DAY 7

Today started with a nice lie in as we headed off to the school at 9.30am rather than the usual time of 7.00am! We all jumped on the bus ready to go and see the familiar faces of the previous days. Although today was very different from the last two days. There was a special sports event that the school had set up using the Ocean Stars fundraising money. The sports event catered for children over 10 different schools, some of whom had traveled more than an hour to be at the event.

As we emerged from the coach we were greeted by the local media who where eager to capture such a rare and special day for Batticaloa. Behind them, beginning to form was a mini parade of students. Many were dressed in national clothing but some were ready with their immaculate sports uniform on. We were then presented with yet another bunch of flower necklaces. The members from our team who were participating, Ryan, Jacob ,Imogen, Fiona, Sameena, Amy, Peter and Jack, were encouraged to the front of the parade and the festivities began as we were led towards our seats with the whole school parading behind us. Even though this has been one of  the many warm welcomes we have had since being in Sri Lanka, it still amazed us how much effort the students and staff put into making us feel welcome.

We then stood for the national anthem of Sri Lanka (which we all hum in our heads) and we began to eye up the competition which happened to by 8-11 year olds!

Mr Taylor led a warm up to "Gangam Style" which all of the participants enjoyed even the head masters!
Then it was time to start the games. Once again we were astonished by the way the students transformed their playground into a sports day pitch. The sports day events weren't ones that we were used to - with sports such as "over the head ball throw" and "Jumping in 4 hoops in 30 seconds challenge". However we began to realise that we were in the position of 1st place. As we were feeling very guilty and bad, about the thought of beating all these children, we came up with an action plan to do badly so we could lose. This included Sameena pretending to trip up, Imogen cruising around the courses and Amy just jumping on the sport for long jump.

Meanwhile the rest of the team were dancing on the side lines with all the children as they waited for their turn to compete. The atmosphere was incredible as celebration music blasted out of the speakers. Niamh, Ria and Lucy also decided to take up the job of being group photographers and filmers.

It was then time for a break, which proved to be very successful as they fed us with the Sri Lankan version of super noodle (which we all  LOVED!). We then took as rest as Peter, Jack and Ryan ran in the overall 2 minutes endurance race. This involved running round a track collecting a sweet for each lap you complete. The team with the most sweets won. Being gentlemen the boys let all the children go before them so unfortunately we didn't win the event. It then came to the end of the event which we were all sad to see.We then sat for a presentation assembly sitting with our new found sport friends. The overall winners of the day weren't 'Kal Pak' school, this was our new name, but we did get participation certificates and trophies.

After lunch in the science rooms and a quick change we then went back to the school for a talent show; to which we all performed, 'He's got the whole world in his hands','our national anthem' and 'gangnam style'. Others performed solos, Ryan, Jake and Felix sang 'In the Jungle' and Sameena, Imogen and Fiona sang 'Wake Me Up'. Both performed amazingly! Emotional speeches and even more emotional goodbyes took place.We had met such amazing people with kind hearts and a great appreciation for what we were doing for them, it was hard to say goodbye, but we will never forget them and hope they feel the same.

We had dinner, again, in the science lab and then returned to the hotel, shortly followed by a very deep and thoughtful meeting. Our feelings were running high and the tears were flowing in streams as we reminisced about the days we had and the people we had met. Now is time for bed as we are going to get up early tomorrow and drive to Colombo!

Picture Catch Up

As we have had a very busy last few days it has been hard to upload pictures and videos, so here is a catch up.

DAY 5

Our welcome to the school with a formal assembley from the whole school.

The PE group with their excited students

Ria and Amy playing

Site seeing in Battcola

Mr T helping out with a warm up.

 DAY 6

Bombay Mix shopping spree.

It wasn't only the children who were xcited to see us!

The Football team were handed their kit from Fleet Spurs by Niamh

Classroom full of happy children

Improvising a game "in and out"

Team GB or Team Sri Lanka?

Swarmed by children.

Ryan posing by the shore

Girls excited to see a beach.

The Boys excited to see the beach

The effects of the Tsunami hit us hard.

Playgroup pre lesson mediation and praying.

Did we mention we had a party tonight?

Ocean Stars 2013

DAY 6

After an interesting night of near death experiences (big prank played on Jake), we had an early start with our second day of teaching. After breakfast, bread, sausages and bananas, the group was split into the pre-school and secondary school group.

