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| TRAVELLERS' TALES: TEACHING PROJECTS |
SRI LANKA |
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Rajni Kanda / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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 I had an awesome time!!!
I just wanted to let you know, that I had the time of my life in Sri Lanka.
It was FANTASTIC, I wish the entire experience had never had to end. I would
just like to say thank you to your team of organisers for organising the
spectacular trip. And also a big thank you to Roshan and all the boys at the
house for making my stay very welcoming and memorable. I miss them all
very much. And I will definitely want to return and pay them a visit.
I enjoyed every part of my placement. I enjoyed teaching at all 4 schools, especially the after-school class at Mary Immaculate School. Most of all I loved the culture, the food (rice and curry), the country and it's people as a whole. I got the opportunity to travel every weekend and discover the entire country's most beautiful sites and landscapes. For example, I got to climb Adam's peak, visit Singaraja Rainforest, see the Ancient Cities, visit the beaches, etc etc. The list is endless. Basically my experience is impossible to describe in words. Anyways, I wish Travellers
good luck with its work, and wish it all the success in the world. I hope
it will carry on making a difference in the world, and I look forward to
maybe doing another placement with Travellers in the near future, maybe
after I graduate next year |
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Jennie Elliot / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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Having
a great time so far in Sri Lanka - it's the most beautiful place I've ever
seen. The people are all soo
friendly, and I love their laid back attitude to life. Love the tuk-tuks
too!! Travelling into Colombo in a tuk-tuk on a busy day is not an
experience you can easily forget! Really enjoying the teaching so far too. It was difficult at first while we all got used to planning lessons and motivating the kids, but my last couple of lessons have gone really well and my confidence is growing already. Most of the kids are really sweet and some will send presents and letters and want to talk to you at every opportunity. The weather here is amazing too! The first
thing that hit me when I walked out of the airport (in a bit of a daze, I
have to admit!) was that it feels like walking into a greenhouse! Tropical
plants and trees all over the place and the heat is a little overwhelming at
first. You soon get used to it though and now we all enjoy lying around the
pool at the Airport Garden Hotel in the afternoons in the glorious sunshine! |
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Carina Rogers / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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Wow –
where do I start?? I have just the most amazing experience of my life, the only
bad part was that it had to come to an end. Sitting at my desk, now back in the
boring routine that I once left behind, I ask myself why on earth did I come
back??! I would give anything to be back out in Sri Lanka, playing volleyball
with the orphan-boys, washing the elephants in the river, taking Tony the Chimp
on a walk around the zoo, or even just lying on a paradise beach somewhere –
I’m not fussy, any of them would do. Well for the past three months that was my
life, not something that I wanted to give up and I hold such strong memories of
all the experiences that I came across. I would recommend this experience to
anyone.
I was lucky enough to have a friend to share the adventure with, as it turned out, we found that we were extremely compatible travelling partners (three months in each others pockets and not one argument – pretty impressive ay?!). All the other people we met out there had come on their own, but we all soon became one big happy family in the house. It was so nice to have the support and companionship of the others, it certainly gives you the confidence to do things you might not feel comfortable doing on your own. One important fact that I learnt from this trip is that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. It may sound an old cliché but it is so true. You can join in as much or as little as you want to. And being the type of people that Nat and I are – we took full advantage of every opportunity! We were both really worried, no I’ll rephrase that, we were both petrified about teaching to start with, I mean, how am I going to teach English to a bunch of Sri Lankans when I don’t understand a word they’re saying? Thankfully the fear disappeared as soon as we stepped into the classroom. Nat and I ended up taking the majority of the adult classes, we built up a strong relationship with the students and their English is amazing – they improve so quickly its frightening! We also taught at the schools, which we enjoyed immensely, it can be daunting at first, as a lot of the schools have many classes in one hall, so you can imagine the noise, you do need a loud voice at times! The children are just amazing though and they will all remember your name for your next visit, which makes you feel kind of special.Anyone wanting a taste of the celebrity life style – I highly recommend this to you. I don’t know how many photos I had to pose for, how many autographs I had to sign, people will point and stare at you, at first its quite off putting, but funnily enough you soon get used to it and now that I am back in England, I have to admit that I miss all the attention!! I have to mention that one thing I was quite worried about was the choice of food out there, being a veggie, I was rather worried that I was going to be stuck with nothing but rice and curry. Don’t get me wrong, I did eat my fair share of the stuff, and I actually quite like it now, I wasn’t a fan before. One great thing that happened while we were there, a KFC opened up in Ja Ela, a 10 minute walk from the house – we couldn’t believe our luck, and they do a wicked veggie burger and it is just SO cheap – you can get an ice-cream for 5p ! The general routine out there is that you work during the week and then you have the weekends free to explore the island. This works out perfectly, so every Friday afternoon we would venture off to different parts of the island. We did everything. From the rain forest to the beaches, Adam’s Peak, the Ancient Cities, the Elephant Orphanage, the Zoo, the tea plantations, the waterfalls, I could go on! We certainly made the most of the time we had there. Nat and I used to play a lot of Basketball, but since we’ve been working, we never had the opportunity, so it was great for us being able to play everyday. So we convinced Roshan to buy us some bikes so we could cycle to the school every morning, it worked out brilliantly, you have to play before the sun comes up – otherwise it just gets too hot! We always played with some guys from our adult class and we had an audience of about 300 students watching us, they were fascinated to see that girls could play physical sport! Now
back at my desk and back into the same old routine that I once left behind, I
cannot wait to go back out there – it has certainly left me hungry for more.
