Dancing and Singing

Videos of the girls dancing and singing:

1. Punchi Punchi Samanalune (older sisters version)

http://youtu.be/NeYslFL0w7g


2. Bimbarak Senaga (older sisters version)

http://youtu.be/W6EkkyGuAj8


3. Punchi Punchi Samanalune (younger sisters version)

http://youtu.be/V_zEg-Gbbdo


4. Ticki Tickiri Tkiri Sina (Ravihari solo dance)

http://youtu.be/jXH_6p6WMAw


5. Learning English through songs (How are you, My eyes, Days of the week)

http://youtu.be/gyYR5HeN91k

Coming back, Reflection

I am glad to see my family again. I am staying in Jakarta for one week and will go back to Melbourne soon. I share my experiences and tell my parents about letters from the girls. My mother was touched and cried. I feel glad that my parents support my decision going on a volunteer even though they really concern about my health and safety at first. But in the end after discussing and arguing with them, they emotionally and financially support me to help these kids. They are the ones who keep reminding me to buy gifts for the girls, the auntie and uncle in the Children’s Home. They are the ones who ask me to treat these kids to a nice pizza feast. I feel blessed to be born this way.

Now my task is to send them a letter and print out all the photos that I have taken and send these photos to them as soon as possible. They do not have emails and do not get access to internet so I have to send these via post.

 If you like challenges and want to prove yourself to the greatest limit, I encourage you to go for a volunteer. But beware of the unexpected, things won’t work or happen according to your will. You have to adapt to their culture, lifestyle and be ready that you might get gastroenteritis or some diseases or outbreaks that are endemic in the areas (especially in developing countries) that you are working at.

For me this is a life changing experience. By the end of this volunteer, I learn about a number of things. I challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone, adapting with different cultures, work ethics and environment. I struggled at first but I have faith and am confident I can get this through. My stay in the Children’s Home is only 5 weeks, nevertheless I have achieved so much: motivate and encourage them to love English, help them to memorise vocabs easily through various means such as songs and drawings, give them lots of love and care, helping them with all I can. This experience has increased my communication skills as I have to handle each of them differently since they have different personalities. It further trains my leadership such as guiding the kids and being an exemplar for them, arranging various kinds of activities, and helping them to solve various problems. I have gained more confidence and becoming more optimistic after going through challenges, cultural shock and the unexpected. In addition I meet various interns from different parts of the world, we share our experiences and learn about their cultures.

These kids can not buy anything they wanted, some of them are orphans, and most of them could not meet their parents often. They are restricted to be involved in any kind of romantic relationships, prohibited to watch movies, forbidden to go outside their shelter except schools. They do a lot of rough works: cutting trees, cleaning houses and gardens, a lot of washings. But every day they smile brightly and greet me in the morning and before I sleep at night. Each of them is independent and they cherish their life. This is one of the things that in my opinion is crucial for us to reflect upon. You and me, we have to learn from these kids. Be blessed, live your life to the fullest, and have a faith in what you believe in.

I believe in Jesus and He is my father, my mother, my best friend; my everything. My every breath and flesh is His. A wonderful, amazing and extraordinary life is His blessing. It is my belief to return all these to my surroundings and do help them with the best of my ability.

Buying souvenirs in Colombo (15th February 2013)

Interns from Egypt arrange a trip around Colombo from 10am in the morning till late evening so I can shop and buy some souvenirs. They bring me to various kind of interesting places which sell hand- made art and craft, various kinds of tea (Sri Lanka is proud of their tea industry!), scented soaps and candles, etc. Today is a heaven for me that I get to buy various types of teas: dry leaves, organic leaves, powdered ones, etc. Amongst them, the organic green tea leaves is my all time favourite. And I also bought the ‘silver tips’ which is the finest tea type in Sri Lanka. I am a tea addict and I really can not wait to taste them once I reach home! J

