Today we all took a visit to Weligama with our ‘surrogate father’, Lali for a Durham gathering organised by Professor JoyAs we arrived at the same hotel, we were greeted with a warm welcome from some familiar faces. The day was a great opportunity to meet the other Durham groups including the postgraduates and social work students. As we all mingled over some traditional Sri Lankan food, it was interesting to hear about other student’s experiences and share some comedy moments. Amusingly, we found some common ground across many of our experiences; like being made to dance and sing in front of large audiences. Eight members of the team including myself then took this opportunity to revisit the nearby town, Unawatuna for a relaxing weekend. The postgraduate team also came with us so this was the perfect opportunity to get to know them and make more potential travelling plans.

Meeting the other Durham teams made me aware of the impact we are making collectively and equally how much we are all gaining from the experience. As the nature of our work here differs across the teams, it was great to hear the contribution that they also are having within their communities. I found it particularly interesting to hear about the small local businesses that the postgraduates are helping. Overall it was a lovely occasion and we were grateful for Professor Joy and David’s hospitality.