This is my family’s house. This is the first time we haven’t been living in an annex of someone else’s house, either Punchi Amma’s (aunt) or Achi’s (grandma). It’s big an nice, and the kitchen and bathrooms are modern, which is rare in Sri Lanka. I’ve spent the last 3 days hear eating and sleeping off my jet lag. We have a cook, Vimala, so there’s always something to eat. Before anybody jumps down my throat, it’s a job and she gets paid, and my parents work 12 hour days. We have a driver and a part-time maid too. My bed gets made every morning, and I find folded laundry there at night. I don’t actually have a bed though, I sleep on my sister’s bed and she sleeps with my other sister. Anyways, that’s the way the economy is structured here. If you, the reader, had the your same income and lived here (I’m assuming you’re on some sort of high-speed connection) you could afford and probably would have servants. So, I don’t feel bad about it. I think the best my family and I can do is work on the Sri Lankan economy to improve the standard of living for everyone. My mom is Director General of Tertiary Education (primary, secondary, tertiary), so she handles all the post-secondary education except Universities. Law school, vocational schools, computer schools, etc. My dad is Team Leader for Economic Reforms in Communications, Electricity, etc. They’re both trying to make their areas run more efficiently.

Posted on Friday, December 19th, 2003 in Sri Lanka.