The Egyptian interns gave me a letter and a memento from Egypt. I am really glad and blessed that I meet a lot of nice people from various parts of the world. Around 10 pm my TN manager came to the intern house to send me off since my flight is on 16^th at 1.30 am. I gave him some small gift for his parents as I remember that they served me some meals during my first day in Sri Lanka. I really appreciate their kindness. When I ride the taxi, I was flabbergasted that he shed some tears. With a flustered tone I asked him why did he cry, and he said that he felt sad that I was about to leave; I am a nice and good girl who did not complain at all about the project. I admit that I am a calm and reserved type of a person, not high tempered and a very logical mind when facing any kind of challenges. These aid me to make a wiser decision and to solve problems better. I saw myself as a not-so-lucky intern amongst all others, but again I feel grateful that I meet very nice people who will always stay in my heart, I am safe, never starving, and loved by people around me.

with Emma from China

Farida, me, Malith (TN Manager), Hend, Omar

Valentine’s Day, Depart to Colombo (14th February 2013)

I went to the Temple in the early morning. I place all the gifts, letters and chocolates that I prepare for them on their beds. We then take lots of pictures together. I receive some letters, dolls, red and yellow roses. In their letters, they all ask me to visit them again and send them a letter frequently. They feel happy during my stay as I use various ways to teach them English to make learning more interactive and they really love my drawings. They thank me for being an English teacher, an Art teacher, a sister and a best friend. Some of them cry and yes I did shed some tears too. Most of the kids arrive home at 2pm and they told me not to leave today but tomorrow instead. I depart from Anuradhapura to Colombo by 2.45 pm train, with a heavy heart. I wanted to stay a bit longer with them, but I have another task and duty as a student. I did not realize that time flies past swiftly for these past 5 weeks and I am going to go back to my normal life without these kids. Without their morning and night greetings, without them calling my Sri Lankan name ‘Tharu’, without them keep offering me various kinds of new food that seem so mesmerizing in my eyes, without them teaching me new words in Sinhala, and especially without these kids asking me to draw something for them all the time. Girls, I will miss you and you will stay in my heart forever. Thank you so much for being my source of light, so that I have the privilege to be a Tharu (meaning: Star) for you all.

The girls room

they love to pose!

we take too many shots today

with Ruwani, Nadeeka and Sanduni respectively

Sanduni

I reached Colombo fort station after a 5- hours train journey. I felt very exhausted and dizzy. I felt so drained and finally arriving the intern house. This time I stayed with other Egyptian interns. They are very nice, friendly and welcoming. We share some of our experiences and they also struggled during the first few days of their stay in Sri Lanka, but fortunately all resolved pretty quick in three days time.

Buying gift, Sports, Letters, Recording (13th February 2013)

I went to The Lover’s shop to buy some bags for Amara, Madam, a pair of shoes for Kitchen Auntie and a red tie for Sir Rajapaksha. To celebrate tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day I also buy chocolates for all the girls and all the aunt and uncle in Sarana.

At night I record the younger girls dancing and one of the girl did a Solo. They are very cute and adorable!

these adorable kids

English Exercises, Dance recording (12th February 2013)

I introduce some of the grammar usage, the use of before after, introducing weather, and letter writing. In the evening, the older sisters who are good at dancing (Sanduni, Saumia, Sashini, Depeeka, Hanzi, Big Tanuja) are dancing to 2 songs. And they dance a freestyle to Hindi songs.

Sashini, Saumia, Sanduni, Dipika, Hanzi, Tanuja

Sashini, Tanuja, Saumia, Dipika, Sanduni, Hanzi

CNY, Pizza treat (10th February 2013)

Early morning I was served ginger biscuits about 10 pieces of them, followed by Sri Lankan noodle dishes and 3 large ball of triposha. A large feast indeed! I call my family for saying a Happy Chinese New Year. It is sad I can’t celebrate it with my family. I have to miss my CNY without any Chinese food, red envelope (given by married couples to non- married ones) and all other Chinese treats.

Red cross youth, Small treat (9th February 2013)

A group of people come in the morning and do a few activities with the kids in the hall. They are representative of Sri Lankan Red Cross Youth. Lots of interesting games are introduced to the kids to foster unity, bonding and cooperation.

Red Cross Youth

Games!