Pre-School:

The students who were in the pre-school group were Peter, James, Jack, Fiona, Sameena, Lavin and Amy. The theme was ‘The Gruffalo’ so we took masks, balloons and a copy of the book. Peter and James were lucky enough to travel in a tuk tuk (which was amazing) and the rest took a mini bus. We were greeted with happy waving children who couldn’t believe we were there. We played games, sang songs and gave gifts to the children. The group thoroughly enjoyed this once in a lifetime experience.

Secondary School:

The students who continued working at the secondary school were Maddy, Ria, Lucy, Imogen, Niamh, Felix, Jake and Ryan. During the children’s assembly we sang ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’ and our national anthem. The children rushed to class and we all stuck in with the lessons. Though they were the same as yesterday, we were met with plenty of new challenges. The school’s football team was presented with football kits donated by Fleet Spurs and the whole team was thrilled! Once again, we were swarmed with children, shaking hands and giving them high fives. It was great to see the children again and to know that some remembered us. Many of us have now got the Sri Lankan national anthem in our heads as we have asked to hear it so many times!

We spent a short time shopping in Batticoloa town which included the girls looking at saris and the boys standing outside! It was good to experience the atmosphere of a Sri Lankan town and all of the shop. Imogen an Niamh stocked up on packets of Bombay mix!

For dinner we visited families who take part in the project to help the D and D community and the sponsored families in Batticoloa. We were introduced to some of the girls that are learning English and found out about their hobbies and schools. Some had a conversation which included Harry Potter and Rpbert Pattinson. We were surprised to see how much we have in common with some of them. We played games, sang songs and were served dinner. We gave the children toys and were privileged to see the joy on their faces. All our moods were lightened when the presidents and leaders of each community were so happy to see us. We were told many times about how important this was to them but we never really understood how much it really affected us.

Tomorrow is the secondary school’s sports day which means no lessons and a lie in! Some of us are taking part in some of the athletics which is nerve-racking as they are not used to the heat. We are all now resting for a busy day that awaits tomorrow.

Interview with Mrs Angel

What did you do today at the school?

I taught four one hour lessons to different students across different age ranges.  The theme of the lesson was London and I did a range of activities depending on the year group.  With the older students, I taught them some words in English and we played a matching game then bingo with some of the words we had learnt.  All groups made a friendship chain out of strips of paper.  With the younger students, I did a song and a numbers game which they enjoyed.

Was it how you expected?

Yes, it was pretty much how I expected it to be.  The students were very excited and rushing into the classrooms and were all very keen to come and introduce themselves.  It is very basic in the school and it must be challenging for the teachers to teach without s lot of resources.  Teaching in the heat and humidity is a real challenge as well!

Give me a difference between this school and Calthorpe:

The size of the school is a lot smaller and the fact that they have assembly every morning and students are required to take ownership of their assembly.  The students are all very well-presented and have neat uniforms which considering they have a lot less money in the UK is quite shocking when looking at some of our UK students!

Were there any funny moments?

I think seeing the students running into the classroom while the other students were still in the previous lesson was quite funny and the way they came into the classroom, all very excited and wanting to shake my hand and babbling on in Tamil even though I couldn’t understand a word!

What are you going to differently tomorrow, if anything?

I will do more activities with the younger students as they concentration levels are lower and do more songs with actions which they enjoy.  Some of the younger students sang some songs in English at the end of the lesson which was nice.

Interview with Mr Taylor

What did you do today at the school?

I oversaw the Calthorpe students do their athletics rotation exercise mixed with lots of ‘fun and games’ in preparation for the inter school athletics extravaganza which is taking place on Thursday. We finished off with a big cricket match involving staff and students from Calthorpe and P.I assumed the role of umpire.

Was it how you expected?

Pretty much actually, but in a nice way. I was expecting positivity. I got positivity and I like think I left some positivity. There clearly are fininacial difficulties at this school but they seem to cope and manage to cater for their students.

Give me a difference between this school and Calthorpe:

Just 1? The size 200 to 1200 and age range, between 5 and 15. It’s impossible to plan lessons for all these ages. It requires a lot of flexibility.

Were there any funny moments?

Let’s see…The random turning up of students out of the blue ranging from 5 to 25 at the same time. They wanted to join the ‘festival of sport’ going on outside. My umpiring was also quite funny.

What are you going to differently tomorrow, if anything?

Maybe introduce a few more ball games for the older generation but continue with the athletics with the younger ones. 

