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 the closest thing I have to calling a ‘home’ in Sri Lanka.
In a few minutes I’ll be at the house of a few of my fellow Fulbrighters; despite the combination of Cipro and spicy sambol doing a number on my stomach, I could not be happier. This week will be a kickoff to the holiday seasons for me.
Friday will mark the celebration of ‘FriendsGiving’, a delayed Thanksgiving celebration. And on Saturday I will be thrown into the Christmas spirit when I hit the cold air of Nepal. Not having a seasonal change has really affected my perception of the holidays, but I expect [hope] a week in the cool Nepalese air will get me feeling more in the Christmas spirit.
Two weeks in Trinco has made me appreciate the luxuries of Colombo.