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I can't believe this list actually EXISTS.
You know those lists about "You know you're a Redneck when [items]"? I found one for Sri Lankans on Facebook and for my own amusement, I copy/pasted it over here and bolded every one that does apply to me along with a little explanation underneath, but italicized them if they don't apply. It's amusing. I dare you to do the same with a list for your own ethnicity.
You Know You Are Sri Lankan when....
1. You use banana leaves instead of plates, to eat rice and curry.
In Sri Lanka, you wrap rice and curry in banana leaves and heat it in the oven. It's delicious that way, the flavor soaks through. I love it so much that my parents and I even buy banana leaves from the Indian store in Vienna so we can keep eating it like that.
2. Your parents mark any special occasion by boiling milk until it spills all over your stove.
New Year's, when you move into a new house, start of exams, birthdays... Superstitiously, I like drinking the boiled milk for luck, even though that's not part of the tradition.
3. You get it on to baila music.
Asexual. I don't 'get it on' at all.
4. You know Buddhist chants, Hindu chants and the Islamic call to prayer...by heart.
Buddhist, yes. Call to prayer, I recognize it if I hear it. Hindu chants, no.
5. Your idea of a bathing suit is a conspicuous see-thru sarong around your chest.
It's NOT see-through. But yes, I have gone into the OCEAN in a sarong. I'd never do that in a pool, obviously.
6. You find apples and oranges to be precious commodities while durian and rambutang are part of your daily diet.
I don't like rambutang or durian. Apples, however, are awesome.
7. You refer to friends by calling them "Machan" instead of "dude"
Only when I'm in Sri Lanka, or talking to other Sri Lankans.
8. You have encountered; been pursued; or bitten by a snake.
One was half as long as the street and black. We all ran inside the house while it went past. My kitten killed two other small worm-like ones.
9.Catching malaria is like catching a cold.
Mosquitoes are the new fleas.
10. You don't remember how to spell your long-ass last name.
I misspelt it on the SAT. I blame nerves.I got 800 for the English section so it's not that I'm STUPID, after all.
11. You find that Americans will choose death over trying to pronounce your name.
Or even cake.
12.You learned how to spell your last name by singing it to the tune of the ABC song
13. You haggle at the dollar store cuz' you know that chocolate bar just cost you a 100 rupees.
Never been to a dollar store, and I don't haggle in actual shops.
14. You eat string hoppers ,coconut milk and a three- course curry meal for breakfast
I hate string hoppers.
15.When Arrack is better then any French champagne.
I don't drink.
16. You have mastered the art of squatting.
It's not an art form! But yeah, ladies don't bend from the waist. They squat down to pick things up.
17. You use Siddahelpe, gripe water and Panadol to solve your medical problems.
Oh man, I grew up on those. I still HAVE Panadol here with me at uni. AND Siddhalepe.
18.You rock a pimped out three wheeler when you drive down main street to check out the hos.
Dude, I wish! Three-wheelers rock.
19 You ride an elephant to school.
It's actually scarily high up. I wouldn't want to do that.
20.You make $100 per month and buy petrol at $4 per gallon.
I don't drive or work. XD
21. You tell your parents you got 98%, and they ask you what happened to the other two percent.
Story of my life.
22. You have a Singer sewing machine at home.
Two! One for me, one for my mother.
23. You call an older person you've never met before uncle or "aunty"
Only if they're Sri Lankan.
24. Your relatives alone could populate a small city.
You mean that I'm not related to everyone in Columbo?!
25. EVERYONE is a family friend.
Also known as 'my mother has spies everywhere'.
26 .You went to a university as far away from home as possible and you still came back home to live with your parents after you finish.
I'm on a whole different CONTINENT. But I hope I won't go back to live with my parents like my parents and most of my cousins did.
27.You use Kist or Maggi chilli sauce instead of tomato ketchup.
I brought a bottle of Maggi chilli sauce with me from Austria, all the way to America.
28.You parents always say "on the light" instead of "turn the light on.
Nah, my parents have fairly decent spoken English. My mother studied in London, after all.
29.When "Aney".. or "Aiiyooo" or "Alllaaahhh" is a standard word in everyday conversation.
