volunteering in sri lanka mandy english november 2015...
TRANSCRIPT
Volunteering in Sri Lanka – interview style – Mandy English November 2015!
What did you do?
With an ambition to explore a new country and travel with a purpose at the same time, I paid to
work voluntarily for 2 weeks, teaching in an IT Centre in Panadura, Sri Lanka run by Projects Abroad,
staying with a host family and other volunteers (http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/).
Did you need a teaching qualification?
No! You just need to have a good knowledge of Microsoft Office products to be able support the
student’s online learning and troubleshoot/contribute depending on individual skills.
Before going, were you worried about anything?
Yes, loads! The thought of having an upset stomach, the thought of mosquito bites, the thought of
being taken advantage of as a “tourist” and the ability to communicate effectively and deal with
phone technology! I also worried (unnecessarily!) about making a difference in the relatively short
time I was there.
Well, although my stomach remained intact, the mosquitos loved
me. I didn’t feel as if I paid too much for anything – on the
contrary, everything was very cheap. My free local sim card
worked well (loaded with 50 rupees and available in the airport in
a visitors Welcome Pack) and data was easy to buy to create a
WiFi hot spot on my phone (other volunteers helped me with
this!). I charged all my technology every night!
What was the first thing that struck you when you arrived?
The heat! I’d come prepared and carried lightweight
trousers, tee shirt and flip flops in my hand luggage so
had changed in Colombo airport but it still hit me –
temperatures fluctuate around 30 degrees most of the
time in October/November.
The second thing was the rain – frequent bursts but
deliciously warm – I learnt an umbrella is an essential
accessory – for both sun and rain!
Was language a barrier?
Partly but you get by with universal gestures and facial expressions. The only Sinhala l made sure I
learnt was “istuti” for “thank you” as I think it’s one of the most important words in any language.
I always got a big smile when I used it. I was frequently asked where I came from and “England” was
also greeted with a big smile. I got even more respect when I said I was a volunteer. You have to be
careful not to think people are saying no when they shake their head as they’re really saying OK, yes!
Where did you stay?
My first night was in an Airbnb in Colombo (had an extra day before I started at the project to
sightsee). I’d not used Airbnb before and was impressed by the online booking service (although it
takes a while to be “validated” as a user). I liked the personal direct contact and only needed a basic
value room (mine was called a “Tree house log cabin”) in a central location so this worked well.
For most of the rest of my trip, I stayed
with my host family in Panadura, who
have a lovely large house. They live on
the ground floor, while the four twin
bedrooms upstairs accessed via a
mezzanine level provide accommodation
for up to 8 volunteers.
You’re allocated
a bed with a
mosquito net (no
sheets), shared
wardrobe space
and desk. The
two bathrooms
are shared (cold
showers); a
fridge is available
in the corridor if needed and a top loading washing machine (you have to buy your own
powder/toilet roll from the local shop). Clothes are dried on the covered veranda outside and the
housekeeper gets them in for you if it rains! Note! You need earplugs for sleeping as if the monkeys
running on the roof don’t wake you up, the sound of chanting from the temples at 5am will!
What did you think of Colombo?
Noisy but vibrant and colourful; there were horns from tuk
tuks and people shouting across to one another in the
market and the sound of the rain splashing in the road.
I hardly saw any other white people in the Pettah markets or
on the busy streets and people viewed me with a longer look
than just a passing glance. My umbrella was useful in
shielding my face/avoiding eye contact if I didn’t want to
attract attention, so I just got used to it. I was taken in by a
gemstone ruse, but fortunately got away with it (longer story another time).
Over the day and a half I was there I visited the Dutch Period Museum (historical dark wooden
colonial building with an interesting nutmeg tree in the inner courtyard), Colombo Fort (contrasting
old colonial and new modern buildings) and Galle Face Green by the sea (lots of lovers under black
umbrellas on the pier, “fast” food stalls on the quayside, children playing ball). Then Sima Malaka
(temple on South Beira Lake - at the time I visited, it was swamped by a coach load of elderly
American tourists and their cameras), Gangaramaya
Temple (overpowering incense with a strange collection of
vintage cars and plastic boxes to put your shoes in while
you padded around in bare feet – you do get a real sense
of the importance and priority of religion in their lives),
Viharamahadivi Park (more lovers on benches under
umbrellas and free WiFi for Sri Lankans if they keyed in
their ID number) and the National Museum (being
renovated but with no discount for foreign visitors).
