Tales from Sri Lanka

Everyone has arrived and we are ready to go. First though, orientation! So after an hour or two of what to do and what not to do and a rather pathetic attempt to pick up some of the lingo, we are ready to start (we hope).

Dudley Perera who runs the community centre in Kosgoda (where we are heading), has come to pick us up. Kosgoda is a small costal village in the south west of Sri Lanka; about three hours drive from Colombo. Dudley set up the community centre after the 2004 Tsunami hit the village and devastated a number of homes. Since that time, volunteers have been coming to help out with the reconstruction of homes and also to teach English to the local children from poorer families. The centre also provides free lunch to the children, so they can get a square meal. Dudley hopes that in the next year or so he will have enough funds to make the community centre an orphanage as well.

The community centre is situated on the Galle Road, which runs all the way along from Colombo. Just across the road sitting on the beach is the Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery, which Dudley also runs!

We arrive just in time to work out who our roommates are and dump our bags in our rooms before it is time to go off and meet the children we will be teaching.

They are all sitting at the dining room area, which technically is a great big table under a tin roof, eating their lunch of chickpeas (which are quite nice). After lunch, they run down past the sand covered playground into the school building (which is were my room is located).

I am assigned the 5-7 year old boys (plus of few older ones who need to stay back) along with Tristan, who is volunteering for two weeks also. Eleanor, who has been a volunteer for a couple of weeks shows to the classroom, which is a little room out the back of the main school hall. There are at least 15 boys with a concentration span of zero. Oh my God, what have I got myself into?!?

With three of us there to control them, things aren’t too bad. I take out my alphabet cards out, and we go through basic words like hat, boat, house, fish ect. After an hour and 15 minutes of teaching I am ready to collapse.

Once class is over they all run outside to play, mostly cricket, while the girls play chase, or do each other hair, or practice dance routines (which go one forever).

At five o’clock they all rush out the gates of the community centre and suddenly all is quiet again. Dinner is a 6.30pm, so I quickly unpack my bag and change into shorts – it is sooooo hot and when teaching the kids we must be covered up, so I am sweating everywhere!

After dinner, which is rice and curry, not bad, I have my first taste of arrack. Sri Lanka’s local alcoholic beverage, which looks at bit like rum. Not bad. By 10pm I’m exhausted and have to hit the hay.