sum.na

Photo by Janaka Goonasekera, on Wikipedia
(with apologies to the Sigiriya ladies who are probably tired of serving as pictorial references)

Sri Lankan girls are a complex mystery I’m still trying to understand. I know I’m generalizing here but I have some observations/theories:

Appearance
- Sri Lankan girls come in every size/shape/skin color - they have Asian/Hispanic and even Caucasian features. Generally they are somewhat shorter than their European counterparts with an average height (I estimate) of around 5 foot 3.
- Most ladies here are genetically predisposed to being slim (while young at least).
- When it comes to looks, girls here are generally attractive, their features are very diverse, possibly due to complex genetic heritage. (Which is more than I can say for Indian girls who all tend to look alike IMO). 

Grooming
- Most ladies are well dressed, they wear a mix of western attire with some opting for Asian (Indian/Sri Lankan) clothing also. Some have a reasonable sense of style and are quite elegant.

Personality
- Most local ladies are quite friendly and outgoing. They are curious and they tend to ask a lot of questions. I find I can usually communicate with any girl I meet, and get into a conversation simply by smiling and saying hello.

- Girls here are more friendly than most. They like to flirt, they like to chat, especially with people from different countries I guess. So I use the dumb foreigner act (which in my case is usually accurate).

Intellect
Girls here tend to be quite educated. Virtually all have done some high school and quite a number are college educated. Most speak English, though not all are totally fluent.

Trivia 
One question ladies ask me, goes along the lines of “Who are your parents/what do they do?” Actually this seems to be a cultural thing - people here (not just girls) tend to ask that. Other than that girls here seem interested in education and admire educated people (which is a shame as I slept through much of UNI)

*Modest too.

Driving late at night, I regularly encounter checkpoints.

At first I believed that they flag down suspicious vehicles, but now I speculate that they check every n’th vehicle. Or something.

Usually it will be a dark location. No lighting, no signs, no other indication that there are guys with guns, just a weak flashlight shining at you. This indicates that they want you to stop.

The problem with this is the flashlight’s batteries are usually dead, and therefore theres usually little/no light visible. As if its bad enough to have to dodge drunk drivers at night, now this!

After you stop the car, someone will come over to you and request your licence. If he finds your vehicle interesting, he may wish to investigate it further.

This will involve the poking around your car a bit.

Trivia: one time they seemed to become fascinated with my box of Kleenex. They actually stuck their fingers into it and started rooting around. I wanted to tell them that I had one hell of a flu, but I suspect that they have realized the error of their ways by now.

Tips: If pulled over, speak English - I know this is crazy but it actually makes them treat you with respect.

Sigh.

All in the name of security I guess.

Went for a drive today and noticed that the roads were crazier than usual. Something to do with the Holiday Spirit

More mad bus drivers, more psychopathic three wheel drivers, more drunk car drivers..

I’ve come to the following conclusions about Sri Lankan motorists

1. They are Inconsiderate
They simply don’t give a f*ck about anyone. If they can get to their destination one second earlier, it doesnt matter how many lives they endanger, or how much havoc they cause.

2. They are stupid.
Most motorists have no basic grasp of physics. They keep trying to do the impossible with their vehicles. True, most of the time they get away, merely irritating others but every once in a way, they cause serious damage.

3. They don’t have common sense.
People who jump red lights and try to dodge across the path of a fully loaded full speed bus in a three wheeler fall into this category.

Sadly, no amount of drivers ed can fix these problems.

Hazards you encounter on the local roads
(a primer for anyone who is new to driving here)

1. Bus drivers/truck drivers
Always small short men who chew red colored stuff (betel leaves?) and spit around. They lack common sense and their favorite hobby is driving at full speed on the wrong side of the road, so that you have two options, either a. get off to the side of the road, b. be identified via dental records.

2. Women drivers
Highly unpredictable. Nobody can really say what they are going to do. With men drivers at least you know they are going to do the dumbest thing anyone could do in a given situation. With a lady driver… who knows?

3. Three wheel drivers
Behave as if the drive armored trucks. Think they are invincible. Have brains smaller than hamsters

4. Motor cycle drivers.
Similar to above category, zip around like mad mosquitoes. Find a hole, they will try to squeeze through it.

5. Van drivers
A whole separate category of mad

6. Busy office executives
Always in a hurry to get nowhere. Usually driving a cheap japanese used car, and dodging around like madmen.

7. Pedestrians
Like dogs and cats, just stupider. Unlike dogs and cats they don’t have common sense

8. Dogs and cats
Are pretty smart because the dumb ones are eliminated (natural selection) Therefore the average dog/cat is smarter than the average pedestrian.

9. Cows and other large mammals
Usually sedate but have a nasty habit of ending up en masse in the middle of the road