moving on

I have finally escaped from the YWCA. In retrospect it wasn't that bad and you sure can't beat the price, but the prospect of sharing a toilet and taking cold showers for the next three months hastened my departure. Additionally, I don't want to live in any place where I am under the watchful eyes of someone known as "the warden". It may seem that I am exaggerating, but that's really what these women are called. There is even a sign above their room that reads "warden". I have to get permission to stay out late and if I do something bad, I am subject to scolding from the warden. So, while it was good for a few days, it was time for a move.

I finally found a place, its a bit on the pricey side, but I don't mind paying a little extra for such luxuries as hot water, air conditioning, my own key, a furnished kitchen, my own TV and so on. I basically live in a mini suite within a guesthouse. This means that there are always people around and that my room is intended to be a hotel room so its clean and will be maintained while I live there. To get to my house you walk through a little garden which is very pretty but I am nervous as it seems to be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

I think my life in DC and Bombay has jaded me towards nature. It used to be that I would see a picture of a lush tropical garden with water dripping off of leaves and think about how beautiful it looked. Now all I can think is "damn, there has got to be a lot of mosquitoes living there". I've been spoiled by the lovely waters of Lake Barcroft that freeze over every winter, killing insect life, and the sweet sweet waters of Mahim through which toxic waste flows and kills most animal species. Not that there aren't cockroaches in India, I just haven't seen ones that fly and somehow I never got bit by mosquitoes in Bombay. Anyways, I will do my best to avoid the mosquito threat and the room overall is lovely.

However I was cautioned by the owner that its "a family place" and that I wasn't to bring strange people back to the room. I assured her that not only am I also "a family person" but since the number of people I know in Sri Lanka is currently 2. It is unlikely that I will be having wild parties in my little garden.

I have yet to organize my daily rickshaw, find a gym, and start eating something other than bananas and luna bars but I suppose I will figure out these things in time.

One of the nicest things about living in a South Asian country is that people are very nice and helpful. I can't dream of going somewhere in the West and having a friend of a friend let me stay at their place and showing me around. Or having a friend's mom have me over for lunch. People are a lot more distant and there are more formalities. Here it seems that even though I am vaguely connected to someone (my friend met them at a dinner and exchanged business cards) they are super helpful and willing to meet me an answer all my questions. I encountered this in Bombay and now again in Colombo but I doubt that I would in an American city. South Asians are very open hearted and eager to help you whenever they can. This can also be seen in the way that relatives are kept very close. My mom's cousin is as close to me as my uncle, my dad's cousins children's, children are eager to help me out if I need something. It makes going to a new place a lot less scary.