Wednesday 11th January 2023

At last, I am feeling on top of everything, and the work is beginning to kick in too! It has taken me a little while longer than usual to get there, but I am now fully set to make a difference here! I have sorted my room out, seen everyone I needed to see in the first few days, and feel a lot more action ready than I did when I first arrived in Sri Lanka last Friday. In some ways, I feel like I have already been here for ages.

It was a very pleasant day today, both in terms of the weather, with a very warm dry day, and my workload, which saw me sitting in on interviews for new members of staff - mainly at Palmerston School. These interviews were conducted by Ms. Arumugam (Jesa) and Ms. Perera (Tharika) in the downstairs office/meeting room space just along the corridor from my room, and it was a pleasure to work with these two ladies.

Once the interviews were over, we all had lunch packs together, which I believe Jana had collected for us. Some people went upstairs, but I stayed downstairs with Daya and a delightful young man named Singkoguls, who are leading and supporting all aspects of media presentation for Tea Leaf Trust. This area of work is very important for the charity, as 'branding' is key now for any successful organisation.

It was a funny evening, as despite having had a very hot day, with glorious sunshine, it gradually got very cold. The extremes of temperature - especially over the course of one day - can catch you out, as can the annoying power cuts. I was sat doing some editing work around 20:00 and thinking 'we have been very fortunate not to have had any power cuts today', then 10 minutes later it all went very dark, so I snuggled under my blanket for a little nap!

Today's photos are an introduction to key people here, so you will see Yad and her husband Jana - my hosts - Jesa and Tharika, with whom I interviewed today, Tharika's lovely daughter Evinka, and the Management Team (Yad, Sutha, Jesa, and Tharika) with Evinka tagging along next to Jesa). The final one is Ranger, who really is 'top dog' here (and you can see the limitations of my photography skills here, as my shadow is falling over the photograph!).







Comments

  1. CharlesJanuary 12, 2023 at 12:55 AM

    The photos certainly enhance your text, Keith. Everyone is so photogenic - especially Evinka and Ranger!
    As a matter of interest, are TLT looking to replace or add to English language teachers at Palmerston School, or have I got the wrong end of the stick?!
    Would you say living conditions have improved since you were last in Sri Lanka, or is it too early to tell?

    ReplyDelete

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