Aney, Fickle, what the hell you doing, machan?
30.You're walking out of customs with your trolley at the airport and you see all twenty-five members of your family who have come to pick you up.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
31.You go back to your parents' country and people treat you like a member of the royal family.
Would Her Royal Highness like to perhaps eat something?!
32.You are ALWAYS taking off and putting on your shoes wherever you go.
It's a rule that if you want to come into my dorm room, you have to remove your shoes. I have an expensive rug, a shampoo-scrubbed carpet AND I vacuum. CLEAN.
33.Your parents drink 3 cups of tea a day.
That's a conservative estimate.
34.When the car allows 7 people yet you seem to fit 20 in there!
The Sri Lankan traffic police NEVER stop you for that.
35.Your parents compare you to all of their friends' kids.
It doesn't get much more depressing than that.
36. When cursing the Government is the highlight of every dinner conversation
I'd say a 'staple', not a highlight.
37. No one ever seems to call ahead of time to say they are coming over for a visit.
You must always have food on hand just in case a guest drops in.
38. Your parents worry what other people will think if you're not going to be a doctor/engineer.
My parents wanted me to be a lawyer.
39. Your parents worry what other people will think when you're seen out in public with boys or if your "carrying on with someone".
I wasn't allowed to date until I turned eighteen. I'm still convinced that's because they knew I'd be leaving the country and thus they couldn't stop me from dating AND nobody would be around to see it anyway.
40.Your parents worry what other people will say about you having a girlfriend/boyfriend or better yet "an affair"
41. At a function or party your parents say that they're leaving, but often take another hour saying goodbye at the door.
If you're a tired, impatient kid or a bored teenager, THIS REALLY SUCKS.
42. You find overlapping last names in the display area for this Groups' members. (if you dont see this, refresh your page. it'll happen eventually)
...This actually happened.
43. When you tell people that you are from Sri Lanka and they say "oh the country that got hit by the tsunami" (apparently the tsunami finally put us on the map!)
Because a decades-old civil war just isn't special enough.
44. Whenever something sad happens to anyone or any animal for that matter you automatically say "aney pouuuuuu..."
It's actually pronounced 'pow' to rhyme with 'how'. And it means 'oh, poor' like 'poor thing'.
45. When your parents talk shit about your American friends in Sinhalese/Tamil while standing right next to them.
It's more the maids than my parents.
46. When something gross happens or talking about anything that's disgusting,bad,etc. you say "Chi Chi Chi...".
I don't. Some of my aunts/uncles, however, do.
47.When you see guys in Nugegoda walkin comfortably on the street holding hands and wearing flourescent shirts and yellow BATA slip-ons .And hey! no one looks at them twice!!
It took me a bit to figure out what would be attention-worthy about that.
48. When you see middle aged guys with the dodgiest mustaches and a head full of puffy toupee-like hair.
Ick.
49. You drink tea after every occasion.
No, water for me.
50. You walk in to a Sri Lankan party with one pair of shoes and walk out with a different pair that don't even match.
Never happened to me, but I can understand how it would.
51. You salt and pepper your mangoes, and every other fruit you eat.
Never seen ANYONE salt and pepper a mango.
52.You have a Sri Lankan driving license which does not have a date of birth printed on it!
No driving licence at all.
53. When you tell people you`re NOT from India, and that you`re from Sri Lanka, they say "ohh okay," but really, they think its all the same thing.
Can't prove it, but I suspect it.
53. You look for that plastic bowl after taking a dump...cuz' wiping it is just not good enough!
54.You go to a restaurant and ask for Fanta, Portello or a chocolate SMAK instead of a Pepsi.
55. When on your 18th birthday, you find out that you are pre- arranged to marry a person that you have never seen or heard-of before.
56. When your 17-year old third-cousin's wedding reception is bigger and more grand then the Kandy Perahara.
57. When the differences in skin complexion within your family can only be compared to a color wheel.
I have a first cousin that's white with hazel eyes and brown hair. I thought she was adopted, first, then I thought my aunt had an affair. Turns out she's just a throwback to my aunt's husband's side of the family.