In the evening I went to Pizza Hut and ordered 10 boxes of the large ones to be delivered tomorrow at 2pm to Sarana. I went to the supermarket to buy bottles of water and some snacks for the kids. Then they again sneak in to watch some movies today in my room using my laptop.

I am really sad to see that once some kids are recovered, the other are infected. They are staying and sleeping in close proximity and hence the infection spread faster. It breaks my heart seeing each of them getting their turn falling sick. I hope a speedy recovery for them.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and my family goes for a buffet for CNY dinner. I want to join them too. L

Watching Tamil Movie (8th February 2013)

Amara serves me triposha in the morning; the best ones I ever had. This statement might be bias though. She is so motherly; I love her so much. :’)

Today the girls ask me to play a DVD (Tamil movies with Sinhala subtitles) in my laptop. One of the girls buys the DVD and sneaks in to watch it in my room. The DVD is indeed collection of thriller and horror movies. They are really scared the auntie supervising the Girl’s home will find out. In the end they finish watching 2 out of 4 films.

I have started writing letters for 25 girls, and 3 of the aunts and this requires massive dedication. Each letter has different content about what I feel about them and I also express my gratitude for the experience in Sarana. I only have 6 days left in Anuradhapura and I think I have done quite much thus far. My works in Sarana has became a routine: helping them doing their English homework, daily conversation, formal teaching about thrice per week, spending most of the time pampering the little ones, showering them with care and love, sharing secrets, etc.

One thing I realize that one in two days I have been drinking at least a gulp of tap water. The girls serve me a glass of water but not all of them know I can not drink tap water. These days I do not have problems with my bowels hence I think I am immune to drinking tap water now?

Adjectives, Birthday celebration (7th February)

For the past few days every morning, Ganidhu (3 years old boy)’s mother: Amara (she stays in Sarana Children’s home, she can not speak and can not hear) always serves me a generous breakfast and makes sure I won’t starve. She is very caring towards me. She is like a mother to me in Sarana. Her husband is working in other city and he also can neither speak nor hear. God is kind that Ganidhu is perfectly normal just like everyone else. I am very well- feed here; they keep serving me various kinds of food for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, evening tea and dinner.

Me, Ganidhu and Amara

Korean teacher is coming to Sarana in the evening. He teaches Korean language and speak Sinhala quite well. He celebrates two girls (Shalani and Mayuri) birthday today (January-February). He buys a lot of wafer biscuits, creates a tower and adds some candles on that. I also join them, sing a Happy Birthday song in Korean and we take some pictures as a memento. In the later day I teach them some new vocabs, and help them with their English homework.

The girls and Korean teacher

Blood test result, a visit, cinema (6th February)

Early morning I get my blood test result. It indicates that I have low haemoglobin and high neutrophils count. Whereas the platelets count is normal; this indicates that I am not infected with dengue. Thank God that my itchiness might just be due to food allergy. Neutrophils count above normal range means that I have some bacterial infection. I did not request for a blood culture and thus I do not know which bugs cause the spike in nutrophils. And low Hb level is due to the diet wise here; I rarely eat meat as the dishes provided are mainly carbohydrate-based with little veggies.

Blood test result

In the evening, Thomas (Chinese intern who came with me for a Global Village) visits Sarana Girls’ Home. The kids are excited and some of them recognize him. They say that Thomas is their English teacher in their primary school. I get a chance to share some of the experience with him. His project is basically teaching grade 1-5 kids thrice a week. He has lots of free slots and has travelled to Kandy last week with two other interns from China. This weekend he is going to travel to Galle again for 4 days with the other two Chinese interns. I want to join them but I have only 9 days left here, so I think it is best that I spend more time with the kids.

Thomas and the girls

At night, we watch a Sri Lankan movie in the Mouse (one cinema in Anuradhapura), a treat from Sir to celebrate his birthday (who is like the principal of this children’s home). It is neither like the cinema in Jakarta nor Australia where we sit and watch in a cozy sofa. Instead the cinema seems old and we sit on wooden chairs. Unfortunately there is no English subtitle available and it is a bit hard to catch the meaning at first. However, in the end of the story I can comprehend what the movie is about- sometimes actions speak more than words. It is very touching and most of the girls cry watching the movie. The movie highlights the comparison between a boy from rich and poor family. The poor boy could not afford to go to school and he always sneaks in and hides at the back of the classroom in every lesson, solemnly listening to what teachers are explaining. When the poor boy is invited to the rich boy house, he is flustered and he does not know how to use the toilet; big houses seem foreign to him. But the poor boy never give up on his dreams, with the support from his surroundings (friends, neighbors and family), he eventually win a junior inventor competition. He creates a mouse that is operated by feet and not hands.

