Jampot for Jess: A Great Week

In the first week of January we found out our teaching affiliation! Utsha and I will be teaching at the Sujata Vidyalaya schools (splitting our time between the elementary school and the high school) in Matara. We will now be living in Colombo part time and in Matara part time, spending two weeks of each month in each city. We are still waiting to hear where our teaching affiliation will be in Colombo.

My first week working in the schools in Matara was fantastic. I know that I can really make a difference with my students. It is exciting to be around young girls (both are all girls Buddhist schools) who are excited to learn about other cultures and histories. Utsha and I spent a few classes this week with a 12^th grade class. Our main contact at school, Mr. Jayasekera, allowed us to have a few periods with them to just talk. The girls asked the most intelligent questions. They were interested in cultural differences and similarities between Sri Lanka and the U.S., politics, race relations, the education system, and American history. Our discussions were so refreshing. I really feel like I can make a strong connection with these girls throughout the next 6 months and we will learn so much from each other through our exchanges.

In addition, all of the teachers we are working with are wonderful. We will be working with 3^rd and 4^th grade English classes at the primary school (elementary) and 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 12^th grade English classes at the college (high school). The girls begin learning English in 3^rd grade, so my experience with the younger classes will be much different than the older ones. It will be fun teaching basic English grammar and pronunciation at the primary level, while also teaching advanced English to the older girls. All of the teachers are so excited to have us in their classrooms. We have set up our schedule so that in January we were just observing classes, in February and March we will be assisting the teachers, and in April, May, and June we will incorporate teaching a couple lessons a week on our own. I am going to gain so much knowledge from the teachers here; I have a lot to learn from them.

The student’s attitude about school here is incredibly different than in the US. The first day of school was spent entirely with the students worshipping their teachers. It is tradition for each girl to go around to each teacher in the school and worship them (a quick bow and thank you), in order to give thanks for their work and meet new teachers. As you can imagine, in a school with 5,000 students, this really does take all day. It is a beautiful tradition and certainly reflects the student’s attitude about their education.

On our second day, we began observing classes and witnessed how respectful the girls are towards their teachers. When the teacher enters or exits the classroom, the girls all stand and greet her/him. Also, the teachers and students all have such a great relationship. Outside of the classroom many speak to their teachers as friends and the teachers show equal kindness and respect to their students. The behavior of both the students and the teachers is so refreshing, if only our schools ran this way in the U.S. I am so excited to go back down to Matara in February and be in the classroom again.

Lastly, Alix’s visit to Sri Lanka coincided with my first week of school! It was so great having him there in Matara for moral support during the first week. Before Matara, we spent a day at Mirissa Beach, the most beautiful beach I have been to in Sri Lanka. The water was gorgeous and the cove was truly picturesque. Also, the seafood was delicious ~ YAY for grilled fish and buttered prawns! During our time in Matara, Mr. Jayasekera took Alix, Utsha, and I for a day trip to some small villages around Matara. We went to an amazing underground temple in Weherehena with a Buddha five stories high, the temple on the water in Matara, and to a place called the Blow Hole (there is a spot in the rocks where water pressurizes and shoots up.)

Also, Alix and I took a day trip to the lighthouse in Dondra, where you can see the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka. The view from the top was beautiful and the water is so clear that we could see schools of tropical fish swimming all the way from the top. After my first week at school, we headed off to Ella. It was so nice to be in cool weather again (Matara was even hotter than Colombo and full of mosquitoes too!). We hiked Little Adams Peak and the view from the top was incredible. Next, we went to Kandy to meet up with Kirti and Ruth for an evening and then back to Colombo for one last day. Alix and I had a jam packed 10 days full of Sri Lanka’s natural beauty, temples, and delicious traditional food. I can’t believe how quickly 10 days passed. It feels like a dream. I miss you Al!