A catch up with The Lankas!
(Sorry it’s been so long, we had no access to Karu’s dongle)
On Friday morning, we visited the local high school before our last day with the Kindergarten. It was so interesting to see people our age in a school environment here and learn how different it is. We found out four subjects are taught and assessed in English, and saw how hardworking and lovely the students were.
It was very upsetting to say goodbye to our lovely kindergarten class, we received handmade goodbye presents from them.
Later on, we took local transport into the town, it was amazing to see the culture here as we travelled through the streets. Again, many people were astonished to see the Lankas walking through their town.
Saturday morning arrived, and we got up early for some morning yoga. We were soon joined by a family of monkeys who kept us company during the session. After many attempts, Hannah failed to entice the monkeys further with a trail of bread. We were also joined by more wildlife, despite Buddhi reassuring us the bee was not harmful, after hitting it with a broom it became obvious it was not just a bumblebee. In the afternoon we visited a local wood carver and witnessed a piece of wood transform into an elephant which we are bringing home to school.
Saturday evening was amazing! It began with us dressing in traditional Sri Lankan wear, we then began our walk to the temple, along with the school children and teachers. Along the way, we could hear the call for prayer, we were greeted by local families and oil lamps. A special service then took place, for many of us, it was the highlight of our trip.
We got up early on Sunday morning, and made our way to a beach resort, where we have spent the last two days sleeping under the stars, relaxing on the beach and dipping into sea water streams.
Monday was another early start, waking up in the dark to go on Safari! We travelled in a traditional Jeep and were extremely lucky as we saw lots of amazing wildlife and animals, including four elephants, two sloth bears, many wild boars, crocodiles, deer and birds.
After our final emotional night under the stars, we prepared to come home, as we write this our suitcases are packed and we will soon make our journey to the airport, visiting areas in Sri Lanka along the way.
We are very upset to be leaving and will miss the children and the wonderful people here at Jonoda foundations; however we cannot wait to see you all! We’re missing you so much!
(Apologies for lack of banter, we had ten minutes)
Can’t wait to see you,
Love,
Jenny, Laura, Hannah, Kate, Katie and Ellie
