by Sean | Nov 24, 2012 | Fulbright, Politics, Sri Lanka, Travel
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...
by Sean | Nov 22, 2012 | Education, Fulbright, Sri Lanka, Teaching English, Travel
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...
by Sean | Nov 22, 2012 | Fulbright, Sri Lanka, Travel
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...
by Sean | Nov 21, 2012 | Emerging Markets, Fulbright, Sri Lanka
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...
by Sean | Nov 19, 2012 | Education, Emerging Markets, Fulbright, Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka, Travel
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...
by Sean | Nov 15, 2012 | Emerging Markets, Fulbright, Sarvodaya, Travel
He hadn’t noticed me approaching in the predawn darkness. Sitting, it seemed that he had fallen asleep while watching the gate. It was only as I opened the gate did he regain consciousness, startled by the clamor of the latch and sliding of the heavy door....