Hello everyone!

It's been an INSANELY busy week! So forgive me if I waffle on a bit - so much to tell!

Our first proper day at the school was a kind of celebration for the ex-principal, so there were no lessons, just a big celebration, so we just chatted and got to know the children and teachers. I can't believe how friendly everyone is! We later went for a coffee (yes, I drank it) and a chat at the ex-principals home. It was awesome!

The very next day, we started teaching! The children always stand up when I walk into their class, and remain standing until i tell them to sit down, which I'm still trying to get used to! The school (along with most of Sri Lanka) is soooo laid back, so I can pretty much choose what/how to teach them (as long as I follow the school's way of teaching. Like I said its so laid back that anything can happen. The other day I got called out of class for a tea break with some important visitors. Teeheehee. But I have found out that even the year 11s (17 years old) don't know English. They've had lessons, but they just copy what the teacher writes on the board; they have NO IDEA what they have written. I'm going to have loads of work to do!

On Thursday after school, we went to the playing field with some of the older ones, and they taught us to play CRICKET! We also did some get fit exercises. It was a riot!

I'm sad to say that the weather in bandarawela is horrible. It's in the mountains so its always raining! But at least it's still warm.

On Friday, we decided to escape the rain, and take a trip to arugam bay, on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Boy, is it hot there! 30•C! We went for a swim and long walk when we arrived. We then found a monastery, and were shown around by a monk. He then took us into his home for a cup of tea! Later we found a restaurant to have dinner in. I had BATTERED CHICKEN and WEDGES! To be honest, it was nice to have a break from curry!

Saturday was awesome. We walked through villages for a few hours - the locals flew out of their houses to see 'the white people', haha! We took a walk along the beach, where We saw some men pulling a long rope from the sea (their way of fishing), and we decided to help them out by pulling the rope for a bit...to get the fish in apparently takes 3 hours! We then left to visit another monastery, and have a look around.

We then reached a lake, where we got taken out on a raft for about 3 hours, we saw crocodiles, birds and butterflies.

Unfortunately I had put sun cream everywhere, apart from my legs (HOW I could forget them, I don't know)....everywhere is really tanned, but my legs are swollen with sunburn! Oops!

Saturday evening, some deaf Sri Lankan guys we had met came down to have a chat with us. It was lovely :-).

That's all for now. Sorry it's such a long entry! Xxxxxxxxx