Overseas School of Colombo - Day 3!

The third and final day with OSC started out with an awakening morning run and stretches before energizing everyone by jumping in the river. All this before the students even had breakfast.

After breakfast, the students were ready to go out and interview six individuals who lived in Kithulgala. The student groups interviewed individuals whose jobs ranged from a previous principal of a school to a ferry owner who brought people back and forth across the river daily. The students all asked inspiring, thoughtful and challenging questions, often yielding unexpected answers.

Upon returning to camp, everyone had a large lunch before getting ready to head back to Colombo, and we expect many will sleep on the drive. We will miss having the students up at camp, and look forward to next years Overseas School of Colombo trip!!

Overseas School of Colombo - Day Two!

Day two of the Grade 11 International Baccalaureate adventure started at 7am, after breakfast and preparation, with all the students, teachers and staff loading into two buses to get to the historic Belilena Cave.

The students piled out after the 40-minute drive, eager to hike up to the cave! Their eagerness was not diminished when they stepped up to the task of carrying snacks, water and equipment up to the cave. What followed was a 1.5 kilometer hike full of singing and sprinting ahead, which culminated in a two-and-a-half hour Theory of Knowledge session to prepare students for the upcoming two years and dig deeper into understanding the basis of knowledge.

After completing their Theory of Knowledge session the students then hiked up to the Water House with more singing, where a quick break for lunch and collecting gear prepared them for an afternoon of abseiling. The students also quickly found the leeches, and bonded, to student and leech, through the experience of leech removal and support to continue hiking up the rocky climb to the top of the waterfall. A storm began brewing as we hiked up, eventually drenching us to the bone in freezing water. The students took everything in stride!

The abseiling was a challenge to many students and while screaming, hysterical laughing and wide-eyed skepticism happened, no student cried. Those who had abseiled before explained and assured to those who hadn’t, resulting in all students eventually getting down the waterfall. The storm was still present which meant those who weren’t braving the waterfall where huddling close to the rest of the group to stay warm.

The adventures concluded with a hike back down through the forest and tea plantations, with the students and teachers alike braving the leeches again, and another 40-minute bus ride which was spent telling stories and jokes in exhausted but thrilled camaraderie.

The students just relaxed in the long house in the evening, even going to bed at the actual set time in order to get a good nights sleep before the final half-day of adventure tomorrow!

Welcome to Overseas School of Colombo Grade 11!!

For the past 7 years the International Baccalaureate program from the Overseas School of Colombo has partnered with Borderlands for their IB orientation for grade 11. Today we welcomed the 29 students and 8 teachers of the 2015 graduating class who had driven up from Colombo this morning. Upon arriving and having some energizing snacks at our rafting launch point, we moved them down to the river for the safety brief. Many of the students had been on our adventures before and were eager to help out as much as possible.

Upon completing the safety brief we loaded up the students into the rafts and set off! The students had a blast as we charged the six boats through the rapids and the change in atmosphere from classroom to outdoor learning experience allowed individuals to demonstrate their leadership and teamwork capabilities along with individual talents.

Just before lunch the whole group pulled into a riverside beach and docked the boats for an hour. Students and teachers both then took turns jumping, flipping and twisting off the boat into the calm water. The challenge got greater when the boat got flipped over and became a slide, but thanks to the group supporting and cheering each other on, everyone tried the fun activity.

A quick reloading into the rafts and 300 meters down the river, we docked again for lunch and canyoning. Some individuals were initially worried about the water, others had a fear of heights, but thanks to the incredible levels of support from their classmates and friends everyone got through the canyon and we even managed to run the extended canyon!!

We returned to the boats in time for a gentle raft back to camp over a few smaller rapids which the students were now comfortable with, followed by a relaxing river float into camp.

After moving into tents and exploring the camp the students (now freshly showered and in dry clothing) migrated to the long house to socialize. It quickly became a learning experience as both Amanda Lenk and Ian Lockwood discussed the Theory of Knowledge and the Creativity, Action and Service aspects of the International Baccalaureate to prepare them for the following two years.

The evening concluded with student-led self-reflection and a slideshow of the day’s adventure before the tired students went off to bed. We look forward to a fun day of abseiling and more adventures with the fantastic OSC class tomorrow!