Today was the day that mattered most, to me anyway, from a meeting standpoint. I woke up early to finish prepping for training, and then went down to breakfast. I met with a new friend from the night before that helped navigate the breakfast buffet. I tried hoppers, which are like thin rice crepes stuffed with a seasoned potatoes and cauliflower filling, and some seasoned lentil donuts, and various chutneys. Everything was delicious! I asked my friend what distinguishes breakfast from other meals in Sri Lanka, and he said, "maybe some things are less spicy". So basically more of lunch and dinner. He suggested I try a dish that I could not pronounce because he wanted my thoughts on. I hesitantly agreed, and upon trying it he told me it was cream of wheat, seasoned Sri Lanka style. Even bland breakfast items are given lots of flavor here!
The meetings and trainings went very well! It was a fascinating experience to work with physicians from a different place. Some habits are very similar the US, while others are very, very different. There was a bit of unease around the pig product, but mores from the wait staff than anyone else. Lots of people took pictures - I don't think they could believe that they were seeing what they were in such a nice event space.
After training and cleaned up and headed to dinner. When I arrived, I knew right away this night was going to different than the one before. On the stage, there was a dj table and a dance floor set up. Oh boy. Sure enough, about 15 minutes after dinner was suppose to start, on came the loud and colorful Indian dance music. People immediately went up to the dance floor - doctors and assistants alike. It was amazing to see how EVERYONE loved to dance. My friend Ellie and I got dragged on pretty quickly; it seemed rude to say no. And as awkward as I felt, I have to say it was so much fun. Everyone was laughing and having the best time. The dancing lasted completely through dinner, so people would trickle off the dance floor, eat, and then go right back to dancing. Someone must have told the dj that there were three Americans on the dance floor, because at one point he decides to place a very slow rendition of backstreet boys for us. Perhaps my favorite moment, however, was when almost all the doctors and every Clearside person was on the dance floor dancing together. Never in America would you see that happen. Cultures really started to meld when they played "gangam style", the Korean pop song. I stepped back and laughed to myself as I realized I, an American, was in Sri Lanka, dancing with 40 Indians to a Korean pop song. What a global world we live in. How awesome. As the crowd started to wain on the dance floor, the DJ switched over to more American tunes. My friend Ellie and I felt obligated to dance for those, but none of our Indian friends joined - but they all watched, that's for sure. We knew they were watching us, but we didn't know how closely until we left the dance floor and they all clapped for us. So yes, I was dancing entertainment for our Indian physicians at a nice Sri Lankan dinner. Things I never thought I'd do....
We had to leave dinner early (at 11pm) in order to get our ride to the airport for our 3:30am flight. We ended up in an elevator packed with our meeting attendees, so of course I took advantage of those perfect opportunity for a huge group selfie. And they LOVED it. It's an awesome picture of an unusual and incredibly fun last dinner in Sri Lanka.
We were incredibly fortunate that our ride to the airport was scheduled when it was. We ended up driving through the city right in the middle of all the lighted festivities for the Buddhist festival. Most building had Christmas lights (probably the wrong way to describe them...) covering them, and there were all types of lanterns hung and lighted displayed set out on the sidewalks. Truly beautiful.
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