Day 5

We woke up early this morning after having a great nights sleep in our new hotel, Bridge View, and started our day with a great sausage and egg breakfast before leaving for the school. We were greeted by an excellent assembly with singing and talks from the Sri Lankan children which we couldn’t really understand because it was in Tamil, the local language! After the assembly, we went to our classrooms, led by the local teachers. Soon after students began filing in and the day began.

For the activities our groups did various activities from Athletics and mini Olympics to colouring and paper planes. At first we were nervous because of the language barrier and the amount of effort that we put in over the past few months to get to this stage, but after the first few minutes it became easier and all the children loved the all activities. At some points groups had to improvise for example one group had to accommodate for the older children by changing colouring to paper planes.

At the break after two, one hour lessons we were provided with refreshments and great opportunity to socialize with the local children; who started to try and teach us more basic Tamil such as numbers and the alphabet, after break we continued with our final two lessons which proved to be particularly enjoyable now that we had planned out the best way to run our lessons. After completing our last lessons we proceeded to watch a cricket between Mr. Taylor and the local children. Finally we were provided with a lunch at the school before leaving. Overall our first day at the school had been amazing.

Once we had said our goodbye’s to the kids we headed back to the hotel to rest before going on a tour around Batticaloa. Firstly our tour guide took us to the local ford where we had glimpses of jellyfish before heading to the Dutch Fort 

DAY 4

 DAY FOUR

Today we woke up to have breakfast (there was hash-browns!) After saying goodbye to all the lovely staff, and the very helpful security, we then set off on our travels to Batticaloa. Straight away it became a party bus that no-one expected, the singing was at top standards; even from Miss Angel. It was only an hour or two till we could see the affects of the tsunami, Compared to the beautiful scenery in Kandy and other places we had stayed. After another hour or the party bus music and singing (especially some great notes hit from Ryan and Jacob) We stopped off at a absolutely beautiful beach with stunning scenery all around. Water clearer than anyone had ever seen before. After seeing the beautiful tropical island beach , we used the local hotels toilets, not what were used too as it was only holes in the ground. 

We were then presented with a typical Sri Lankan packed lunch (very spicy). Not even hard man Mr T could handle the spice. Finally we arrived in Batticaloa, and it was lovely too see some familiar faces of the Ocean Stars team staying in Hotel Bridge View with us. We were then refreshed with a soft drink of coke which Dilanee payed for. 

After settling into our rooms we began to realize how the star rating of the hotels have gone down but  our high hopes haven't. It was a turning point for us all seeing the very devastating parts of Sri Lanka , which were effected by the tsnami but at the same time we found it amazing at how the towns have recovered and how the peoples smiles have not been washed away.

We had time to get ready and put our ocean stars t shirts on and we were ready to meet the whole team.We were blown away by the mass of people coming together for this cause.We then had the chance to meet and spend time with the students from the secondary school. We had a great time conversing with them and learning things about them and Sameena meet a student with the same name as her mum! A group of us learned to play a Sri Lanka playground game (which involed alot of friendly slapping!)

We had tea and cake and sorted through our lesson resources. Then it was time to say goodbye and we are looking forward to spending more time with them tomorrow! We are now preparing for a evening meal and a early nights sleep!

Day 3

Day 3 -

Today we were greeted by an arch of around fifty 10-16 year olds handing us flowers as we walked past. The other students lined up to sing their national anthem. We played two matches of cricket one against the Sri Lankans and the other mixed. We lost to the better team... not to our surprise. We met loads of lovely people and got shot down by the commentator. After the matches we danced and gave gifts to the school such as new cricket bats as theirs were bent, footballs, tennis balls and food.

We were told about a surprise on the way to the hotel. When we got off the minibus we were greeted by the 'Snake Man', he was working on an anti venom for the Sri Lankan citizens by putting his life in danger everyday. He sells the anti venom for free. We were all given the chance to hold and stroke the snakes. There were many species of snakes we could hold like, cat snake, cobra, albino cobra. Some even put the snakes around their necks!!

After going back to the hotel for lunch and a quick change after the busy and hot morning we ventured out for a wild life safari which was the most phenomenal experience for us all. There were three jeeps of 6 and the roofs were open so we could stand up and look out. The 'roads' were so fun to go down because there were SO many potholes and dips!! We came across monkeys, peacocks, foxes, a huge squirrel and herds of elephants. We then stopped by the lake and took some majestic photos ;) Then we raced home along side with the sunset.

We are looking forward a peaceful night preparing for the long drive tomorrow and the exciting days ahead working with the school children.

Day 2.

