Hello!
A change in format from my old blog posts. Since my last official post in 2015, I've never stopped writing. I've filled multiple diaries with my excursions, food consumption, poetry, emotions and daily thoughts. Although my pen-to-paper work has been pretty good, translating this online hasn't happened. I can't promise my organisation will improve, but here are a couple of emails from the last 15 months since I left the UK that I've written to keep everyone updated! ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Just a very quick email to update you on my life here! Well, it's amazing! I have had an extremely hectic start here. I live in a homestay with a lady who we call 'Amma' (meaning mother) and Perrera, her 30 year old son. I get my own room (where I've put my birthday cards up) then there's space for 9 other volunteers. The last lot have left today until January though so I have the run of the house for the next few weeks! They cook me breakfast and dinner everyday and do my washing (rice and curry which we eat with our hands). A/C is non-existent and only in posh restaurants but you get used to a ceiling fan and being permanently sweaty pretty quickly! I'm currently sitting in our office which is in a place called Maharagama, about half an hour by tuk tuk from where I live in Ethulkotte. We are opening a new office in January in Rajigiriya which I should be able to walk to and has a gym next door so may even be able to shift some curry weight haha. There's one Operations Manager called Dave and 2 other English Supervisors then we each have a team of about 5 national staff who are all fantastic and anything from 20- 60 volunteers. I have 21 volunteers who will live in 3 different homestays that I manage coming in January for my area (Kotte). Then there are 2 other areas (Colombo and Horana - more rural - the Elephants live opposite). In the area I manage I have up to 10 projects running each day which include English teaching with children and adults at schools, temples and community centres, Special Needs projects at day centres and residential homes for all ages and projects at the National Institute of Mental Health (the 3rd largest in Asia) and Halfway House - both psychiatric residential centres. All of the volunteers in my area do Mental Health or Graduate Mental Health placements for anything from 4 - 12 weeks. My role is largely to organise the volunteers and national staff in my area and make sure they plan their lessons and get to all the right places on time. They also get a chance to do various trips including a project to Killinochi (about 8 hours drive north) to work with one of only 45 psychiatrists in the whole of Sri Lanka (he has 1.5 million potential patients in the area he covers!) We had our staff Christmas party on Tuesday evening which was a pool party and curry! We had to be especially nice to our homestay family however as we were two hours late back past curfew! (curfew is 9pm). I spent last weekend on the beach in Mirissa and this weekend myself and the other Supervisor Jenny are going to another beach - Tangalle. For Christmas we get a long weekend so will probably head to the beach again and then maybe go further afield or to the city for New Year celebrations. All the nationals are extremely nice and speak amazing English, it really is one big family! I have started learning some Sinhala so if nothing else I can direct a tuk to go right and left and tell someone I'm hungry (essentials!). I'm now writing up some lesson plans for the new year and trying to translate/explain typical English Idioms, homophones and homonyms. If anyone has any dance, music or drama games they fancy passing on to me I'm also working on a folder of ideas for the new volunteers! I hope you are all well and have a lovely Christmas and New Year!
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About meI enjoy writing and have had experience from my degree and through working on news posts. I hope to use this blog as a summary of extraordinary things I've discovered or witnessed in everyday life. Archives
March 2020
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