- To Kottu Readers: Care to Comment?
- June 17, 2008 Filed under: People, Uncategorized
(For those outside of Sri Lanka, Kottu is a central repository of blogs in, around, and about Sri Lanka.)
Dear Kottu bloggers and readers–
I fit a somewhat unusual profile and so my presence here at Kottu and elsewhere online can be a little difficult to understand. I am an American (mostly Irish), who was so struck by the tsunami tragedy, I literally changed my life and decided to head your direction to provide whatever help I could.
As things progressed, I decided somewhere down the line that Sri Lanka is not a place many people are aware of in the United States, so I decide to occasionally blog in order to introduce your country as a place with more beauty and depth than simply “that country at war” or “a country that suffered from the tsunami.” Clearly those are things that have had or are having a major impact in your lives. But there’s so much more to the country, bad and good.
As a result I would like to explore some of those things. I am not from your country, but I have fallen in love with pieces of it over these last few years and hope I can deliver some of its magic to an American audience. Not just Sri Lankans in America, but also to Americans who might want to visit or who simply have a curious bent.
I could really use your help in bringing some measure of Sri Lanka online to America. Providing me insights via the comments section into your lives and what pleases you or what frightens you, your favorite foods or some unusual cultural anecdote could be extremely educating. I invite you to become involved and encourage anyone interested in initiating or maintaining an active discussion to visit often.
I’d also like to invite those of you who have something interesting to contribute to let me know your thoughts by email. I hope to feature blogs and guest contributions from quite a few of you who have shown yourselves via your own blogs to be excellent writers, thinkers, and informal representatives of your country.
Sri Lanka is an unusual, extremely interesting place. Please help me share it with others in the United States.
I look forward to hearing from you (even if you’re the notorious Sittingnut)!
June 17th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Hello P2P,
I am pretty close to your area as well. I am also helping out as much as I could. I started to visit Sri Lankan blogs like Kottu and achcharu.org after the tsunami.
I think it is hard not to fall in love with that country if you can forget about the ugly mire it is in now!.
I did not know about your site before. So I will be visiting more often. Thank you for your efforts!.
Kalusudda (a white guy who is black, the sri lankan meaning of my handle)
June 17th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Kalusudda–
Thanks for the comment! I look forward to hearing from you. Am I correct in saying that the “sudda” part means white? Also when you say close to my area, do yo umean in Sri Lanka or in the U.S.?
Best to you.
Sean
June 17th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
[…] Rescue Goes to Lanka. Today I commented on this P2P Rescue site. Seem to be a nice site done by even nicer people. Perhaps place you should visit as well, you […]
June 18th, 2008 at 4:07 am
this is the situ now… the website is biased, but figures are figures….and it’s a “democratic SOCIALIST republic” (LOL)….dont believe what they say in the patriotic blogs, it’s all propaganda. we are heading DOWNHILL rapidly.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/slec-j18.shtml
June 18th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Well. $1600+ flight ticket and 18 hours flight time is sound quite bad to begin with. Isn’t it?
I’m not sure what exactly an average American find interested in Sri Lanka. Most of the Americans I have been talking to think Sri Lanka is part of India or similar to India. If you been to India, you may know it is not true, since we have real meat burgers in McDonald.
Even thought we Sri Lankans openly don’t like political side of America, we tend to admire Americans. May be it is to do with communist influence over the time. Maybe it is not. Maybe we are just like everyone else in the world. But I’m sure most of the Sri Lankans know about America more than Americans know about themselves. My mother used to sit with me outside, under a tree, every evening and talk to me about Gorge Washington and Benjamin Franklin and people like that when I was around 4 year old lad. And next thing I remember was American Aids biscuits they gave me in the primary school back in the days. And what a treat it was. Freshly out of newly open box, it smells delicious. And by 10.30 you are quite hungry anyway. Later on, they limit the biscuits to rural areas, and my mom used to tell me, in rural areas kids come to school only for the biscuits. And jump over the fence and go home after the interval. I don’t know when we lost touch with American or Americans lost touch with us, I guess may be Reagan becomes the president at one point and Soviet cultural center had really nice looking cartoons.
At this point, I really doubt average Sri Lankan knows much about America. They know America is to be blamed for every single problem in Sri Lanka, since that is what most of the politicians use as excuse all the time, just like how American politicians use “Al Qaeda and other extremists”. Other than that, only possible touch we Sri Lankan have with America is the Mormon Church seeking new members. So when we see an American “sudda”, it is quite possible first thing come to our mind, ‘he is here to convert my neighbors to Mormonism”. I don’t know how much of that sort of experience you had.
