DP orientation is when we get together with our grade and complete a journey in our host country to gain closer bonds and teamwork skills with our grade that we will be completing the IB programme with helping us to grow as individuals and as a group.

Our journey began early in the morning on the 28th of September at 6:30 in the morning. Where we gathered to set of for the Kithugala rainforest, heavily loaded with our baggage.

We mentally prepared ourselves for the 2 hour bus journey (closer to 3 hours) and set off.

As we arrived at borderlands they took us further up the river to suit us up in hard hats and life jackets as well as equipping us with paddles that we would later use for the rafting. We went down to the river where we were greeted with a snack choice between an vegetable roll or butter cake and a hot cup of tea or some water to hydrate ourselves. Wade (lead of borderlands) gave us an introduction to the trip and what we would be doing as well as some expectation such as behaving well and understanding safety protocols. We then crossed the river to the sand bank in the rafts. Wade then explained to us the ways of the river and how currents flowed around rocks, where they were at their strongest (just below the surface), spots of calm water called eddies and then taught us how to float on our backs. We all gathered as a group in the water and held hands in a big circle as the guide instructed us to lay down on our backs without letting go. The result; a bunch of teenagers and a few adults screaming as they made contact with the cold water of the river.

After this we got into groups for the rafts. I was put into a group to collaborate with Sho-Ji, Thisath, Chirath and Maya as well as 2 guides who sat at the back of the raft to control direction. We learned how to paddle, back paddle, move to one side of the raft when instructed to do so quickly, sit in the middle when we had to “taco” (a move in which the boat folds in half when it goes through a small gap between rocks) and practiced in the same area we did the floating. When all groups had succeeded in this, we made our way down the river.

The rafting began. We played bumper carts with the rocks and ended up clashing with some other rafts when they found themselves stuck between rocks. It required a lot of team work when we got stuck in these positions as everyone tried to push the raft into the current so it would bring us further down the stream. You had to have a lot of physical perseverance as fighting the currents did make you tired quickly. With some people pushing against the rock and others paddling we made our way out of the situations and enjoyed ourselves as the water splashed us in the face (although most of the time it was because of the people on the other rafts taking advantage of their paddles) and admiring the beautiful biodiversity of Kithugala.

We floated down to a sand bank and sat there for a while. Wade told us how within the month, it would no longer exist at the side of the river and would have been taken to be used in a building in Colombo.

He then got me to read out Chief Seattle’s Letter. In this letter, Chief Seattle send his well wishes to the Governors of Washington territory who wanted to buy his land. Chief Seattle was known for his courage, daring and leadership. He says how that if he sells the land, they must care for it. That they had to understand that nature wasn’t ours to use and had its own soul.

“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.

One thing we know – there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all.”

Figure 4; Chief Seattle’s Letter (credit: “CHIEF SEATTLE’S LETTER”. CSUN.EDU, 2022, HTTP://WWW.CSUN.EDU/~VCPSY00H/SEATTLE.HTM. Accessed 18 OCT 2022. )

In figure 4, you can see how in the letter Chief Seattle urges the President of Washington to care for the land like they would anything else dear to them. How despite their differences they were all human no matter their race or background. They were all just human and couldn’t play God with nature. One of the lines from the letter that really stuck with me was “But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” It got me to think about how much we take from nature even though it does not belong to us. Nature belongs to nobody but the earth yet we take so much from it and thank the earth by polluting its rivers, mining its resources and disposing of our waste in its soil. We truly take the things that give us life for granted.

After our session of enlightenment we were told to choose either a leaf or a rock that was passed around in the circle and to tell the group how it relates to us. It gave us some insight to how others feel about themselves and how they could find parts of themselves in nature.

We then continued further down the river and eventually reached what would be the highlight of our rafting journey. Because of the low water levels of the Kelani river many rocks had appeared. Our objective? Raft past them and then do the famous taco move as a finale! The taco move required everyone in the boat to sit in the center and hold on so the raft could fold in two when passing through the narrow space between two boulders. When the time came for my group to go through the rapids we worked together well. We had already established a tempo and when we said 1 our paddle would go into the water, and when we said 2 we would pull the paddle out of the water. We listened to the instructions of our guide and when he told us to sit in the middle we did so.

As we passed through the rocks the right of the boat started to tilt off causing Sho-Ji to fall out, so I leaned to the right (as I was front right) and managed to straighten the boat out. The guide pulled an excellent manoeuvre to help rescue Sho-Ji by using his paddle to drag him closer and then pulling him up by his life vest.

A team before us affectionately named “It happened” flipped their raft and were submerged into the water.

After the rafting we hiked up to another river and had a small snack before starting our canyoning journey. This required us to work well with each other so we could instruct one another how to jump safely. We would also tell each other how deep the water was, how far out we had to jump and in what position we should keep our bodies in. The water was cold, and the rain started pouring down on us but we didn’t mind.

After jumping our way down the river we had lunch next to it. Sitting on the rocks and indulging ourselves in traditional Sri Lankan curries and rice with some watermelon as a dessert. Hydration is very important when doing physical activity so everyone had several cups of water. After a while of chatting we continued our journey we walked back to where we started our hike and walked back down to the Kelani river. We then got into small groups and were told to float down the river on our backs. We remained in the middle of the river so the current would carry us the correct way, and held hands in the circle formation we practiced earlier on in the day.

Listening to the water whoosh past our ears, and the rustle of the trees in the wind as the rain fell on its leaves was a sensory sensation. The coolness of the water was better than any showed I had ever taken and soothed my nerves.

We arrived at camp soon enough and were greeted with warm mugs of vegetable, and chicken soup. After that we were given free time to organize our stuff into our rooms and wondered around camp. I soon found the tire swing and was on it almost the whole time we were at camp. Dinner was served shortly after and we did our reflections. We were asked to do a voice recording based on the ‘I used to think….now I know…’ and to write a letter to someone we care about explaining our day. I decided to write to my past self. After that we played some games together and went to sleep.

This first day of DP Orientation went really well, and I was able to collaborate with my peers as well as get to know them better. We made ethical choices when it came to the nature we encountered in order to respect it and persevered through the tough treacherous waters of the Kehlani river.

Here is a audio reflection I did at the end of the day: 220924_009

Featured Image Credit: Eloise Golding