September 11, 1977
Today is the first day, and it’s hard to believe the things that have happened. The young lady who came with me on this program turned out to be black. She is very intelligent and attractive. She makes this experience even better. The people here are very friendly and attractive. I’m staying at the Y.W.C.A., and it seems like I’ve been here before.
The whole trip seems like a movie, and I feel as if I’ve lived this life before. The women are fine. The food is good and cheap. The weather is good. So far, I couldn’t ask for anything better. There are twelve rupees to a dollar. A man came by today selling gems, and the best cost about 130 rupees, which is about $10 at home. A gem at home like that would cost $100 or more.
There is money to be made here. The day ended all right. I talked to the lady who runs this place, and she has been all over the world. Sherrie is bad, and she has her head together. She seems too much like me. I don’t know how we both got together, but it’s something. Tomorrow we have an orientation with the director. I’ll compare what he says with what the lady has said about Sri Lanka. So far, it’s too good to be true.
NOTES
Before I left for Sri Lanka, I was contacted by the organization that arranged this study program, and they said that the other person traveling to the country would meet me at the ticket counter at the New York airport. Right before the flight, I was paged to the counter. I went to the counter, but no one was there. While standing there, I noticed a woman who seemed to be black sitting on the steps. I said to myself it couldn’t be the person I was traveling with, and a number of times I started to go over to her and ask her name. When the plane landed in Paris, she disappeared. When the plan loaded again, I noticed she was on the flight again. It was not until we landed in Bahrain that I asked her name.
The woman who ran the YWCA gave us some advice about life in Sri Lanka. It was something that stayed with me throughout my stay there and helped me adapt to the lifestyle. She said, “Every day is Sunday in Sri Lanka.” This explained the pace of life and the people’s attitudes. In the US, Sunday is a day of rest, worship, and contentment. It seems that throughout my stay there, these attitudes were always present.
September 12, 1977
Today we had orientation, and it was unlike any I’ve had before. The man who talked to us was Mr. Fernando, who is also my advisor. He is what you would call a radical in the US. He explained everything, including himself. He is very open, direct, and smart. He got his first degree in chemistry, second in philosophy, and a Ph.D. in education. He studied in the US and other places. Two things he said stood out to me. One, once you pity a man, he loses his self-respect. Two: self-respect is the most important thing, and all a man has. He also said the key to life is “Why.”
I also met Mr. Somanader in-depth. He is a man who works in Sri Lanka’s foreign service. There was one thing about Mr. Fernando. When he was in the US studying, he met Martin Luther King. He became close friends with him. When King came to Sri Lanka, the first person he asked for was himself. When King was killed, he gave the sermon to the people of Sri Lanka because he knew him best.
My family is coming to get me tomorrow. The man I’m staying with is a lawyer. He plans to take me to places I’ve wanted to go. Mr. Fernando and Mr. Somanader took us to lunch at a club. We had beer and talked a lot. We really got to know each other. One other thing Mr. Fernando said about the Experiment is that it is not about changing the world, but about understanding the different changes in the world.
NOTES
The orientation was like a counseling session. It was more a disorientation of the US life than an orientation to Sri Lankan life. Mr. Fernando was a well-versed man. He had the look of someone who had achieved most of life’s goals. Mr. Somanader was more of a diplomat. I could tell he had powerful contacts. When he picked us up from the airport outside of Colombo, it was early in the morning. On the trip to Colombo, I noticed many people walking along the roads. When I asked where all these people were going, he remarked that they were going to the airport to meet friends. There were too many people and too few natives to go to the airport for this purpose. Later, I learned that many people went there to see the white tourist. It was like looking into another world. In the US, one may look at a National Geographic special on TV about Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, one might go to the airport and see foreign people live, and maybe, through luck, change one’s life through contact with the unknown, a Buddhist proverb.
While having drinks at a sort of club, I noticed that there were no women there but Sherrie. All the men there stared at us all the time we were there. Later, I learned that it was not proper for women to go to such places. The statement about the philosophy of the Experiment emerged during the missionary period in many places, such as Sri Lanka. Many missionaries went to countries to change their worlds. Today, people who come to these countries with a mission should come to understand these worlds. Understanding the differences makes them more understandable.