Keith in Sri Lanka

I caught up with yesterday's blog entry, but I was too exhausted to do today's, so it will have to wait for tomorrow, when I will hopefully have a bit more energy.

I got up fairly late today and had breakfast at 09:00. I was supposed to climb the Lion Rock this morning, but it was very cloudy and due to rain, so my plan got scuppered, but the alternative was still delightful. I went to Dambulla with Bawan by tuk-tuk and visited the Dambulla Cave Temple, which is a World Heritage Site, and well worth the huge number of stairs that you have to climb to get to the entrance to the caves, as they really are rather spectacular. It was a wise decision not to try to climb Lion Rock this morning, as the heavens did open and we would have been drenched! It remains something on my Sri Lankan bucket list for the future - maybe even next year if the weather is better! After our visit to the caves, the tuk-tuk driver took us to a lovely place to eat, where we enjoyed a buffet lunch. We then tried to visit a few shops but quickly abandoned that idea and just went back to Nilanga and Radha's place. I rested for a very short while before walking into Sigiriya...

There was no great rush today, as my first lesson observation wasn't until 09:30, so I had a late breakfast, then made my way to the sports field to take a few photographs of the Grades 5 and 6 Sports Meet, which looked to be going well. Madam Sandra was addressing the parents as I arrived. Events at the Royal International School seem to be extremely well done, and they go to much greater lengths than we would for our Sports Days in UK schools. It felt like a very relaxed day today, as my commitments in school were very light, with just a couple of lesson observations in Grades 5 and 6, where the classes were small because of students involved in the Sports Meet. I then had a couple more lesson observations in Grades 7 and 8, although the second one of those got cancelled, as Nilanga arrived rather early to take me away for the weekend, and it was an ICT lesson that wasn't a high priority for me. Nilanga arrived, and Radha, his wife, was with him, as she is from Kurunegala, so...

It was just another day at the office for me today, although I have rarely actually been in the office that was allocated to me here, as I have mainly been in lesson observations, Priyani's office, or Lalanga's office. A few more lesson observations again today, followed by a meeting with Lalanga and his two Grade 7 and Grade 8 Coordinators with Madam Sandra and Managing Director Ravi in his office. Only a few key tasks left for me out here now. I went back to the apartment this afternoon to find that I had no electricity at all, so my immediate assumption was that there had been a power cut. I checked in with Chandika, and there didn't seem to be a power cut, so eventually, after spending more than an hour melting in the heat, a couple of maintenance guys came round to check, only to discover that the trip switch in the main fuse box had blown, and simply needed to be switched back on again! It was both frustrating, and a little embarrassing, to find that the solution to m...

It has been a rather uneventful day here in Kurunegala. I observed 3 lessons in Grades 5 and 6 this morning, followed by two more in Grades 7 and 8 this afternoon. I was able to give feedback to all 5 teachers, but my frustration today (as it was yesterday) was in not being able to give feedback to the key person in the school, who wasn't in school yesterday, and was too busy to see me this afternoon. This is an enormous school, of course! I completely understand the lack of availability, but delayed feedback can lose its impetus rather quickly I find, and I have my last day here a week on Friday, so there is increasingly less time left for me to have an impact. I do wonder what level of impact I am having, as my contribution is like a tiny droplet of water in a very vast ocean. I am reminded of that common English phrase 'every little helps', which I am really latching onto here at the moment. I think I have already mentioned somewhere in my blog that famous quote from Lao...

I was in school at 08:30 to observe a Maths lesson with Priyani, and there were a few serious issues with it, so after the following planned History lesson observation, we skipped the third planned French lesson observation, so that we could use that time to discuss the Maths lesson, and the various issues that arose out of the lesson observation. I think that it was a very helpful discussion but only time will tell if it bears fruit in the long run. Our discussion, plus some time feeding back to the teachers, took rather longer than expected, so I was feeling a bit exhausted by the time I went over to observe an English Literature lesson in Grade 8, then a Science lesson, also in Grade 8. Lalanga noticed how tired I was and thought I might be ill, but I wasn't. The work I do can be quite intense, and occasionally rather emotional, so it just takes its toll on me now and again - I will be 68 next month! I certainly took advantage of a reasonably early finish this afternoon to have ...

It was the start of another week of working with the Section Heads of Grades 5 and 6 and Grades 7 and 8. I observed 3 lessons in Grade 5 this morning - one English, one Science, and one Maths. I then observed a Science lesson in Grade 7. My final task of the day was to have a discussion with Lalanga, the Section Head of Grades 7 and 8, about a recent Maths test taken by Grade 7, which I wasn't the least bit impressed with when I looked at it for a number of reasons. Having put in a solid days' work, I had a good rest in the apartment, which included an afternoon siesta, as it was surprisingly hot again today. I can fully understand why people in very hot countries need to shut down in the heat of the day to recharge their batteries before coming to life again in the late afternoon and early evening. I thought it might make it harder to sleep again at night but that doesn't seem to have been the case at all. Madame Sandra sent her driver, the lovely Gayethri, to collect me a...

I had another great night's sleep at The Secret Garden, and joined Ragu for breakfast just after 09:30. I had paratha and coconut curry for my breakfast, and it was one of the most delicious things that I have eaten on this trip to Sri Lanka - I just wished that I had chosen it for my breakfast yesterday too. Sadly, we have been very unlucky with the weather this weekend, and it was raining quite heavily as we set off around the town, although we still enjoyed ourselves. We didn't get our walk around the fort in this time, much less our hoped-for swim in the Indian Ocean, but one of the highlights of Galle Fort is the extensive range of artwork that you can discover in the many galleries. I didn't buy anything, as I am short of money until the middle of the week, largely because I lost my credit card just before Christmas, and Lloyds Bank failed to deliver it to me when I was still in the Hill Country, as they promised they would. We had a lovely cup of coffee at one point,...

I was up and out at 07:30 today, as breakfast was being served from 08:45 to 11:30, and I wanted to make the most of the morning sunshine before it got too hot. I walked to the end of Pedlar Street, and I sat on a wall by the sea to record a video message for my lovely granddaughter, Esther, who is 7 today. She doesn't have a phone yet, so I sent the video to her older sister, Isabella, who was 12 last month, and I then recorded a separate video for her, so she didn't feel left out! Some shops were open around 08:30, so I did a little bit of shopping - mainly getting presents for people in Kurunegala who have been so kind to me over the past 4 weeks, but also a few for people back at home. I then went back for a lovely breakfast of a traditional Sri Lankan omelette, with a bit of toast, fresh fruit juice, and a nice hot coffee! The bed and breakfast option here at The Secret Garden is a very good deal, especially as you are in the heart of the old town. After breakfast, I did s...