Monday 19th January 2026

Today was a day when plans shifted, which I was perfectly happy with, as sometimes they need to. I arrived at Tea Leaf Centre Maskeliya in time to have just a brief 45-minute meeting with the Trainee Teachers I am scheduled to work with this week, but they had to go upstairs then for other scheduled training. I sat in on that briefly, but then disappeared to take photographs, message a few people and catch up with a few other activities.

It was an absolute hive of activity today, as almost 150 new students arrived to start the 2-week Intensive English Programme, which precedes the Main Diploma Programme each year. This starts with a one-hour English assessment test, followed by a very short break, and then another one-and-a-half-hour English assessment test - both vital to ascertain an entrance level of English as they begin their studies with Tea Leaf - but I couldn't help there.

My hopes of having my Trainee Teachers after lunch were dashed, as the morning training session upstairs continued, so I left the Tea Leaf Centre at 13:30 today and made my way to Maskeliya Bus Station to get the bus back to Norwood. It was a scary ride, with a very over-loaded bus (a young Norwegian tourist let me sit on his 'seat' next to the bus driver!) that nearly veered off the road at one point, as another government bus approached at speed from the other direction.

I got back to Daya's, and I had a message from my very good French friend Isabelle, who arrived in Sri Lanka today. We exchanged our schedules and commiserated with each other that our times don't overlap this year, as they have done for the past two years. This works much better for Tea Leaf though, as they have 6 centres now, and careful placement of volunteers ensures that a greater number of staff and students receive the benefit of those volunteers' skills.

Today's photos show my arrival at Tea Leaf Centre Maskeliya, with the fabulous welcome board outside, and the Tea Leaf Centre tuk-tuk with the sign saying: 'When you forgive you win' (profound and true!). I have included a sneaky shot of Mr. Sivabalan (Uma), the Principal, then a few of the students lined up for their entrance tests. I also got a couple of the new students having an icebreaker activity outside in the afternoon, which was nice. My final photo is an old one of Isabelle, celebrating a special birthday in 2024, who is a wonderful volunteer for Tea Leaf, and has been a lovely companion colleague for me over the past two years that we have worked together.