Smiles

There are two very amazing characteristics of Sri Lanka.  The first, unlike India, is that women are seen out in both the country and the cities participating in all aspects of life.  I noticed this on a recent trip to Colombo and was so excited to have picked up on this key piece as it has been quite some time since I was last in India.  There were many times in India where we noticed the lack of women particularly in the cities in the evenings. This made Connie feel very uncomfortable and for good reason considering some of the recent internationally reported incidences of assaults on women.  However, in Sri Lanka, the feeling is far different.

The second characteristic of Sri Lankans is their wonderful smiles.  No matter where we have been we have been met by kind and expressive smiling faces.  People are welcoming, curious and courteous. The questions are generally the same; ‘where are you from?’, ‘how many children do you have’, ‘how long are you in Sri Lanka’, ‘do you have a pension?’ and very commonly ‘can you give me some money’! It’s only the last one we get tired of  but there others are welcomed and it always leads to further conversations as we get to ask the same questions and more.

So, below are some of those smiling faces.  They’re not all smiling but we can’t be happy all the time!

Who is this guy taking my photo

Working hard selling flowers

Top of Sigiriya so must be happy not to have to climb any higher

Philomena, Connie and Margaret having a great chin wag

Can’t tell why Myra’s laughing but it must be something our guide, Kallum, is doing1

Happy?

Well, he’s not laughing but certainly vigilant

Another wonderful Sri Lankan welcoming smile

Ecsttic – out of school

Seems happy on this branch

Karen from Yolo – having a great time looking for elephants

Getting ready to enter the temple