Like I said before, I would recommend this adventure to anyone. I owe a lot to
Travellers, as the knowledge that I gained, cannot be brought, only experienced |
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Debbie Atkinson / Teaching and Orphanage - Sri Lanka / British |
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Overall
- I loved Sri Lanka, it's the most crazy place I have ever been! The crazy
driving, the children who constantly laughed at us, the amount of people
they can fit on one motorbike, being in a tuk-tuk, cows in the middle of the
road and people shaking their head when they mean yes! The Ja-Ela house was
wonderful - Roshan looked after us brilliantly and Niranjala was helpful
and hilarious and earnt herself the nickname of Neuralgia! Ajith and Gamini
were wonderful and looked after us, always with a smile. A fantastic
experience and also a life changing one! I have made beautiful friends for
life and cannot settle back home! I have to go back to Sri Lanka soon to
collect my heart! Thank you! |
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Alice Ross / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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Teaching
opened my eyes to discipline, teacher-student respect and the general
differences in education between countries. I really began to feel part of
the Ja-Ela community, which I wasn't expecting to experience because of
continually moving schools.
The weekend trips were fantastic, the help the house boys and van drivers give is amazing, they really look after us. Van trips make going to sites like Adam's Peak do-able. The placement would suit open minded, fun, out going people who are good organisers and motivators. All the locals Sri Lankans were wonderful. Roshan and Nirangela were fantastic, Herani and the house boys all made our time in Sri Lanka.
They taught
us lots about the places and country and looked after us. It was clear they
had out best interests at heart. Sri Lanka is an amazing country and it was
an excellent placement |
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Ruth Cox / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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Just
thinking about Sri Lanka brings back happy memories ... I had an absolutely
fantastic time ... Roshan organised everything to the best standards
possible and made me very welcome. He will stay with me when he comes
to England in a few weeks, so I'll get all the latest news then
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Helen Slater / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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I must admit I was very scared when I first
arrived, but have settled in now. Everyone is so friendly and I've had a great
week. Roshan is extremely helpful ... and the house is lovely, but the mozzies
[mosquitoes] are a pain in the bum! The other volunteers are great and are
giving me all the help and support I could need! I am enjoying the teaching ... the country is
beautiful and the people are so friendly. The children are
willing and able to learn - they are gorgeous! |
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Claire Gethin / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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Yesterday, we did our first aid trip. I cried
for hours after. We handed out packages in the 1st refugee camp near Galle
and then went to another camp. They were entertaining the kids when we got
there and everyone looked happy enough. People told us their stories whilst
we unpacked the medical supplies. I rang home last night and cried some
more. The locals from home have raised enough money to buy a
fishing boat but I have got to arrange the purchase yet |
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Isabel Loftus / Teaching - Sri Lanka / British |
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I
went to Sri Lanka for a month, teaching at St. Josephs school in Ja-Ela. It
was the best month of my life. The children obviously made it for me,
helping them was amazing as they were so lively and appreciative, but I also
was able to see the real Sri Lanka during weekends due to Travellers
Worldwide's contacts there. Our group had an amazing time trekking, sight
seeing, washing and riding elephants, everything! It was my first time
travelling alone and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I'd just
wanted to drop a note to say thank you for absolutely
everything. It really was the most incredible experience ever - one that I
doubt I'll be able to forget even if I tried! |
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Suite 2A, Caravelle House, 17/19 Goring Road,
Worthing, |
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