By 9am we reached the school which would teach us a lesson that could never be replicated back at HKIS. The school kids were already lined up outside waiting to give us a warm welcome. We experience generous Sri Lankan hospitality, giving us a deeper insight into the local culture.
We moved on to planting some fruit trees which was hard physical work, in hot conditions.
After lunch we started doing dances with the kids and interacting with them via sports and play.
Personally we had more fun with them than abseiling, canyoning and hiking. We saw a different side to people as they were given the opportunity to shine in their own comfort zones. While some of us proved to be extremely dedicated to planting trees, barely stopping for a break, others built an amazing rapport with the school kids who wouldn't leave their side. Of course we came with the intention of planting trees and delivered. But our true present to the kids was our company.
They taught us the importance of a simple smile and we were happy to return it.
Hopefully the sports equipment and wonderful rendition of "Duck, Duck, Goose" (played in Tamil) will forever remind them of the short but memorable moments we shared.
So again what is service? To us is it the kids giving us those memories and smiles, while we gave them the same. Different societies, languages, ages were not a barrier to today's experiences.
Kirk, Hyun Jong ("Happy"), Brianna and Salonee"
We moved on to planting some fruit trees which was hard physical work, in hot conditions.
After lunch we started doing dances with the kids and interacting with them via sports and play.
Personally we had more fun with them than abseiling, canyoning and hiking. We saw a different side to people as they were given the opportunity to shine in their own comfort zones. While some of us proved to be extremely dedicated to planting trees, barely stopping for a break, others built an amazing rapport with the school kids who wouldn't leave their side. Of course we came with the intention of planting trees and delivered. But our true present to the kids was our company.
They taught us the importance of a simple smile and we were happy to return it.
Hopefully the sports equipment and wonderful rendition of "Duck, Duck, Goose" (played in Tamil) will forever remind them of the short but memorable moments we shared.
So again what is service? To us is it the kids giving us those memories and smiles, while we gave them the same. Different societies, languages, ages were not a barrier to today's experiences.
Kirk, Hyun Jong ("Happy"), Brianna and Salonee"
No comments:
Post a Comment