“You have to just risk going too far to discover how far you can really go”
The orientation trip to Borderlands, Kitulgala was for all of the DP1 students to bond with each other and also for an introduction to TOK. It was an action packed trip. We did white water rafting, canyoning, hiking, swimming in the river and we also interviewed some of the locals from Kitulgala.
29, September
We got into our safety vests and buckled up our helmets as soon as we got off the bus in Kitulgala. We started to raft after a safety briefing. It was hard at first because we weren’t paddling at the same time. What I learnt from whitewater rafting was co-ordination and team work.
We headed off to do some canyoning in the afternoon. I wasn’t at all nervous at first but seeing the others get nervous made me get nervous. It was a 10m jump at first and I really thought that I wont be able to make that jump but I was courageous and I did it!
Later on we slid off some rocks which was fun. We had to do another jump afterwards, since I was nervous for the first jump this jump was scary as well. Mr.Duncan our DP co-ordinator was there to give me some moral support. Canyoning led to a hike down to the river where were split into two groups and was told to float back down to camp in a circle .The water was really cold but we all had a good time.
Finally after a long day of action and adventure we headed back to camp where we had some reflection time. We all shared our experiences. That is when I realised how important reflection is.
30 September
This day was all about hiking and abseiling. We hiked to the Belilena Cave for a TOK lesson. The Belilena cave is a historical cave in Sri Lanka. I was able to share my knowledge about the cave with my fellow classmates. We were asked to draw a map of the way we got up to the cave. We then discussed the “Ways Of Knowing” we had used to draw the map.After the visit to the cave we did another hike to go and have lunch. Then we headed to the abseil point. I didn’t do the abseil because I was really tired after the hike.After all that action and adventure we headed back to camp for some reflection time.
31 September
We started our day with a morning run which was very,very,very tiring and that when I really understodd how bad my fitness levels are.We headed back to camp and got ready to go out and meet some of the local people from Kitulgala.We were put into groups by our teachers to interview the monk. I was able to interview the monk and translate it to English for my fellow team mates. We got to know how the construction of the dam and tourism in Kitulgala is affecting their lives.
After lunch we headed back to school. Overall this trip was a really good experience. I am proud of myself of how well I did, the courage I had and the experience I got.
