were dancing and waving Sri Lankan flags, and free juice was being passed out to everyone who walked by. Dansala’s have been going on throughout the city every meal for the last few days. They serve everything from juice, to ice cream, to full rice and curry meals.

Every time I attend a temple or religious service, I am asked what my religion is. When I respond that I do not have a religion, most are shocked. In Sri Lanka, there is so much overlap between religion, culture, community, and everyday life. In most conversations people express their own religion and inquire about mine within the first five minutes. For those who suggest that I become Buddhist since I do not have a religion, I always express my respect for the religion but my lack of desire to subscribe to a particular faith. My respect and interest in Buddhism has increased immensely after Vesak because of the welcoming nature of all the people I have met at the services. Also, the principles of the holiday were interesting and admirable: observing the five precepts (commitments to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication), giving, and bringing happiness to others.

Buddhist Flags

Observing Sil

Lunch

The Dagoba at Maha Bodhiya Temple

Oil Lamp

Tharanga

Offerings

Lanterns

Dansala at the YMBA

Yala

Unfortunately the last of our traveling through Sri Lanka has come to an end. We have two weeks left teaching in Matara, then back to Colombo and Kandy for a few weeks before heading to Malaysia for a week (!!!!) and then back to the US of A! Our last big trip in Sri Lanka was by far one of the best ever. We visited Yala National Park and went on a safari. Although we didn’t see any leopards (Yala is known for having one of the highest leopard populations in the world), we were amazed with the natural beauty of the landscape and wildlife. It was such an exciting experience seeing animals living free of captivity. It was the first time I have seen an elephant in this country that wasn’t in chains.

In a 4 hour safari ride we saw a gorgeous sunrise, water buffalo, sambar deer, jackals, wild boar, crocodiles, a mongoose, elephants, spotted deer, and lots of beautiful birds. 

Sunrise

View from our Jeep

Crocodile #1

Croc #2

Water Buffalo

Elephant Walk

Thirsty

The Watering Hole :)

The ocean bordering the park

Where the Tsunami hit the park, 

in memory of the 26 lives that were lost here

Spotted Deer

Sambar Deer

Croc #3

Post-bus Cheer-up

After a five-hour, traffic clogged, butt and back pain inducing bus ride to Matara, I needed something to lift my spirits. And what do I see when I get of the bus? A kade with a man cooking up fresh hoppers. YES. Utsha and I went to see if there would be any chicken or fish curry to accompany them. We were greeted by the cutest eight(ish)-year-old boy who took our order, seated us, and then proceeded to show off his Michael Jackson dance moves. I love this country.

Trinco

We took our first trip to the East coast during the end of our April holiday. Trincomalee is a city that was both devastatingly effected by the war and the tsunami and it showed me a side of Sri Lanka I had not seen before. The area has a majority Tamil population and thus different traditions and language.

It was difficult to be in a place that was so negatively affected by natural and human disaster. People living in this area do not have equal access to necessary resources such as education and proper housing like people living in southern, central, and western regions of the country. It was saddening just driving through the town; the landscape even reflects the hardships that this area has faced. Visiting the area made me wonder how there could be such a great divide between the northeast and the southwest regions of this country. Many people travel to the east for the beautiful beaches yet it seems that the towns have been ignored.

We caught an insider glimpse of this underprivileged lifestyle when we visited a fellow Fulbrighter at Grace Care, an organization providing housing for children and elderly who were left without families and homes by either the tsunami or the war. The occupants’ positive attitudes gave me a new perspective on dealing with misfortunes. I have not faced anything even close to the difficulties that the young girls have faced in their lives. By just spending a few hours with them I learned the value of the often-heard saying, “No one can take your joy away unless you let them.” The girls’ positive energy and zest for life was beautiful. I hope I brought at least a fragment of the amount of joy into their lives that they brought into mine.

Trincomalee maintained a definite consistency with Sri Lanka as a whole in that regardless of the amount of distress expressed or reflected in an area, it always provides some expression of undeniable beauty. The beach in Nilaveli was breathtaking. I have never seen a beach stretch on as far as the eye can see before. I may never see that again. It was a deserted, quiet paradise. We took a trip out to Pigeon Island and snorkeled amongst tropical zebra fish and vibrant blue and yellow coral. It was incredible. I am continually shocked by how much natural beauty Sri Lanka holds. It’s no wonder they call it “The Gem of the Indian Ocean.”

I left Trincomalee feeling a myriad of conflicting emotions. I felt immense guilt leaving Grace Care where the girls live right on the beach but only get to go for a sea bath on special occasions, and going to one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. How can so much beauty exist alongside so much pain? Why is there still such a great divide between the Northeast and the Southwest (the Tamils and Singhalese) after the ending of a 25-year war? What did it solve? Why is an entire race/language/people continually left on the back burner just for being who they are? And why is it so easy to ignore that these problems exist when you aren’t living amongst them?

Island Hopping

Pigeon Island

Nilaveli Beach

Kade (small store)

Our Tuk Tuk got a flat

Kirti with her girls at Grace Care

The girls performing in the talent show

Dance lessons from the pro's

-seriously, these girls were unbelievable

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