What was your host family like?
So, so welcoming, really, really lovely people. Lal and Chaniah
Peiris returned to Sri Lanka around the millennium after
spending 5 years in Japan, invested their earnings in a tea
plantation and built a large property in Panadura, a small
township about one hour’s drive south of Colombo on the
west coast of Sri Lanka.
Lal has a manager at the tea plantation and any donations of
clothes from volunteers are gratefully accepted for the women
tea pickers, who are very poor – I was told the women earn the
money, while their husbands often use it to buy alcohol. Chaniah (above right) retired recently as a
manager from the People’s Bank, does yoga, manages the volunteers and is about to be the landlady
for a second Peiris house which has just been posted on Airbnb. They receive an income from
Projects Abroad to accommodate the volunteers. They’re very experienced hosts who have a
relaxed but caring approach – you’re made to feel literally one of the family, which was so nice!
They have two sons, living at home; Erande, aged 29 who’s just about to get married and studied at
the University of Melbourne and Manoj, aged 27
who works at the Hilton Hotel as a chef (often
unsociable hours). Sureka, their housekeeper, lost
her whole family in the tsunami in 2004 and was
taken under the Peiris wing with full board and
lodging (left). Although she doesn’t get holidays,
she’s like a friend of the family and an absolute
favourite with the volunteers as she does all the
cooking and clearing up!
Did you have meals with the family?
No. Mealtimes for volunteers are a set routine – 7.30am, 12.30pm, 7.30pm and not really
negotiable as the family (there were 5 of them) always eat afterwards. Some of the volunteers
thought breakfast was too early as work placements are usually very local and don’t start till 9am
but they suited me! You can opt out of the weekend meals if you are travelling and you are
encouraged to be courteous and let the family know a day in advance.
Although we didn’t eat with the family, they were often around for broken English conversations and
liked to interact with us. The volunteers always eat together with much banter and recount what
they do at their placements and share what it’s like in their different countries. I loved the meal
times as they were very sociable (no phones, TV or interruptions) and you could all learn from each
other’s experiences.
What did you have to eat?
Breakfast was sweet breads or toast (with white bread that you made yourself), jam, fried egg,
margarine and bananas (very short variety and yellow). Tea was offered (black with lots of sugar)
and always cold water, which had been boiled and chilled in litre bottles in the fridge. Great start to
the day.
Lunch was the main meal – usually some kind of rice (red or white with spices), vegetable curry,
curried green beans, chicken or tuna curry, tomato and cucumber with poppadum’s, and yoghurt.
Sometimes ice cream was offered.
Bananas and chilled water were always
available. This meal was a highlight as
you never knew quite what you were
going to get.
Dinner was a light supper affair with
lentil/dahl curry, rice and hopper’s or
roti’s and some salad (tomatoes and
onions). Bread and jam was on the
table if you wanted it and bananas and
chilled water (left). A comforting end
to the day.
One Sunday I bought red bananas back
from Kandy for everyone to try – still short but the sweetest and most expensive variety. We also
tried Milo – Sri Lankan version of hot chocolate and often small pieces of unusual fruit or vegetables
were cut up for us to taste. For my last meal with the volunteers I treated us to a huge chocolate
and coffee cake from the Fab bakery in town as the family only had a small microwave oven for
reheating so we didn’t have any baked food.
Who were the other volunteers?
My fabulous fellow volunteers all
happened to be aged 18 (a French
lady my age was living with another
host family, working on another
project but I did get a chance to
meet her)! Justus (German), was
working on the IT project like me
(and doing soccer training once a
week at a children’s centre) for 2
months (then going to a similar project in Tanzania in 2016) with the long term ambition to be an
engineer. I really appreciated him showing me around!
