Tea Time!I set off for Tanguella this morning by bus to go to the grocery store and the bank. Pramitha provides all our meals but I wanted to pick up some snacks for myself. I didn’t realize that this would be worrying to Pramitha. This evening I was munching on some cheese crackers that I bought. Pramitha got a worried look on her face and said, “Hungry?!” I didn’t know how to explain to her that sometimes I just like to have a snack and it’s not even because I am especially hungry. This made me realize how at home eating has almost become like a hobby. A socialable thing to do. That is an unheard concept in Sri Lanka where people are grateful to have enough to eat to nourish their bodies.
I finished my errands in Tanguella and boarded the bus to head back to Moraketiara. I had a seat on the bus today! Guess I was enjoying it a little too much. Caught up in a day dream, I remained on the bus as it passed Morekatiara. I ended up en route to Dikwella, about 20 minutes passed Moraketiara. I asked the bus driver which bus could take me back to Moraketiara. I must have had a bewildered look on my face because he actually flagged down a bus travelling in the opposite direction. Our bus was still moving as he did this! He motioned for me to get on that bus so I promptly scooted off and crossed the road to the other bus. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers, especially when I am overwhelmed by my inability to communicate with others through language.
I made it back to Moraketiara safe and sound. I was walking towards Pramitha and Jayalath’s when a women came scurrying out of her home towards me. She pointed at her house and asked me, “Tea?” Sure, I could use a cup, I thought as I smiled at her, relieved to go inside out of the heat. She served me tea and jack fruit. I met her three young children. I do not know her language which makes for a very interesting tea time. When I meet my own friends for tea or coffee we chat away. That was not the case today but I enjoyed myself. It’s funny how you can feel as though you are getting to know someone without having a conversation, just by sitting, smiling and watching her with her children.
There was a picture of Sri Lanka’s president on the wall in her home. There are not social welfare programs in Sri Lanka that benefit the people of Moraketiara. For this reason, I assumed the president must be incompetent or greedy to not have a single provision for the less fortunate in his country. How wrong was I! As it turns out, he is rejoiced as a good president because he played an important part in ending the civil war last March. It is so easy to put our own judgements on what should be priorities without understanding the full context of the political and economic issues in Sri Lanka. And for all I can criticize my home country’s social welfare state, at least there is something in place that tries to help people even if it does so imperfectly.