Birthland Vs. Motherland

I remember those days when I was in school and the teacher would ask the class to write an essay about your Janmabumiya ( Birthland) though I think I picked Sri Lanka for this it always had me feeling strange.

As I see it ...

Janmabumiya - Birthland or the place you were born in
Mathrubumiya - Motherland or the place you belong or your home country

So the way I always rationalized for my self that for me...

Janmabumiya ( Birthland) = Thailand
Mathrubumiya ( Motherland) = Sri Lanka


At the end of the day I guess no one else really would care about the difference...but I have come to understand that I do. I guess its part of the identity I'm forming for myself and in a way how I differentiate my self from those around me.

I guess I'm just thinking aloud here... and its part of the self consciousness that I'm experiencing through the time in my home away from home.

Croc meat for dinner !!!

If Pig -> Pork, Cow -> Beef etc. then what is Crocodile ->? :) I was thinking this after I came back to the apartment having had Crocodile meat for my dinner.

Sifaan was back in Bangkok ( this time as Coach for a school software programming team ) and we planed to catch the Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya river... unfortunately we were late in getting there and missed out on the cruise boat...after trying to negotiate with a guy at the pier who didn't speak English very well we ended up being taken to a restaurant on the riverside.
Making the best out of the situation we decided to have dinner there...

The menu did have some not so normal things on it... Ostrich, Frog, Sanke and Crocadile !!! Wanting to try something different we went for the Crocodile... :) The meat was tough and rubbery :) besides that it was just fine. Though it want really the most delicious it was worth the price for a new experience!!!

Here is an extract from Wikipedia about Croc meat...

"Crocodile is consumed in some countries such as Australia, Ethiopia, Thailand, South Africa and also Cuba (in pickled form). It can also be found in specialty restaurants in some parts of the United States. The meat is white and its nutritional composition compares favourably with that of more traditional meats. It does tend to have a slightly higher cholesterol level than other meats. Crocodile meat has a delicate flavour and its taste can be complemented by the use of marinades. Choice cuts of meat include backstrap and tail fillet."

Dinner with the new Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand

We finally have the new ambassador to Thailand here and for those of you who don't know he is the renound Professor in Sinhala Language Prof. J.B. Dissanayake.

Though many were questioning the appointment as his services would not be available for the University students during his tenure I believe its his life and thus his decision to make. I believe that with his background he would be ideal to serve in this post as we have to do much to re-establish the cultural and religious tied between Sri Lanka and Thailand. With most Thai people not even knowing about Sri Lanka and even those who know having a negative and incorrect impression of Sri Lanka means

that there is certainly a lot to do.

I was invited by the Sri Lankan Association here to join in for the dinner the Ambassador has extended to the Sri Lankan association members in Thailand. It was a pleasant experience and what captivated me most ( that is besides the awesome Sri Lankan food layed out for us) was how simple the Prof. and his wife are, they have an authentic Sri Lankan charm in being very down to earth. The Prof. is very much an academic and not a really a traditional diplomat and I believe that is a positive that hopefully can help improve relations between the two countries that are most connected to my life.

I was slightly concerned over meeting the famous Prof. in Sinhala language as my Sinhala is not the most pure since the last few years, mixing English words as speak normally. ( Yes I can speak proper when I really want to). But the Prof. chose to keep most of the conversations in English taking in to mind that there were couple of Tamil/Muslim participants. ( I was really impressed of the fact he took this in to account)

I do wish the Ambassador a enjoyable and successful stay in Thailand.