I Want to go to Sri Lanka

This is the longest holiday break I’ve ever had. This year the school district gave us 3 weeks off to celebrate the holidays.  On day four, I was ready to go back to school.  I’m not your average nine-year-old student.  I brush my teeth twice per day and I make my bed after I get out of it.  My mother often says that she loves whatever planet that I’m from and wishes that my brothers shared the same origin.  Every time she says that it really makes me chortle.  Now you see my issue.  I am the only girl.  I have four brothers and they are all older.  I spend most of my time reading and doing crossword puzzles as well as word searches.  My dad says that I should be more active and come out of the house more to play soccer and catch with my brothers.  I did come outside once and joined them for a great game of frisbee football.  Have you ever played frisbee football?

You divide yourselves into teams and just like in real football there is a quarterback.  This quarterback has the frisbee and needs to find another teammate to throw the frisbee to so that he can then take the frisbee through the goal to earn points.  You don’t really have to be a good quarterback.  You can throw the frisbee and if it hits the ground, someone on your team needs to be the person who retrieves the frisbee and make it through your team goal.  The team I was on won because I am pretty awesome at throwing the frisbee.  It is because I have strong wrists from all the writing that I do.  As you can see, academics can pay off in sports.  I’m always writing stories about places I want to go and perhaps live one day.

“June, can you get down here and finish the breakfast dishes?”  “Did you forget it was your turn?”  Again, that is another reason why I wish I were in school.  Now that we are home all day, there are stacks of dishes at every meal and today is my day to do the dishes.  “Yes, mom, I’ll be right down and thank you for the reminder.”  I am very courteous even though I’m annoyed.  No need to make my holiday break any more annoying than it already is.  I finish the dishes in 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, the dishwasher is broken.  One of my wise brothers put bleach in the dishwasher instead of dishwashing detergent and it damaged the motor’s parts.  Now we have to hand wash all the dishes until the dishwasher is repaired.  I don’t mind handwashing dishes because it gives me a chance to look outside and watch the neighborhood cat try to catch a bird.  If he isn’t available for entertainment, then the birds chasing each other is pretty amusing.  When I’m washing dishes, no one bothers me for fear that they may be asked to help.  What that means is I have 30 minutes to an hour of peace.  “Sorry Kerna, I forgot I had a bowl in my room, so here.”  Henry, my oldest brother said smiling. Of all my brothers, I liked him the most.  I think he may have been from a closely related planet that my mother says I’m from. I giggle to myself.

“Awe, peace and quiet.”  “Where should I go in my journal today?”  I mused.  “Yes, Sri Lanka it is.”  After I finished the dishes, I ran upstairs to start my cultural journey to Sri Lanka.  After shuffling through my notes, I started writing.  Sri Lanka, yes, Sri Lanka.  What is culture really?  Culture is everything that people do, make, and believe in a given geographic area.  Music is a big part of the culture.  My friends and I listen to Ariana Grande.  In fact, most people at my school listen to Ariana Grande.  If I were Sri Lankan, I would listen to Tamil or Sinhala music although they have Hip Hop Music too.  Food is very important in culture.  In America, we eat a lot of fast food.  In Sri Lanka, we would eat rice every day and use a lot of spices like curry.  Rice is a grain you know, and there are nearly 40,000 different kinds.  I really happen to like rice. I don’t know if I could eat it every day.  Maybe if it were prepared differently every day, I would be able to eat it.  Do you think that you could eat rice every day?  Another way they prepare the rice in Sri Lanka is to add coconut milk.  This dish is called Kiribati. According to my notes, rice contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, so it is very good for you too.  Maybe, I’ll ask mom to make some rice at dinner time, so I can share what I’ve learned.

Sri Lanka is best known for its spices.  Spices make food taste good.  The best-known spice in Sri Lanka is cinnamon.  Fortunately, I am well acquainted with this spice.  Of all the cultural facts I read about Sri Lanka, I think my favorite finding is their love of cinnamon.  In fact, if they didn’t love cinnamon, we may not have the space to enjoy. My mom used to make cinnamon toast for me for breakfast and now I make it for myself.  She would mix it with white sugar and sprinkle it on the toast while it was in the oven.   You can smell the cinnamon all over the house and that is another reason why I like it.  Once it is ready my mom called us to the kitchen.  We would pour a big glass of milk and sit down at the table and enjoy it.  I guess that is culture too.

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