58. Your parents smuggle tea, juggery and every possible spice into the country when they return home from a visit to Sri Lanka. At the customs office, they would check off "NO" for the question regarding "food, exotic plants, hazardous chemicals or firearms".
I've done it too.
59. Your parents leave folded plastic bags from expensive stores under their mattress so that they can be reused to make ghetto presents look really expensive.
60. Your Parents aren't afraid to chase you down the street and slap you if you talk back.
Again, THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
61. You cover tv remotes with plastic wrap to the point where you cant even see the buttons.
What?
62. You often went to school looking like a brown mime because your mom smothered your face with talcum powder.
63. When you were a child, your parents randomly dressed you up for the sole purpose of taking pictures.
They have enough photo albums to start a library, I swear.
64. You see middle aged Sri Lankan women on the bus with frizzy hair, magenta lipstick and faces that have been liberally smothered with "Fair and Lovely".
I don't take the bus.
65. You grew up on Marmite and Glucose powder...and often faked a stomach ache so that you could drink Gripe water.
Don't know about glucose powder but I DID fake the tummy aches. XD
66. You know that Cheetos aint got nothin' on Tipi Tips.
67. Your parents describe every foreign exotic place in the world as either "down-south" or "up-country"
68. When you visit your Sri Lankan aunties, they always serve you a plate of lemon puffs and Tang before anything else.
69. When in Sri Lanka, you find 9 wedding halls on one street while a library is often non-existent.
Making educated decisions about marriage is SO overrated.
70. Your Parents' idea of a day off is sitting through loooooooong sermons in temples, churches or mosques.
There's a reason I'm an atheist.
71. When you'd "tap that Toddy" just to get that nice taste.
Dear gods, NO.
72. You're not allowed on msn or facebook, yet you still sneak off and go on. Your parents wouldn't allow you out of their sight, simply because "Anee, you'll meet boys and get raped!"
Semi-true. My parents didn't like me chatting on MSN, still don't. And I'm not allowed to go out on my own in Sri Lanka.
73.When every Lankan girl that you meet is the daughter of the auntie whose grandfather is the cousin of the father of your uncle who is the brother of your dad!
I can't make sense of that, which means it's probably true.
74. When your parents INSIST on carrying an emergency stash of mosquito coils in their first aid kit!
75. When you've had chili smothered in your mouth because you talked back to your parents.
76. When your parents call Scotch tape 'sello tape' and refer to Washing Powder as 'Rinso'.
...Hey, I say Sello Tape! But not Rinso.
77. When you know that "NO" actually means "YES" in Sri Lankan English...NO?
The French got nothing on us.
78. When you know that there are people in Sri Lanka who could probably out-bobble a bobble-head!
*snickers* Mean but true.
79. If you think Sigiriya Rock should be the eighth wonder of the world.
I have climbed that damn thing too many times to be impressed.
80.When you know the words to that very annoying 'Surangani' song...
81.You know exactly what your mother means when she holds up a bata slipper and says " I shall give you one, nicely"...
It means she'll hit you with it.
82. When your parents say you can be anything in life...but really mean you either have the choice of being an engineer, doctor, lawyer or marrying somebody who is an engineer, doctor or lawyer.
YES. EXACTLY.
83. When despite the fact that you have eaten a full three course meal prior to visiting your "auntie", refusing to eat another three course meal in the same evening may result in dire consequences.
If you love people, you eat their damn food.
84. You often see trucks or three wheelers with either people's names or things like like "Sudhu Kella" or "Sinna Kutti" plastered on the back.
Only when I'm in Sri Lanka.
85. You get invited to dinner at an "uncles" house for 7:00pm; You get there at 8:30 and dinner is served at 11:58 pm; The arrack induced fathers start singing at 1:00 am while the mothers start making idle chit chat about the "old days in Sri Lanka"...By 3:00am your "auntie" forces you to drink coffee so that you can get a good night's sleep when you get home at 6:00 AM.
Schedule, what schedule?
86. When you've spend at least one afternoon wrapping your school textbooks with "brown paper" so that they don't get damaged!
Plastic store-bought coers for me.
87. When you walk into a crowded room and EVERYONE looks up and just STARES at you for no apparent reason. Along with head bobbing, it is a custom to stare!!!!!!
