Untreated sinus phlegm may result in obstructed Norse

Dire warnings for Scandinavians from the Kandy Herbal Ayurveda Centre. Take care, Norse! You too, Swedes! Actually I think the Norse are in town... I saw a busload of incredibly inappropriately dressed people going up the road to this one fancy resort area. I am embarrassed to be white when I see people in town behaving improperly... walking around smoking (not something you do on the street), wearing tight or scant clothing, putting on socks to wear inside temple grounds, eating babies, etc. Then I am reassured because they are definitely getting SO ripped off by every tout they see. They deserve it! As Jill put it, "it's not like Lonely Planet doesn't tell you to wear some damn sleeves!"

No really, I am so Lankan. I stare at sudda holding hands. I goggle at their spiffy camcorders and weirdly rugged sandals. Didn't they get the memo about flipflops?

On the poetic side: one of the things I had forgotten about is how Dangolla sounds in the morning. It's like a hearing a distant sports match--you hear thousands of birds cheering, crying, cawing, cock-a-doodle-doo-ing, and crak-crak-crak-ing; cows mooing and their bells klonking; buzzing whines of motors of all sizes (and all levels of disrepair) from many echoey hills; shouts of children on their ways to school; and then birds again. It's the everyday Super Bowl of Kandy. You hear it even as the mists from the previous night's rain have yet to burn off and the valleys and steeps are veiled in cloud. As the blue sky becomes more visible and midday heat bears down, the noise quiets--children in school, traffic slowed, birds eating or sleeping or whatever it is that they do during the day. Cows blocking the roads.

Anyway. Annexes: went back to see a favorite. It badly needs cleaning and has no phone or hot water (mercy!) but is still a frontrunner for location and space. However, when I say "badly needs cleaning" I am talking about worse than the Barn. As in, the spiderweb in the bathroom is a work worthy of preservation as an nth Wonder of the World; the kitchen has bizarre streaks of something on the walls; the curtains look like they're from the reign of the last Kandya king (ie early 19th century, for those who are keeping track). Aiyo. The phone is what bothers me, though... however the landlady promists that I can use her lawyer-daughter's computer for internet. I am skeptical. But, as we say here, what to do? I suppose in the long run hot water is really more desirable.

I did however have a nice time seeing an old friend who runs the best jewelry shop in town. He used to host for the ISLE program. He gives students great prices on beautiful stuff and is going to introduce me to the wedding-manager of the Queens Hotel (the poshest hotel in Kandy) and also try to garner me an invitation to the biggest society wedding of the year--which will be in December or January. The daughter of the Maliban biscuit/cracker company owners is marrying a foreigner. (This is like Chelsea Clinton or Paris Hilton or Suzy Q. Nabisco getting hitched in terms of social importance.) He is also going to introduce me to the island's most posh gown-designer. I think I am going to sign myself up to be a model so I can have an excuse to meet these people.

I am only partially kidding about modeling. I wonder if they would have me... I need a haircut.

I saw also a tiny, tiny, adorable puppy on the road today. It followed me and for about 25 yards I seriously thought about taking it "home" with me or picking it up another time and having a puppy in my life. It is very hard to see all the street animals that are suffering, especially the cute baby ones. The dirty annexe does have a dog with pups living upstairs! Bonus bonus. The dog however is named "Dinky" which explains why she's having a crisis of self; she wants to lick/bite/climb up any person she sees.