I’m Dehara Weeraman, OneNature’s research and communications fellow. I’ve written quite a few of our blogs over the past two-and-a-half years. I recently graduated from Virginia Tech with my B.A. in Political Science and now I live in New York City. This week’s blog is a bit different from the ones I’ve written before– Over the holidays, my mom and I took a trip to Sri Lanka to visit family. We decided to take advantage of this trip and pack it full of activities that would allow us to take in the gorgeous sights and diverse wildlife.
In the early 90s, my parents emigrated from Sri Lanka, leaving their family and homes behind. They’ve lived in the U.S. ever since and have traveled back to visit family occasionally. I haven’t been to Sri Lanka since 2011 for my grandmother’s funeral. As it wasn’t an actual trip, we didn’t do much. So, it was really incredible to return as an adult and see the world that my parents, grandparents, cousins, etc., all grew up in. And actually understand it.
The cultural differences between the U.S. and Sri Lanka are pretty vast. What stuck out the most to me was how self-sufficient and, for lack of a better word, ‘eco-friendly’ everything was. The lack of materialism and consumerism that we’re so used to here in the West. One of my favorite facts I learned is that Sri Lankans use every part of the coconut. Coconut milk and pulp are used in many Sri Lankan dishes; the fiber covering the coconut can be used to make brooms, ropes, you name it; the leaves from the coconut tree are used to thatch roofs; and there are plenty of other ways coconuts have been transformed and reused.
Sri Lanka is home to a myriad of diverse wildlife species, from elephants to peafowl to monkeys. And in just one week, I got to experience a good number of them. I brought along three rolls of film and somehow managed to fill up two out of three rolls with photos of strictly animals and nature.
We went on an elephant safari in Habarana in the Anuradhapura district through the Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks. Elephants are a huge thing in my family. Walking through my house, you’ll find maybe close to a hundred elephants, whether they’re little statues, paintings, postcards, magnets, etc. Elephants hold cultural, economic, and religious importance in Sri Lanka. In fact, killing a Sri Lankan elephant can warrant the death penalty. So, this safari was a dream come true! We rode around in a jeep for about 3 hours, getting a great view of not only numerous elephants but also the incredible national parks.
Throughout my time in SL, we came across tons of monkeys. It wasn’t until we were hiking up the massive Sigiriya Rock that I got to see the monkeys in action. With thousands of visitors, the monkeys at Sigiriya typically get pretty lucky with food. A woman standing ahead of me in line was taking a snack out of her backpack, and within a minute, the snack was snatched out of her hand by a nearby monkey that had been watching her closely.
Pretty early on, you learn to be very cautious of the monkeys and to never take any food out in front of them because they will attack you and steal your food. Three species of monkeys are found in Sri Lanka: the purple-faced leaf monkey, the Sri Lankan grey langur, and the Toque macaque. Among the locals, the toque macaque is known as the evil monkey. With a population of almost three million, these monkeys are considered to be endemic to the country, causing significant damage to crops and infrastructure. They are, however, quite cute to photograph (at a distance, of course).
While the wildlife sightings were quite a big part of my trip, throwing myself into a culture I wasn’t used to while seeing my mom feel comfort and nostalgia brought about bittersweet feelings of homesickness. It was magical to see and live in the colorful and chaotic Sri Lankan culture and feel connected to an entire country of people. It was a trip I will treasure for quite some time, and I can’t wait until I get the chance to go back again. I came away from this trip with a stronger sense of who I am and a stronger sense of pride in being Sri Lankan.
All images by Dehara Weeraman
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