Herman (from Hong Kong, studying in Adelaide, Australia), was
working with a local children’s centre, also for 2 months (and spending
one day a week working at a challenging special needs school) and
wants to return to Hong Kong to be a social worker. Maddie (from
southern California) was working in the base Hospital shadowing
doctors with the ambition to be one.
Noa from Holland (in my first week) was working at the Ayurvedic
hospital which mainly offers natural treatments with massage, herbs
and doesn’t provide anaesthetic for some minor surgical procedures.
She found shadowing doctors quite harrowing at times so is rethinking
her possible medical career! Her Mum came out at the end of her
placement to travel around with her for a further week before returning home (above).
Charlie, from Yorkshire, worked with Herman in the Children’s Centre, doesn’t really know what she
wants to do long term and Anika (in my second week and my room mate!), from Germany, also
worked at the base hospital with the definite ambition to work in medicine as both her parents do –
she said she’s seen the good sides and bad sides of the job but believes it’s a great job to do!
Where was your IT placement located and what did you do?
The Panadura IT Centre is 10 minutes’ walk from the Peiris
house on the other side of town. Projects Abroad rent the
first floor for the Centre from the family living below and
provide IT training free of charge to students. Funds for all of
Projects Abroad work come solely from volunteer placement
fees. The IT Centre manager, Nadeesha, organises the
students training and supports the volunteers.
In an open plan area, there are six computers with space for a
further six when finances allow and some smaller rooms for a
new library initiative, a room with a sink acting as a kitchen
(I bought them a kettle as a leaving present as they didn’t have one!) and a room which was used as
a nursing room for Nadeesha’s 3 month old baby who she brings to work.
Hours of work were Monday – Friday, 9am -12noon and
2-4pm, although a couple of mornings I got there early and
opened up as Nadeesha took computers for repair.While I
was there I finished setting up a website for the Panadura IT
Centre and linked to a new Facebook page which Justus
created. I wrote a curriculum for how to set up a free
website and taught primary and secondary students
(depending on their level of English) how to follow it! I gave
several group and individual training sessions with much
enjoyment and rewarding thanks from the students.
For example, one student wanted to sell pencil drawings he’d done
from photos of his friends and needed a website to upload his
images, one girl wanted to start a fashion blog and an alumnus of the
Centre, Warnaka, wanted to set up a website to promote his travel
tour business (right). I taught students how to manipulate images
and set up simple structures, with the priority being on what they
wanted to communicate via their website (good English practice) over how to create it (the easy bit)!
Sometimes our work was interrupted as the loud monsoon thunderstorms meant everything had to
be turned off to protect the computers and it became overcast and too dark to see properly.
I also reported problems
with hardware and
maintenance issues such as
leaks in the ceiling and lack
of lighting to the main
Projects Abroad Office in
Colombo. Both issues are
still ongoing!
Did you do any work before you went?
Yes! I researched the IT syllabi (Microsoft Office) and then discovered the centre didn’t have its own
website or Facebook page so decided my project would be to set them up. They had an old one
from a previous location which was no longer used.
I discussed using a “build your own website for free”
online service with our Owen’s IT technician to see if
he thought it was suitable (SimpleSite) and I was
heading in the right direction. He agreed as he had
several friends who’d set up websites using similar free
hosting services (for limited functionality but good
enough for what I wanted). I liaised with Nadeesha,
the Panadura IT Centre manager (right in white) on
Facebook to create a skeleton site before I went so we
could have something to work on.
I also read the extremely comprehensive country guide on the Projects Abroad website, including all
information about culture shock and spoke several times to my Projects Abroad co-ordinator – I can
really recommend them in terms of professionalism and the dedicated people who work there.
Do you feel you made a difference?
Yes! Even though my placement was only for 2 weeks and I was told not to expect to make much of
an impact, it was definitely worth it - the research I did before I went certainly helped. Students and
the IT Centre manager were so appreciative of my support and it was extremely rewarding!
Did you work full time?
Yes, except on Poya day (National holiday)! These occur once a
month at full moon when practicing Sinhalese visit their temple
to mark occasions in Buddha’s life. Public transport still runs,
but most shops and businesses are closed.
