by webtester | Nov 7, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
Attention Mother Nature: When I requested no rain for the rest of our stay in Sri Lanka, I wasn’t saying I wanted clear skies and a sun so hot it feels like I’m about to toss the ring into the burning fires of Mordor. I mean, if I wanted that I could have arranged a...
by webtester | Nov 6, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
We rested. Well, not exactly rest. We piled into the van and took the hour’s drive (30km on crazy roads) to Colombo for a bit of souvenir shopping. The capital city is pretty much what you’re imagining right now: a concrete jungle with more McDonald’s than...
by webtester | Nov 5, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
There’s this certain line graph that tends to make an appearance whenever individuals or groups are preparing for cultural immersion. It purports to show the emotional “roller coaster” that many people go through, beginning with the “high” of the new experience, which...
by webtester | Nov 4, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
I was never very good at Tetris, so perhaps I wasn’t the best choice to help the masons fit the rubble stones together, jigsaw puzzle-like, along the first layer of concrete as we began to build the walls up from the ground. It’s an art form, wedging those hundreds of...
by webtester | Nov 3, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
We awoke to a steady rain that had us worried about the prospect of work. After the success we had on Tuesday, I hated the idea of being stymied by the weather just as we’re about to start a three-day stretch at our sites. We passed an hour playing cards and laughing...
by webtester | Nov 2, 2011 | Community and Service, Front Page, Grade 10, Grade 9, The Grades
We were standing on a veranda overlooking a wide river. Cameras clicked away and laughter was heard, the sort of silly laughter you only hear from adults when they’re seeing something truly exceptional. “Normally we only get to see this on the tele,” Ineke remarked,...
