fun stuff!

   Finally found some wifi! Now I don't have to rush against the clock to get everything in my head onto this. Here is a little more in depth description of what's been going on compared to the last post.    

    Local Sri Lankan men are funny. But who am I to say someone looks funny though. I am sure the locals think I look funny too. Most of the local surfers have long shoulder-length hair that is black as night, however a majority of them have lots of blonde in their hair. At first I thought it was just from being in the sun all day, but Hannes actually told me the guys highlight their hair. To make it look like it has been sun-bleached. At first I couldn’t figure out why they would want to do that. But after some further thought, I realized it is because they want to look more like westerners. They read the same surf magazines I do, and they see the same pictures of western surfers with sun-bleached hair getting all the girls. They are looking to emulate that image and lifestyle. This was further reinforced after going out to a club, where the locals were trying to emulate our behavior. After a while it got annoying, but at least they are all really nice.

            Also, I found it interesting that there were no Sri Lankan women at the club. In fact I can count on one hand the number of Sri Lankan women around my age I have seen. Where are they? What do they do all day? Your guess is as good as mine. I have also yet to see a woman driving a car.

            Finally surfed the infamous Arugam Bay. It was pretty small, only 2-3ft, but still super fun. The potential of this place is unreal, I can only imagine what it is like when it gets 5ft or bigger. I hope we get a couple days of bigger surf.  I can definitely see why this wave is ranked in the top 10 in the world.

            We are staying in a pretty nice guesthouse/villa called the Galaxy Lounge. The food is a little more expensive here than in Hikkaduwa, but it is really really good. In morning they serve a fruit salad with curd that is absolutely amazing. Comes with pineapple, melon, mango, papaya, banana, and dried dates/figs (not sure which). Topped with local honey and a side of curd made from water buffalo milk. The curd and honey is hands-down the best I have ever had. Needless to say, despite all the activities we are doing, I do not think I am losing any weight on this trip, despite the heat and all the rich curries we are eating. Safe to say we are definitely not starving here.

            On the way to the beach, we have to pass a row of fishing boats. The fishermen are so aggressive here it is ridiculous. If you walk by they will always ask you to help them push their boats up the beach and out of the water.  The first day we obliged and helped push five boats in. None of the fishermen said thank you. The next day we were absolutely over helping them and made like ninjas across the beach to the surf. After surfing, on the way back, a group of fisherman was pulling in a huge net from the water. It was probably over a quarter-mile long. They all asked me to help them pull it in, but I realized that if I were to help them, I would probably be there for at least 1.5hrs and would not have received a thank you or anything. I decided I would help them anyway, but only after I went back to my room to drop off my board. I told them I would be back in 10 mins. As I was walking away, a fisherman approached me as he walked towards the nets and asked why I wasn’t helping. His tone sounded like he was offended I was not helping, as if I had some moral obligation to help them pull in a net that looked like had dragged across the bottom of the ocean tearing apart everything in its path. I told this fisherman what I told the other fisherman, that I am putting my board away and I will be back in 10 mins. But that wasn’t good enough for this fisherman; he wanted me to help now. He became so angry that I wasn’t immediately helping him that he told me not to bother and to not come back. Which was absolutely fine with me. So I did not come back and watched from afar as they spent another two hours pulling the giant net.

I have no problem helping the fisherman push in their boats. I have a problem with the fact some of them act like it is my obligation to help them. I am afraid to say no now, because I fear their reaction to my response will be very negative. The point is this, I do not expect compensation from them, but a little gratitude or a simple thank you would suffice. Instead of this sense of entitlement the fisherman have. Making it seem I am somehow obligated to help them, but some unwritten law.

            Anyways, besides that, I met a couple from America today. More specifically from Marin and San Jose. Turns out we have a couple mutual friends and know a lot of the same people. Funny how we have to be in a foreign country, on the other side of the world to finally meet each other.

            We went hunting for crocodiles today, which was quite the adventure. We weren’t hunting to kill them per se, but just to see them. It required some off-road Tuk-Tuking and some beautiful scenery. While we really only saw one crocodile, we did see our first wild elephant, tons of wild peacocks, monkeys, and water buffalos. Definitely made for an awesome day. The elephant we saw was crossing the road and was definitely not happy to see us. Our driver got so close that he was actually a bit scared. He kept asking if we had taken enough pictures because he wanted to get the hell out of there. Apparently the other week an elephant charged a van and knocked it over.

            Sri Lanka is such a beautiful place. Its beauty not only lies in nature, but also in its people. Sri Lanka truly is a special place.