In my opinion, this movie has taught valuable lessons: no matter what challenges and hardships that we have been through, never give up and always look forward. Hard work and faith (belief in one self) will never betray us and eventually all these will be paid off someday.

Blood test and Night chat (5th February)

I get my blood extracted today for 300 rupees (~US $ 3) and will get the result tomorrow. I hope everything will turn out fine. At night, I have a chat with two of the girls- Sanduni and Ruwani. Amongst all kids, these two are most interested and excited learning English. I am very pleased with that. We share about lots of stuff- friends, family, future, relationships, cultures, etc and each day I speak with them, our conversation flows better and they recognize quite a number of new English words. They tell me that they feel sad I am going to leave in about 10 days. Moreover, they say that if I stay longer for another 5 or 6 months or more, their English will significantly improve. Sarana Girls’ Home has 3 English teachers coming every week and still most of them do not know the most Basic English. They are not interested in learning because the language is foreign to them; hence they do not have motivation and are reluctant to revise what the teachers taught them. I think this kind of project- having an intern who can not speak their language at all to stay with them is a more effective approach in improving their conversational English skills rather than sitting in a classroom and merely listening to what the teachers taught them.

As a reflection, I think that one of the most helpful methods to teach them and memorise vocabs easily is by introducing English songs. I am delighted that most of them now are able to greet others, remember all days of the week, recognise colours, body parts and some food in English.

National Day and Weird Symptoms (4th February 2013)

I could not sleep at night- feel very itchy around my hand and feet. I realize that small skin-coloured spots are appearing as well. Two days ago I got a headache and mild fever at night but having itchiness as a symptoms makes me think that I might be contracted with debilitating and fatal disease- can be Dengue Fever, Filariasis, etc. I really hope this is just an allergic response (but I do not think that I have food allergy). In the afternoon I go to the doctor and he said that at least 3 days of incubation period is necessary to detect the presence of dengue in our blood stream. The doctor gives me 3 types of tablet for itchiness which are meant to be taken thrice a day. He also advices me to take panadol or paracetamol if I still get a headache. The cost added up to 300 rupees (~ US $ 3), which I think is ridiculously cheap. So I’m coming back to the doctor tomorrow for a blood test. On my way home, I buy a mosquito sprays as there are at least 5-10 mosquitoes in the bathroom every time I take a shower. It is very uncomfortable and I am scared if these vectors carry some nasty microorganisms and parasites.

The kids in Sarana seem to be worry about me. However, a number of them get a severe flu and fever; and once a few kids are recovered, the others show signs of infection. They sleep close to each other in a big room. No surprise if the disease spread swiftly. For the past few days the weather also gets a bit colder. I do wish them a speedy recovery.

Recording (2nd February 2013)

I do some recording and photo shoots at night. They are very lovely and excited as well, posing in various styles!

Tanuja, Piumi, me, Sanduni, Ruwani, Hanzi
Sureka, Shiwerani, Aruni, Tanuja, Aushadi, Wishmi, Ravihari, Dananjena

Happy! :)

Coconut and Triposha (1st February 2013)

 I told the kids yesterday that I do love coconut drink. They said that they usually climb coconut and mango trees but they would be scolded if auntie in Sarana found out. It is dangerous but they are so active and brave. In the morning, one of the girls climb a short coconut tree and I get a chance to taste it. Yumm it tastes good and refreshing! Drinking coconut water is a highlight over the summer.

