IB ORIENTATION TRIP – KITHULGALA

My homeroom group alongside Ms. Chandlar

IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST GO ALONE.

IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR GO TOGETHER.

The DP1 Orientation trip was a mandatory trip for all the DP1 students. We went to Kithulgala Borderlands. It was a whole new experience for me and a good opportunity as well. One, because I am new at OSC and I didn’t know most people and two, I had never done anything like this before. At Kithulgala we did canoeing, white-water rafting, hiking and ab-sailing. It was quite an adventure for me because I’m not that much of an outdoor person. But I enjoyed every part of it. I got to know more about my class-mates and also about the teachers.

An image of us canoeing down the Kelani River; Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

The journey started with me coming to school on the morning of the 28th. We left school at about ten minutes to seven. First, we did canoeing along the Kelani River. We had to jump off small cliffs to the river. The guides provided us with the necessary safety precautions. I found the first jump a bit terrifying but as we moved onto the second and third jumps I was less scared. It was very thrilling. Apart from all this, I guess it taught us to accept challenges with a positive mind. Challenges can come in various forms and in order to overcome it you must jump into it, just like jumping into the water with no clear idea of the depth of the river.

We had a delicious lunch by the river. Then we went on a forty-minute hike up the river, through the forest with frequent leech attacks. Afterward, we participated in white-water rafting. We were put into groups; each with six classmates, a teacher and a guide from Borderlands. I have to say it was technically the best. We had to raft through some rough areas and it was fun. As a team we rowed in harmony and it taught me how to corporate with each other in times of danger. Also, it helped me in bonding with my team. Then we swam to our hotel, where we were welcomed with a hot cup of soup. We had showers- some had river baths-had dinner and got together for a reflection of our day’s work. Later at about 9.30pm we said goodnight and had a sound sleep.

White water rafting in the Kelani River; Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

The next day didn’t actually start off well. The sun was shining when we started our morning stretches but then it started pouring so we had to cancel our morning run and make changes in our plan for the day. So instead of going Ab-sailing as planned we hiked to the Kithulgala Beli-Lena. There we listened to a story and were asked to draw a map of our journey with the use of AOKs ( Areas Of Knowledge ) and WOKs ( Ways Of Knowing ).

The TOK session held at the Kithulgala Beli Lena; Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

Straight from there, we hiked back to the waterfall where we were supposed to do the ab-sailing. Ab-sailing is one thing you have to do once in your lifetime. I was so excited about it that I didn’t even feel scared despite the height of the waterfall and a high amount of water. But as I gradually went down the rope the pressure water created on my legs increased. At times I felt that I won’t be able to handle the pressure anymore. But however, after about 10 whole minutes I landed safely.

Me, when I went on ab-sailing; Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

Then after the hike back to the bus, we went to the hotel. Our adventures for the day were over. As previously we reflected our experiences and also went through the plans for the next day. Moreover, we had a discussion about Greta Thunberg.

The following day, which was our last day at Borderlands Kithulgala, consisted of nothing adventurous. Once again we were put into groups to interview some local villages. Each group included a Sinhala speaker to aid with the interviews. We put together some questions in groups and then we went to our resource persons. The interviews went really well and being a fluent Sinhala speaker I was able to lead the interview. It was a good experience for me because I learned how to interview someone. And also at the same time how to act as a translator to the other members. Thus, I greatly enjoyed it. After, we visited the on-going construction of the dam.

Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan

Then we had an early lunch at the hotel and started our journey back to Colombo. Within about three hours we were safely back in school and we all headed back home with lovely memories collected from the days at Kithulgala. Overall I enjoyed the trip so much. I made a lot of new friends and it made me comfortable around the new teachers and students. So I’m truly glad I was able to be a part of this journey.

One thing I want to highlight through this is that the IB Orientation trip wasn’t organized merely for fun. Yes, we did have fun, but most importantly we received so many values and learnt so many things that were hidden in every activity we participated in. We learned to work together as a group. We learnt to listen to others’ ideas and respect them. We learnt to face challenges with a positive attitude. And we learnt that nothing is impossible as long as you are together. So as for this moment, I am really happy that I am a GECKO.

The DP 1 group; Image courtesy; Mr. Will Duncan