Post-Lunch Stream of Consciousness

It is siesta time in Colombo. It is 2:15 in the afternoon. I have eaten a lunch filled with starch. It is hot. There is no one else in my office and I am technically suppose to be either writing about education in Ghana, post-war development in Sri Lanka, or corporate behavior in Europe, I can never keep straight which project is scheduled for which day. So instead of being the diligent little worker-bee/researcher that I would like the world to believe I am, I am going to write a long overdue (or two) blog entry. But none of you will mind, because I don’t even know who you are or what you think anyway (note slight tone of snark from an occasionally crabby-pants).

So a woman in the office is returning to England on Saturday and we held a little going away lunch for her today. She is apparently also writing a ‘travel log’ each week (a better soul than me!). She has made many observations (Sri Lanka still has traffic police, and bus conductors, and people don’t take their children to the grocery story with them, among other things). It was as she was sharing these observations that I realized I’d sort of gotten past the wide-eyed euphoria of newly arriving in an ‘exotic’ place. The time has ceased to allow for observations on crows outside my window and bats migrating in the evening. I should, and likely will, write observations about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and I will write about how lovely Galle is, and the beach in Unawatuna. But quite frankly the world is an insane place right now, and that fact is not lost on Sri Lankans, and on my long walks home (yes I stopped taking the bus, it took too long!) I am formulating questions and thoughts on, the state of affairs in this country, how they relate to affairs in other countries, my reluctance to go back to the UK or the US, and the loneliness that can develop when far from the people who know you best…oh and the how tedious I find it being a woman traveling alone. (a subject I will dive into much deeper very soon)

Well, I suppose those are not uncommon questions, and really the preceding 4-5 sentences were really just a stream of consciousness. Let’s put some order to things, shall we.