First days of the trip

This is my first trip to Sri Lanka and I had many expectations and ideas of what would be in store for me when i arrived and its safe to say it has exceeded all my expectations. Its hard to sum up exactly what we see and experience here but after just 2 days working in the school meeting these beautiful children with an amazing group of people i already want to see more. The childrens enthusiasm is what hit me first, their eagerness to learn and to be appreciated by us, these new people that have come to their school and taken over their lessons! Even the older children who are going through their 'cool' stage are so excited and welcoming. They make the most of all the resources they have and you see in their reactions they enjoy learning. Three year 10 girls particularly touched me, they were so interested in me and my family and life at home and asked me non-stop questions and they stayed listening to me ramble on about my boring life at home and were amazed. When i told them i was from London their faces dropped and they asked me if i knew Justin Bieber! Of course this then followed by an awful rendition of Justin Bieber from me, even this they loved and they now ask for a song every time i see them! I've only been here four days and have already learnt so much and been humbled by the experience. I look forward to the rest of the trip as it will only get better. I can definitley say its a trip everyone must do at one point in their life.

Gwenan

We arrived at the school with our lesson plans at the ready. We were teaching years 7, 6, 5 and 2 in that order. They all had lots of fun learning the names of animals and colours. The classes were more and more well behaved as the day went on. The year twos were a tough nut to crack but that was mainly due to the language barrier, not lack of effort.

That part of our schedule lasted from 9 ‘till midday. On the way back to the hotel for some lunch we saw, and this is no exaggeration, a huge monitor lizard in the ditch at the side of the road. I’ve never seen anything as imposing in my life, outside of a zoo just roaming around like it owned the place.

The afternoon was going to be our first workshop/afterschool session and my group, consisting of Omar, Sam, Jacob, Liam, and myself were running the sports groups. This involved a hell of a lot of physical exertion – I wasn’t complaining. My t-shirt did appear as if I’d been swimming in it come time to pack up though. So much fun all the same and even better because we bonded with the children. Getting to know the ‘borough lot a little more now too, even if at times I can’t understand a word they say.

Will

Well what an eventful first day at the school! We got up at 8 o’clock, still feeling jetlagged from the flights and had our first Sri Lankan breakfast, mainly fruit and omelette.  We walked down to the school and began to teach our lessons with the children. First of all, we taught the Grade 11 children who were very good at speaking English. They were also very nervous for their exams which they are having later this week. We then taught grades 8, 4 and 2 which we felt was challenging, but it was rewarding knowing that they were learning English and getting the opportunity to speak back to us in English. The Grade 4’s were very shy and very nice and willing to learn. We walked back to the hotel very sweaty and extremely desperate for a shower.

After a break and some lunch we walked back to the school for play time- the most energetic time of my life! The children were so excited to see the sports equipment that we had taken over for them. Cricket is a way of life for them. They love it and are very good at it. For a whole hour I was pelted with cricket balls- very painful! For the other hour we chased a football with 40 Sri Lankan children. Sri Lankan children don’t really know the rules of football. They just run with it for as long as they can until they get a kick in the leg or they pick it up and turn football into rugby. Sri Lanka could be one of the world’s best football teams if they knew the rules. We left very exhausted and drowning in our own sweat with children happily clinging onto our arms and legs. After another, much needed shower, we enjoyed another very nice dinner which included some of Liam H’s birthday cake!

Jacob & Ryan