WWW: Day 4 - The Big One

Thursday was our last day Biking in the East coast, the next day we simply departed back to Colombo and overall it was an uneventful journey.

Stopping for a quick rest after biking half way, I'm on the left
(Photo credits: Mr. Shipley) 

On Thursday we were to bike over 60 Kilometers to a Hindu temple located near the outskirts of the Yala national park. Prior to the trip to the east coast, a group was made consisting who were in charge of cooking food for the entire WWW group on day 4 of our trip. So, on Thursday morning, they cooked us an entire lunch to take with us to the temple. After we arrived to the temple and after being hungry for hours, we were finally able to eat the delicious food they had cooked for. After that, some of us had the choice of either biking back the 60 Kilometers or going back on the bus, I decided to go back on the bus because I was feeling really worn out after the initial ride. 

Taking a quick picture before going over to Yala
(Photo credits: Mr. Shipley)

The bike ride on that day really was the most tiring and most exhilarating one of all the days. On the other days, we would always stop for a rest after about 10 kilometers from where we started, however on day 4 we stopped for our first rest after biking for 25 kilometers, this may have been the hardest part of the journey because we were still trying to break in to our bikes since the day before. A few of us stopped after 10 km but I decided to keep going because I really wanted to challenge myself and try to push myself to achieve something that I have never done before. The road was flat and  barely had any bumps or turns, until we reached Yala.

A small technical trail that tested our ability to take
quick decisions
(Photo credits: Mr. Shipley)

The trail in Yala consisted completely of mud, dirt, rocks and a whole lot of bumps and holes. We had to maneuver our bikes so as not to fall in to these holes and always stay clear of sand trails because it is almost impossible to bike straight on one of these. This went on for rest of the journey to the temple. 

I feel that day 4 of the trip really helped me in improving my biking skills but not only that, it also helped me to take quick decisions when necessary- which would be very useful to me in the future- and also to find the best decision; this is really important because although one trail might look easy, it doesn't mean that you should just speed through it without another thought, you should plan your action and then go at the appropriate speed. 

The trip to the East coast of Sri lanka was the best trip I went to and I'm really glad that I went with an amazing group of people. Throughout the trip, I have shown great deals of perseverance and commitment to biking, as well as worked collaboratively with others, which include my OSC friends and also the kids at the local school we visited.   

WWW: Day 2 & 3 - The School

Me (dark blue shirt) teaching the students
about exothermic and endothermic reactions
(source: http://oscwww.blogspot.com)

On both days 2 and 3, we taught the students at the school everything we prepared for them. The work was divided in to two days simply because of the number of students that are in just the 9th grade is over 50. About 10 students per hour were sent to each group; science, bike repair and sports. As a group we were able to successfully plan and initiate activities during our visit to the school. It was very hard for my friends and I to communicate with

the students since they couldn't speak English or Sinhala, only Tamil. There were three teachers from that school present at all times to translate and help us teach the students. This was a new experience for me, not just teaching kids who speak different languages but teaching itself. This definitely increased my awareness of strengths and areas for growth. I was nervous at first and I did make a few mistakes while teaching the theory, but by the end of the first group, I became completely comfortable with teaching the students and even the fact that they spoke different languages soon didn't bother me. Also, the fact that I had to repeat what I taught to the next group and next-was a sort of practice for me, so this enabled me to improve on my delivery and be more fluent with the theory that I was teaching. So by the end of it, I would say that I had developed new skills, in the area of teaching and communication in general.

On day three, after we all (science, sports and bike repair) had finished teaching the last group of students, we were told to go down to the canteen area where we were served some refreshments. When it was finally time for us to leave, the students of the school lined up to place hand-made flower necklaces around our heads (this is a tradition in Sri lanka), after that, the principal of the school gave his thank you to all of us and told us how much it meant for him that we took our time to come their school and teach the students-as well as give to them donations. This made me realize the importance of our trip to the east coast of Sri lanka and helped me to consider the ethical issues; we have strengthened the relationship between us and the children at the local school we visited and hopefully, they have changed there views of us in a better way. I hope to visit more schools in an area such as Arugam bay and to interact with them as well.

The WWW science on two wheels group with the principal of the
school (in blue shirt and black trousers)
(Photo credits: Yo Kubota)

Week Without Walls: Day 1 - The arrival

The amazing view of the beach in batticaloa
(Source: http://oscwww.blogspot.com)

On the 27th of January, we left Colombo from the main train station at Fort (Colombo 1) to Batticaloa. To be honest, I was both excited and a little scared because that was the first time that I have ever traveled in an overnight train in Sri lanka. However after a few minutes upon leaving the station, my worries were completely gone and I was able to have fun with my friends despite the train having a few technical difficulties half way through (the engine broke down and we had to wait for a new one). After 11 hours on the train and another 4 hours on the bus ride to Arugam bay, we finally reached the hotel where we would be staying at; 'Stardust beach hotel and restaurant'. This was truly an amazing and very peaceful hotel, and I think everyone  including me was pleased with the service there as well.

A 'Cabana', a small hut-like room accommodated
with 4 beds (I stayed in this type of room)
(source: http://oscwww.blogspot.com)

Since it had been a long journey, we were given the chance to just chill out and play some sports for about an hour before we headed out to the Komari school and to ride our bikes. We played some softball, Frisbee and Rugby. It was a good way to warm up for our 25 km bike ride. I also took the time to prep for the journey, including packing a full water bottle and getting my gloves ready.

Students and there teacher who greeted us when we
visited their classroom
(source: http://oscwww.blogspot.com)

After lunch, we went by bus to the Komari School; where we would be teaching the ninth graders Science, Sports and how to repair bikes the following day and the day after. This was our chance to engage with an issue of global importance, since most of the kids in this school are very under privileged, and just being able to interact with them and exposing them to our lifestyle, enables them to broaden their perspective of this world. I was in the Science group and so while we were there, we setup all the equipment we were going to need for the days to come as well as plan who is going to do what during the teaching hours, We already planned what we were going to teach them when we were still in our school so this part of the process did not take too long (Sid and I were going to teach the kids Chemistry). This was definitely an opportunity for me to start taking part in an active service role for an audience that I'm not familiar with, the kids could not speak much English or Sinhala so it really was hard trying to explain to them the concepts of what we were doing. After all the prep work, some of the seniors in the school gave us a tour around their school campus. They did not have many teaching material in their class rooms or in the IT and science labs and yet, despite the lack of equipment, the students were happy and keen on learning with whatever they do have. This made me feel both sad and proud for these kids.

We said good bye to the kids until the next day and we headed back to hotel. While there, we played some more sports and chilled out for another couple of hours, then, Peter-our bikes guide- came to the hotel with all our bikes and helmets. We were all very excited to finally go on the bikes; we got our things ready, warmed up a little and we headed on out of the hotel to Kumana national park.

Stopping for a quick rest
(source: http://oscwww.blogspot.com)

It was a challenging journey, no doubt; we went through some very rough terrain at times, then over lose sandy trails which really threw us of with our momentum and also over some large puddles here and there. I am fairly good at riding a bike so I did not have any casualties, however a few people in the group wasn't so lucky, fortunately they only got a few minor cuts and bruises when they fell but nothing too severe. Despite the injuries, we all rode on as a single unit helping each other where ever we could. I decided to go ahead of some of the weaker riders and give them a heads up in case there is a difficult obstacle coming up or so. We went through some beautiful areas with amazing scenery, it was a really good ride and we had lots of fun. I felt that was able to successfully apply the skills that I already knew, as well as learn some more on my own as well.