Tales from Sri Lanka

The first thing on my mind when I wake is… what on earth am I going to teach these children and how in hell am I going to control them? But, before I can worry about teaching, we get in our daggy t-shirts and head to Titus’ house again. Where, having cleared all the bricks, we start knocking down what’s left of the walls and foundations.

Not the easiest work, although quite satisfying to see how much you can knock down in three hours. To reward our hard efforts, Titus, who is not a young man, climbs up his palm tree, nimble as a teenager, knocks on a few coconuts and drops them to the ground. After breaking them open with his machete, he gives them to us to drink. It’s awesome. Inside the coconut is a wall of fleshy white, which is delicious to eat and the water is sweet and tangy. This beats any bounty bar!

After a shower and lunch, I head into the closest town, Aluthgama to get some school supplies with a few of the volunteers. We head out in a tuk tuk, which is great fun, although I am pretty sure we were totally ripped off, but ces’t la vie. Aluthgama boast a supermarket, hence why it is often frequented by volunteers. Things most popular things on the shopping list are:

banana milkshakes (kinda gross, but whatever floats your boat)
cordial (as we drink soooo much water it is nice to spice it up a little)
chocolate (need I explain)
postcards
and stickers (I’ll get to the sticker bit in a minute)!

As we enter the ‘food city’ and am surprised to find of all things, vegemite, stocked on the shelves – nice!

Aluthgama seems to be a busy little town, with a big bus station and tons of little shops lining the main highway (which is Galle Road). Women in saris and children in their white school uniforms all bustle past us and give us a good look up and down.

After our expedition into town, it’s school-time and I’ve come prepared, although now I only have three in my class, as the other have not come. I might of scared them off! I have learnt the magic to controlling the class is through bribery. Okay, might not be the best teaching method, but seems to do the job.

Whoever thought of stickers, I could kiss you! They work wonders and we get through the topics of feelings and emotions in no time with only a few incidents about who gets what sticker. Note to self: next time I buys stickers; make sure they are all the same! Tristan is also back teaching with me today! Hurrah! A days teaching well done!