Okay, I love Sri Lanka again! I swear I'm not bipolar, I had just spent too much time in Colombo and was left somewhat jaded and cynical. Talking too much with the locals here or foreigners that have been here awhile can leave you feeling a bit skeptical too.

This weekend we went to Hatton, an area only 100 or so km away from Colombo, but a different world. Its in the heart of tea country in the hill area. I still can not wrap my head around the fact that Sri Lanka is the size of south carolina, yet seems so big. Especially when traveling and you can see a difference in landscape, climate, food, cultures, etc. Hatton was just another wonderfully picturesque city in Sri Lanka! I was surrounded by green, lush mountains (every inch lined with tea bushes) and incredible blue lakes and waterfalls. The clouds were so low I promise I could touch them if I stood on my very tip tip toe. The climate was cool, such a relief from the sweltering atmosphere of Colombo! The only thing that was missing was the smell of tea and a rainbow. Besides that, it was perfect!

The culture was much different there too. The people there mostly speak Tamil which I haven't encountered yet. It seemed like the most culturally and religiously diverse place we've visited in Sri Lanka. A harmonious blend of Muslim, Hindi, Buddhism, and Christian. It seems like they interact well, on the surface to a foreigner anyways, but there is a civil war going on here that is largely based on language and religion...so don't take my word for it.

Before our trip I had been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma which left me inspired and frustrated, feeling like the devil for ever eating another bite. Usually when traveling I love visiting grocery stores, it really is such a good way to see differences in food cultures. Although interested I usually feel defeated, since items tend to be labeled in a language that I don't understand. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, its a breeze since everything is in english. The stores are so different though, and so are my shopping habits. The produce section is at the most 3 feet long with not a lot of variety, and full of things that I don't actually know how to cook. Besides that, the market is filled with biscuits and chocolate. Two things that I'd be happy to eat lots of. but esepcially after reading that book I feel guilty for doing so.

Even though tea country was beautiful, these feelings of frustration and guilt were increased though after driving through and seeing women so black from the sun after plucking tea for 8 hours a day, every day. the work is long, hard, and tedious. and they only get paid $2.25 cents a day. I felt bad for contributing to the world's tea addiction. I couldn't help but feeling like I never wanted to drink tea again. I doubt that will happen, but still.

We were visiting this area with a woman named Shiva that does a lot of work empowering the tea plucker women and helping them earn extra income and savings. It was good to visit with her and see that there is a more positive side of the tea plantation life. And it left me not feeling so guilty, which is also nice!