By Asha Bertsch People in the village often find it odd that I’m alone out here. They say “paluyi pao.” Effectively translating to “you poor lonely thing”, hahaha. To this I always emphatically respond, “paluyi ney!” or “not lonely”. Although I am working here alone, I’m always pleasantly surprised by the number of group-work activities … Continue reading Sramadana – “voluntary work party”
Vedda Karenua- Working
By Asha Bertsch I've officially begun taking Sinhala lessons with Niluka, a young woman I know in the village who is preparing to head to university in a couple months (Fig. 1a). Prior to this, my conversations consisted of a lot of pointing and an elaborate and foolish display of me acting out different roles … Continue reading Vedda Karenua- Working
Gai Wadda- Homegarden
By Asha Bertsch Inventory was completed a month ago! Every tree, shrub, and semi-perennial herb has been measured and catalogued in the hopes of generating a long-term dataset documenting the unique growth of a Sri Lankan home garden. There's a bit of data to clean up, tags to be reassigned, and some confusing labeling to … Continue reading Gai Wadda- Homegarden
Wahinawageh!- it’s gonna rain!
by Asha Bertsch Having arrived in Sri Lanka at the tail end of the rainy season, this is the first Sinhala word I learned. It's a delight to say, and brings the best news! Jo and I arrived two weeks ago and we've been busy getting acquainted (or in Jo's case reacquainted) with the plants, the … Continue reading Wahinawageh!- it’s gonna rain!
Goodbye to Sri Lanka
By Chandni Navalkha My days at the field station have passed quickly, taken up by visits to Pitekele’s households. Each morning I walk along the village’s main road, hearing the rustling of the huge water monitor in the tea plantation across the footbridge and listening to the purple faced leaf monkeys twitter as I pass. … Continue reading Goodbye to Sri Lanka
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