LAST BLOG FROM SRI LANKA

emer and i at mihiripenna

this is going to be my last blog from sri lanka....ahhh!!! I will be back on the 19th of august but leave unawatuna (our house, the schools, our friends..) this sunday the 7th. im so excited to see all my family and friends, drink real milk, feel cold and have to wrap up warm...the list continues. However leaving here is going to be very sad, Sri Lanka in a sense has become my second home - being able to spend a whole year in a country that was conpletely new to me has been one of - if not the - best experience of my life (as cheesey as it may seem). I am so glad that Sri Lanka is the country i have come to and that it was for a whole year - i can't think of any other country i would rather be in. I have learnt so much for being here and will miss it very much - i just keep telling myself, i have to think of the good times i have had and to make the most of more to come. Currently i am feeling the mixed emotions of the sadness to leave here and being excited to come home. What i will miss from Sri Lanka is mainly the people - as a general note the people in sri lanka are the most friendly, kind, welcoming, smiley, energetic people i have ever met (and of course the other 5 volunteers i am with, who have all been amazing - but we will be all on the same piece of land when we get back)- there are some sri lankans in particular but i wont go into detail - we have to do a final communtiy study, and as it is the people that have made my year here, that is what i am focusing on and have taken many photos of peoples hands...odd but kind of fun! I will however miss the rice and curry (infact all sri lankan food including the fruit which is incredible), the beauty of the natural environment, fire flies, being able to swim in the sea when you are far to hot (unlike the cold sea of scotland - which i do also love but i guess in a different refreshing way...), the adorably cute kids at school (guess that comes under people), the buses, living with emer (also under people - but she needed a special mention)...i will leave it there...there is loads i will miss from this place but i hope it has just set me up for more to come and i defintely feel i have got a lot out of it. I am looking forward to being home and can't wait to see all my family and friends!!!



So as we are leaving unawatuna on sunday this week is fairly busy - today we went to sgv and had a leaving concert for the headmaster, very long and didn't understand the sinhala but nice dancing. Tomorrow we are also going to sgv but this time we are holding an english concert as a final goodbye to sgv school - each year group is singing an english song we have taught, along with some dances and other songs (some from the 6 of us volunteers too...). Then wednesday luckily we have nothing going on (unless we go to the cinema in galle just to see what its like...), so have found sometime where we can pack and tidy our very messy house...oops. Hopefully sometime tomorrow and wednesday we will find time to get some presents for friends here. Tuesday will be our last day in sgv!!! Then on Thursday we are going to Mihiripenna school (last day of term) for our last day there also, they have very kindly organised a concert to say bye to us and some other teachers who are leaving that school. Both schools will be very much missed. Friday - Tris and Finn are holding an inter-school cricket tournament which all sounds very fun and excited and we will spend that evening with jo and alan as it is alans birthday and our second last night here. Saturday we are going to our friends (and our dance teacher), indkias house for tea/breakfast in the morning and hope to spend the afternoon with friends in unawatuna - mainly the amazing highland family! Sunday we head to colombo to drop of most of our stuff and continue on with less stuff to Kandy to watch the perraherra (big famour parade - lots of elephants) and some sri lanka vs australia cricket. From there we hope to go to Jaffna in the very north for an adventure and then head back to colombo for our flight home!!!



I also haven't written in here for a while (again...sorry all!) so lots has been going on as everything has been happening so fast and so much. Not actually sure where to start...

well i actually wrote the bit above yesterday and have now started again...

so ye i might do this roughly and spent time on photos...if they work...

well it has been emers 20th birthday!!! wooo!!! had a lovely day - sri lankans on there birthdays are the ones giving out thing instead of reseving so emer, the sri lankan she now is went (i joined also) round both the schools we teach in and everyone we know in unawtuna giving out a piece of cake to celebrate here birthday with her! everyone loved it!! we also went to highland families house for lunch - which was yummy as always - being welcomed with popped balloons full of gliter and then watching the film rio - great cartoony film about birds, loved it! that evening

emer on her birthday in our kitchen

emer, ishara, nilanthi and yokshita on emers birthday - great hat!!

As well as celebrating emers birthday we have been holding parties for all our classes in both schools - eating lots of cake and playing lots of games!! it has been great but very sad to say bye. today was our very last day in sgv and we had a concert (as said before), it was a great sucess, we had lots of fun and think the kids enjoyed it too - also however extremely sad leaving there for the very last time - i hope i can go back some day in the future. our last day in mihiripenna is on thursday.

alan and grade 7s singing run rabbit at the sgv concert yesterday

emer and grade 9a playing fruit salad

me and grade 3s at our little party

emer and i playing games with mihiripenna grade 4 girls - one of the grade 4 boys had our cameras and took some great photos!

We have also been on a book ship...went to the spice man in galles house for lunch - adorbable family - so kind and very yummy spicey food!!! as well as going to there house we have been to our friends in unawatunas house - they are an older couple who own the bread shop near the bus stand in unawatuna - such sweet people have become very close with them these last 3 months, it was great to go to there house also. We (emer and i - usually when i say we i mean us anyway) have been to a jungle swimming pool with jo, alan, josie (jo and alans friend) and the boys - its basically a swimming pool build in the middle of the jungle - stone floor and fed by a river - so refreshing, along with an amazing picnic jo had made! Emer alan and i have been to a dance competition with grades 5 and 7s at sgv - grade 5s came 2nd and grade 7s won there section - was held on an outside theatre, really pretty. Jo, Alan, Emer and i have been to a wedding along at mihiripenna - mr wirrisi from sgv, his sisters sister was getting married and some how we were also invited along - distant reletionship but very nice all the same to see how a sri lankan wedding ceremony takes place. We have also been to a beach festival and i think thats about our last few weeks rouned up fairly roughly but all there. Teaching has basically just been making the most of our last wee while, playing lots of games, having lots of fun, throwing parties and concerts...one more to come. All very fun but sad at the same time.

spice man - shanta - with his grinding machine in his house

on the book ship...

bus stand bread shop family - left to right - sunil, there niece, mallika, millika and sunils son and then mallikas sister.

tris and finn at the yummy picnic

all of us at the jungle pool

Well i will leave it there for now. Hope everyone has enjoyed reading these blogs even if they are very random and uninteresting they will be a good memory to me - sorry i havent been better at writing them more often. Thanks again to everyone who helped me to get here and who have made my time here so special!

Hope everyone is great at home and im so excited to see you all. Just going to make the most of the last 2 and a bit weeks here then i will see you in no time.

see you at home!!!

kirstin xxx


Emer- hey everyone, so here we are at the final stage of our trip in Sri Lanka. time absolutely flys by and its at the stage im packing up my rucksack. Im sooo looking forward to seeing everyone at home again but saying goodbye to this country which i have grown to love is almost heart breaking. I know I'll come back again one day so I'll remember the palm trees, spicy foods and people to keep me occupied in drizzly U.K before i return again. Sri Lanka i love you and Ireland...? Get the kettle on......xx

p.s Kirsts gran? she likes tea now....you can thank me later.

kirstin again - i don't really like tea (im in denial...), tastes like brown water... also gran i hope you had a great birthday!!! Emer has been great even with tea forced upon me... see you all you soon! xxx