| Reality Shock! |
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| From Mirissa, Sri Lanka | |
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 | |
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My ideal travel companion is around in the morning & at night. With my afternoons free to talk with locals. But most of the time, that just doesn't work. With most other travelers & especially tourists, it's all or nothing. Spent the past 10 days almost entirely with tourists. Don't get me wrong, enjoyable company. But today had to break free. Hit the "big city" (population 40,000) away from the tourist zone on my own. And it was like walking into an alternate reality! Total culture shock! And all the annoying things I'd previously become accustom to... like people stopping dead in their tracks to stare, every car honking at me & getting wrong directions from everyone... was completely overwhelming. But at the same time, the nice things... like an old woman stopping to ask if I like her country, teenage girls playing with my hair & an old man helping me cross a busy street... those were so utterly endearing. While it's nice to be back in shorts & sans the fake wedding ring in my tourist bubble, I gotta remember where I am & be sure not to hide that long again. Tags: SriLanka |
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