Three weeks ago, I was in a different country, surrounded by different people, and in a different time zone completely, saying my goodbyes to what had been an incredible three months working out in Sri Lanka. I had been accepted onto a graduate placement working for SLVolunteers; a charity based out in Sri Lanka giving graduates the opportunity to have degree specific placements including English teaching, coaching, sports, and those like me who are interested in working in the mental health sector.
For those twelve weeks I was immersed in a completely different world; learing a new language, (well, attempting to!) Learning about their way of life, and learning to love incredibly spicy curries! There were roughly 100 graduates selected, each staying in various homes around Colombo, and each were given an individual timetable of assorted projects to work on for the three months that we were there.
I would spend time at a special needs home for men, running activities, games, and arts and crafts with them, then spend the afternoon teaching basic English to some children from around the community. Another day would see me teaching much more advanced English to some factory workers in the hope that improving their English would one day lead to a promotion.
Wednesday was a day dedicated to psychology, so every week we worked at two mental health hospitals, working in a different ward each week, hoping that merely our presence would help bring a smile to their faces. We got them to draw, sing, play ball games, make bracelets, anything we could think of to get the patients to interact with each other. We even played a few rounds of bingo!
Another part of my week would be to help run (along with the help of six other graduates) a sports and crafts therapy session at a special needs home for boys with learning difficulties, down's syndrome, and many other conditions. We had them doing various individual exercises, such as circuits and stretches to help not only with strength but memory, along with team games and songs. They particularly enjoyed learning the "penguin song" having to jump up and down like a penguin during the song!
A final project I was given was to work in a children's home. All the children there are orphans for various reasons, and we were there to work, not only on the children's English, but on their behaviour. Growing up in a children's home, these children have to be taught skills that for those of us who are lucky enough to be brought up in loving families, come naturally to us. When growing up with surrounded by peers, you look to those around you to learn from.
Along with these projects, we were lucky enough to receive lectures from Samutthana, a group of clinical psychologists who came over from King's College London to talk to us about various topics including counselling, meditation, and therapy. One particular workshop that stood out in my mind was an art therapy workshop where we were taught simple art therapy techniques, and at the end we were presented with a huge piece of paper on the floor. All of us were designated a different section of the tree to draw and I was given the part that included the owl! Unfortunately, due to my lack of drawing skills it looked more like a squished koala, nevertheless, as our lecturer, and thousands of cheesy sales lines tell us; it's the taking part!
So, here I am, three weeks later, sitting listening to the rain drum down on the roof of the house. It's the heaviest rain we've had since I've returned home, yet all I can do is compare it to when the skies would light up for miles around everytime lightning would hit. Even taking the London tubes at rush hour jolts me back to how squished I felt on every bus journey, wondering today it would be my turn to have somebody fall on my lap when we swerved around a corner.
Getting back into daily life was both unnervingly hard and yet surprisingly easy at the same time. The day after I flew home, I slept until 11, then went downstairs in my pyjamas and grabbed a bowl of cereal, none of which I would have been able to do out there. And yet, for the first ten days back home, my life was riddled with jet lag, boredom, and a sense of loneliness, at the adventure my life had suddenly lost. Job hunting and meeting up with friends is finally sucking me back into some sort of a resemblance of a life, but what I'm trying to state is just how much I've had to adjust back after learning so much and not being able go transfer those skills straightg away. It's given me a severe case of itchy feet! Let's hope my next project isn't too far away!
