We left school the morning of January 24th for Week Without Walls, our destination Hambantota! We first stopped for snacks, then later on for lunch. After this we stopped at the Hambantota Harbor where we enjoyed a steady breeze and a view of the work that is being done collaboratively between the Chinese and the Sinhalese (85% Chinese to 15% Sinhalese). This harbor is projected to be complete by 2020. We then drove to where we would be staying for the next week, Hambantota Peacock Hotel. We were given some time to relax and settle in and then we all got together for a meeting to discuss what we hoped to get out of the following day and our plans for work at the kindergarten schools. After this we had dinner and then we got together once again to go over/rehearse the performances we would do for the concert at the kindergarten on Thursday.
Day 2- Kindergarten School
On Tuesday morning, 11.1 and 11.2 went to the two kindergarten schools to start the much-needed work. To start things off though, we introduced ourselves and then we played some games with the kids. Then we started really working, some of us on maintenance, some on murals and others playing with the children. By the end of the day we were quite happy with the results: freshly painted walls in bright colours for the inside of the school, a large nearly completed mural and a small mural at the front of the school, with much of the playground painted as well.
Day 3- Kindergarten School
On Wednesday morning we once again left for the schools. Once arrived we distributed colouring books and pencils to all the children and spent some time colouring with them. After this we got straight to work completing the finishing touches on the murals, the playground equipment and the various pillars that needed to be re-painted around the school. We even found time to paint another small mural with the help of Mr. Lockwood.
With our work done we got to enjoy a concert put on by children who had previously graduated from the kindergarten. They had obviously put quite a bit of effort into their performance with beautiful and imaginative costumes and well prepared dances. Then it was our turn to put on a little concert for them consisting of: a Sinhalese children’s song, a song by Camie and I with Skylar on guitar, a song sung by Camie (and the grade during the chorus) with Bharat on guitar, a song played together by Skylar and Bharat, and of course not to be forgotten ''Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes''. Overall a fun and productive two days where we worked collaboratively with others and got things done.
Today we woke up very very early and went to Yala National Park. We split up into groups of 6 per jeep and set out on our search for wildlife (hopefully leopards included). The following is a list of the wildlife we saw:
- Peacocks
- Elephants
- Monetor lizards
- A variety of birds
- A Jackal (eating a deer)
- Buffalos
- Crocodiles
- Deer
- Monkeys
- AND LEOPARDS! (:
