I don't really know how Sri Lankan guys interact with Sri Lankan girls socially, but the way they communicate with us, I mean female foreigners, is very different from what I'm used to in America or Japan. Awkward, really.
For instance, I was at a grocery store the other day, looking for tofu. since I didn't see it, I asked one of the shop attendants if they carry tofu. He took me to the fridge section, couldn't find tofu, and turned around to ask me "your country is?". I replied "Japan and America" And he said "your phone number is?" I just stared at his face and said "no phone number" and walked away.
It is so strange, but this seems to be such a normal progression of conversation to Sri Lankan men. He didn't even ask my name! It is always like that. After 30 seconds of conversation, they want my phone number. It's happening to all the foreigners I've met. I'm guessing they do this to us because it's not socially acceptable to do such a thing to Sri Lankan ladies. They can't really have a girlfriend like the way we do in the West. They seem to be very young and naive comes to dealing with opposite sex.
Right after I arrived to Sri Lanka, I made a mistake to give my phone number to one of the security guards at my office. I had the hardest time to understand his English, and I somewhat thought he needed my phone number because he is a security guard (not sure why I thought that). Since then, he has been calling me at least 2x/day even though I never answer the call anymore. He calls really late and early in the morning too. A similar thing happened to my housemate, Adam too. He met a Sri Lankan guy during his field trip. Apparently the guy fell in love with Adam while they were hanging out for like an hour. Since then he has been calling Adam obsessively even though they would probably never see each other again. The guy texted Adam one day, saying "I love you too." Well...Adam said this guy's English is not that great, but we are trying to figure out "too" part... It seems that this guy thinks he is in a relationship with Adam?? And just a few days ago, Adam received a text with picture of two doves kissing. The writing in it said "you and me" in Sinhale...
It's just very strange. Very different.
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