Postcard from...Kandy, Sri Lanka

From Pamalya

Transformers - student becomes teacher

Recently we were asked if we could provide a 'non-teacher' speaker for a high school-aged class, and from a 'different' background. We immediately asked Rukshini...

This young lady's English is tremendous, and she is a wonderful ambassador for Sri Lanka (who, as I write, are giving England a cricketing lesson at Headingley!). She is also a poster girl for everything that is wrong with Japanese education...unable to get into uni (here) despite her academic talent, worldly perspective, driven nature and obvious smarts...having bashed her brains out all the way through JHS & HS and catching Jim's attention within seconds about 5 years ago.

Destined for great things - with FCE

"For the first time in my life, I had opportunity to speak in front of a class at M school, not as a student. I was nervous full of doubts. How are they going to react? What if I say something goes wrong?
 
It's so much easier to be the student!
 
Preparations for the presentation well. I had a lot of advice and I was adamant to try my best. It was fun to do all the planning from a different perspective , get the new ideas but the real job lay ahead.
 
The few minutes before the class, I was shaking, but the moment I started talking the tension vanished. I was actually enjoying myself. It was more like a conversation than a speech. Ms R was very supportive asking questions and encouraging the students.

My theme was to speak about life in Sri Lanka and Japan. How do I see things as a foreigner in Japan, things I've learned...So I was eager to talk. There is so much to tell and it kept me going. The students were shy, but I could tell they were interested. 

In the second period, we had a Sri Lankan tea-time and questions from each student. I had to think back on some of them. “What surprised me most in Japan?"
To tell the truth, there were too many !

At the end of the class some students even thanked me 😃
I know how difficult it is to learn a language, especially if it has nothing interesting. You need the spark, that desire to learn....and I wonder if I had given them that spark..

So, it's easy to be student but it's thrilling to be a teacher!
 
I am no longer nervous. I could say I got over the fence. I'm quite looking forward to the next one, and thanks to Luna for providing me this wonderful opportunity 😆"

The Annual Hanami BBQ - Sunshine, smiles and satisfied stomachs

Where's the meat?

Last Sunday was Luna's annual hanami BBQ party along the Susugi river bank and what a blast it was! The sun was out, the cherry blossoms were almost in full bloom and we got to share the whole experience with a host of our students, families, friends as well as the teachers from Sasabe kindergarten. Even Damian's mum made a flying visit to join in with the festivities! It was great to see some many familiar, and some not so familiar, faces all gathered together to have a great time.

That's more like it!

Lots of our wonderful guests brought along something to share with the rest of the party goers. An excellent effort made by all. Fortunately everybody remembered to bring their appetites with them. It was quite the sight seeing all the different dishes from the classics sausages to Sri Lankan and Moroccan style dishes and of course the imperative Japanese BBQ food: the onigiri and the oinari san. We at Luna however like to take the traditional, let's say British, way of hosting a BBQ. Lots and lots of meat and hold the salad! And boy did we deliver. There was always something on the BBQ from start to finish (a special thanks to all those who helped cook all of the delicious food) and the air was filled with a fantastic aroma all day long. Everybody was left stuffed, satisfied and possibly slightly guilty from devouring such a feast.

Everybody tucking in

Whilst the adults were busy  responsible with BBQ tending and beer drinking duty, the children were enjoying themselves by running around and collecting cherry blossoms, making their own "flower pots" in paper cups and soaking Damian sensei with their water pistols! Luckily for them Damian sensei was far too full from his 20 portions of sausages and drumsticks to waddle after them. Maybe it would be a good idea to bring a lasso next time to round up the mischievous trouble makers.

Many thanks to all our fabulous guests for making this such a joyous and memorable event, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!  We look forward to hosting you all again next year!

Damian Gowland

Postcard from ...Sri Lanka

Happy New Year from Sri Lanka!

I arrived in Colombo on 24th Dec, then I attended mass with my friends & friend's family. The next day, I went to Galle and stayed one night there. Now I am in Kandy. Here I am going to tea plantations and Sigiriya.

Have a wonderful year 2013

Atsuko K