Some Excitement

Not to make life too peaceful or anything the rebels decided to provide us with some excitement yesterday. Not to worry though, it didn't make my life personally any more exciting. I only heard of it in the evening when returning home. This morning I jumped on the bus as usual and that's it. Striking here is that the locals seem to be totally uninterested in the matter. Whenever violence occurs in Finland, they will most likely hold memorials for many consequent years. Can you get used to such happenings? Apparently. Oh, this world of madness...

The 'How To' Guide For Colombo Traffic

By following these simple steps you will be able to survive home in one piece.

1) Preparation
Assume nothing. The Colombo traffic is a symbiosis of cars, lorries, busses, mopeds, bikes, tuk-tuks, pedestrians, cows, dogs, cats, chicken, bugs,... Yes, there are lanes, but like I said...Assume absolutely nothing.

2) Stepping out
Once you have set yourself on the correct mindset you are ready to take the first step out. First thing that hits you is the nastily polluted air created by the symphony of all those particles mentioned. As a pedestrian you are also exposed to the open air garbage which add a nice scent to the combination of different smells. However, you quickly get used to that. When on the street, remember to keep your eyes on the road as there are numerous hazards on the way, like unexpected holes. And for the jokesters out there, it really isn't that funny to slip on a banana peel.

3) Crossing the road
Now here, you need to develop a bit more advanced strategies. My advice... Human shields. Cross the road with more people and position yourself on the covered side. Don't forget to change in midway. And for us continental Europeans, note that the person should be on your right.

4) Public transportation
...means tuktuks and busses. The first are very convenient and surely easy to encounter in any corner of the city. Remember to look reluctant to the price suggested as it is never the last offer. Usually the "real" price, or also known as the "local" price, is half of that the driver is trying to get. They usually give up easy and a resonable price can be negotiated.
When it comes to busses, they too are an ok means for moving yourself from A to B. Be prepared to jump in and out without hesitation as the time on busstops is sometimes equivalent to a microsecond. You can also opt to jump out in traffic jam, traffic lights or whenever the bus is sloving down enough. The doors are always open. Busstops can be best recognized by the crowds gathering on one spot on the street. And that is about the only way of recognizing them... Also, be prepared to loud and frequent honking.

5) Driving
Don't urge...

Spirituality and Snake vomit

I am not quite sure how to begin this blog posting. I would have wanted to write earlier, but somehow I’ve been too busy (doing nothing). Life here goes on. It has been almost three weeks since my departure from Brno. You know, you get into the daily routine and just numbly watch days go by. It has more or less been like that ever since. No major culture shocks so far. Some minor ones though, but those are about to come anyway. Just watch and learn.

Sri Lanka is in many ways a troublesome society. It has quite notable poverty rate, lot of homeless people, is affected with natural hazards, speedy inflation, I could go on. One thing however, that makes Sri Lanka a respectable society in my eyes is that it hosts people from 4 major religious backgrounds. The Buddhists, the Hindus, Muslims as well as Christians all live in peace and have their temples and churches set around the land. Yes, there is a conflict in the country, but as it so seems, not initiated purely by religious motives. Modern day Sri Lankans incorporate their spirituality into their everyday life by popping into the temple or spending a moment in front of the numerous altars (according to their respective religion) along roads. Everybody is free to choose their direction and act upon it.

We watched today the movie Road to Guantanamo, a very powerful survival (true)story about three British/Pakistani youngsters sent to the infamous American prison camp.
This movie, or more like the actions leading to its making, serves as a good reminder of what religious narrow mindness can cause. People need some degree of spirituality to balance with the everyday demands. However, no one should ever involuntarily accept a certain spiritual view. It should be everyone’s personal choice, be it God, mother nature, neighbour’s cat or whatever source of guidance one chooses to turn to. Current world order sees a division into two. For the extreme Islamists provoking the acts of terrorism only a single truth exists as does for the American white ruler Jesus freaks. Conflicts rise when all parties refuse to see beyond their beliefs. In the end, there is no certainty about the existence of something divine what so ever.

Oh yes, to finish off with a little random peculiarity. Saturday we went to the beach here in Colombo. Nothing spectacular there, just a shore a bit outside the center. Locked by the crowds spending their weekend afternoon, there were a bunch of different vendors and other entertainers. (Trust me, it can get kinda entertaining to try to get rid off them sellers of this ‘n’ that.) One guy came buy trying to amuse us with a cute monkey on a leash (for sure it had rabies…) and a boa snake around the shoulders. Well, needless to say we weren’t that amused. The charmer even revealed a cobra (of which I later heard that the poisonous teeth were removed) from a basket he was carrying with him. Still no sight of amusement from our site. Well anyhow, the most “amusing” part of that episode was to see the gigantic snake throwing up.:) I mean, that poor thing had probably just finished his dinner and wasn’t let to have any post meal siesta before it was already dragged along to hang on its master’s shoulders. For crying out loud… Let them snakes eat in peace!

And Then Something Totally Different

Sri Lanka is a country one can hardly describe. It is a land of controversies. Being the origin for the word “serendipity”, which is some kind of term for a happy coincidence, it is also the battlefield for a long and bloody civil war between the two major ethnic groups – the Sinhalese and the Tamils. The city of Colombo is a buzzing beehive with millions of inhabitants, yet strangely not as chaotic as one could imagine, at least if compared to the neighbouring India’s enormous metropolises. I have never been in India, but I can imagine Sri Lanka being like a more relaxed “little brother”. Anyway, here I am already for a week and by far I am doing just fine.


Our apartment, which I share with 7 other trainees is very nice and comfortable. My work is situated in a kind of “Wallstreety” area in the centre. I take the bus everyday, which is not necessarily as simple as it sounds. Especially the way back around 6PM takes quite long. To ride a few kilometres way takes sometimes more than a half an hour. And at the rush hour it is usually packed so you might end up standing at the very verge of the door step holding onto whatever handle you can reach to. Busses come and go when it suits them. There are no schedules what so ever. But then again, it is quite convenient so. They will come eventually anyway.


I could write a thesis about all the peculiarities one comes across here. Like I said this is an environment of huge controversies. I saw a billboard advertising nutritious puppy food and at the same time you see all these stray dogs chewing whatever they can stick their teeth onto. You see luxurious cars driving alongside with crappy busses full with people, limbs sticking out of the open windows. There are wonderful beaches and 5 star hotels but if you venture a bit further the beach turns into a dumpster and the hotels into shanty towns.


Oh yes. Yesterday afternoon, when getting back from work I experienced yet another difference. It rained…like hell. I mean it was like a huge tap would have been turned open in the sky. I was running the last few hundred meters and got totally soaked of course. Now I know that one should never leave home without an umbrella here in Sri Lanka.


All in all, coming here is an adventure. It is an opportunity to shake my beliefs, my worldview, my assumptions on what makes life go on. I am in the situation of doing some in-depth evaluation of my priorities and direction. I’ll do my best to enjoy the upcoming 3 months or so here. I do miss Brno a lot but after some immediate tears and heartache, I am adapting bit by bit. The work here is definitely better. I have already learned a lot of things and look forward to further expanding my knowledge as I go on.


God damn mosquito is eating my legs. Hehe, those bastards are one of the nuisances of the otherwise lovely warm environment. Well, not that anything is ever perfect…