It's not a good country to be in if you're self-conscious.
88. When you know that Odel's is the best place to do an entire decade worth of shopping!
True fact: I am wearing an Odel t-shirt RIGHT NOW.
89. When a game of carrom is used to settle minor disputes.
I LOVE THAT GAME. Sadly, I've never played it as a diplomatic thing.
90. When you know that Thambili is not only a fruit, but a color, a cure for diarrhea and a way to solve hangover-related issues!
I never knew it cured diarrhea but I did know the others. And mmm, thambili, I want one now.
91. When you see aunties/uncles you haven't seen in a long time they give you the Sri Lankan "sniff kiss" where by:
a.They bring their cheek up to your cheek
b. They sniff
c. Switch cheeks and repeat.
Better than being a dog and smelling bottoms.
92. When your version of cookies and milk equals to "Marie biscuits" and Pure Ceylon Tea.
In Sri Lanka, there's an insult that goes "[name]-parripu-ah, Marie-kada-serrupah!" Which translates to name-lentils, Marie-biscuits-shop slipper. Which means that you're as mild/weak as lentils, like the owner of a shop of Marie biscuits and get walked on.
93. When your mother doesn't want you going outside at noon because she thinks "you'll get dark".
Mostly my aunts. My mother always said it was skin cancer she worried about.
94. When you know that "short eats" are nothing short of delicious, fattening and extremely addictive.
I don't like short eats.
[/list]
I bolded 54 out of 94. 54/94 x 100 = 57.44ish.
Therefore, I fit roughly 57% of Sri Lankan stereotypes. XD
You Know You Are Sri Lankan when....
1. You use banana leaves instead of plates, to eat rice and curry.
In Sri Lanka, you wrap rice and curry in banana leaves and heat it in the oven. It's delicious that way, the flavor soaks through. I love it so much that my parents and I even buy banana leaves from the Indian store in Vienna so we can keep eating it like that.
2. Your parents mark any special occasion by boiling milk until it spills all over your stove.
New Year's, when you move into a new house, start of exams, birthdays... Superstitiously, I like drinking the boiled milk for luck, even though that's not part of the tradition.
3. You get it on to baila music.
Asexual. I don't 'get it on' at all.
4. You know Buddhist chants, Hindu chants and the Islamic call to prayer...by heart.
Buddhist, yes. Call to prayer, I recognize it if I hear it. Hindu chants, no.
5. Your idea of a bathing suit is a conspicuous see-thru sarong around your chest.
It's NOT see-through. But yes, I have gone into the OCEAN in a sarong. I'd never do that in a pool, obviously.
6. You find apples and oranges to be precious commodities while durian and rambutang are part of your daily diet.
I don't like rambutang or durian. Apples, however, are awesome.
7. You refer to friends by calling them "Machan" instead of "dude"
Only when I'm in Sri Lanka, or talking to other Sri Lankans.
8. You have encountered; been pursued; or bitten by a snake.
One was half as long as the street and black. We all ran inside the house while it went past. My kitten killed two other small worm-like ones.
9.Catching malaria is like catching a cold.
Mosquitoes are the new fleas.
10. You don't remember how to spell your long-ass last name.
I misspelt it on the SAT. I blame nerves.
11. You find that Americans will choose death over trying to pronounce your name.
Or even cake.
12.You learned how to spell your last name by singing it to the tune of the ABC song
13. You haggle at the dollar store cuz' you know that chocolate bar just cost you a 100 rupees.
Never been to a dollar store, and I don't haggle in actual shops.
14. You eat string hoppers ,coconut milk and a three- course curry meal for breakfast
I hate string hoppers.
15.When Arrack is better then any French champagne.
I don't drink.
16. You have mastered the art of squatting.
It's not an art form! But yeah, ladies don't bend from the waist. They squat down to pick things up.
17. You use Siddahelpe, gripe water and Panadol to solve your medical problems.
Oh man, I grew up on those. I still HAVE Panadol here with me at uni. AND Siddhalepe.
18.You rock a pimped out three wheeler when you drive down main street to check out the hos.
Dude, I wish! Three-wheelers rock.
19 You ride an elephant to school.
It's actually scarily high up. I wouldn't want to do that.
