This weekend, I brave the trains.

I've spent the last hour preparing for a small weekend trip I've concocted. I'll be travelling to Galle Fort, which has some interesting historical roots. Historians believe it is the Tarshish of Biblical literature, where King Solomon obtained his gems, spices, and peacocks. Until Colombo took prominence, it was Sri Lanka's most-used port. It was first occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century, and the Fort itself was built in 1589. The Dutch destroyed the Portuguese fort in 1640 and built another, larger one it its place in 1663. It has changed very little since then, judging from what I've read. And there will be a beach or two to get burned on. YES.

This week has proven to be a bit bewildering, and I admit, not my most productive one yet. A number of wrenches were thrown into the works for me, not the least of which was the necessity of extending my tourist visa to accommodate my entire stay here. I was granted 30 days, free of charge, upon arrival, which was easy as pie. Getting the extension, however, proved to be a bit more...taxing.

I'm not trying to complain, so here are the constructive lessons I learned. First, waiting only four hours for ANY sort of paperwork processing at a government office in a developing country is a miracle. I've heard numerous horror stories about the inefficiency of government agencies in this part of the world, and have been told that just three years ago, my wait would have been double what it was. Apparently, Sri Lanka has embarked on an aggressive campaign to streamline its Immigration services, and I was the lucky recipient of their efforts. It wasn't too bad, honestly, waiting as I did. I just have to harumph because I forgot my book in my rush out the door that morning and had nothing to read while sitting.

Second, the US's immigration policies piss off the rest of the world. Apparently we make it abhorrently difficult to enter our country for any foreign national, and getting a visa extension like mine would have been close to impossible for a Sri Lankan. I began to get a feeling for this situation when I was applying for my visa to visit India. They reciprocate every bit of America's nasty immigration policies, and thus make it stupidly difficult to get into their country in any way, shape, or form. My boss tells me that India has become extremely guarded, much the same way the US has, in their paranoia about terrorism over the past decade.

Further, my visa extension was above-and-beyond more expensive than any other charge I could get a feel for at the Immigration office. Whereas an India would pay the equivalent of pennies for the same extension, and an Italian I was sitting with paid just over $30, my extension cost over $110. I was reminded that entry visas into the US are consistently more expensive than other countries', and Sri Lanka has chosen to reciprocate. So, in effect, I've been getting a taste of what the US has been dishing out to everyone else for a few hundred years. I can't blame the Sri Lankans, and wish every American could experience having the tables turned at least once in their lifetimes.

In terms of Sustainability, what have I learned? Well, an interesting Buddhist lesson, as the case may be. The concept of sustainability has a lot of, how shall I say it, grey areas. For example, it's easy to settle into the basic idea of considering the wellbeing of current and future generations without considering, exactly, how far into the future we ought to consider. Pop sustainability has latched onto the "7 generations" idea, but even that is kind of arbitrary. It's easy, therefore, to often think in terms of "forever" and "infinite", but I've long realized that this is probably too far into the future to be useful. My boss today dropped a line that struck me. He said "As a Buddhist, I know that nothing is forever. Nothing. What we instead need to aim for in sustainability is an endurance process within the regenerative capacities [of the planet]." He means, of course, that it's silly to focus on "forever" when we can't possibly achieve such a lasting effect in anything we do. As Wes Jackson says, we can never do better than nature, but we can hope to do better than we are. And perhaps gaining an understanding of the inherent contingency and timeliness of all things, like my Buddhist friends strive to do, will help us make good decisions in both public policy and throughout our daily lives.

The next big decision for me, as it stands, is between SPF 15 and 30. But if all things are contingent, should I care about my skin?? Sheesh. Maybe I should find some shade and drink a fruity drink instead. I guess it is as the Buddhists say: life is full of suffering.

; )