I currently live in Sri Lanka as I am implementing a computer system for my employer, a UK based clothing manufacturer called Martin Emprex International. I shall probably be out here until December 2004, maybe a bit longer, depending on howthe project goes.
Although I have only been here for 8 months and now think of Sri Lanka as home (amazing how quickly that happens) there is always something to remind me I am still in a relatively unfamiliar environment. Today it was the discovery of a cobra in the Human Resources office which is right next door to the computer room where I work. It was only a small (about 2 foot long I would say) cobra but it still caused panic in the factory as everyone came to have a look at it (from the other side of a glass door I hasten to add). Apparently it is fairly rare to see a cobra in the wild (if an office can be classed as wild) even here in Sri Lanka.The staff were generally of the opinion that if bitten by a snake here there is a good chance of recovery if you get straight to hospital with an accurate description of the snake that bit you. Otherwise there is a good chance of not surviving the bite. Anyway no one was bitten :-)
Glad it didn't materialise in the IT room. I've never experienced raw terror before but I think looking over my computer screen and eyeballing a cobra would do it ;-)