20.You make $100 per month and buy petrol at $4 per gallon.
I don't drive or work. XD
21. You tell your parents you got 98%, and they ask you what happened to the other two percent.
Story of my life.
22. You have a Singer sewing machine at home.
Two! One for me, one for my mother.
23. You call an older person you've never met before uncle or "aunty"
Only if they're Sri Lankan.
24. Your relatives alone could populate a small city.
You mean that I'm not related to everyone in Columbo?!
25. EVERYONE is a family friend.
Also known as 'my mother has spies everywhere'.
26 .You went to a university as far away from home as possible and you still came back home to live with your parents after you finish.
I'm on a whole different CONTINENT. But I hope I won't go back to live with my parents like my parents and most of my cousins did.
27.You use Kist or Maggi chilli sauce instead of tomato ketchup.
I brought a bottle of Maggi chilli sauce with me from Austria, all the way to America.
28.You parents always say "on the light" instead of "turn the light on.
Nah, my parents have fairly decent spoken English. My mother studied in London, after all.
29.When "Aney".. or "Aiiyooo" or "Alllaaahhh" is a standard word in everyday conversation.
Aney, Fickle, what the hell you doing, machan?
30.You're walking out of customs with your trolley at the airport and you see all twenty-five members of your family who have come to pick you up.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
31.You go back to your parents' country and people treat you like a member of the royal family.
Would Her Royal Highness like to perhaps eat something?!
32.You are ALWAYS taking off and putting on your shoes wherever you go.
It's a rule that if you want to come into my dorm room, you have to remove your shoes. I have an expensive rug, a shampoo-scrubbed carpet AND I vacuum. CLEAN.
33.Your parents drink 3 cups of tea a day.
That's a conservative estimate.
34.When the car allows 7 people yet you seem to fit 20 in there!
The Sri Lankan traffic police NEVER stop you for that.
35.Your parents compare you to all of their friends' kids.
It doesn't get much more depressing than that.
36. When cursing the Government is the highlight of every dinner conversation
I'd say a 'staple', not a highlight.
37. No one ever seems to call ahead of time to say they are coming over for a visit.
You must always have food on hand just in case a guest drops in.
38. Your parents worry what other people will think if you're not going to be a doctor/engineer.
My parents wanted me to be a lawyer.
39. Your parents worry what other people will think when you're seen out in public with boys or if your "carrying on with someone".
I wasn't allowed to date until I turned eighteen. I'm still convinced that's because they knew I'd be leaving the country and thus they couldn't stop me from dating AND nobody would be around to see it anyway.
40.Your parents worry what other people will say about you having a girlfriend/boyfriend or better yet "an affair"
41. At a function or party your parents say that they're leaving, but often take another hour saying goodbye at the door.
If you're a tired, impatient kid or a bored teenager, THIS REALLY SUCKS.
42. You find overlapping last names in the display area for this Groups' members. (if you dont see this, refresh your page. it'll happen eventually)
...This actually happened.
43. When you tell people that you are from Sri Lanka and they say "oh the country that got hit by the tsunami" (apparently the tsunami finally put us on the map!)
Because a decades-old civil war just isn't special enough.
44. Whenever something sad happens to anyone or any animal for that matter you automatically say "aney pouuuuuu..."
It's actually pronounced 'pow' to rhyme with 'how'. And it means 'oh, poor' like 'poor thing'.
45. When your parents talk shit about your American friends in Sinhalese/Tamil while standing right next to them.
It's more the maids than my parents.
46. When something gross happens or talking about anything that's disgusting,bad,etc. you say "Chi Chi Chi...".
I don't. Some of my aunts/uncles, however, do.
47.When you see guys in Nugegoda walkin comfortably on the street holding hands and wearing flourescent shirts and yellow BATA slip-ons .And hey! no one looks at them twice!!
It took me a bit to figure out what would be attention-worthy about that.
48. When you see middle aged guys with the dodgiest mustaches and a head full of puffy toupee-like hair.
Ick.
49. You drink tea after every occasion.
No, water for me.
50. You walk in to a Sri Lankan party with one pair of shoes and walk out with a different pair that don't even match.
Never happened to me, but I can understand how it would.
