Nuwara Eliya (hill country)

We have spent the past three days in Hill Country.  Sri Lanka is a country of extremes.  We went from blistering hot and humid to freezing cold!  (Okay-it was only 59 degrees, but you know how cold 59 feels after our long summer?  It's like that and it's very damp because you're up in the hills. You feel so wet all of the time!  Debbie and I are glad to be getting back to the heat of the city!)

During our time in Nurwala Eliya we stayed with one of Ted's contacts named Manjula.  He teaches English to about 25 students every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night.  We led the class two nights.  We basically did morning meeting games, sang songs, danced to YouTube videos, and practiced language through a variety of different activities. It was awesome!  By the end of the second night, they had all warmed up to us!  (Many of the students we have met here have been very shy.  It was great to talk with these students and have some fun together!)

Manjula also showed us around Nuwara Eliya.  It is so beautiful there!  

One morning we hiked up a waterfall.  This was a challenging climb!  We are so impressed with Ted.  We were all huffing and puffing and he seemed to climb with ease!  He's amazing!

Lexie took off her socks and stood in the rushing water!  I was about to join her when she stepped out and removed a gigantic leech from her foot.  The thing was so gross!!!  Not more than 5 minutes later, Ted found a leech on Debbie!  (Cue piercing shriek!). Later that night, Ted also discovered he had a leech and didn't know it!  I was the only one spared!  

The next day Lexie and Ted braved the water and actually went swimming at the base of a different waterfall!  Debbie and I sat that one out, mainly because it was freezing!  

Nuwara Eliya was quite the adventure! 

A case for tea time

The following is an open letter to our principal....

We the teachers of this Sri Lankan adventure appeal to you to consider a daily tea time.  We believe this is a solid idea because:

1.). Tea is delicious.  (Especially from Sri Lanka....and don't worry-we are bringing a lot home!)

2.)Tea time will foster student independence.  Teachers would leave their classrooms for minutes (if not hours) to enjoy this delicious treat each day!  This will provide students with plenty of opportunities to show their Eagle Pride.  I'm sure we could even create a "looks like, sounds like, feels like" chart together!  

And finally.....

Reason #3:

3.). Teachers will have the opportunity to foster and build long-lasting relationships with one another.  We are a staff who never have any fun together, nor do we socialize enough to know who lives "on the other side of the wing."  Think of this as your opportunity to help us grow. 

Think about it.  We will await your response in August! 

Saree Shopping by Ted

On Saturday we girls took the gents saree shopping.  We asked Ted to describe that experience.  Here are his thoughts:

Saturday snoozing Sri Lankan sleep-in silently segued to searching shops selling sarees soon after noon. A somber senior citizen said sarongs seemed superfluous and silly but sarees show status and superiority. Seven saree salesladies suggested second floor samples should suit. Subsequently a salesperson superbly slipped sarees swiftly shoulder to shoulder sealing the sales. Three talented American teachers attired in elegance for class on Monday!

Last day in Galle

Teaching in Galle

On Saturday we went Saree shopping in Galle.  (You can read "Uncle Ted's" description of that experience in another post.). We wore those sarees on Monday when we visited another school in Galle.  

We began the morning by going to a salon where they dressed us and we made the unfortunate mistake of accepting their offer to do our makeup.  I can only compare the final makeovers to that of 3 call girls.  (No close up photos were taken due to the atrocity, but I can give you a brief description.). If you know me (Erica), I am very fair in complexion.  My eyebrows were painted black!  I felt like a circus clown!  It was bad!

Getting dressed in the saree was also quite the experience.  They use about 20 pins to keep the saree in place. The saree is slightly uncomfortable and shows off your side and belly.  I was personally very uncomfortable both wearing the saree and with the awful makeup.  But the teachers and principal at the school seemed to enjoy the fact that we were wearing them!  (The traditional dress of teachers in Sri Lanka is to wear a saree, so we thought  we'd try them out.). The saree experience was very uncomfortable for me (probably because I was very self conscious of all that makeup and you could see my belly!) so I'll honestly admit that I wasn't as present at this school.  But it was a good experience for all of us! 

The teachers here asked us to teach a lesson.  We threw together a morning meeting and co-taught it together!  It was brilliant! 

Lexie captured this beautiful moment that really showcases the partnership we were striving for with this project!

On the way home...

After we got back (and I wiped all traces of that makeup off my face), we boarded a train to return to Colombo.

The plan was for me to get down (The Sri Lankan way of saying get off) at a different station from everyone else.  My host lived closer to a different station than the one in Colombo.  The plan was for Ted to get down with me and make sure I connected with my host.  

We got down onto the platform and literally had 3-4 minutes where we frantically searched for my host.  He was nowhere to be found so when the train started to move again Ted told me to get back on!  (It should be noted I also had my suit case in hand and had to jump back on the slowly moving train!)

As the train began to pick up speed, Ted spotted my host running down the platform.  He turns to me and says:  "Can you hop off?"  