We are not the open minded people we used to be before. May be war is to be blame. It makes you not trust anyone. So I’m quite happy you fall in love with the part of it. I’m still in love with part of it. Food.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Sam–this was great to read. Thanks so much for taking the time.
I agree with you–Sri Lankans in many ways DO know more about American history than Americans themselves. Your country has been in such a state of disarray for so long, and it is such a small country, that politics have a REAL, tangible meaning. I have never been anywhere where people are so educated and informed about politics as Sri Lanka.
I was very glad to read that Sri Lankans can separate Americans from American politics. In my entire life, I have never disagreed (or been disgusted) with the behavior of my own government. This is true of many, many, many people in America.
Do you really have a major presence of Mormon missionaries there? During many months in Sri Lanka I never once came across a Mormon. In fact I hardly met any Americans, either.
The biscuits you spoke about sound delicious. I would like to know more about them and see if I can’t taste one myself! Thanks for the observations.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Dear p2p
It’s nice to know there are americans out there who’re interested in the goings on of our country. What you say is quite true, Sri Lanka is a country of many diverse elements, both cultural and natural. Even from a business point of view, Sri Lanka has the potential to become a regional powerhouse, provided the proper investors are encouraged. Sadly, most outsiders just see it either as a country that’s at war or a simple beach vacation destination.
However, the one thing that cannot be avoided when looking at Sri Lanka, is the present state of its economy, freedom of expression and the quality of life experienced by the common man.
Once, we were a country that was held up as an example of development and growth by the former Singaporean president Lee Kwan Yu. Sadly, we have not lived up to expectations. A three decades long civil war and inept leadership has effectively brought this country to its knees.
I firmly believe that more foreign involvement is desperately needed to ensure this country does not become the Asian equivavent of Somalia.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:17 am
hi!
I think first of all we need to thank you for evening attempting to help us and for your rather kind thinking and efforts to help… It is certainly much appreciated…
No country is ever perfect and help can come in different forms and different ways…
With more nations coming together and your plans to actually make SL known to others is a great thing… Thanks again and hope you get all the help you need.. Whatever we can do, we shall try..:)
June 19th, 2008 at 5:50 am
Mormons, SDA, JW.. What is the deferent (to Sri Lankans)..
Yes. There is a quite noticeable presence here. It may not a physical presence. Or it may not a “white” presence. May be it is much to do with (other) religious propaganda. Or maybe it is more to do with their significant presence in the very top layer of the society. But one way or another, that has a noticeable presence in everybody’s mind. One thing I noticed is, most of the Sri Lankan Mormons do not revival themselves as Mormon, nor do we Sri Lankans know the deferent.
I don’t think USAID biscuits are no longer there in SL.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the comments, people.
Lady Divine, I really appreciate the feedback. It’s nice when it comes. I have been meaning to contact you since you commented first quite some time ago. I checked out your blog and read about that time you could not buy alcohol without a man with you. Is that true??
Sam–I amsure the biscuits are no longer in SL, but I would still love to find them. I wonder if we could do it.
killromeo: Thanks for commenting. I completely agree with you. Many people have told me how Sri Lanka had so much potential–more than Singapore at the time–and look at things now. The comparison makes for great study material in the value of vision and leadership, along with corruption and selfishness.
At least the progress of Singapore can serve as a beacon of hope? Sri Lanka can be turned around. I am confident of it.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Sri Lanka can be turned around. no doubt about that. but for that we need the visionary leadership the likes of which Singapore was lucky enough to have. most of the people i know are so disillusioned with the leaders in this country right now that any genuine idealist is looked upon with doubt. for many have arisen and have fallen prey to corruption and lost their values, and their desire to serve the nations betterment have been replaced by their desire to serve their own pockets. Let me thank you for your efforts at creating awareness abroad about SL, and i do hope you have some good times whenever you are down on our gloden shores..
June 20th, 2008 at 12:07 am
I’ve always thought that food was a good way to get to know another country. The problem with strange food is summed up in the old saying that one man’s meat is another’s poison. However there are some dishes, that with the right guidance, are easily appreciated.