51. You salt and pepper your mangoes, and every other fruit you eat.
Never seen ANYONE salt and pepper a mango.
52.You have a Sri Lankan driving license which does not have a date of birth printed on it!
No driving licence at all.
53. When you tell people you`re NOT from India, and that you`re from Sri Lanka, they say "ohh okay," but really, they think its all the same thing.
Can't prove it, but I suspect it.
53. You look for that plastic bowl after taking a dump...cuz' wiping it is just not good enough!
54.You go to a restaurant and ask for Fanta, Portello or a chocolate SMAK instead of a Pepsi.
55. When on your 18th birthday, you find out that you are pre- arranged to marry a person that you have never seen or heard-of before.
56. When your 17-year old third-cousin's wedding reception is bigger and more grand then the Kandy Perahara.
57. When the differences in skin complexion within your family can only be compared to a color wheel.
I have a first cousin that's white with hazel eyes and brown hair. I thought she was adopted, first, then I thought my aunt had an affair. Turns out she's just a throwback to my aunt's husband's side of the family.
58. Your parents smuggle tea, juggery and every possible spice into the country when they return home from a visit to Sri Lanka. At the customs office, they would check off "NO" for the question regarding "food, exotic plants, hazardous chemicals or firearms".
I've done it too.
59. Your parents leave folded plastic bags from expensive stores under their mattress so that they can be reused to make ghetto presents look really expensive.
60. Your Parents aren't afraid to chase you down the street and slap you if you talk back.
Again, THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
61. You cover tv remotes with plastic wrap to the point where you cant even see the buttons.
What?
62. You often went to school looking like a brown mime because your mom smothered your face with talcum powder.
63. When you were a child, your parents randomly dressed you up for the sole purpose of taking pictures.
They have enough photo albums to start a library, I swear.
64. You see middle aged Sri Lankan women on the bus with frizzy hair, magenta lipstick and faces that have been liberally smothered with "Fair and Lovely".
I don't take the bus.
65. You grew up on Marmite and Glucose powder...and often faked a stomach ache so that you could drink Gripe water.
Don't know about glucose powder but I DID fake the tummy aches. XD
66. You know that Cheetos aint got nothin' on Tipi Tips.
67. Your parents describe every foreign exotic place in the world as either "down-south" or "up-country"
68. When you visit your Sri Lankan aunties, they always serve you a plate of lemon puffs and Tang before anything else.
69. When in Sri Lanka, you find 9 wedding halls on one street while a library is often non-existent.
Making educated decisions about marriage is SO overrated.
70. Your Parents' idea of a day off is sitting through loooooooong sermons in temples, churches or mosques.
There's a reason I'm an atheist.
71. When you'd "tap that Toddy" just to get that nice taste.
Dear gods, NO.
72. You're not allowed on msn or facebook, yet you still sneak off and go on. Your parents wouldn't allow you out of their sight, simply because "Anee, you'll meet boys and get raped!"
Semi-true. My parents didn't like me chatting on MSN, still don't. And I'm not allowed to go out on my own in Sri Lanka.
73.When every Lankan girl that you meet is the daughter of the auntie whose grandfather is the cousin of the father of your uncle who is the brother of your dad!
I can't make sense of that, which means it's probably true.
74. When your parents INSIST on carrying an emergency stash of mosquito coils in their first aid kit!
75. When you've had chili smothered in your mouth because you talked back to your parents.
76. When your parents call Scotch tape 'sello tape' and refer to Washing Powder as 'Rinso'.
...Hey, I say Sello Tape! But not Rinso.
77. When you know that "NO" actually means "YES" in Sri Lankan English...NO?
The French got nothing on us.
78. When you know that there are people in Sri Lanka who could probably out-bobble a bobble-head!
*snickers* Mean but true.
79. If you think Sigiriya Rock should be the eighth wonder of the world.
I have climbed that damn thing too many times to be impressed.
80.When you know the words to that very annoying 'Surangani' song...
81.You know exactly what your mother means when she holds up a bata slipper and says " I shall give you one, nicely"...
It means she'll hit you with it.
