10 May 2006
Wednesday, University of Peradeniya, Kandy
hello from kandy
haler. quite a busy day today. had to meet up with our volunteer student workers supposedly at 6.30am and as expected, they all arrived at 7am. third world attitude? or individual characteristics? at any rate, tardiness is not in my thesaurus.
it's good that we keep working here so that i won't feel the boredom. not much a do in this side of the world. hotel's Internet speed is at it's top speed of 38 kbps. wow! im lucky to be using this Univ www with 10 Mbps speed. lolzzzz
as usual, if you plan to loose weight, this is the place to go. cant eat much. these taste buds are screaming already hahaha
i have finished another sidney sheldon yesterday and its brokeback mountain starting last night. quite interesting, ne. i should have brought more books which i bought last time in SIN and HKG.
we watched a cultural dance show yesterday and im proud to say that tinikling and cariñosa are better. the JPNese slept during the show lolzzzz. will send videos later. so, that's just about it this time. more later.
11 May 2006
Thursday, University of Peradeniya, Kandy
hello from kandy 2
today`s work atmosphere is better than yesterday as i had expected. of course, the birth pains during the first days of a project is always a head ache. somehow we are able to manage and coordinate people and schedule. i am not really the type of person with charisma and all. i am more of a black & white type, no grays, no middles. north or south only which is quite the opposite of japanese style. at any rate, we are able to go along well with SLs. thanks to my mentors in hospital admi in RP lolzzzz
tomorrow is vesakh day, and it`s suppose to mean the birthday or death(?) of Buddha. so, it is a long weekend here.so, no alcohol for the rest of the week. i might climb up the mountainside tomorrow. see some elephants and monkeys. things im not really into. but hey, what you dont like, you get. quite odd.
pretty vesakh!
12 May 2006
Friday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 3
my prof, a post-doc lab-mate, this tokyo-jin, and myself, went to sirigirya yesterday to see the ruins of the former kandyan king. it's like visiting the incas, aztecs, or whatever was left of the empires of greece and rome. it was a 2-hrs car ride from the hotel and another 3 hrs climb to the top of the stone castle.
because it is a weeklong visak celebration, the whole island is in festive mood, they refuse work this weekend. my persuasion to finish the work early did no good and maybe ill just have to adjust to them. not really bad.
what i saw in the castle were the throne, swimming pool, audience hall, paintings etc etc of the old kingdom which dates back to AD400. it's like watching, feeling and smelling national geographic in the flesh. literally in the flesh because with the vast amount of people who went there, mostly locals, i could smell the aroma coming out of the pores of their body. and it was 35C yesterday, very humid and all. my winter skin turned red during those 6hrs sun exposure. i was so thirsty during the entire climb that one liter of water was consumed within 2 hrs. ang hitman! so suffocating! hahaha
the king used to keep 500 concubines, according to our guide. and my prof asked why he kept 500 of them. i volunteered that the king can only count up to 500? lolzzzz and he asked what were his criteria for selection? i told myself, hey, that was 1600 years ago? maybe they lost the list of the inclusion criteria hahaha my prof was really adamant about it because he wanted to compare it with the lesotho king. whatever that was, it did not catch my fancy the time. lolzzzz
it is really very interesting to see the old world. history is one subject that was not in my favorite list during school but somehow i find interesting now. but disappointingly, these treasures are not well preserved here. of course the tropical clime is harsh and i just don't know how they will preserve the paintings, but for the next generations to see them, they have to be preserved nonetheless.
of course, there will be bystanders and fake tour guides who will try to take advantage, but being bathed in a system like this will be of no use. sorry for them. it was also quite disappointing that with the number of people who went there, we could have met an accident. because the climb was so steep, the police did nothing to improve the flow of human traffic. they were just there talking among themselves. something which reminds me of RP. another waste of people's money.
we were so tired after the climb that the elephant ride and dates with the monkeys which i initially planned were aborted.
well, i am left alone here in kandy since my prof went back to colombo already and the post doc left for JPN via HKG last night. will have to stay for the next 2 weeks until all our field works will have been completed by then.