Ruwani is climbing the coconut tree :) 

Fresh coconut drink :9

Cutting open the rock-hard coconut

By the end of today I find out that triposha is actually made from corn. I ask them where do they get them from. However they say that triposha is not available in the supermarket. It is given free from the government to small children who are underweight and nutrition- deprived, and to pregnant women. Sarana girls home is one exception; they get frequent supply of triposha for free. Triposha is a yellowish powder form. We mix it with sugar and smoothly grinded/sliced coconut according to taste, coupled with a bit of salt water. Then pour hot water, mix well and make a round- shape out of it. I do enjoy eating it and I have never tasted anything like that before. They give me some packets so I can show them to my parents and colleagues.

Triposha and grinded coconut

mixed with sugar, salt water and hot water

And I take quite a number of pictures today- in the nunnery nearby and around Sarana girls home. Two girls dress up and enthusiastically dance lightning up the mood; I appreciate that and feel very thankful.

Temple

with Ruwani

with Piumi

with Nadeeka

Hanzi and Dipika

Hanzi, Sanduni, Sewandi, Dipika

Grammar, Ice cream treat and Unique culture! (31st January 2013)

I introduce past continuous tense and simple present tense to some of the girls who are still waiting for their O level results thus they apparently do not go to school. In the afternoon, we have the same routine- rice with carbs and vegetables. Strangely I grind quite a number of stones for lunch today. Probably because the aunt who usually cooks is currently under the weather, and thus the responsibility is replaced to another woman who rarely cooks. Then I decide to go to ‘Family Super’ to buy some packets of tea (Sri Lanka is proud of their tea industry), ice cream and other snacks for the kids. Once I get back home, they seem very happy with the chocolate ice cream they seldom had.

At night, some of the girls come to my room and we chat about stuff. Language is one barrier I have to admit; but these girls do know some vocabulary so there are ways to communicate- gestures, facial expression, mime, etc. I am very surprised that by the end of our conversation, I can comprehend what they are trying to convey. In Sri Lanka, they refer to girls who have started menstruation as ‘Big Girls’. They usually celebrate this by giving gifts- earrings, new clothes, new stationery, etc. Moreover they are supposed to have a party but the girls in Sarana house can not afford to have one. In addition, I am flabbergasted to hear that for one week after their first menses, they can neither go to school nor be seen by boys. They are supposed to stay at home and are not permitted to face a mirror. Instead they use water with white flowers to see their own face. Furthermore, they can not eat any types of meat for one week. They have a very unique cultural belief. J

Places (30th January 2013)

I wash my clothes in the early morning. Then I renew my plans, aiming to record the kids singing at least 3 English songs that I have been teaching them, dancing to either Korean/English/Sinhala/Hindi songs. I plan to treat them ice cream and chips this week, pizza next week (all of them love sausage and cheese toppings) and some other snacks during my final week.

Today I introduce vocabs for some important places. The older ones are busy and hence I am teaching the little girls only. Some of them couldn’t even recognize English alphabets. It is really a challenge to expect significant improvement in their English. But so far they remember at least 4 songs that I have been teaching them.

Back to Anuradhapura (29th January 2013)

The next morning I am supposed to catch a train at 2pm to Anuradhapura with one guy from China, accompanied by my TN Manager. Again, at the last minute my TN Manager said he had some viva assignment to be done the next day, and the other guy and I will be accompanied by a new member of AIESEC instead and we rode the train at 4pm. Seriously another exhaustive journey. I feel very dizzy as the train went backwards against the direction of seat. I arrive around 9pm and I am happy to see the kids again. Feeling so drained and I immediately go to sleep after washing my face and brushing my teeth.

Global Village and Extending Visa (28th January 2013)

I am extending my visa in the morning, it was so crowded. Finally I get a 7-day extension for my stay in Sri Lanka after 4 hours queue. Then I attend a global village celebration. Interns from various parts of the world gathered- Egypt, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, etc. This was quite an exhaustive day and a group of us get back to the intern house by buses, walk in a hot and polluted environment. I feel like fainting this day- the most tiring I have had so far.