There was a Poya day the first week I arrived and I took the
opportunity to visit the Blue Water hotel, just a 15 minute bus
ride away (as recommended by other volunteers). For just
2,750 rupees – around £13– you could use all the facilities, take
exercise classes, have a full buffet lunch and afternoon tea AND
have free use of the WiFi. This was most important as I wanted to carry on designing the Panadura
IT Centre website during the day. You could also have your photo taken with a visiting elephant…
Projects Abroad also arrange half day community projects every few weeks for all the local
volunteers to work together and meet each other. I was able to join a morning group to paint the
inside walls of a special needs nursery so the staff could paint
brightly coloured murals
for the children. It was
hard work in the heat, and
you had to keep brushing
off the red ants, but it
looked fresh and clean
when we’d finished.
What did you do during the week after work?
We explored Panadura (“we” being whichever of the volunteers wanted to meet up)! The local
beach was great for a long walk (with thousands of tiny crabs), we went swimming in a nearby hotel
(which had huge bats flying over it so you felt like you were in Jurassic Park) and we shopped in the
market and visited the two main temples – Buddhist (white turreted) and Hindu (more colourful).
It got dark about 6pm so often a trip to the local Mango Mango Indian restaurant was on the agenda
as it offered free WiFi (which struggled at the end of their monthly subscription much to our
annoyance) for the price of a fresh fruit smoothie! After dinner most nights we all played a range of
card games (including Uno, Skip-Bo) and Banangrams, which provided the best bonding time – we
had such laughs, competitive banter and random chats (as there was no free WiFi in the house…).
Were there any customs that were very different to the UK?
Yes, they eat with their right hand and after going to the toilet, clean with their left!!! In cafes and
restaurants there is usually a sink to wash your hands after eating. At the Peiris house, we could
choose to eat with our fingers or use western
utensils (see sink left). There’s a technique for
eating with your hand which is to mix up your
curry and rice, scoop in your fingers and then use
your thumb to push the food into your mouth
from your
fingertips. You
do get used to it!
Nearly all toilets
are provided with
an adjacent
separate hose for
you to use which they say is more hygienic than toilet paper.
I always carried tissues! The other practical issue for women is that
tampons are impossible to find outside of the capital, Colombo. You
need to be well stocked in case! I understand India is similar in this regard.
It’s also considered rude to wear shoes in the
house so you always take them off outside. In our
volunteer house, we all had separate shoes for
inside too as it kept our feet clean. Generally
everyone wears flip flop style shoes due to the
weather – my thin sandals totally rotted by the
second week due to the rain!
The dress code is different too – women do wear
western style skirts and tops/blouses but you’d feel
uncomfortable in strappy tops with bare shoulders.
It’s respectful to wear a white shirt when visiting a
temple and women wear sari’s a lot too. Buddhist monks only wear orange! Chaniah Peiris skilfully
showed me how to wear a sari I’d bought for £1 in the Pettah market in Colombo, which I then
donated to her husband’s tea pickers when I left. I think you definitely need a brown stomach to
carry off the look if you wear a cropped top underneath!!!
Were you able to travel at the weekends?
Yes! I arranged to go to Kandy (world Unesco heritage site
and old capital) for the first weekend with a fantastic driver
(Hansaka, left), recommended by Projects Abroad.
I worked out before I went that Sri Lanka is a huge country
and to travel to any of the key sights from the coast can
take hours, so I knew I wouldn’t see everything in one trip!
I chose Kandy as I mainly wanted to see a tea plantation
and learn about some of their history and religion – it took
4.5 hours to drive from Panadura, leaving at 7am on the
Saturday morning (I negotiated an early breakfast) and I returned at 7pm on the Sunday in time for
dinner and to catch up with the other volunteers!
What did you do on your Kandy trip?
