Why I Came to Sri Lanka
or, kottu rotti at the Muslim Hotel

quickly, then: kottu rotti is the best Sri Lankan food there is. it consists of a rotti (flatbread, naan-like) sliced into thin strips and fried with veggies and egg/fish/chicken/whatever. it is peppery and sometimes quite spicy and so, so good.

I had some from my favorite source yesterday: the Muslim Hotel (which means restaurant here) in Kandy, reputed to be "dirty" but actually quite clean if you ignore the floor and the "windows." it's fantastic there--full of scallions and ginger and unnameable spices.

there was also an adorable tiny kitten there, scrounging on the floor. I wanted to pack it up to take home.

then again, I still don't have a home... saw another annexe by chance last night as I ran into the landlady on the road. she previously rented to 2 'brighters, one of whom is Karly, my precedent in everything (she had my family, for one thing). the annexe is beautiful and has a huge verandah with a lovely view, but it's one bedroom only and is right in Dangolla, the town where I lived before and where all the ISLE students are. decisions, decisions.

today I'm at ICES, my host-research-center. they are admirably if overly laid back there; the head (brilliant) librarian is away and won't be back until the 22nd and she usually helps 'brighters get their annexes. ah well...