Today Vivian, Laura and I had our last day in Kirelawela. We spent the morning at the preschool doing all the usual activities: reading, counting and naming colours in English, painting, and singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ and ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’.At midday we visited the home of one of the preschool children, where, as always, we were given an amazing lunch with pumpkin, dhal, cuttlefish, vegetables, fruit, curd and ice cream. After becoming so familiar with this routine over the past seven weeks, it was very sad and strange to go through a Kirelawela morning for the last time. But it was also very satisfying to observe the progress the children have made since we first arrived. For example, one girl, who in the first weeks of the project was entirely unhappy with our presence and refused to even look at us, happily sat with me today and pointed out all the animals and colours (in English) in one of the children’s books. 

Unfortunately the older children have not been coming to the afternoon sessions in order to allow us to paint the wall outside the school, so we spent the last few hours of the day finishing the details on the wall so that it can be varnished tomorrow. It was sad not to have a final full Kirelawela day, but fortunately we still have the cultural show to look forward to and to say our final goodbyes to the people who have shaped our experience in Sri Lanka and made it unforgettable.