Explore Sean’s Essays:
The Cinema
I've just seen my first movie in Sri Lanka, and it quite a show. The movie itself was fantastic. Skyfall had a number of references to past films, great action scenes, and a plot which kept me thoroughly engaged. But the real show was following the subtle nuances of the Sri...
The Luxuries of Colombo
Horns blare as my body is tossed around. Sweat rolls down my spine. The fumes of exhaust are slowly suffocating me. Its eight thirty in the morning, and the heat of the sun grows with every passing minute. After fourteen hours in transit, I'm back in Colombo, headed to...
A Stroll Through Base
Trinco is a town dominated by the military. As you enter the main city you have to pass through multiple checkpoints, where uniform clad youths clutch their presumably Chinese made kalashnikovs. In the town itself, Tamil is the language of choice. Sinhalese is about as useful...
Bachelor Party – Sri Lanka Style
Yesterday I received a gem of an invitation, I was asked to go to a Bachelor Party. I happily accepted, as I thought this would be a great opportunity to get better acquainted with a colleague of mine at Sarvodaya. Also, I hope to attend a Sri Lankan wedding - so this is a good...
Funny Boy
For the past week the international community has been trying to grapple with a number of questions revolving Sri Lanka’s civil war. Namely, how were they so unaware of the scale of civilian casualties in the final months of the war? It is estimated that 40,000 civilians died...
Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has come and gone in Sri Lanka, largely it was unnoticed. In an attempt to share some American culture with my students, I decided that the entirety of my classes today would be based on the American festival of Thanksgiving. I began class by writing the following...
Isolation
Trinco is quite unlike Sri Lanka's Southern cities. For most of the past thirty some odd decades it was cut off from the rest of the country, isolated due to the Civil war. There aren't many restaurants in town, and stepping foot in the heart of the city is really like taking a...
Plain Tea
Tea is life in Sri Lanka. It's always tea time. When you wake up tea is served, when you meet someone tea is served. Sri Lanka grows some amazing teas, mostly of the black variety. Green tea is grown here, but mostly for export. If you want to buy green tea here, your best bet...
Trinco Town
Last Monday I arrived at Sarvodaya’s headquarters in Moratuwa. I had been staying with a few other Fulbrighters who rented a house in Colombo, and I had enjoyed a great weekend strolling about town. I was all packed, and my car arrived at eight in the morning. When I was going...