Back to Sri Lanka - 1 year on...

It's been an year and a bit since we returned back...a little late with this post but nevertheless lots of experiences to share. Although one would think its still early days, it's definitely long enough to see and experience a lot. 3 full school terms, a full financial year at work, social events covering almost every celebration you could think of, changes in weather, a cricket world cup, unexpected elections and a change of government thanks to an astrologer! Moving countries after a decade is not an easy task and takes some time to get used to, especially if your personal circumstances have changed over the years with kids etc. A new home, new job, new schools, new neighbors, change in environment, all happening together quite a lot to deal with.

Kids
The biggest concern before coming back was about how hard it would be for the kids to settle down. Looking back now, this was hardly a pain point as it took them only a few days to settle down. Loads of attention from extended family, opportunity to play outdoors on most days, lot of interaction with cousins, relatives and more socially bonding friends gave them lots of opportunity to play and interact. Of course age mattered - situation would have been very different if we came down with teenagers...we probably would had to go back in 3 months! The younger they are the easier it is for them to adjust and settle down. Our 6 year old picked up Sinhalese within a few months and can now have a decent conversation in Sinhalese. This is as opposed to our 9 year old who understands Sinhalese but is rather reluctant to speak the language...again due to age and personality. We thought they are going to find the heat unbearable but few minutes after a bath you see them running about again all sweaty and dirty...doesn't seem to bother them although we feel very uncomfortable just by looking at them! Mosquitos are a problem, especially with dengue fever around so we keep rubbing mosquito repellents, sometimes several times a day, although we don't know how affective they are!

Talking about schools - we did the rounds visiting all types of schools from leading international schools to mid range international schools to private and semi-government schools and finally decided on the school that I went to which is a leading Catholic semi-government school in Colombo. The rationale behind this decision was mainly to help them associate with a wider spectrum of people, experience heritage and cultural and instill religious values. We felt that these were very important during the primary/foundation years although we expected the academic side of things to be average. Academics are indeed average - some stuff on the curriculum are heavily outdated and were the same 30+ years ago! Anyone remember "sing sing sing, sing mother sing" on radiant way - yep that's still there! And of course Taro the Nigerian! Computer/IT is there as a new subject but the curriculum is very basic and appalling. So academics wise we may need to reconsider when it comes to the years that matter but for now we are happy with the overall experience they are getting in school - especially setting the foundation for dealing with situations and people in an environment with a lot of heritage.

Work
I've always worked for technology companies which have a rather informal culture, provide a lot of flexibility to people and work in a 'jeans and t-shirt' environment. My current employer is probably the epitome of this in Sri Lanka due to the great culture it has adapted and evolved over the years giving employees maximum flexibility in terms of work hours, location and holidays while at the same time providing an environment to do great work. I haven't done a lot of research across all sectors but looking at the technology sector there are lots of companies around now, including some relatively recent ones, that do some great innovative stuff and build disruptive technology products. It's a highly competitive environment when it comes to jobs so you need to do your home work before approaching the top companies. I wrote more about this in a previous post about coming back and working in Sri Lanka.

I get asked if working in Sri Lanka is different to what it was 10 years ago the answer is yes, but I have realized that it is partly because I myself have progressed in age and seniority and now find myself working with a much younger groups of people who have been exposed much more to the industry compared to what I did 10 years ago. In terms of work ethics I personally don't see much a difference since I have worked in Sri Lanka before but if I compare with UK then definitely there is a lot of getting used to for someone who hasn't worked in Sri Lanka before. Working on time is still a rare occurrence and "Sri Lanka time" time still prevails. Political correctness is not always practiced and you will often hear people referred to as "kalu eka" (dark skinned fellow), "bada" (fat fellow) or "thattaya" (bald fellow). If this was done in UK the offender would have been jailed for discrimination and the affected party would have gone into depression. Luckily the social system in Sri Lanka is such that people get used to such things from their school days and don't really care about it when they are older. Health and safety regulations (or the lack of it) is another aspect where people used to paranoid health and safety regulations in UK will get a shock if they see cleaning, painting or repairs being done without sections of buildings being cordoned off. Or even trees being pruned without roads being closed! Then again for someone who has lived and worked in Sri Lanka before this shouldn't be a shock.

Money
As expected cost of living is definitely high and has gone up quite a bit over the last few years. Luckily due to the recent elections (as with all elections and pledges made by incoming governments) we saw a drop in price for most essentials, including fuel. I personally don't have much faith that these prices will always stay low, regardless of what politicians say now. Taxation is relatively low now (16%) compared to 40% in UK and definitely helps deal with the cost of living and also increases what you can save. Salaries in Sri Lanka (at least private sector) have also increased over the years, although still not comparable to what you can earn in a foreign country but the low tax rate definitely helps bridge the gap in terms of what you can save at the end of the month, relative to what you would have saved while oversees (unless you work in the middle east and pay no tax at all!). Dealing with high cost of living (and saving some money) comes down to choices you make in your day to day life from selecting your mode of transport, having air conditioning at home to having local stuff for breakfast instead of your favorite American cereal. It all depends on life style choices and the willingness to be openminded - it is not practical to expect similar standards of living to what you experienced abroad. Some sacrifices are needed and if your reason for coming back home stems from your heart then you won't bother too much about not having similar standards of living.

