This DP orientation was an amazing all-round experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot. We did a wide range of activities involving Creativity, Activity, and Service. After a long bus ride on the morning of August 28th we dropped our stuff off at the lodge and went to a nearby canyon called Marvel Canyon. We did lots of activity based activities there because we physically challenged ourselves by hiking to the canyon and jumping into small natural pools. This helped us bond as a group because we went out of our comfort zones and challenged ourselves physically.

Next, we went to a section of the Kelani River to begin our rafting experience. We were divided into groups of 6 with 1 guide per raft. We had to work our arms hard to move the boat, and be able to balance our boat through the guide telling us what to do. This was one of the best experiences for team bonding because we had to work together in our small groups to overcome challenges that the river had to offer. Our challenge was to not fall out of the boat and although some people did, I personally achieved this mini-goal. Our small groups were made so that we were with people that we didn’t usually work with, which made things very interesting. I definitely got to know people that are new to the school and people that I didn’t know so well better through this activity.

Photo Credits to Mr. Duncan

The next day, we hiked to a cave where we did some activities relating to Theory of Knowledge. We listened to stories and drew maps of our journey while in the cave, which was a great setting for these activities. We learned a lot about perspectives and how we each interpreted the journey differently. This was interesting because I got to see a wide variety of maps and perspectives of our journey. Next, we hiked to the top of a waterfall to abseil down. This was not a challenge for me because I had no fear and was excited rather than scared. It was an amazing experience for the views and the feeling of being in nature.

The next day we interviewed locals about the damming of the river. They didn’t speak English peers helped by translating their responses. We asked about how the dam would affect their lives, and our interviewee, the owner of a boathouse for white water rafting, told us that his business would shift from white water rafting to abseiling and hiking. He said that the dam would change the water flow and make it impossible to raft.

This was a great learning experience for me because I faced many challenges and achieved many goals. I was able to remain fearless when we abseiled down the waterfall, I collaborated and got to know my new classmates more, and understand the different perspectives of the class on the topic of mapping. We bonded as a group and I learned a lot about my peers and who we are as people and as a class.