On the 6th of December 2018, we had an exchange school come to visit us and spend a day learning all about the culture of Sri Lanka. The Kambala school came all the way from Australia on that Friday to spend it with us at school in which we did some TOK, cooked, ate and played two traditional sports of Sri Lanka. It was a great opportunity for us meet other international students and connection with them but to also have new experiences with situations that we are very familiar with. It was a great learning experience in those hours I spent teaching them about my experiences in Sri Lanka and the culture of the country.
At the start of the day we gave them each their own sarong which I had gone out the night before to purchase. This is one of the more traditional costumes worn in Sri Lanka, typically by the men however women can wear them. In the image below I was teaching Anika how to wear a sarong successfully.
The highlight of the day would have to be the time we spent cooking making a traditional lunch. Each of the dishes were made through the collaboration of parents, OSC students and Kambala students. It turned out absolutely delicious! It was rewarding and the time spent with the students over a quality lunch at a large table was memorable.
In the above image I was teaching one of the girls named Anika how to shred coconut for us to use in a desert which was later made. It was actually quite amazing to meet Anika as she was from my summer program in New York. It such a small world for international students, and these friendships will be renewed again another day.
At the end of the three hour long cooking session we all made a full lunch buffet for every to eat from. It was satisfying to eat from a lunch knowing that we all put in effort to make. This made it special and even more delicious to consume. It was truly lovely to see what we could actually achieve when all our talents and efforts are combined to do an unusual activity.
After lunch we got together to play a game of cricket, it was interesting to see how the OSC students were teaching them the sport which they learnt how to play in ninth grade. The transferring of skills was its optimum as the students were highly engaged in ensuring that everyone would be able to enjoy the game. Although the sun was burning every inch of our bodies, we were all too engaged in the sport and the friendly competition that it barely crossed our minds. Later, we moved indoors to the shade to play some volleyball. It was nice to meet players from the Kambala school who were at a similar skill level as me. As the majority of my classmates are talented in this sport which I have difficulty performing well in it. The short game played was interesting as we completely switched the rules of serving to meet the skill level of everyone playing.
This day was a great experience and would be one of the highlights of DP for me. I am grateful to have been given this opportunity by my teachers as I was able to learn a lot from students beyond my classmates.