Friday marked the end of my wonderful five week placement in
Sri Lanka. I left my last project with an overwhelming mix of feelings; sadness
at leaving such amazing kids behind, pride at what I have achieved, relief that
I would finally get a rest and excitement at my adventures to come. What I have
found hardest these past few days is the knowledge that things will never be
the same again. The evenings spent with roommates chasing bugs out of the room,
the stressful Monday morning project planning, the journeys on crowded buses to
get to projects, the weekends spent admiring breath-taking views and the meals
shared with people from all over the world. Even if we managed to all meet-up
and be together again, nothing will actually be the same. And nobody will
understand what we all went through, not really, not unless they were there. They
may understand what it’s like to cope with the suffocating humidity and heat,
with very questionable fashion choices made with only practicality and decency
in mind. Maybe they would understand the beauty witnessed every time the sun
set in the sky. They may even understand the frustration felt after an
unsuccessful project, a mixture of deflation that hard work had not paid off
with determination to do better next time. But they will never understand what
it was like to be there at that moment in time with that particular group of
people. I hope my memory can do these experiences justice. I hope in the future
I can recall how I felt sat on a beach seeing Mars in the sky for the very
first time. Or how beautiful an Asian elephant is when it’s only 5 feet away. I
hope I remember every time a kid smiled at me, reassuring me that the work I
was doing was worthwhile. Most of all, I hope I always remember how free I felt
when I danced. Whether it was at a bar with my friends or at a project with
people who don’t speak my language. I never want to forget that feeling.
Over the past five weeks, Sri Lanka has completely captured
my heart. I have witnessed beauty that I didn’t even know existed in the world,
and I am totally smitten. So here are seven reasons that I am in love with Sri
Lanka.
7. The views
Before I came to Sri Lanka, I had never heard about the
views that I would witness. As an island nation, it boasts the most beautiful
beaches I have ever seen. With pure white sand, and the clearest of waters, the
beaches look like your typical tropical island that I honestly believed only
existed in pictures. The sunset over the sea is truly spectacular with the sun so
big in the sky, reflecting its light over the ocean and creating temporary, yet
extraordinary views. Views over the mountains left me completely speechless;
with greenery extended as far as the eye could see. Every day in Sri Lanka I
saw something beautiful.
6. Being barefoot
I have always hated wearing shoes. I remember being told off
by my dad as a child for always going into the garden or across the road to
neighbours houses without shoes on. I take my shoes off at work back home, and
walk around in my socks or in slippers. Shoes just feel too restrictive to me.
I have spent the majority of my time barefoot here, whether it was on a beach,
at a project, or even walking through the street to a temple. I love the feel
of the ground beneath my feet, it feels so natural to me.
5. The food
Rice and curry will never be as good as it is in Sri Lanka.
The mixture of spices and flavours are perfectly moulded together into a plate
of deliciousness that you scoop up with your hands and into your mouth. Most
curries I have eaten have been vegetable based, often with vegetables I have
never heard of. At my homestay, I always looked forward to dinner, to see what
was in store for us that night. Everything is so full of flavour. My tolerance
for spicy food has gone through the roof, to the point that today I sat and
sweated whilst eating my lunch from the spice, and the burning around my lips
afterwards serving as a reminder of the amazing food I had just consumed.
Coconuts are found everywhere, and are served whole, with the top cut off and a
straw placed inside to allow you to soak up the wonderfully refreshing water
within. Rotti and paratas have been my favourite lunchtime foods, a mixture of
dough and spiced vegetables serving as a perfect recharge in the middle of the
day. The bananas are exceptionally sweet, rambutan are available to buy at any
roadside, and pineapples were served up having just been picked from outside the
house. The array of colours and vibrant flavours in all the food is something
that I have enjoyed thoroughly, and will miss dearly.
4. The wildlife
On a walk home from projects one day I was followed home by
around ten monkeys, all running along telephone wires and throwing themselves
from tree to tree. Whilst mildly terrifying, it was also rather wonderful. Dogs
and cats are everywhere, and I have had the privilege to cuddle a few adorable
puppies with their owners blessing. Chipmunks scurry around just like squirrels
do back home, but are cheekier and smaller. The dragonflies and butterflies
that inhabit the air around you are the most colourful I’ve ever seen, a
mixture of bright blues and greens swirled into stunning patterns. The
fireflies come out at night, looking like Christmas lights dancing around
providing light in the darkness. Cows roam the streets, often walking down the
middle of the road with the traffic barely noticing the minor detour it has to
take around the animals. Wild elephants can be spotted at night, if you are in the
right place at the right time. Geckos frequently visit bedrooms at night,
climbing up walls and hurrying out of sight. The wildlife has made this trip
truly special, and has constantly amazed me.