82. When your parents say you can be anything in life...but really mean you either have the choice of being an engineer, doctor, lawyer or marrying somebody who is an engineer, doctor or lawyer.
YES. EXACTLY.
83. When despite the fact that you have eaten a full three course meal prior to visiting your "auntie", refusing to eat another three course meal in the same evening may result in dire consequences.
If you love people, you eat their damn food.
84. You often see trucks or three wheelers with either people's names or things like like "Sudhu Kella" or "Sinna Kutti" plastered on the back.
Only when I'm in Sri Lanka.
85. You get invited to dinner at an "uncles" house for 7:00pm; You get there at 8:30 and dinner is served at 11:58 pm; The arrack induced fathers start singing at 1:00 am while the mothers start making idle chit chat about the "old days in Sri Lanka"...By 3:00am your "auntie" forces you to drink coffee so that you can get a good night's sleep when you get home at 6:00 AM.
Schedule, what schedule?
86. When you've spend at least one afternoon wrapping your school textbooks with "brown paper" so that they don't get damaged!
Plastic store-bought coers for me.
87. When you walk into a crowded room and EVERYONE looks up and just STARES at you for no apparent reason. Along with head bobbing, it is a custom to stare!!!!!!
It's not a good country to be in if you're self-conscious.
88. When you know that Odel's is the best place to do an entire decade worth of shopping!
True fact: I am wearing an Odel t-shirt RIGHT NOW.
89. When a game of carrom is used to settle minor disputes.
I LOVE THAT GAME. Sadly, I've never played it as a diplomatic thing.
90. When you know that Thambili is not only a fruit, but a color, a cure for diarrhea and a way to solve hangover-related issues!
I never knew it cured diarrhea but I did know the others. And mmm, thambili, I want one now.
91. When you see aunties/uncles you haven't seen in a long time they give you the Sri Lankan "sniff kiss" where by:
a.They bring their cheek up to your cheek
b. They sniff
c. Switch cheeks and repeat.
Better than being a dog and smelling bottoms.
92. When your version of cookies and milk equals to "Marie biscuits" and Pure Ceylon Tea.
In Sri Lanka, there's an insult that goes "[name]-parripu-ah, Marie-kada-serrupah!" Which translates to name-lentils, Marie-biscuits-shop slipper. Which means that you're as mild/weak as lentils, like the owner of a shop of Marie biscuits and get walked on.
93. When your mother doesn't want you going outside at noon because she thinks "you'll get dark".
Mostly my aunts. My mother always said it was skin cancer she worried about.
94. When you know that "short eats" are nothing short of delicious, fattening and extremely addictive.
I don't like short eats.
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I bolded 54 out of 94. 54/94 x 100 = 57.44ish.
Therefore, I fit roughly 57% of Sri Lankan stereotypes. XD
no subject
And the plastic wrap thing, quite a few East Asian families I know do that too, but it's more of not taking off the plastic wrap it comes in, and when that plastic wrap finally falls off, you get new plastic wrap for it. That's why my cell phone is in a little baggie that its USB cord came in. I dropped the cloth holder I had for it on the bench while waiting for the bus. ;________________; (I think I was more upset about the fact that my phone was uncovered than the fact that it was rather pretty.)
As for salt and peppered mangoes, I've seen mango slices with chili pepper for sale in ethnic stores. *shrug* I thought it was a Vietnamese way of eating mangoes since I always seemed to find it with Vietnamese characters on the packaging.
And I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like shoes in my room. I've conceded that I'll never convert my roomies to make the whole apartment outside-shoe-free, but I'm keeping my side of the room shoe-separate.
no subject
Chilli pepper is one thing! Salt and pepper is another. In Sri Lanka, we have this fantastic thing where you combine chili powder, sugar, salt and vinegar into a liquid, then dip slices of mango into it and eat it. It's SO GOOD but it stinks up the place like crazy, which is one reason that I haven't tried making it at uni.
Hah. I'm totally against people walking in my nice clean room with shoes on. You trudge through grass with dog pee on it and want in? Pffft. Plus, even if you stick to the sidewalk, you don't know what other people stepped in before they were walking on the sidewalk and what your shoes pick up from what they've deposited on the sidewalk! *picky picky picky*