My personal favourite is love cake. No one seems to be bale to make it like my mother, but there are a number of good recipes available. There is a write up on the subject here:
http://www.newstatesman.com/200501100050
there is a recipe here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Mdfacqx2UaQC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=love+cake&source=web&ots=Z74nglBYPK&sig=Mtq4ClnzjctfigHe-cjoRzLZTS0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA163,M1
I always assumed that cakes must somehow be of European origin and was very surprised when no Westerner I met seemed to know of this.
All my friends from overseas have really liked the cake and perhaps you would too. Its usually made at Christmas time.
The cake is based on semolina (or rulung as it is called here) with lots of cashews, pumpkin preserve (candied pumpkin) plus spices plus rosewater, almond essence etc.
Another thing you could try is proper tea. I have had the misfortune of consuming tea in the UK and Australia. I tried various brands, all were equally horrible. Buy some good tea made by a Sri Lankan firm, Dilmah brand tea may be your best bet although almost all teas packed in Sri Lanka by Sri Lankan based firms are likely to be good.
Have fun,
June 20th, 2008 at 12:13 am
I’ve bolgged about some old film on Ceylon here, you may find them interesting:
http://jestforkicks.blogspot.com/2008/05/beautiful-old-films-on-ceylon.html
There is also this classic:
http://www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=Song_Of_Ceylon_1934&newflash=1
June 20th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Jack Point–
Sri Lanka will forever be burned in memory for its food and the pungent smells of the street markets. First, I am an enormous fan of spicy cooking and peppers and Sri Lanka leaves nothing to be desired. Sadly Sri Lankan foods are not common here. We have Indian food in abundance but as you know, it’s not the same (although I enjoy it, too).
There is ONE Sri Lanka restaurant I am familiar with, about a 4 hours’ drive away. Perhaps you can come and start a restaurant here? (Selfish, perhaps?)
In any case I will try the love cake toward the holidays–thanks for the tip. Do you have any other suggestions for what is now our hot summer season?
Thanks too for the links to old film. I will take a look shortly.
Sean
June 20th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Thambili water would be a great way to cool down during the summer…. Makes quie a good mixer with vodka too…..lol
June 21st, 2008 at 4:12 am
Wrote a long reply and then lost it.
First, this blog should be of interest:
http://rajaratarala.blogspot.com/2008/06/some-peace-and-quiet-for-change.html
Thambili or the water of the king coconut is indeed a refreshing drink. The king coconut is orange in colour and tastes a little different from the young (immature) coconut which is green in colour and whose water is also drunk.
Orange juice made with green oranges is also very good. Green oranges are the size and shape of orange oranges but are dark green in colour. They are not sweet like orange oranges but a drink made with the juice with water and sugar is very refreshing.
Muslim specialities like Faluda (sometimes spelled Falooda) are also nice - especially if you have a sweet tooth.
http://www.infolanka.com/recipes/mess5/2.html
http://www.citytv.com/vancouver/FaludaDrinkColdVermicelliDrink.aspx
http://gothamist.com/2007/12/19/parsi_new_years.php
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
sorry for the late reply…. yes it is true that women can’t buy alcohol from a store or supermarket around here… but funny thing is, it can be bought at pubs … stupid political system!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Actually Lady Divine, I think legally, females are not permitted to purchase alcohol anywhere. It’s apparently a hangover from colonial times (something to do with Victorian prudishness). Females are allowed to sell….but not buy!!
February 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I realize this is an old post, but felt like replying any way…
>> Even thought we Sri Lankans openly don’t like political side of America, we tend to admire Americans.
Good heavens Sam, speak for yourself. As my observations go most Sri Lankans see Americans as money-hungry capitalists, and racist fundamentalists, and imagine American society to be a dog-eat-dog world. Since recently they’ve started seeing Americans as terrorist-supporters too. You can see Sri Lankan journalists commonly referring to America as the “self appointed (dirty)cop of the world”. The British, other the other hand, are just simple, snobbish racists!
>> My mother used to sit with me outside, under a tree, every evening and talk to me about Gorge Washington and Benjamin Franklin and people like that when I was around 4 year old lad.
Er…ok…
>> In my entire life, I have never disagreed (or been disgusted) with the behavior of my own government.
Oh my. That’s quite a statement for an American to make after the Bush administration.
The more knowledgeable Sri Lankans (very few of them) would see America as a country of wealth and opportunities, religious fundamentalism (and along with it other issues such as homophobia), and immense political drama.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:14 am
@Gineseng–
Thanks for your comments.
What was intended there was “In my entire life, I have never disagreed (or been disgusted) with the behavior of my own government AS I AM NOW” then under the Bush admin.