Well so far, our journey has taken us to new heights, a new climate, new landscapes and new extremes. The journey has definitely not always been easy, what with such a long flight and the infamous Sri Lankan roads, but every day makes the time we spent fundraising worth it.

The first significant event which I’m sure you will be eager to know about was the opening ceremony of our school in Aththudawa. We were greeted by the villagers with bunches of flowers for each of us, and then followed a procession of drums, singing and dancing towards the building itself. We stood outside to watch the rest of the performance before the official opening – the cutting of the ribbon – happened at 10:06. We went inside, along with villagers, people from Sarvodaya, the monk, and other people related to the school, to listen to the speeches that were made. These were alternated with performances from the children of the village. We saw plays being acted out in English from a small group, some Sri Lankan dancing, singing, and our preschool children giving us the cutest ever rendition of Incy Wincy Spider! Following this a few members of the team made a speech about our fundraising journey, how we all came to be here, and what we foresee for the future of our school. Specific fundraising acts were mentioned, such as bungee jumping and our rag raids, as well as our generous sponsors, such as Mezzino. You will be pleased to hear we wore our new Mezzino stash for the ceremony in gratitude!

Since then, things have come a long way for our team. We have now had 3 weeks of our formal teaching programme, and the team has dispersed over 7 preschools and three primary/secondary schools. Each one is unique, with characteristics that make each one different to the last. They vary not only in age, but in school size, class size, gender, background and abilities.

I personally have visited 4 of the preschools to work with the children there. My first week was spent in the Kirelawela, the school built by last year’s team, which is attended by around 10 children. We passed away the hours playing ball, counting, dancing and singing (even if it was rather out of tune!). The afterschool program also gave us the opportunity to work with children from the ages 3-14, and I even found myself playing badminton with one of the mums!

My second week was an entirely different experience, one which could not contrast with Kirelawela any more than it does already. I spent the week teaching at Siddartha College, an all boys school, which encompasses ages 5-18. My partner and I were placed in a grade 4 classroom, and we worked on their spoken English, working on topics such as ‘My Village’ and ‘Nature’. The lessons were hardwork, competing to be heard in a room on a corridor of 4 open-fronted classrooms, but the response we got from the children, their obvious development and their clear enthusiasm made even the long bus jouney and the hours spent planning seem worth it!

This week a group of us stayed in a villager’s house in Moreketiara. This allowed us to see what life was really like in a Sri Lankan home, and I know we all revelled in the experience. We were not only provided with delicious homemade food at every meal, but got to see how the family operated, the roles of the different genders, and the way village life was conducted. Initially it was a shock to our system again I think, to have no internet, very few people we could communicate fluently to, and be so low on teaching resources. However, we adapted, engaged with the family structure, played with the baby boy, and one team member even helped to stop the porch from flooding!

As well as us being here to teach English, pass on skills, and help in teacher training, we in turn are learning new things all the time. Obviously each member of the team has different interests, and therefore what we take away from our summer will be personal to each individual. Whereas some people have had the chance to be in a recording studio planning our leaving ceremony song, others have been on cooking courses, learnt some Sinhalese, and even learnt about certain Buddhist practices. Obviously we are immersing ourselves in the culture and visiting as many areas of Sri Lanka as we can, but as well as wanting to take these experiences and skills home with us, I think we’re all still banking on having a good tan!!

Before I get back to my lesson planning for tomorrow, I’d just like to sign off by saying again, a huge thank you for your support. The money is being put to good use every day, and the benefits are becoming more and more clear to us as each week goes on. The school is thriving, with a brilliant formal programme and afterschool club, which the children enjoy…almost as much as we do!!