Independant Study

My independent study is going really well! It’s just now beginning to open up for me, and it seems like a lot of things just sort of fall into my lap as far as research is concerned. At the beginning I didn’t think I could even find a teacher, and right at the beginning the librarian and my Sinhala teacher each found me one. I needed to do some interviews with my teacher as well as learning the art itself, and he spontaneously starts talking about the history of Angampora. I need a translator, and *poof*, there’s an English teacher in the room who just sort of steps in. My host family just happens to have relatives near where I have class. That family happens to have ancestors who did Angampora. My translator gets interested in Angampora and starts looking into it himself. Tons of happy coincidences that have really opened this topic up for me.

Its also really cool to gradually discover what the heck Angampora is. Right now, in Sri Lanka there seems to be a lot of different opinions about Angampora. Some say it’s very famous, others have never heard of it. Some say it was wiped out during the colonial rule, others say it continued in secret. Some say it’s 10,000 years old, others say it must be a more recent import. Is it an art practiced by soldiers? High caste people only? By monks (like kung fu in China)? There’s also a lot of argument between the teachers, about who knows the “real” Angampora, and which ones are merely pretenders. Some have even issued open challenges to deadly combat to prove that they are the REAL Angampora masters.

So, studying this has really been a blast.

Weekly Insect Update

Is a bit of a misnomer, since I don’t really give updates weekly. Regardless, if I were a biologist, I’d be sorely tempted to do my independent study on “The Bathroom Ecosystem” because it’s just fascinating.

There are the constants, like the line of small ants that is in constant motion around 3/4ths of my bathroom perimeter. Their path is reasonably constant, but small changes are made on a daily and an hourly basis. They always go past my towel rack and around the shower, but make only occasional forays across the toilet (and on these occasions I’m glad that as a man I don’t have to sit on the ant covered toilet). The other constants are tiny flies (that don’t fly around overmuch, and so aren’t a bother), and the spiders that hang out under my sink, at the base of the showerhead, and occasionally in other places around the bathroom. They have very small bodies, and long thin legs each about as long as a pinky finger. Luckily, the ants, flies, and spiders don’t bother me much at all. I usually leave them alone, and in return they usually let me use the toilet or the shower. It’s a great arrangement.

More interesting is the occasional visitors and temporary residents I get. The spider is the most infamous of these. He (or she) didn’t visit at all for the first month and a half, and then s/he decided that s/he REALLY liked my bathroom, and given the opportunity decided to make his/her self more comfortable in my room. I still haven’t seen him/her since those initial encounters, so I’ve decided to call my spider “Silence,” because as soon as I named it, it was gone. Other transient visitors include the centipede I stepped on (sorry!), the giant cockroach (which I only saw once), and the last couple of weeks I’ve had two giant slug/snails living in the bathroom (who I’ve named Chuck and Chucky). I say slug/snail because I’m not really sure which they are. They’ve certainly got something growing out of their backs, but it’s far from a fully developed shell. I think Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes once described slugs as “giant living boogers.” Well, like the ants, they don’t really bother me. They just cruise around the bathroom most of the time (ceiling, shower curtain, floor, wall, toilet bowl, etc.) Every once in awhile they shrivel up and just stick in one place for a few days. Strange, no?

The Cultist

The Cultist:

Buddhism is a strange and interesting religion, but one thing that it has going for it is that by and large there aren’t a lot of “fringe” sects (unless you count Mahayana Buddhism, but that’s being a little harsh, no?) Well, a couple of weeks ago we met a very controversial monk in Sri Lanka and his close group of followers. The man is a Buddhist faith healer, and every fortnight he and his (mostly lay) disciples have a healing session. Why only every 10 days? Sick people really get on his nerves, and he can’t bear to be around them for more than once in every 10 days. He believes that all, or at least most sicknesses (including cancer, ADHD, diabetes, etc.) are caused by personality issues, like being self absorbed, wanting attention, or just being an annoying person in general. These personality traits cause disturbances in the body’s energy and aura, which result in sickness. In any case, we had the good fortune to sit in on one of his healing sessions.

To be fair, I may be being a bit harsh in my description of this fellow. There’s a lot to be said for the mind healing the body. Belief that you’re being helped could improve your condition considerably. But this particular monk and his disciples seem to be deluding themselves, in my opinion. It’s shocking to me that an ordained monk would be so full of himself, and he told us how on one occasion he seriously considered murder as a perfectly viable option. Meeting him was an interesting experience.

Hey all,

Still just chuggin' away at the whole Angampora thing. Yesterday I met a Sri Lankan student in the Botanical Gardens (someone I'd met in the beginning, but have been too busy to get together with before now). The Gardens are simply amazing. I need to go back with a camera. With a little less than a month left, I've got mixed feelings about leaving. On one hand, I've got a lot left that I want to do. Travel, talking with people, shopping, etc. On the other hand, it's almost like I have too much free time on my hands now, and I need to learn how to structure that better.

