Lankan Chronicles

nostalgia

2005-09-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

It has never occured to me that i would ever spend 2 weeks in a place like sri lanka. Not even after i heard about the YEP trip. When the time came for the briefing, i went. Not because i changed my mind, but rather, i went because my friends wanted to. Seems rather childish and mindless, but nonetheless, it was really fortunate that i decided to follow them "just for fun".

I have learnt so much from the trip. It goes beyond the practical stuff like hammering, sawing, painting and moving planks. The locals showed us the utmost respect and hospitality, another side of the human race that we almost certainly would never see in singapore. They appreciated whatever we did for them. It wasnt much, but still, they were thankful. They would often wave to us as we walked along the roads, or stop by to say hi, or express their gratitude. Would you do the same to any of the foreign nationals who work here, especially those engaged in manual labour? Their toil makes our lives that much more comfortable. I know you wont. We are all so absorbed in the ceaseless pursuit of certificates and riches, that we often take all that we have for granted. Lets take a step back to appreciate what we have, and not complain so much.

The whole experience is not something that i can explain to everyone in a few paragraphs. Even if i could, it would only connect with those who were there. For 2 weeks, my "immediate family" included mr lim, miss tham, and my other 11 splendid friends. The back breaking work, those silly stuff we did, jokes, bridge, hearts and wonderwall at 3am... It was all great fun. Guess you have to be there to truely understand. If i could revisit some point in life, those 2 weeks would definately be one of them.

-kashing

nellie's reflection

2005-09-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

i know this sounds rather formal. duh! its my reflections and we had to hand it in. photos would be up soon.

Sri Lanka is a place I never thought I would go much less for an overseas cip trip. I had an aim in mind which we were made to share before embarking on this trip. I must say although I didn’t fully accomplish my aim, at least I tried and with that in mind, I feel satisfied. The two weeks we spent in Sri Lanka has been more than just a trip, with it came many valuable lessons and experiences that I would never forget.

Sri Lanka was not as backward as I expected however there were constant cuts to the supply of electricity and water. It was frustrating at times but we learnt to live with it. I realized that the comforts at home which we often take for granted is a luxury there.

There were many points where I felt like giving up there was a breaking point when my wallet was stolen. Despite all the frustration and fatigue that I carried with me, I trudged on knowing that our efforts would not be wasted. Although we were helping what can be considered a small portion of the victims affected by the tsunami, but I am heartened by the fact that at least we were doing something.

The school we visited had the deepest impact on me. I realized the other aspect of our lives we take for granted of is education. Their standard of English is as good as here in Singapore. The teachers sometimes teach wrong things to the children. I felt a little uncomfortable as this means that the children are learning incorrect grammar etc. We held English lessons and donated boxes of English books to the school. I hope those books would be put to good use and I could see that the children loved the lessons we conducted. Planning and executing the programs taught me to interact better with children.

We also did much manual labour. We put together 35 beds and shelves from planks of wood. The planning, measuring, sawing, nailing and carrying tested our perseverance. I was constantly motivated by the team because everyone was diligently carrying out their roles. The work was delegated and everyone was a good team player. We finished the quota before the deadline and because of that I am extremely proud of the team. The work was by no means slip-shod as well.

As the overall in-charge, I felt pressured. Initially I was shocked to know of the role I was given, but when we began planning I tried my best to lead the team well, and be a source of encouragement and motivation. I do not know if I carried out my duties well but I hope my best was sufficient. The team was very task driven and often concentrated too much on the task at hand and failed to interact with the locals effectively. This is a good-bad thing as being task driven ensured we completed our work on time however we compromised on communication with the locals, which was one of the objectives of this trip.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyment although we spent most of our time working. I prided myself on the finished product but during the process of doing it, much fun was injected by the group members. We formed bonds and friendships because we took responsibility in each other’s safety as well as well-being. Meals and resting times allowed us to interact and from there we moved form strangers to friends. I noticed that in a foreign land, everyone in the group was an equal, other than the teachers whom we had more respect for =p, there was no distinction between gender amongst the group. Whatever social status we had back in Singapore was left back in Singapore. There was a distinct sense of unity within the group.

Initially I could not get used to the dirt and flies, however with no apparent choice I learned to live with it. Only then did I realize the population of flies back in Singapore is very pathetic, which is a good thing.

The locals are extremely friendly and hospitable. Their close relations with their neighbors are a trait lacking in Singapore. I felt welcomed and appreciated by them. The locals at the temporary camps offered us food and drinks, the best they could give. I was overwhelmed by their generosity. We interacted mainly with the school children as well as young children at the camps. The milk distribution programme allowed us to directly see the results from the happy faces of the children. Despite the language barrier which was a prominent problem, we managed to distribute the milk and from there I realized the true meaning of ‘kindness goes a thousand miles’.

If there is another youth expedition trip I would most certainly go. The joy if helping and giving is much more valuable than anything. I would like to thank the school for giving me this chance to make a difference in the lives of others as well as my own.

and i love our song. =) the CMI clan. ha. next entry. promise.

jiayan's recollections

2005-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

okay, it has been 2+ months since we came back from SriLanka, but the memories are still fresh in my mind, the things we did there.

painting the school walls, white and cream: one of the task i enjoyed most [not to mention playing with the paint :) ]
removing the paint at places where we were not supposed to paint was tedious and the turpentine smell was intoxicating
de-rusting the window grills was laborious, lucky there were not to many to de-rust
plastering up the holes
it was fun interacting with the students there, understanding thier lifestyle and culture. the studetns were friendly!
playing games and organising sports day for them, together with the other YEP groups
having the cultural exchange that allowed me to see thier traditional dances and better understang their heritage which was interesting
distributing milk to the families at the IDPCs ( internally displaced peoples camps - wooden houses built for those tsunami affected )
doing survey at the IDPCs, seeing if they lack any shelves and beds
building the beds and shelves from raw wood then needs sawing, using tools like hammers and nails
painting the beds and shelves
delivering each shelf and bed to everyone of the household; the satisfaction was great, seeing how excited and grateful the people were to accept the beds
playing volleyball with the people at the IDPCs.

Spending 14 days there was a great learning and eye-opening experience for me. After staying there for almost 2 weeks, Srilanka was not as bad as I had imagined it to be. srilanka trip was really funn and i enjoyed myself a lott..we went there as a group of VJ students who dont know each other well, but came back as a bunch of friends. one of the things i treasured most was the friendship made there. didnt regret going there at all. and now, i'm really missing the fried rice and prata and bananas we had there. haha! :)
we should have Srilanka part(II), to renovate the english room which they were building in the school!! hahah =]

anyway promos is nearr. good luck people, and mugg hard! =]

-abnn-

the begining

2005-05-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

we didnt know each other at first. okay, maybe not everyone was strangers at first.

not too many applied, and not too many got though. so there, we have christabelle, nellie, simin, alex, jiayan, teck chuan, edwin, jacq, ka shing, li wei, marvin, shuyun, with mr lim and miss tham leading the pack.

we gelled pretty well, and before long we looked like a bunch of old friends who have been together since like eons ago..

-kashing.