Getting about daily life
All days start with horrendous traffic regardless of the time of the day. We often see roads closed up due to some political event or foreign dignitary visit or a protest causing traffic on all surrounding roads! There are times where traffic is so bad that you just get depressed being stranded in one place in the hot sun. If I had the choice I would opt not to drive merely due to these conditions. I've tried all forms of transport over the months from bus, train, tuktuk (three-wheeler), taxi to my own vehicle. Obviously the cheapest is the bus but it is also rather uncomfortable and probably takes the longest time, especially if you need to take multiple connections. There are AC busses on some routes now but again they get packed to the brim (cost is around 50/- on a AC bus for a ride that would be 20/- on a non-AC bus - Kotte to Kollupitiya). Train is probably the fastest but then connections are very limited so isn't an option for all. A tuktuk ride will cost around 400-500 from Kollupitiya to Kotte and is rather quick since they use all tactics to get around traffic, of course causing more grief to everyone else on the road. There is a relatively recent option of budget taxis which are quite similar in price to a tuktuk but has air-conditioning so is a less tiring mode of transport (usually a Maruti or a Tata Nano). Having your own vehicle provides a lot more flexibility and comfort but running costs can be rather high, unless you get a hybrid or an electric car such as a Nissan leaf.  For me to drive from office in Maradana to home in Kotte takes anywhere between 45-75Mins during rush hour whereas if I leave very late it will take me under 15 mins - that's the difference that traffic makes. Similarly in the mornings, if I leave home at 6.30 I get to school to drop the kids by 7am but if we leave at 6.40am, then its 7.25am when we get to school, just about when the gates close! 10 mins delay during peak hours can make a huge difference.

I wrote about the frustrations of getting things done at govt departments in a previous post. This has been rather consistent in every such instance and demonstrates an appalling level of inefficiency, lack of respect and professionalism. However, most of us have no choice but to face these situations or be left with further delays in getting stuff done.

Shopping for products and services is not a great experience, especially once you are quite used to doing most of it online from getting razor blades to groceries based on reviews and price comparisons. Finding good stuff takes some effort and requires you to go around and try things out yourself. In general, quality of products is not that great (clothes, toys, house hold items, plastics etc. ) Of course you do get a limited selection of branded stuff but it will come at a premium. There are some online stores coming up now which offer a decent selection of products at a reasonable price and also limited purchases on Amazon, eBay etc is possible but there are times when shipments get held up at customs causing a lot of hassle to get them cleared. Kapruka.com has a service now where they bring down stuff and do all the clearance for you if you give them the Amazon or eBay product links but this can be quite costly, especially for electronics or electrical items. Customer service in general is also very poor. If you walk into a shop, in most places the sales people tend to ignore you or keep chatting with their colleagues until you go behind them and ask a question. Even then the attitude is mostly like "take it or leave it without wasting my time". Of course I must say that this is not common to all companies but more of a general comment...I have come across a few places where customer service has been reasonably good and excellent on a very few occasions. The other challenge is finding reliable and quality workman for odd jobs at home such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters and masons. Most of them don't want to take small jobs. Even if they do they will take a long time to respond to you - I've realized that most of them control their demand by ignoring you and not answering calls or not turning up after saying they would, instead of looking at it as an opportunity for more work to grow their business.

Sri Lankan food is still great! From the good old Kottu to the egg roti with chicken and Sri Lankan Chinese with hot butter cuttlefish (better known as HBC these days)...it's all still great but you need to know where to get the good stuff. There's also the option of Cheese Kottu now (not sure if it was always there!) - adds a bit of an Italian touch! Obviously prices have gone up...a kottu and ice milo at Pilaws will cost around 400-500/- now. Lot's of options of places to go depending on the occasion and the budget including some classy bars and restaurants that you wouldn't have seen in Sri Lanka a decade ago.

I haven't always been a keen follower of politics but in Sri Lanka it's not possible to not know what's going on since there is always a political 'hot topic' that gets discussed when people meet up. The last few months were extremely interesting, tensed and rather entertaining. No one expected a change in regime 6 months ago but an astrological forecast that went wrong changed the course of the country. Still rather turbulent and hence long term political stability is questionable but for a country and people who haven't seen political stability for decades, it is just a way of life...it can only get better.

Remember those nosy people who want to know everything about you and will then have 101 things to say about what you do or say? Yes, they still exist in abundance! You tell people that you bought a car they will find fault with the dealer or the brand or the price you paid. Tell them you went to a restaurant for dinner, they will say you have too much money or ask why you went to that place instead of another. Some comments can really bring you down if you are not ready for it. But after a couple of interactions you will realize how much information to share with people - I like to share minimum or nothing, unless I really know the person well.

Overall life in Sri Lanka is very very busy. Work, countless number of social gatherings and navigating through traffic just eats up all the time leaving hardly any for yourself. But the time spent on all of this (except traffic!) feels more enjoyable and full-filling so don't really see it as a negative.


Well I think that's enough ranting for this post. Going back 2 years we were struggling to make the decision about returning home and afraid to take the risk of coming back with a young family. Looking back at the time we have been in Sri Lanka, settling down definitely wasn't easy. If we kept comparing things with England during the first few months we probably would have not lasted here for long. The first 6 months were very tiring and stressful trying to sort out various aspects of living here with the family. My advise to anyone who is making the move now is to expect a rough ride within the fist 6-12 months but thereafter things will start falling into place and some of the struggles will just become a part of everyday living. Lots of people ask me if I regret coming back...it's still been only a year (and a bit) but so far the answer is NOT AT ALL. There have been many frustrations and hard times over the last year but we haven't looked back at our decision at all. I think this is a lot to do with the reason we came back. Being amongst the people who matter a lot to us and being able to relate to everything that happens around us has been extremely fulfilling despite life not being as comfortable as it used to be back in England. However if you ask ask me if you should come back now - I'm afraid you need to make that decision yourself. As I have stated in previous posts, you need to consider your personal circumstances and preferences and do your home work before taking the plunge. The purpose of my blog is to merely share my experience of coming back and hopefully provide some insights for those who are struggling with the decision, like I did a couple of years ago.