Ok,let me add that this is a bit of a rant due to my woman and gender studies course here.  I have been taking a lot of time reflecting on my experience as a woman here in Sri Lanka.  Hikkaduwa was really nice but I have to say that I had never been cat-called so much in my life. There were only a couple of men that were not that bad there.  Usually in my interactions with men however, it is extremely annoying to be asked after the first couple minutes of meeting “If I have a boyfriend?” It seems like such a foreign idea to have a friend that is a girl. I have been proposed to, stared at, and cat-called too many times. It is something that doesn’t happen to Sri Lankan women very often at all.  I get that I am a foreigner but I wish that they would see me as a person before they try to propose to me without knowing me. But then again as annoying it is also a bit flattering; they really do think that I am pretty and that’s never a bad thing…

Hello again readers,

So in my attempts to update you on my life, I plan on writing more and posting more pictures. Again I am sorry for the delay. Anyways, I last left off coming back from the End of the World to my lovely abode in Kandy.  As I mentioned in my last entry, my time was spent learning about the women of Sri Lanka and the evils of botanical imperialism (the elective classes I was taking). We had reached the time in the semester where we started taking our elective classes and mine were on two very different ends of the spectrum. One class was called The Image of the Feminine and the Social Experience of Women in Sri Lanka. In this class, we talked about exactly what was in the title; the fantasy and reality of the Sri Lankan women and the obstacles she faced in daily life. The other was called Botanical Imperialism, where me and two other students (it was an extremely small class), talked about the wonderful world of plants and the evils they were involved in. This class was my favorite. After my Nuwara Eliya trip, I decide it was time to go to the coast and finally see the beach.  After some talking with friends we decide to spend a weekend in Hikkaduwa which was not too far down south but we would be graced by the sun rays that were lacking in Kandy. Here, I learned of my love for the beach and my hate for it as well. The beach was amazingly beautiful, the water cool and clear and the sun shining without a cloud in the sky. This weekend was also the first time actually didn’t want to go outside. I got sun burned for the first time in my life! All in all it was good time. I’m off for now.

This is the first time in about a week I have had enough time to sit down to a computer and write a full observation of my feelings and emotions from all the things we are seeing here in Kandy. Kandy has hilly terrain, but beautiful trees, plants and flowers From just the first couple days I have learned how to say more than 40 words Sinhala, can respond to peoples question, handle spice levels fairly well and had more rice than one person would like to mention. In all this though, I love it here! From riding three-wheeler taxis through the steep hills or to just seeing the light in Aamaage (my host mother)  from the broken pieces of Sinhala I speak to her. On tuesday, We went to the university and toured it. Afterwards we met University students and I was called “Shakira” due to my braids in my hair. We even had a chance to see different temples in the area. There is too much to even mention in this short post I will be back on soon. For now, see you later

I wrote this on monday but now I have the time to post it.

We have been flying about 6 hours noww. I am flying from London to Colombo, Sri Lanka. In total the flying time has been about 16 hour but this doesn’t include layovers. Currently we are flying through the Middle East, and it is amazing . For someone who has never been or even seen of for their own eyes are missing out. You see dessert and mountainous landscape. I wonder how they live or what they are like. As we head through Saudi Arabia …I am realizing more and more how much this experience will open my eyes to more than Worcester, or Hartford or even the United states. Not to sound clique as excited as I am; I am also terrified but my mom used to say to me that “sometimes not knowing is half the battle,the other half is taking the leap and trying.” so even though I am scared it is over shadowed by the joy of the great stories and knowledge I will gain there. I can’t wait. Colombo here I come!!!

Ayubown!! That means “hello” or “good day” in Sinhalese.

It is really hard to imagine or even fathom the fact that in less than 2 weeks I will be getting on a plane to Sri Lanka! It feels like only yesterday I found out I was accepted to go and now it seems like time is escaping me between working, trying to learn a new language (Sinhala or Sinhalese), see my friends and family, and getting all the lovely vaccinations I need to get  before I leave.

This summer has been devoted to getting ready. Right after the first week of the 2011 Spring semester ended, I received a thick packet from the ISLE (Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education) program of things to do for the fall. It contained books, language packs and a CD to introduce me to the language and start thinking about the culture I will be immersing myself into. It has now become somewhat of a daunting task, given that the any new language takes a while to become fluent in. I am enjoying it, though I sometimes get frustrated in the process of remembering the vast quantity of it.

On a better note, I received a letter from my host mother recently which put me in good spirits and I am even more excited to go. I am so ready to see, smell, taste and feel all the things my books have saying about this beautiful island country. I see it as something challenging but it will be an experience that I hope to cherish for the rest of my life.