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Stephanie Rubesh is a German-American who grew up on the island of Sri Lanka and consequently loves a good cup of tea as much as a good cup of coffee, travel, and new cultures. She is a writer and a photographer and a lover of people and their stories. And also of turtles.

I was born in…..Welwyn Garden City, England, I have spent most of my life in….Kandy, Sri Lanka, and now I live in….Seattle, Washington, USA. My favourite local films are…..the Lord of the Rings movies (I’m going to fall back on my US background here). When I need a reminder of home, I listen to…..the popping of mustard seeds as I attempt to make traditional Sri Lankan dhal…probably to a baila beat soundtrack. My favourite time of the year is…..Summer in the West, Christmas in the East. My all-time local hero is…..Kule. He helped bring me up, introduced me to curry cooked over the open fire, and taught me the art of story-telling. My favourite local phrase is…..“gihil, enang” – I’ll go and come. The best way to say goodbye is not really saying it. My favourite words of wisdom/words to live by are……

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder

if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,

or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

  – Mary Oliver

What I love most about my home country is……hot tea, rolling hills, crashing oceans, spicy curry, warm nights, warm days, warm people.