We passed rice paddy fields and rubber plantations, stopped at a tea plantation to see the tea
bushes and tea pickers, I visited the Royal Botanical Gardens, a Buddhism temple on the hill above
Kandy for great views, watched some Kandyian dancing, had an ayurvetic massage, walked round
the Temple of the Sacred Tooth and learnt about the origins of Buddhism. Stopped at a Batik
factory, a Spice garden and tea processing plant with tastings on the way home!!!
What did you learn in the Buddhist temples?
I learnt (very simply) that when Buddha was born as a Prince,
he took seven steps on lotus flowers to understanding and
later gained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. This
happened in India 500-600BC. His life was spent teaching -
when he died, his left tooth from the funeral pyre was given
to Sri Lanka and kept in a golden jewelled casket, which now
resides in the Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Kandy.
Buddhists have five precepts (or morals) to live by, including
do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, abstain from sexual
misconduct and sensual overindulgence and do not consume
alcohol or other drugs (as intoxicants cloud the mind).
I did have a discussion with my guide, Hansaka, about self-
defence in light of a mosquito landing on you and he said that
he felt bad every time he killed one.
Temples are domes or stupas where Buddhists visit to pray, to meditate and make offerings of
flowers, fruit, incense and candles. There is always a Bodhi Tree in the temple, around which
Buddhists walk and pray, either 3 or 7 times and then make an offering of pure water to the tree via
a font. Bowls are available next to sinks near the trees and taps are covered with muslin to ensure
the water is filtered and as pure as possible. They walk around the tree carrying the bowls.
What was interesting and invaluable about the weekend travels was the ability to be able to
question my guide, Hansaka, with any questions about the country and its culture. For example,
they have recently elected a new president and I asked him for his opinion. He said that the old
president promoted members of his family and they spent a lot of money on events such as jet
skiing on Kandy Lake and car races around the town which the local people hated. Now they have a
new president, those events have stopped. Also the new president has introduced policies like
being able to harvest three crops of rice a year, instead of two, to make more money.
What did you do on your second weekend?
I only had one night and day as it was the end of my trip so chose to take a train by myself down the
coast to Galle in the South (getting there just in time to watch the sunset and walk the ramparts of
the old walls)! I took tips from my fellow volunteers about how to travel, where to stay and what to
see. Just a note on the train – the doors are quite high above the platform so you really have to
heave yourself up using the handles on the outside of the train to get in (avoiding the people
standing in the doorways)! Even
tricky for two strapping 20 year
olds from Cornwall carrying
huge rucksacks – I bumped into
them on the platform and got
chatting – it was their first day in
Sri Lanka and they’d caught the
wrong train out of Colombo so
had to change at Panadura.
The journey itself was really
interesting! Despite the train
being packed (no first class, only
2 and 3), musicians and food sellers still managed to wend their way through the carriages. Two
young Sri Lankan lads befriended me (they were curious about a woman old enough to be their
mother travelling on her own!) and the hour and a half’s journey passed quickly. They loved
travelling by the open door – you had to watch out when passing a platform and make sure you put
your feet up though…
In the evening I stayed in a small
guesthouse and happened to share a
meal with a lovely lady from
Luxembourg who was the wife of one
of the band members of Katrina and
the Waves – small world – one of our
Owenians parents is Katrina’s coach!
The following morning, I had breakfast
at a trendy hippy café with some more lovely
travellers from Reading! The guesthouse tuk tuk
took me to Jungle Beach for some chilling with
the locals and I just had time to browse Galle
shops and sights in the afternoon before getting
back on the train to Panadura.
I enjoyed the return trip as I sat in the open
doorway of the empty second class carriage and
watched the world according to Sri Lanka go by.
Would you
like to return
to Sri Lanka?
Yes,
definitely.
I’d like to see
the friends I
made, see more of their beautiful country and take my husband
to share the experience. I’d also recommend Hansaka as a guide!
I’ll always remember Sri Lanka in six senses – the bright colours,
the cacophony of noise, the strong incense, and the spicy food,
the soft feel of the rain and huge warmth of their people. #go.
Recommended Reading: Lonely Planet Sri Lanka and Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
(kindly suggested to me by Old Owenian, Paul Filmer, at Visitation this July – thank you again)!
Some other photos from my trip!