Ayubowan

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Ayubowan everybody! This is the first word of Sinhala I learnt and its the polite way of greeting people. Often accompanied by putting your hands together and bowing your head.

So this is my second blog post. Not going to ramble on too much because I'm in an internet cafe and I'm not sure how much its costing me! Its my fourth day in Sri Lanka and I've been craaaazy busy! I'm not allowed to say much about the places I'm working so this blog will be mostly about my life outside of work. I can say that I'm working at 8 placements that involve working with people with special needs or mental health problems or I'm teaching English. This week has been training and observing but next week I will be thrown in the deep end taking my own classes! (scary)

I'm living with 9 other girls and a Sri Lankan family. We have our own section of the building with bedrooms and bathrooms and we go up to the main family area for breakfast and dinner. The family have invited us to dance with them after dinner this evening which should be fun! I have already seen a spider, a cockroach and a lizard in the bathroom which is terrifying! All the other girls are lovely although everyone has been quite tired from jet lag. The food is so spicy! I am already getting bored of curry which is a little worrying but I'm sure I'll adjust.

When I first arrived in Sri Lanka I went in a minibus to get to my homestay and it was like spending 40 minutes on the Blackpool big dipper ride, I felt so sick. The roads here are crazy! I don't know if I'll ever get used to walking out into 4 lanes of traffic and just hoping the cars will stop for you! No such thing as a pelican crossing here! The good thing is I already feel like I kind of know the way around Maharagama (a suburb of Colombo). I know the way to the phone shop and the internet cafe and the food shop etc. I've just purchased some lovely trousers that look like something out of Aladdin!

This weekend we're going to the jungle for a weekend of getting to know each other. We're going white water rafting, rock sliding and jungle trecking so I'll let you know how that goes if I ever get another moment of free time. Its so busy! Love you and miss you all!

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