With one of the Chinese intern

Global Village Festival

Another shot with a Chinese intern

Heading to Colombo myself (27th January 2013)

I was scared at first, but fortunately I arrived safely around 9pm. Then my TN manager and I pick up another Chinese intern from the airport. He will be teaching primary school children in Anuradhapura. My TN manager and I had lots of things to chat about. I get to know that two other interns, who work in the same village as me stay at a very good accommodation with great facilities owned by rich family. I realize that I am not the luckiest, if I recall- I could never get a satisfied answers from AIESEC Sri Lanka representative every time I asked questions related to the projects and place that I will be staying at in emails (I could sense that they were not sure and uncertain either), I didn’t get a proper accommodation to stay when I first reached Sri Lanka, I had to stay in nunnery with limited facilities, surroundings who do not communicate in English at all, slept with reptiles and various kinds of insects, and me myself experiencing this without a company made the situation even worse. Honestly I was very upset and disappointed at that time towards AIESEC Sri Lanka which couldn’t even meet the least expectations- I didn’t ask for a fancy bed with aircons, I just wish that they can be more systematic and get the accommodation ready for me to settle down.  But whatever happens, I have to go through it and stay strong. Nevertheless I am glad that my kids are my source of strength.

At night, I am staying in an intern house and I sleep with two other Chinese girls. The room is much better than the one that I had in Anuradhapura. The interns who are staying at this house are working together in large groups for specific project, such as software engineering, gaming, and travelling. They are very nice and welcoming. They can rely on each other and share similar experiences, unlike me whom working in Sarana myself. Even they ask me to join them if I am not happy with my project. I thank them for the offer but I am not a type of person to leave my work halfway. I love the girls in Sarana.

Activities and My Classroom (26th January 2013)

I decide to have a formal teaching thrice a week from today- Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, each 1 hour lesson. The topic today is Activities and Classroom. The older ones can follow better, while the little kids do not understand a single thing. I started from the basic by giving them some commonly used vocabs, and I give some exercises to the older kids. For the first time today, I take photos of them as a memento and they seem to be very excited and delighted.

Activities

Study time

My Classroom

Study time

Drawing for the kids (25th January 2013)

Two of the little ones are fighting and they cry. I do not know why, but yeah that’s what little kids do. I often had severe fights and arguments with my brother when we were young.

My house (23rd January 2013)

Surprisingly, this morning a mother with two kids, will be leaving her kids to Sarana Children’s home. Two new members are added up in this family. They are Aushadi and Wishmi at the age of 7 and 8 respectively. Some of the kids are actually not orphans and they have parents. I guess financial issues, and workplace is one of the few reasons these parents send their children to Children’s home.

This children home has various visitors, donating lunch or dinner, and some other daily needs. Today I get a chance to have a little chat with one of them. She is a physiotherapist in Colombo and she understands English, which I find that fluency in English is scarce in Sri Lanka.

In the evening, Lakmali one of the younger girls, give me a gift- baby powder and a picture of Dae Jang Geum (a beautiful Korean actress from Jewel in the Palace drama). Ravihari gives me a pin and book divider. Tanuja also gives me some postcard and book divider. At night, I assist them doing their English homework.

Some of the drawings from the kids

One of my drawing for the kids

Shalani and Madusha

Aruni is holding my drawing :)

Occupation (22nd January 2013)

I want the kids to have motivation in their studies, and hence I ask them to draw themselves as to what they want to be in the upcoming future. Various career options are mentioned, which is doctor, nurse, lawyer, Sinhala teacher, dancing teacher, maths teacher, etc. None of them mentions they just want to be a housewife, which I think is good.

We interns are invited to Global Village festival by AIESEC which will occur early in the morning on January 28^th. The celebration takes place in Colombo, I have to travel another exhaustive journey around 5 hours. In addition, I also have to prolong my visa since the current one is valid for 30 days only, whereas my stay in Sti Lanka will be a total of 5 weeks. One of the interns from China, working in Anuradhapura is hospitalised, she has fever and is not sure whether she would be joining the festival. I am supposed to go together with her since we are working at the same town Anuradhapura, but we have different projects and are not staying together. Environmental changes must have spiked her immunity. Hope she gets well soon. I am glad that I have quite a strong antibody, maybe due to frequent exposure of travelling back and forth between the countries.

