Week 6 - A Week of Learning

This last week, marking my 6th full week here in Sri Lanka has been a week of new experiences and opportunities to learn new things to help me lead a successful year of life here.

From learning how to wear a Sari to handwashing clothes, this week has been full of something new each and every day.

With this week marking the end of school before Christmas (yep, they get a MONTH off for this festive time!), this last week at school became an opportunity for the children to practice, rehearse and get VERY excited for their Christmas program. Not only was it a new experience for me, but for some of the children it would also be their first experience being part of a Christmas Program. This was the first time in three years they put on a function like this, and I feel very lucky to have been a part of such a wonderful event. Some of the children in my class told me in great depth how excited their families were to be attending an event where they would be performing, with distant relatives coming to watch all the festive fun!

I thought the rehearsal for the Christmas program lasted long enough, however, the three hours of rehearsal time had nothing on the real-life event on the day. You’ll have to keep reading to know just how long it lasted…

As school was drawing to a close this week, and with the students’ wandering minds, as teachers we decided to let them have a few days’ rest and relaxation. We hung in the classroom, played many card games (hiding them each time the principle walked past!), and exchanged fun stories about our different Christmas experiences. It’s amazing how much the kids here love Christmas, but their traditions are nothing like those in the UK. Perhaps I will learn and experience new traditions over the coming few weeks and bring them back with me – or maybe not.

The first of many things I learned were gained in the early part of the week; various card games, the traumatic stories of some of my students and most of all: loving these kids. It dawned on me on Wednesday just how much I have come to love the kids in my class; if you had asked me before I set foot in the school how I think I would feel at this point; this certainly wouldn’t have been my answer.

Listening ears are something I feel have developed since I arrived here in Sri Lanka. I have grown to love listening to stories which so often are the harsh realities many people here have experienced and faced in their lives. Aged between 5 and 23, some of the people I have had the privilege to get to know so well, have faced things I know in my life I will never need to fear happening to me. My understanding of the world is developing, and my ability to just have listening ears, without speaking is becoming a trait I am pleased to have.

My experience from the Christmas Program will definitely not be something I will forget in a hurry. Myself and my housemate who works at the school woke early, despite the event not starting until 2pm, and rushed to a friend’s house to get ready. I thought girls in the UK take long enough to get ready, especially with my experiences from university, knowing the best part of the night out is spending time with friends, picking what to wear and most of all, the pre-going out. Ironic.

Here, we spent over 5 hours getting ready, and goodness, did the time go too quick! I was the last person who was dressed in the Sari, due to my lack of experience, they thought it wise to keep my tight breathing time to a minimum. The other thing they didn’t mention until I was about to step into the Sari was that once I was in, I wasn’t coming out – this included for toilet usage or any other needs. In hindsight, I definitely am thankful I was in the Sari for the minimum time possible.

Who knew wearing a Sari could be so complicated? – I attempted to learn, or at least remember how to wrap myself up in this 6.5m cloth, fastened together with nearly 15 safety pins and so tight I thought I would only be breathing shallow for the rest of my life. I was so pleased to have been able to experience wearing a Sari, and I felt so comfortable in it once I got used to the style and shaping. If I could, I might even try and wear one every day – after all, this is the school teacher attire.

If I could put into words how exciting the event was, I truly would, but I think my poor efforts of communication cannot do it justice. The children were so excited, all dressed in their fabulous attire, with some costing over 3,500r/s (only £17.50) which is highly expensive here in Sri Lanka, make up done to perfection and with dancing and dramas eligible for awards. I was bursting with pride when Shalom class performed. The audience went crazy for them, either because they knew they were the last to be on stage, or simply because their effort in the performance was outstanding. I definitely let out a little tear when they danced, mainly because I have seen the pain and frustration from each and every student during practices, and they finally pulled it off, without a single mistake.

After all classes had performed, and the guests of honour (x6) had left, the Nativity Scene was re-created, with the school choir singing the classic Christmas Nativity songs, Angel, Dayane and I all went on stage and welcomed Santa. With screaming children, all excited with the prospect of receiving a gift, we then read out each child’s name at the school (250 students), and Santa gave them a label bag, made specifically for them. Whilst they contained school equipment, stickers and hair ties, for me, there was something special about them being named, and invited on stage to receive the gift – it was a blessing, made possible by churches around the world that support Paalam, to each individual. An act of love.

So here it is, on the day of the Christmas Program, I learned how to sit successfully through a 6.5 hours event, and tried to enjoy it!

The weekend to me felt like a bit of a wash out for me, I learned patience, and how to just ‘roll with it’, the life motto I feel is fitting for Sri Lanka. I had thought about heading into Colombo to finish seeing the sights, but the plans in the end just did not work out. We were waiting for friends to let us know they were ready to join us, but only contacted us late afternoon – far too late to enjoy the sights, smells and scenery of Colombo. Instead, we spent Saturday helping out at the church, sitting and eating with new friends and relaxing. To begin with, I was highly frustrated at the situation, however from what I perceived to be a bad, actually came good: friendship. We also managed to quickly pop to the beach too.

Tamil was another new skill I feel I am beginning to pick up. Playing with a 2-year-old on Sunday after church definitely helped me to begin picking up useful phrases and words, such as ‘tea’ (a staple in any Sri Lankan’s vocabulary), ‘food’, ‘play’, ‘book’ etc. Whilst I am not sure how often I will need to use them, it is good to begin to put them in my bank of language and build upon them as my journey here continues.

I cannot believe that whilst I am here in Sri Lanka, the UK was hit with snow. This really made me realise just how far away from home I am - our weathers are poles apart!

I guess my final learning this week was that my parents are coming to visit me. YAY! I can’t wait to explore Sri Lanka and show them Jaffna, all I have been up to & what is to come, share with them some stories and I hope they too will fall in love with this amazing country and people. There’s only a couple of months until they will be here, so I best get cracking with planning the adventure!