After singing I walked to town for something to eat. I ended up at a little bakery and though I'd just planned to get food to go ,I was hot and hungry, so I sat down for some hot tea and a sweet roll. Again, locals only...a fair bit of stares. A young boy struck up. Conversation with me and then the owner joined in. We talked about Sri Lanka, America, the British, and for the locals love of sugar....lots and lots of sugar. When I went to pay for my take away goodies (a fish bun, a roti wrap, another roti creation of sorts ,and a shortie), I saw a bunch of locals sipping a bright red drink. I inquired what it was and the owner said OH you MUST try!!!! A local drink indeed. The beverage is called "Saruwath" and it's a mixture of rose water, chia seeds ("kasa ata"), lots and lots of sugar, water and a bit of ice. It's kind of considered a local "Gatorade" of sorts, replenishing the body so you can go back to work. That much sugar would make anyone do backflips, and because I'm not doing any back-breaking work in the blistering heat like the locals, my body didn't quite need the super charged chia seeds and heaps of sugar. The rose water made it taste a bit like cough syrup, but all in all I'm just glad that I tried it and made some new friends. The owner insisted that I come back again tomorrow for some tea and conversation , and to try a few other local treats.
The walk home seemed to take half the time the walk there did, perhaps it was my "Saruwath". Now I'm back at the school and crashing hard as I come off of my sugar high!
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