3. Positivity
I would consider myself a fairly positive person; I prefer to
see the good in a situation than the bad, and believe the best in people. Sri
Lankans are the most positive people I have met. So many times I have had one
say to me “why are you worried?” with an explanation that worrying won’t
actually help or change anything. They are the friendliest bunch of people,
always saying hello when passing you on the street, and holding your bag on the
bus when it’s too busy for you to sit down. Everyone helps everyone out. I have
witnessed such kindness in people every single day, which is refreshing to see.
The positive atmosphere rubs off on you, making you feel much more chilled out
and relaxed. Sri Lankan Time is a side effect of this laid back attitude. Any
time you are given to meet somewhere, add fifteen minutes and it will be the
actual time you will be met. I took this all in my stride. Children everywhere
would say hello and smile at me wherever I went. At the end of a teaching
project, the students would shake your hand and say “thank you, teacher”. Other
people would ask where you were going and help you to get there. You could turn
up at a bus station with no idea how to get to your destination, simply say the
name of it and it would be worked out for you and the correct bus or buses
pointed out. It’s so different from the usual head down and walk through Birmingham
city ignoring everyone. I really will miss it.
2. Simplicity
The lack of internet, television and computers has forced a simpler
lifestyle upon me. The hours spent watching Netflix have turned into hours
available for reading. I have finished 8 books in 5 weeks. I don’t think I have
read 8 books in the last year. I have missed the joy of losing myself in a good
book, of immersing myself completely in another world hungrily seeking answers
to questions brought up and being thrilled at every plot twist and turn. Other
free time has been spent in the company of people from all over the world,
sharing stories from our lives and laughing until our bellies hurt. The lack of
hot water hasn’t bothered me. Sharing one bathroom between four people was
surprisingly easy. I found that the simplicity of living helped me to feel less
stressed, moulding me into a far more chilled out person.
1. The people
People can make or break a trip like this, and I have been
so lucky to work and live with some of the best. For most of my trip my
roommates consisted of an Italian, an American, a Glaswegian and myself (sounds
like the start of a bad joke, I know). We found common ground in our love of
computer games and science fiction and in my three roommates’ fear of spiders, cockroaches
and other bugs that I found myself ridding our bedroom of most nights, whilst
they stood by squealing. The four of us became rather proficient at catching
and squishing mosquitos (sadly, usually after they had sucked the blood out of
one of us), and bonded over shared Nutella at breakfast time. Nobody blinked an
eyelid when walking into a room to find roommates in various stages of undress
due to the stifling heat. Nobody spoke to each other first thing in the
morning, with a mutual understanding that doing so could result in losing a
limb. We talked and cheered each other up after bad days. Insults and banter
flowed freely, as if we had all known each other for years rather than weeks.
But when you’re thrown into a situation where you both live and work with
people, friendships that would usually take months to build up are created in a
day. Choruses of “it’s too hot” became part of the bonding experience. When
someone was ill, they were looked after. It was like we formed our own little
family, one in which I looked forward to coming home to every evening. Emma,
Aishani and Alice, if you are reading this, thank you for being the best
roommates I could have hoped for. I will treasure every memory forever, and
consider myself lucky to have had the privilege of getting to know you all.
The six other people on my intake became another great
circle of friends. I remember the first time I met everyone, in the minibus on
the way to orientation. Jen had arrived in the early hours of the morning, and
was excessively hyper due to sleep deprivation. Brandon turned up an hour or so
into orientation having only just landed in the country. Chris was suffering
from sickness, and I think the rest of us were rather out of it due to jetlag.
Yet here we were, all sat around a table with no idea what the next five weeks
were going to hold. We clicked instantly. Jungle weekend helped to consolidate
our friendships over too much alcohol, games of never have I ever and dancing
in the rain. Over the weeks we worked together at various projects and spent
weekends exploring Sri Lanka with other volunteers. We witnessed beauty so pure
it made us cry. We experienced frustrating long, hot and crowded bus journeys
together. We had rough days together. We supported each other and built each
other up. I think we made a damn good team, and I am so proud of every single
person. So a shout out to Jen, Hannah, Fliss, Karen, Chris and Brandon, my
Horana/Bandaragama 30th May intake
crew. I think we did pretty good. I wish for good things for all of you, and
hope the future brings what you desire.
To anybody I met whilst in Sri Lanka, thank you for being
awesome. Whether we stay in touch and see each other when possible, or whether
life takes us in separate directions, I will always treasure the memories we
shared. The good and the bad. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
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