Day 20 - Sri Lankan Independence Day

February 3rd marks arguably the most important day in the Sri Lankan Calendar. Today is celebrated as the day of remembering Sri Lanka’s history of Independence, and the nation’s schools all take part in commemorating this special day for the country.

The assembly today began at 7am – a bit too early for my liking, but it was worth the hasty start to see the children get fully involved in a huge production to mark this historical day. All of the children sang the National Anthem this morning as the flag was raised, including some of the very tiny children who looked a bit overwhelmed by the occasion, and then the older years put on a drama and narrative to go through the history of this amazing country.

I spent this morning with an older class of the school, aged 16 – 17. These teenagers are just like those in the UK, who enjoy the same conversations, have the same interests but are so thankful for the education they are receiving. It’s refreshing for someone like me, to be exposed to this type of thankfulness, which is more often than not under-appreciated by children who have always had the opportunity to learn.

At break time I headed back to Karen and Jenny’s house for tea (or coffee in my case!), which ended in me spending the afternoon with Karen on a hunt for her Jeep. A journey that should have only taken 1 hour, including a tour of Colombo took over 3 and a half hours. It was a great opportunity though to spend this time with Karen and really get a deeper insight into her love and passion for this nation and people. Her heart is so big, and God is using her is such amazing ways to bless not only the poorest in this country, but also everyone else she comes into contact with. Her interactions with locals are amazing, and people walk away from her changed.

We finally picked up the jeep after being in a tuk-tuk for that lengthy period. Sweaty and hot is the understatement of the century to describe us both, but the wave of air conditioning that hit us as we walked into the garage waiting room was bliss.

After this interesting trip we headed back to the house (via Burger King of course), and I headed to the local beach with Dayane and Christina. It was great to have a relaxed last night with these guys. The plan was that myself and Tharshini would grab some dinner together as my treat, however she was feeling under the weather and we had to cancel this. Next trip I will for sure treat her!

I’m now sat at the airport, reflecting on this last day and my trip overall. It’s been such a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to share with you all my next steps and everything that is to come. All I can think about sat here is how much this country has changed me, and wondering what my life path may have taken if I hadn’t have had these two amazing trips.

My flight is at 3:50am, and so it’s now a case of waiting around so I can hop back home. The cold awaits, and I’m not looking forward to it!