13 May 2006
Saturday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 4
went for joy walk around kandy lake. SLs enjoy this huge lake which has no ingress nor egress body of water. it is just an enormous basin of water on top of the mountain. this is still inhabited with many fishes and is a sanctuary of many birds, too. the locals, the haves or the have nots, are fond of picnic around this lake but they also like to throw garbages everywhere. so it is not uncommon to find so many ice cream wrappers anywhere.
i enjoyed 2 hrs ayuverdic traditional massage also afterwhich i smelled like herbs from head to toe that i had to shower right after. i still prefer thai massage. after the massage, i was placed in what i initially thought as steam bath. but it turned out to be a chamber which covered my entire body except for the head. and underneath was a stove with boiling water. ngek, i had that funny schizophrenic feeling that reminded me of water torture in old japan. scary! the one hour steam bath was cut short to 10 minutes only. cant stand the thought of being burned alive hahaha
not only is my tongue complaining now, the other end of the GI tract is yelling as well whenever i visit the toilet. my week stay here is enough to make my rear end scream! lolzzzz i think they really have a very high tolerance to spices that my requests for spiceless food is of no use. they still serve it hot & spicy. KFC plain chicken is hot here.
when asked what they feel when food is not hot and spicy, SLs say they are not happy, they need it. our driver, who worked in the middle east before, made the arabians and yemen people angry when he made them taste SL food. i think they also do not like hot foods. lolzzzz
i also notice that soil color here is brown to brick red. any relation to chili's color?
17 May 2006
Wednesday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 5
it's day 6 of our field work. good thing that i have no difficult problems that i can't handle. it's quite a challenge to man people. most of the people that i work with are very supportive and enthusiastic of the project. they even had to go out of their way to avail food for us which i appreciate but would rather prefer that they attend to their routines and give me no special treatment. i know that they are busy also.
but there is this one associate who is a regular source of irregularities in our work. despite my constant reminders, he keeps on being a nuisance. so, i decided that i may have to call the attention of his boss because this team cannot run smoothly if one goes astray. today, he has behaved properly and im happier.
i had to take paracetamol the other day, can't figure the source of my headache whether it was the hot and humid weather, hunger pangs, you know that i can't eat much here, or something else. then i realized that it was tuesday yesterday. yes, tomorrow is the bathing time! hahaha im in constant exposure to air pollution lolzzzzz well, i have to wait till they bathe tomorrow, thursday hahaha ibang klase ang putok. talo pa yung jeepney driver sa quiapo noh hahaha ibang case!
i received an email from my prof who told me that he just arrived in HKG and there is a typhoon (tyhun in JPNese) approaching. i hope that he'll arrive safe in sapporo. ill go to HKG 26-27 may.
afer field work, i usually spend the rest of the afternoon swimming in the pool. finished with brokeback mountain and other stories, which is not necessarily a recommended book. other than BBM, the rest of the stories were hard for me to follow. i think im not inclined to cowboy or ranch life, besides, wyoming english sounds greek to me. what a ya say? lolzzzzz
i started victor hugo's les miserables last night. the first chapter is interesting, no wonder it's a big hit. im looking forward to finishing it soon.
dinner time is usually a candle light setting in the hotel. solitary dinner by candle light. exciting you think? hahaha
18 May 2006
Thursday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 6
nothing exciting today. i wanted to end the day fast. hahaha www is super mega slow and i have had to share it with other staff. hey, im being unreasonable. this is not my territory. poor me lolzzzz. in a little over a week i'll soon fly back to the bat cave. cant wait now.
i think the people here haven't seen a pinoy yet. nor do they know from where we come from. i have always been asked whether im japanese or chi-inese? you see, i come from the philippines. is that so? so, do you also eat dogs and cobras? yez, that's my usual Q&A portion here. and i feel like saying mabuhay! not all pinoys eat those animals. hahaha come to think of it, we almost eat all things with four legs, right? will that include the tables? lolzzzzz and it is quite ironic since im doing rabies survey! ngek
i also feel like being in RP. they are also fond of leave of absences. and they just had long vacation. they also have half day leave, going home one hour before the time, being absent on this particular day because will attend wedding, or look for the fiance of a friend's friend, who was kidnapped by the bandits, ad nauseam. we're no different, aren't we? quite interesting. but it's not my cup of tea. i loathe it. hahaha
i remember when i was in RP, when hospital personnel will make their daily duty skeds, they will pay particular attention to their holidays instead of working days. how cool! ang buhay nga naman, pag walang trabaho, hinahanap. pag may trabaho naman, bakasyon naman ang nasa utak. cheers!
