In Retrospect

Hi there! Getting back into the groove of school and battling jet lag these days. I always think I can find sneaky ways to outsmart this phenomenon--like staying awake for most of the night before/after traveling, eating at the intervals one would eat in the time zone one just left, exercising like a lunatic, laying on the couch and napping the day away, watching endless episodes of I Love Lucy...nothing works. When you travel 10 hours away from where you were, the bottom line is: it will take two weeks to feel like a fully functional human being again. Deal with it.

The good news: after arctic conditions tested my patience and will to carry on in NJ and Richmond, I find myself enjoying the temperate climates of desert midwinter. Baby, it's 21 degrees outside. That's celsius, suckers! It feels so nice and springy; the air quality is excellent, and I can drive with the windows open (though bus exhaust quickly makes it impossible to breathe and drive in tandem). It only reconfirms my long self-diagnosed SAD; I'm just not at my best in the winter. This is not to say that I will spend the rest of my days in a tropical paradise, productive and cheerful, wearing weird native costumes. But paradises and sunshine are good for the soul, and I just felt like needlessly reaffirming that (COME VISIT COME VISIT COME VISIT ANYWHERE YOU WANT WE WILL GO). Speaking of...I keep meaning to write about Sri Lanka; over break my writing motivation dwindled because I was spending too much time eating cookies and sitting in the fireplace, but I think I'm back on the mend--motivation returning, Sri Lanka report on the way.

But, before I do that (and I will! I promise!), I'd like to draw your attention to the recent scuffle between M.I.A. and The New York Times. When first I saw this headline I thought, "Score! Once again I'm ahead of the trend train...Sri Lanka #1 on the Times Top Travel Destinations 2010. Guess when I went? That's right! 2009!!!" Then my conscience got the best of me. The situation, for your perusal. (I recommend you don't pursue her twitter picture posts; they are very upsetting.)

Here it is: Sri Lanka was amazing--like a dreamland. It was my first time in Southeast Asia anyway, so it was bound to knock my socks off. I felt safe there, and I enjoyed myself entirely. But, I went there an absolute dummy. Besides my parents repeated (and ignored) pleas that I check the State Department brief on the country, I went like this: "Yeah yeah, civil war, yeah yeah, I know some Sri Lankans, they're so nice, yeah yeah, everyone says it's amazing, cheap, beautiful, yeah, yeah yeah, tsunami, yeah yeah, okay, vacation!" Which isn't to say that every time I visit a place I go to the library and check out every book and article I can get my hands on regarding the recent natural disasters and atrocities committed in said country to see if touring it is a moral thing to do. I don't. I'm not that responsible of a traveler. But...what the heck? This stuff happened last year and I knew it. I researched nothing this time, took for granted that EVERYONE was pleased with the fall of the LTTE and hummed "Paper Planes" while walking through the airport. Less than a year ago, I was in London visiting my friend Katie, and for the entire week, every time I walked past the British Museum, there was a huge, and I mean HUGE, crowd of people protesting the current government's treatment of the Tigers. In America, I suppose, we don't have a very big Sri Lankan or Tamil population. And how many times do you remember hearing news coverage of the war at home? I can tell you, personally, I remember ZERO times. It's not on our radar. It's a small country with little to do with our economy or citizens (but a lot to do with our clothing). And that's how things are...but, I still feel like a jerk for enjoying a recently embattled country so much and so naively, and would like to educate myself further to see whether or not my guilt is warranted. I hope it is! I love guilt!

Thanks for putting up with this moment of self evaluation. Look forward to hearing about MY GREAT, FUN, MAGICAL TRIP TO SRI LANKA (starring ALL THE BABY ANIMALS I GOT TO PET and TEEN SOLDIERS WITH MACHINE GUNS)!!!

PS. If you want a great book about growing up in Sri Lanka, that doesn't have anything to do with war, check out Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family. He's a beautiful writer, as always, and it's a quick read.