Um....no I'm not jumping off a moving train!  Are you crazy????? :). 

It wasn't funny at the time, but now I just giggle at the absurdity of it all!  We got home in one piece (barely!) and spent a relaxing evening with our host families.  

Safari Adventure

I have been so excited for this day!  Today we went on a jungle safari.  

To start the day...

We had to begin our day with a bet. All 3 of us, along with our van driver, bet how long it would take the others to be ready to leave.  We should have learned from our previous bet to never bet against the driver! He won again betting over 30 minutes. From now on our plan is to let him bet first, and then we'll place our wagers!  

Matara:

On the way we stopped at an open food market in Matara. We purchased many different fruit varieties - many of which are not available in the states.  

The Blow Hole:

In Kudawella, Sri Lanka, there is a very beautiful blow hole.  You must first walk up and down some very uneven stone steps to reach the peak.  Once there, the ocean view is incredible!  I think we're getting used to having the ocean surround us!  

This picture does not do the blow hole justice, but to be fair I was trying to be present and take in all the scenery!  

The Safari:

This safari was not part of the original plan, but we girls continued to advocate for this experience!  I was determined to see some wildlife since our one request back in the states was to see some elephants!  

We excitedly hopped into the safari jeep and hadn't been out more than 15 minutes when we came across this rut in the road. 

Our driver of course drove straight into it and our jeep ended up severely tilted to the left.  The more the driver tried to get us out, the more we tilted.  I have been fairly calm, cool and collected during this trip-but this about put me over the edge.  I literally thought: "I'm going to die!" The driver asked my side to move over and I jumped into Lexie's lap!  Good news friends, we made it out in one piece and I am still living!  Hooray! But it took a while for my heart to stop beating so fast!

We saw many wild animals on this adventure.  We saw peacocks, monkeys, water buffalo, wild boar, and even the elusive leopard.  (Apparently we were very lucky-it's very rare to see one leopard and we saw two!)

And of course....we saw some elephants!  We saw many in the distance but the highlight of the day was seeing a mama elephant and her babies cross the road directly in front of us!  It was unreal!

We will never forget this day!  I'm so glad we were able to have this experience!

A Serenade for Sri Lanka

Today's blog is composed by Debbie.  After the great blogs by Lexie and Erica I feel like I need something really creative so here goes.

DO a drive to breakfast by the sea.  The waves crashed along the beach as we enjoyed a variety of pastries for breakfast.

RE lots of golden sun. (Really hot!). I never knew real sweating till I came to Sri Lanka. We have a new appreciation for showers.

MI made lots of new friends who made us feel very welcomed.

FA explored Fort Galle.  Wandered around town and enjoyed a cool drink at the Fort Printers hotel while visiting with our new friends.

SO  we finally got our tuk tuk ride.  The 3 of us squeezed into the back and away we went.  Not as scary as having a ride in Colombo but we still had some "adrenaline  rush moments".

LA lounging by the indian ocean.  The 3 of us spent lots of time in the water and it felt fantastic!

TI lots of tea with yummy chocolate cake while we toured a tea plantation and learned about the production process. Afterwards we did a tea tasting with many different kinds of tea.  It reminded me a lot of winetasting.

DO Debbie signing off. After a late dinner and long day we barely have enough energy to crawl into bed. It's been a really fun day with lots of new things to learn.  Tomorrow we will start all over again.....

Traffic in Sri Lanka

Driving in Colombo is quite the experience!  There is a LOT of traffic ALL of the time!  It usually takes 45-60 minutes to travel from one place to the other.  (Sometimes even more!) 

Here are some reasons for this:

1.). The tuk tuk

These "taxi" drivers are all over the road!  They turn left when they signal right, they squeeze their vehicles into extremely tight spaces, they turn around in the middle of the road, and basically drive wherever, whenever they want! 

2.). The cow

They are quite literally in the middle of the road!  

3.) The roads 

Many of the roads in Sri Lanka are very narrow and cars have to wait for each other to pass.  

4.). The motorcycle

Similar to the tuk tuk, these vehicles go wherever they want and squeeze in to small openings between cars.

Trains and Turtles

Lexie (intimidated by Erica's journaling skills) has bravely decided to write today's blog...

We began our day by walking down the beach, randomly running through the waves of the Indan Ocean, when we "stumbled" upon a turtle farm. Right when we walked up, our "conservationist" quickly picked up a turtle as Erica immediately stepped up to the plate to take the turtle from his hands, the first to experience a "once in a lifetime opportunity." Debbie and I eventually worked up the courage to hold the turtle as well.

After our once in a lifetime experience, our conservationists turned into king coconut climbers and cutters and proceeded to climb the tree to pick our refreshments.  Our climber dropped them down to be caught by a sheet on the ground and then our cutter took a knife to cut open the top. 

Put in some straws and we were re-energized!