Other random news: Visited a cancer ward with my family and brought snacks, saw a water monitor (lizard), still need to do some shopping.

More as it develops!

Hey, it's been awhile since the last post, because my internet access is uncertain and last time I got to an internet place I couldn't log onto my account.

Anyhow, I'm in to the last third of my trip here: independant study.
As I said before, I'm studying Angampora, sri lanka's martial art. Let me tell you, this month should be a blast. My job is to get in shape and learn a martial art. After that, I can cook up some 15 page paper justifying it. Yay!
Also, who knows what quacky stories will pop out of this month. My teacher...well where to begin.
He seems to have an obsession with Chuck Norris for one. During our first private lesson, Chuck Norris became a topic of conversation on two entirely separate occasions. Also, he may or may not use a frayed electrical cord for a weapon (upon second inspection, I think its either for his coffee pot or it's got a dual use.) He was also saying how Angampora has a 10,000 year history (which really has to be off by 7 or 8,000 years.

But then again, what do I know? He's my teacher, and he's teaching me something. God knows whether it's Angampora, or Karate (which he also knows), or what. Anyway, it's good exercise. Each private lesson is 3 hours, and by the end of that my clothes are literally dripping. Sometimes I think that he's just curious how many more degrees he can add to the next spinning jumping kick without me falling in a dizzy heap. No matter though, so far it's been a blast.

More later. I've got to go meet my Amma in town.

Okay, I think that I was mistaken. Anyway, stage 2 of 3 is almost over. My classes are coming to a close, my papers are due, the dance/drum performance is soon, and I'm organizing independant study. For those of you who haven't heard, I'm going to be doing it on Angampora, a native Sri Lankan martial art. It was taught and practiced since ancient times by the soldiers, with certain styles reserved for princes and royalty. In some periods of history, it was also practiced as a blood sport in gladiatorial arenas. The style includes both armed and unarmed combat. In ancient times there were 21 weapon styles, but due to Colonial interference most of the weapon styles were lost. Now, weapons are mostly restricted to the sword, dagger, staff, spear, and serrated whip.
When the British finally conquered the Kandian Kingdom (the last part of Sri Lanka to be conquered), they outlawed the practice of angampora. Anyone caught teaching or practicing was shot in the kneecap, so the art had to be continued in secret, mostly along family lines. Only recently has it re-emerged, and I've found a couple of teachers that I can learn from.
I'll be spending part of my time in the village of Dewalegama, and part of my time staying just outside of Columbo and commuting in, as long as safety permits. I'll be checking regularly with the embassy on that one, and my program director and everyone at ISLE has contacts all over the place, and they have a careful eye on the situation, so...yeah. I should be fine. I don't want to get intimidated by the situation here. I'll keep a very careful eye on the situation, and be hyper-vigilant and aware of my surroundings. But...you have to live life. As I was telling Ben (my brother), if you're born and you're alive, you run the distinct risk of dying someday. But that doesn't stop you from living. Even if you had a choice of whether or not to be born, I hope you would choose to. Just so, you need to live life to the fullest, as long as you're not a damn fool and do something completely reckless for little gain. Anyway: Pictures! (from the cultural triangle tour)

This is why we didn't go all the way up to the lion's paws in Siigiria. About 20 German tourists were up there singing at the top of their lungs. Nice sign though, no?

Monitor lizard. Very, very cool. I want one of these in my bathroom.

Hello to all of my fans (and other inanimate objects in my possession)!
Also, hello to friends and family.

I've taken to playing a couple of popular* games here. The first game is played mostly amongst the ISLE students here**, and it's called "Guess which giant, unwelcome invertebrate will be in my bathroom tonight." So far, I've encountered a giant cockroach, a giant beetle, a giant slug (or may have been a snail), and of course the infamous giant spider. I accidentally stepped on a centipede on my way TO the bathroom, but I don't think that counts. Also, a couple of winged insects were trying to mate on my bed, and that was WAY inappropriate.

Sri Lanka certainly does help put things in perspective though. Of course, there are the sobering things like poverty, freedom, peace, etc. that SL puts in perspective. On a lighter note though, where else would I think something like "EEEEK! ...Oh, thank God! It's only a giant cockroach."

My birthday celebration was stellar. My amma baked a pinapple cake for me, and my atamma (grandmother) decorated it. It was delicious. They also made some western food for me, including a pasta and vegetable dish that was divine. Best of all though, the rest of the family came over. My uncle and aunt are real characters, and it was a real pleasure to have them. People brought gifts too! It was so unexpected and wonderful! My family gave me a tailored shirt and matching sarong, my grandmother gave me a shirt that looks pretty good on me, my uncle gave me a sweet looking sarong, and my aunt gave me a book on buddhism. It was a good night.

Okay, the rest of the posting will have to wait 'till another time. I may be wrong, but I think there's a couple doing something uncomfortable right next to me. Take care!

*compared to the sport of full contact duck duck goose
**Whether they want to play or not