If for some reason you fancy a good show of elephant polo and can’t begin to find the words to describe how ecstatic you are at the chance of seeing the sport live keep reading. Like any animal lover in the beginning you were filled with skepticism, wondering how well the fun-loving creatures would be treated behind closed doors and even while participating in the sport, but after learning that they are looked after to the fullest measure you calm down. Sri Lanka’s International Elephant Polo Tournament kicks off Tuesday, January 24, 2006 in the southern historic city of Galle and knowing the event is used to raise awareness and funds for elephant conservation makes a trip to the tear-dropped shaped country all the better.
Today’s word is a Sinhala word used in Sri Lanka:
hari shook – wonderful, terrific, or fine
This word can be used to describe your feelings at any time in the country and not only at games of elephant polo. Use it when someone inquires about your meal, hotel stay, trek, or day at the beach. Tell them how ‘hari shook’ you think Sri Lanka is and how you wish to stay forever. Just remember to keep the dramatics to a minimal. English is spoken by ten percent of the population and Sinhala is the official and national language of the country. I’ve actually never tried to learn this one much, but judging from the alphabet it looks like a challenge. Omniglot has a great starter page on learning all the characters and use of this English to Sinhala dictionary could slowly help in distinguishing common travel words. Let’s Speak Sinhala offers lessons at a very small and reasonable fee. They appear to be one of the better Sinhala language learning websites.