Transportation (21st January 2013)

I am getting closer with the kids. They are really sweet and some of them give me their own drawings. Some notes are written on their drawings, such as: I love you, don’t forget me, etc.  For the first time I am washing my clothes and the kids are just very nice that they help me to wash as well. I told them not to, but they insist. They are innocent, polite and have good manners. Such kids are hard to be found in this globalised society.

Snapshot of my room through mosquito net

Natural drier

Sunday (20th January 2013)

Early in the morning Piumi and Madusha pick me up from the temple. Surprisingly, some of the kids are surprisingly going to temple school on Sunday. These kids come from various schools and children home, and Hanzi is one of them. They are really sweet and seem to be interested in me as well. Today I just spend some quality time with them, not studying certain topics in particular. They’ve prepared a room for me, which is arranged by Ruwani and Sanduni. It is better than the one I had in the temple though, and the bed is very big. I watch Marley and Me the movie on TV with them. They also fix the shower room for me. Looking at this, I don’t think it is the best decision to move out since these kids are nice, respectful and take care of me really well. So I email the vice president of AIESEC Sri Lanka of what I feel about this.

Food (19th January 2013)

Saturday is a break day from school and hence I do not want to teach them too much. Today I teach them about food, and introduce a song about food. Again, doing my routines- drawing for each kids, and making some messages in their diary. We play some games as well. After lunch, the younger kids present some dancing to a group of adults as an expression of appreciation and gratitude. I think they are the Sri Lankan people who aid these children by providing free dishes and some basic needs such as stationery, etc voluntarily.

Entrance door

Living room

Head Principal of Sarana

The founder of Sarana

Library

Library

Ruwani shows me my room in the orphanage and she tells me that this Sunday I do not have to move to other orphanage. Well I really do not know whether I’ll be transferred and the person responsible organizing this project will solve the issue tomorrow. But I’m fine with either. Sarana has their no-electricity problem solved, and they have prepared a bedroom for me to stay. Maybe it’s a bit too fast to leave these kids.

One I reach the temple, accompanied by 2 girls of Sarana, one of the female monk tells us that there is a female monk coming from overseas. I spoke with her briefly and she says that she comes from the US. I’m flabbergasted as I hardly see a Caucasian monk. This is the first time in my life.

Days of the week and Colours (18th January 2013)

Today I begin teaching Days of the Week and the girls seem to have poor spelling skills and do not remember the order right. I teach them a song that includes Sunday to Saturday to aid them memorizing. Next, I want to know how far they know about colours. The older girls have good knowledge about colours while the younger ones don’t. I give them coloured papers and we try out some origami; folding the papers into boat, plane, hat, dogs and cats. I also offer some stickers if they remember any songs that I have taught them and most of them are interested.

I have drawn a lot of finished animated drawings today. Every single kids demand a drawing of boy and girl from me. Honestly my hands feel a bit numb and bored doing similar things over, and over, and over again. But I am glad and delighted that they like my drawings. By the end of the day, I told the kids that this Sunday 20^th I will be transferred to Catholic Girl’s Home. They look sad and a bit emotional. They tell me they do not like me leaving.

Animals (17th January 2013)

My morning has been really bad. I got a stomach upset and watery feces. New environment, foreign pathogens perhaps have stimulated my immune response. In Sarana, I teach some new animals to Ruwani and Premali (19 years old, same age as I do) as other kids are still at school. No much teaching today. Once the other kids are back, they ask me to draw more human- animated drawings. I think I have done as much as 3 pencil-drawing and 3 coloured ones. Tomorrow some other kids ask me to draw for them as well. I also include some motivating, encouraging messages, and also my email (so they can stay in touch with me after I left) in all my drawings.

Premali and I

During the late afternoon, I teach them Justin Bieber song ‘Baby’, they do enjoy it! But the beat is a bit too fast for them to catch and hence, they translate the English pronunciations into their own language. Surprisingly, these kids have an English teacher. He is Sri Lankan and so far amongst the people who I have a chat with, his English is good although the accent is still strongly local. In addition, I get a reply from the vice president, and it is fixed that I will move to Catholic children home with other intern from China who will be coming this Sunday. I have not told the kids yet, maybe this Saturday 19^th is the better time.