Sri Lanka is a multicultural country, with people from varied religions and origins. The strategical location of the island made it a point of business, and rest, for travelers, traders and sailors for centuries.
From Sri Lanka’s merchant past, the people are warm, friendly and helpful with anyone that is not familiar with their customs. They are empathic, tolerant, not very aggressive, and shy, even if they like to show off and dress up for big occasions.
Sri Lankans are always smiling and it is common and polite to smile to everyone that is looking at you or that you cross in the street, even to say hello at them. Sri Lankans are also very hospitable and you can find yourself invited over to anyone’s house, even if you have just met them. An invitation you can’t decline, hospitality is a serious matter in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankans like to enjoy their lives, when anyone in Western countries takes 10 minutes to do something, Sri Lankans take half an hour and therefore, they tend to be late. As a matter of fact, Sri Lanka is one of the countries with more national holidays (26 per year) than any other. There is at least one holiday a month - every full moon is a day off, known as Poya day.
In Sri Lanka people care a lot about animals, some of their festivals include them and they stop the traffic if an animal is passing by. Not surprisingly, it was the first country in the world to create a wildlife reserve, King Devanampiya Tissa created one in the 3rd century BC.
Western expats moving to Sri Lanka may be initially shocked by some customs and procedures in the country.
When moving to Sri Lanka, you will notice that it is extremely hot. Because of that, people often use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and many men use a sarong, a traditional clothing item that looks like a skirt.
Also, in some places it is difficult to find hot water in houses and although it can be inconvenient in the beginning, given the temperature of the area (not less that 22ºC) and the humidity, you will be thankful for cold showers.
At first, when moving to Sri Lanka, you may find it difficult to adapt to the food. As in many other countries nearby, traditional food is hot and spicy, the national dish being “rice and curry”.
Sri Lankans do tend to cook milder dishes for foreigners but sooner or later, you will get used to the spices. Also, it is customary to eat with your hands simply because some of their dishes are not made to eat with cutlery. The way the dish is presented and the way it is cooked sometimes make using a fork impractical, not to mention it tastes better with your hands!
Do not fool yourself into thinking that everyone drinks alcohol at any time if you see people holding crystal bottles of whisky or rum. Water in Sri Lanka is not potable, you cannot drink water from the tab so either you are constantly buying plastic bottles of water or you boil the water from the tap and put it inside a crystal bottle of any other drink and just reuse it.
In Sri Lanka as well as in India, people do not have the same gesture for agreement that Westerners have (nodding). This can result in some confusion when you first move to the country. Sri Lankans move their head to one side and turn it a little bit, this way they can show that either they understand what you’re saying, or that there is no problem, or occasionally, it just means “yes”.
As a foreigner in the first months it will be difficult to tell the ethnicity of someone by looks or name, but for Sri Lankans it is as clear as day.
A person’s ethnicity in Sri Lanka will determine the language they speak, their name and sometimes their appearance. In Sri Lanka, people can have very long names and they are usually combined with very long last names.
In the beginning, you will find difficult to know whether somebody is a man or a woman, married or not just by looking at their names. Most of the women in Sri Lanka use the British system of adopting their husband’s last name upon marriage although they can keep their father’s name as a maiden name.
Sometimes, they choose one or the other but they can also combine both of them, for instance, President Chandrika Bandaranayke Kumarathunge was Chandrika Bandaranayake before her marriage, and later she used the full name Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunge.
Also, since Sri Lanka was a Portuguese colony, many last names are Portuguese, like President Chandrika’s mother, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (who, by the way, was the first woman in the world to be prime minister and she led her country for 21 years!).
This and many other things will shock you when arriving in Sri Lanka but remember, people will be more than happy to help you and just with a tiny effort on your part, you will find yourself at home!