My colleagues took me to Borella (Colombo 8) to show me where Meat Shop (really, that is the name of the store) and the near by Keells Supermarket is. I was on a quest for some pork which isn't always readily available as there is a small but significant population here that follow halal food practices. Anyhow, I got some and then my colleague saw me off on a bus going home.
It was a nicer bus with plusher than usual seats and high backs and we chose that I got on this one because it wasn't jam packed with people as they often are. I often let quite a few buses go by if I find they're busy or my favourite spot to stand (up front, in front of the front seat to the left of the driver where I can wedge myself into a corner) isn't available. After sitting idle at the bus stop for 5 minutes, we were finally off heading back west towards my apartment. Buses here are known to lurch forward, stop suddenly, and careen around corners so when we suddenly stopped in the middle of the intersection, it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me though was that shortly after, a man came up to the bus yelling and obviously angry. This goes on for a few minutes with traffic driving around us also quite annoyed before we pull forward then over to the side. Anyhow, I'm a bit curious as to what is happening as some people have gotten off the bus so I look over a few seats back at the most professional looking person (i.e. dress pants, dress shoes, laptop bag, and a dress shirt vs. the guy in front of me in a polo shirt, jeans, and ratty looking flip flops ... shoes are the key here) and ask him "What is happening?" He notes that the bus has been in a minor accident. I proceed to ask "do you think this will take a long time?" He does the head nod I have grown to be determined to learn how to decipher and says "I'm not sure. It may be better to get off and try to get another bus." So off the bus I get and away I go.
10 seconds later I hear a voice behind me ... "oh, I do the same as you". So this man and I start walking to the next stop which is roughly 500m ahead. He seemed nice enough and started the conversation by the question the majority people ask me: "Where are you from? China?" I say "No, Canada." He goes "Noooooo. Really? Noooooo. Canadian?" I guess what I've grown so used to, knowing Canada as a multicultural country where just about any background and race is accepted, isn't common knowledge here. In fact, there have been many times where I have just given up and agreed "Yes, I'm from China" which is somewhat true as I was born in Hong Kong after all (but I usually like to differentiate Hong Kong from China). We go through the usual banter with what I'm doing here (working? studying?), how I like Sri Lanka, and how it's different from home.
I noticed his English was quite good so I started to ask a bit about him (usually it's all about me). He told me he was working in Colombo as a database management administrator (how interesting) working on Oracle software and doing Oracle courses. I asked him if he went to University and he said no, he missed entrance by half a point (ouch.). But he also told me it doesn't matter because he is studying Oracle now and that working hard to get himself ahead is what counts. We went more into depth about my thoughts about Colombo and how it differs from where I come from. Then he shared with me that he felt a bit the same about how I felt. I asked him why and he told me he only moved to Colombo six months ago from Kandy. It then clicked in my head that I knew he seemed a little different ... just really openly genuine and nice. So we talked all the way to the bus stop and the 5-10 minutes we stood waiting for the next bus to come. About what brings people to Colombo, what I do, what he does, missing family and friends back home, and how Colombo differs from where he comes from (I've met rowdy young men, he has encountered thugs, both which do not exist in Kandy). I was so happy to be talking to someone who wanted to carry on a conversation not just because I was sitting in his taxi or trishaw.
Anyhow, a bus finally comes and we do a double take that it was the same bus that we got off (it wasn't, so it confirmed that we did not waste our time and energy walking to the next stop). I'm fumbling with my bag and when I finally get my 10 Rupees out, he looks at me and says "I paid for you". How nice. Bus rides here are cheap (9 Rupees from where we got on to where I needed to get off ... about 8 cents Canadian). But it was such a nice gesture (and thank you to my colleagues who have done the same for me numerous times, I owe you all) from someone I had only known for about 15 minutes that gave me kind of a renewed hope that there are nice guys around and not all are obnoxious. I know that obviously is the truth, but they just seem so far and few in between when I usually just get stares ... It added to the awesomeness that a girl from my dance class yesterday offered to drive me up to the main road to catch a taxi when I asked which way I needed to walk to get one.
At the end we got off at the same stop where he needed to connect to another bus and I needed to walk home. We exchanged a few more words and he thanked me for being so nice. I said the same to him and thanked him for paying my bus fare. He asked once more where I worked so I handed him my business card and said that if he wanted to learn more about the Olympics and Commonwealth Games to send me an e-mail. Gotta put in a plug for what I do. He also asked me what sports I played ... just for insurance I started by telling him I did karate, followed by all the other sports I dabble in. Anyhow, it was dark out now and I really wanted to get home so I thanked him again and said good-bye.
It felt good to know that I'm not alone in feeling a bit like a fish out of water here in this city and that even someone from the country who speaks the language can sometimes feel the same way. I walked home with a smile on my face, remembering Maxwell's (our Secretary General at the NOC) words that people outside of Colombo are nicer and more happy which I think this guy (Emal was his name? That's what it sounded like but I'm sure my spelling is all wrong) was a great example of.
***09 June Edit: It was Amil. (I got an e-mail from him this morning). My spelling and memory were soooooo far off.
Side note: Kandy is about 2 - 3 hours away, inland, by bus. It is home to the Sacred Tooth Relic; a tooth of the Buddha hidden somewhere extremely secretive. It is also known as the cultural and Buddhist centre of the country and my colleagues are planning a trip for us to go up and explore. Yay!
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