Day 2

After a lovely buffet breakfast we travelled to the Temple Of The Tooth Buddhist temple in Kandy which is famous for holding the tooth of the Buddah and Rajja - the famous elephant. We saw traditional drumming and offerings with flowers which we all felt very honoured to be a part of. When leaving the temple, we witnessed a man being hung by hooks in his back to test his faith which we all found highly disturbing.

Around the temple area, we saw lots of monkeys showing off, a huge lizard and a wild elephant which was strange as that is not anything like what you would see in England. We then travelled to a tea plantation which was very interesting yet hot! We then got to sample the tea which we all found very bitter as there was no milk! Some people then bought some of this tea for their family (who we all miss so much!). We then had a three hour journey to Dambulla (luckily the coach was air conditioned!) and played some singing games which helped pass the time.

We went to a lovely spice garden for lunch and had a buffet lunch where there was red rice and jackfruit curry and we also had jackfruit with ice-cream for pudding. We then made our way round the gardens and sampled some of the spices growing. Ryan and Felix tried to eat a mouldy coconut, but luckily Modishan (our tour guide) stopped them just before. Mr Taylor was used as a guinea-pig to trial a cream which magically removes hair and he now has a bald patch on his leg! After that Modishan then got us some King Coconuts to try. We drank the juice and some of us ate the flesh, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

After this we headed to a new hotel where we chilled by the pool. Our rooms are really big and air conditioned, luckily we're staying here for two nights :D

Here are some comments and quotes to you about yesterday:

Felix:
"Hi Mum, Dad, Savv and Howard.
I fist pumped an elephant today. No sleep in 30 hours and still going strong. Love you loads.
Love from Flixy."

Ryan:
"Hi Mum, Dad and Izzy,
I didn't realize how ugly elephants were, but still they were decent. 
See you soon, Ryan x"

Jake:
"Alright fam,
It's crazy to be here. We stroked some elephants today which was pretty weird but cool. Don't miss me too much.
Lot's of love, Jake xxx"

Imogen:
"Hi family,
It's mental and really busy. Hope Loco is OK. The elephants are so cute and amazing.
Love Imo, Imo, Imo.

Niamh:
"Hey Mum, Dad and Max,
I'm alive! Sri Lanka's cool and really hot. I ate some curry today. Hope all's OK with you. See you soon.
Love Niamh xxx"

Sameena:
"Hey famalam,
The flight was long but worth it as I got to watch 'Monster's Inc University' again. I have already realized that family and friends are more important than money and material goods. Grandad, I am safe and haven't gone anywhere on my own. Uncle Bill was right about the itchy feet ;) 
Love you lots xx <3"

Amy:
"Hey Mum, Dad and Chloe,
I just wanted you to know how much I miss you, but also what an amazing time I'm having. The elephant orphanage was heartbreaking, but the best experience to touch the elephants.
Love you lots and lots, Amy xx"

Peter:
"Hi Mum and Dad,
There are no road rules here, expect keep to the left and beep when you want to overtake!
Love from Peter."

James:
"Dear family,
Great trip so far, lots of travelling. Saw elephants. Very hot and humid.
From James."

Jack:
"Dear family,
Brilliant trip so far! Nice cool pool. James isn't as good at swimming as he says he is! :D
Love from Jack."

Maddy:
"To Mum, Dad and Jess,
I'm looking forward to working in the schools as school children have been very excited to see us. Jess, don't watch too many Hugh Grant films without me! ;)
Lots of love, Maddy xxx"

Ria:
"Hi Mum, Dad, Jay and Rahol,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY! It's so different here from India! No potholes, hardly any cows and no honking! I've got
 a few laughs about my whistle, Nani and Nana, I'm fine and always in a group.
Lot's of love, Ria."

Lucy:
"Hi Mummy and Daddy,
Missing you already! <3 We saw the baby elephants and got to touch their nose and trunk! It was so cool :D Can't wait to see you and of course Leo!
Love Loopy Lou,
P.S. Don't forget 'X Factor!'

Mr T:
"Elephantasia is my word for the day! Never thought I'd get that close to an elephant. Kids and staff, are very tired, but spirits are running very high. Can't wait for tomorrow. Missing the early morning Spongebob's with TJ.
Mr T x

Mrs Angel:
"Dear Mum, Ka, Elise, Leo and Paul.
Having a great time! It is wonderful being back in Sri Lanka again. The weather is lovely and the students are being lovely.
Ka, hope the move goes well.
Love you lots. xxxxx <3"  

We are all now catching up on sleep (some of us) and getting excited for tomorrow! Can't wait! Speak soon! :) <3