20 May 2006
Saturday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 7
SL rainy season has started already, but according to the locals, it should have started 2 weeks ago. looks like something for the global warming. rains though are not as heavy as in RP. maybe june monsoon rains will be more harsh.
the months of may and june are popular among couples. it is not uncommon to see them in wedding attire having their lovely photos taken along the lake. of course, i ask their permission to take their pic as souvenir. it is not same as ours, as they have their own unique fashion. with their dark complexion, the brides would wear maroon wedding attire adorned with so much hepatitis. yes, hepatitis because of the glitter of the gold-plated jewelries from head to toe. all their fingers and toes have rings also. name it, they got it. the grooms would wear either the traditional attire or black suit with dark blue shirt and maroon neck tie. nazareno style is vogue here i guess. like in our setting, videos are in too. when i was in the pool yesterday, couldnt dip because i might be captured in their cam lolzzzz
due to the diversity of ethnic groups here, i saw what i think is an extremist Islam family. while the husband and son are enjoying swimming in the pool, the wife clad in black dress happily watching her family. only the eyes can be seen from her. and i think she is very beautiful inside. wide and deep eyes and high arched nose and very fair skin. hollywood beauties would envy her. well, that's their culture.
i also met back packers, like me. they look like those from the survivor series. young and ambitious. also met elderly caucasian tourists. i think most of them are from the nordic states. most of them are couples, enjoying the tropical clime. way to go! work and save while we're young and active, and spend them while the body can afford to. in other words, huwag maging alipin ng salapi. gow!
24 May 2006
Wednesday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 8
this is my penultimate day in kandy during this trip for tomorrow will be my final working day afterwhich i will leave for colombo the day after tomorrow. it was an exciting moment working with people from SL academe, and i will bringing with me these learned experiences. panalo ba sa Q&A? hahaha
you're fired! yep, my favorite donald trump slogan was used yesterday to one of the people who worked with me in this project. as this person, who is a consistent source of errors, did not improve, upon the contemplation of his professors, and my recommendation, has to be relieved from his duties. of course, we have to set minimum standards among the people we work with and there is no reason to maintain somebody who will ruin the whole project. too bad for him because the salary is quite handsome.
im looking forward to seeing philippine mama cafeteria in colombo in 2 days' time. have to eat sinigang na baboy, lechon kawali and CPA (chicken pork adobo). mi corazon! lolzzzzz
my prof and i are quite happy with how our field investigation went along. the results of which, i shall process in due time.
25 May 2006
Thursday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 9
we held a small party yesterday within the campus to give thanks to the 80 students and staff members who 'volunteered' in this project. they received a generous amount for their good works. though the field work has been finished, the data encoding may take another 2-3 weeks before i receive them completely and soon after will burn again the midnight oil for the analysis.
i was invited by one of the vets here to have some drinks and dinner in their home yesterday. i didn't know why i said yes before i realized that i might have gastronomic complications later on lolzzzz why did i say yes, anyway? i courteously told his wife that i am not really into spices and curry and told me that it will not be hot. it turned out to be that the food was terrific, however, it was still hot for me. i kept on eating anyway, but my oral cavity was burning hahaha we were both surprised at that. they cant understand how i can eat without spices. and i cant understand why they have to eat spices and all. very interesting differences in culture and taste buds. anyway, i was literally in a hot seat this morning in the toilet hahaha my poor cherries! hahaha
just few moments ago, while writing this, i have another dinner invitation tonight. hahaha i hope that it will be a chinese restaurant or any other place where the food will be acceptable to me. chinese foods here, btw, are also served with a tremendous amount of curries and chillis hahaha
25 May 2006
Thursday, Kandy, Sri Lanka
hello from kandy 10
it is a bit rainy today and i hope that the weather will be fine when i go to Colombo tomorrow morning. Sapporo weather will be nice upon my arrival on Sunday, but i do not know yet about HKG weather where i will stay for a day.
i received an SL souvenire from the students with whom i worked with and was pleased that they liked me more than i like myself hahaha they requested to pose with me on cam. i felt like from bollywood! lolzzzz yez, because of what i have been eating recently, i might be smelling like one of them. ang hitman! hahaha
i am almost 2/3 of the volume 1 of les mis, and the story is nice although a bit of an exaggeration of the good and bad. nonetheless, it is still a western classic. i am also entertaining the link between the priory and st benedictine, as is frequently mentioned in this book. forget it, i guess. i do not want to dwell on it. forever! lolzzzz
quite excited to go back home, get back to my little space in the Univ. and have a faster www and my own PC. videos and pics to follow.
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