After a quick lunch, we were on our way to catch a train to Galle.  To bridge the cultural time gap, us three ladies decided to make a bet.  Debbie took the USA safe bet of making the trip on time, Erica took the Sri Lanka safe bet of missing the train, and I took the safe "Lexie" bet of running to the train to make it on time.  Believe it or not, we all won at some point! We arrived at the train station in time, took out our luggage, and Debbie casually and confidently walked to the ticket office. Much to her dismay, Gihan walked up to us hand motioning to us the trains cancelation.  Debbie and I immediately look toward Erica as she proceeded to complete something I can only describe as the "Erica twist" of celebration. At the exact same time, Debbie and I pointed at her and yelled NO! (For her bet was not cancellation and I refused to accept her win). On our way to a different station, my chance arose! Gihan received a call from his wife that the cancellation had been cancelled and the van turned sharply around as we made our way back to the original train station.  We jumped out of the van a couple of blocks away from the station and of course I felt the need to ask Gihan "Do we need to run?" His answer of pushing me forward with his hand was all the evidence I needed for the win. Although we struggled to keep up with Gihan as we hurried to that station and after he had convinced the ticket office that the cancellation had been cancelled, we made it with only standing room left for our two hour train ride.  Sweating profusely, my only saving grace was the view of the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean along the train tracks for a majority of our trip. 

(Too busy running to the train to take any pictures) :)

We were warmly greeted in Galle by two Rotarians and taken to a peaceful and breathtaking 2000+ year old temple. We took off our shoes to walk up to the temple that was located under a rock. A man there graciously showed us around the temple that seemed to be mostly formed naturally by Mother Nature, except for the beautifully detailed paintings on the rock ceiling.

After an exhausting day of travel and an annoyingly slap happy Lexie and Erica, our Rotarian host took us to his sister's house for a much needed good nights sleep.

I'll talk to you the next time the ladies are "patiently" waiting for the boys to get ready for the day... In the meantime, we'll be time betting and losing to the driver. :)

Wycherley International and ITN

We began our Tuesday at Wycherly International School.  This is a private school in Colombo.  We visited with students and staff at the Elementary School.  Debbie, Lexie, and I (Erica) each spent time with teachers at our specific interest levels.  

We all taught an Upper Kindergarten class the song:  "Do your ears hang low?"  Debbie continued in the classroom  with their singing teacher while Lexie visited a grade 2 class (ages 8-9) and I went back with the upper Kinders (ages 5-6).

Lexie and I were both able to teach some of the children about our home and lives back in the USA.  It's simply wonderful being with the children and learning alongside them!

Directly after that we visited the ITN (Independent Television Network). This network provides tv coverage to 95% of the island! 

Dharmapala Vidyalaya. Pannipitiya

Today we visited Ajith's school.  His school is the largest mixed (boys & girls) public school with 5,000 students! We visited many different areas of the school, including music class, computer lab, English Medium section (where the teacher teaches different subjects  in English),we also visited  biology, and dance class.  It was wonderful!

Here we are with the school principal where we had the chance to speak about our schools in Minnesota. 

Highlights from the day include:

1.). Trying to get a selfie with the students

2.). Having grade 10 students sing One Direction to us

3.). This group of lovelies at the pool:

4.). Watching the entire school sermon  a Buddist prayer and sing their school song to start their day. 

5.). Enjoying a light snack in the aquatics center.

And simply enjoying being with all the students!!!

We made it!!

We have finally made it to Colombo!  What a journey!  We took off Thursday at 4:15pm and have arrived Saturday morning (Colombo time!)

You can see we all look refreshed and very excited to begin.  We even high fived at the end of our first flight!  I laughed and commented we were very excited to complete our short flight, we hadn't even done the 13 hour one yet!

Having some fun along the way!!

     

Layover in Dubai

We are finally in Dubai!  We are here for 6+ hours and have settled down to eat. We double high fived after we landed!  We made it through a 13 hour flight and are a bit tired.  We have one more leg in our journey -one final flight that takes us in to Colombo.  I think we are all wonderfully excited, but also terribly tired!

We are almost there!

***due to some technical difficulties I can not upload our pics of Dubai.  Don't worry- they're on the way!

Day 1: Negombo

We were super excited as our final plane descended upon Sri Lanka!  Ted had a contact waiting for us at the gate.  She was such a welcome sight!

If that weren't enough, as we gathered our baggage and made our way to the exit, we spied the Sri Lankan team and the Mount Lavinia Rotary president!  They welcomed us with flower garlands!

Then we were promptly wisked away to a beautiful resort, Paradise Beach Hotel in Negombo.  There we were welcomed by the owner!

  Now we are excited to lay down, rest, and enjoy this grand adventure!

Ready or not-here we come!

Here we go!!!

Roseville Educator Exchange Program: Trip to Sri Lanka

The Roseville team is getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime!  We leave in 4 days!!! Erica Anderson, Lexie Griffiths, Debbie Romero, and Ted Johnson (the fearless leader) will travel to Sri Lanka on June 16.