5th August (written by Emma)
With the sun peeking over the backdrop of the mountains another day at Sabaragamuwa University began. Today the pre-school on the university campus was top of our agenda.The pre-school decorated with Disney characters immediately differs from Gandarawatte as it is separated into six rooms. There were about 40 children as oppose to our usual 8 and their ability to recall English was incredibly good. This may be due to the fact that their parents are more likely to be able to speak English and they were a year or two older. Whilst they prayed we cleared the tables and desks away. We then went into automatic mode and launched into our routine of songs. It’s glad to see that Hokey-Cokey is a firm favourite in both the Pre-schools! After the songs the teachers wanted us to tell stories so Maddie opted to be the dramatic story-teller and the rest of us showed off our “talented” acting skills in the “Three Little Pigs”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “Goldilocks and The Three Bears”. The children loved it and the teacher translating parts proved to be a useful activity and one we should exercise at Gandarawatte. After a successful morning we then met some students who showed us the Buddhist Temple outside the campus which they worship at. This simple temple set in idyllic scenery was every bit as impressive as the other larger temples we have visited. It was here that we had our first sight of the Sri Lankan national flower from the Sala tree.Today has proved to have been an excellent day where we truly got the most out of interacting with the Sri Lankan students. Through the medium of sport we were able to talk and understand the differences in not just University life but also our cultures as a whole.