" I have never seen a most beautiful creature in my life, it was on a tree, looking at us with its big eyes, curled into a ball." Ela Penkowska shared her exciting experience with Feel Lanka 5.0

Ela Penkowska

I was very excited about our stay in Mahoora Wilpattu Luxury Camping, even though we were supposed to spend only one night there. We came by bus and there had already been a jeep waiting to pick us up. After a while we arrived at the camping. The welcoming  we got could not be any better, cold  wet  towels and king coconuts were exactly  what we needed at that  moment.  Our  bags  were  taken  to  the  tents  and  we
had  some  time  to  enjoy  the surroundings and get ready for lunch.

Lunch took place  outside in a specially arranged place. Starters, salads, main course and dessert were  all  equally delicious. It was a great opportunity to try Sri Lankan cuisine at its best. Also service met the highest standards and the staff foresaw every of our needs before we even spoke a word.

After lunch there was a perfect time for safari. We grabbed our cameras, hopped into a jeep and looked
forward to an unforgettable adventure.  We got into National Park and at first saw a deer, many colorful birds, some monkeys and squirrels.

Then we arrived at a big reservoir and saw a couple of elephants drinking and having a bath. We  stopped  the  jeep  for  a  while  to  take  pictures  and  watch  them  when  suddenly  a  huge elephant walked out of the bush. 

We continued our adventure and met a few jeeps going in the opposite direction. The drivers exchanged a few words and it turned out it was possible to see a leopard somewhere on a tree. We rushed to the place and there it was, on a tree in a distance. We spent a long time taking pictures when finally  the  leopard  decided to go down.  It walked slowly towards deer  and suddenly changed its way and  started coming  closer and closer to the jeeps.  When it came five meters to the jeep no one could say a word, I could
almost hear my heart beating.

After a few moments,  the leopard  was gone in the bush. We went to an arbour to have a picnic, Mahoora Camping provided a big basket with tea, coffee, biscuits, juices, fruits and cold beverages. We watched many birds, a fox and a turtle, then  headed back to the camping. We were welcome with cold wet towels
and ice tea.

In  the  evening  there  was  a  campfire  planned.  Again  it  took  place  in   a  different location. We were offered  an  aperitif  and sat to the table to a delicious meal. We could also taste Sri Lankan sweets and  in the end of delighting in our wine, we had a chance to meet the chef who cooked for us.  Sitting in the candle lantern’s light and looking  at the moon was so relaxing. We took a hot shower and went to sleep.

We woke up to the sunrise and heard birds singing their  best concert.  Apparently our safari was not over as the  Naturalist told us there was a Loris right in front  of our tent.  I have never seen a most beautiful creature in my life, it was on a tree, looking at us with its big eyes, curled  into  a  ball.  We  went  on  a  walk  with  the  Naturalist  and  saw  many  colorful  birds, squirrels,  elephant’s  track,  a  small  village  and  a  lake.  Searching  for  the  birds  was  very exciting as we needed to be very quiet not to scare them away. 

After the walk we went back to our tents to leave our cameras before breakfast and saw an unusual view. Loris  started walking slowly on a branch  of the tree. We were told it is very rare to see it and we were very lucky. We ate delicious breakfast and our time had come. It was very sad to say good bye to the Manager, the Naturalist  and  all the staff. They made us feel like  we were in paradise  and took  care of  us  very  well.  I  will  always  remember  my  stay  in  Mahoora  Wilpattu  Luxury Camping Site and we will definitely be back. See you soon!

"Everything was just perfect and I felt so good and could enjoy the nature in a special way." Valerie Starke's awesome experience in Feel Lanka 5.0

Valerie Starke

The last two days were the best of my journey in Sri Lanka so far. Together with five of my friends we spent two days in  Wilpattu National Park. Because we decided to stay overnight we chose  Mahoora Tented Safari Camp Wilpattu as our accommodation. This is a camping site in the heart of the nature. I  must  say  it  might  not  be  exactly  what  you  imagine  when  you  think  of  a  tent…  It  is  sooo  luxury. Each of our tents had its own bathroom,  a comfortable bed, chairs and everything  you need.  But not only  were  the  tents  luxury.  Right  from  the  beginning  when  we  arrived  at  Mahoora  Tented  Safari Camp  we were treated in a way like we were some celebrities or something. The staff welcomed us with some cold wet towels  to refresh  ourselves and with a chilled  king coconut  drink.  The manager explained  us  everything  we  needed  to  know  and  showed  us  the  whole  camping  site.  During  our whole stay  all our wishes were served before  we even expressed them. I also want to mention the food…  It  was  just  amazing.  Every meal was  an  experience  and  superb.  For  example  for  dinner  we were  served  five  exquisite  courses,  which  like  every  meal  offered  a  perfect  mix  between  the  Sri Lankan  and  western  cuisine.  Everything  tasted  very  fresh  and  you  can  see  that  the  Chef  paid attention to every little detail. But now enough of the food  (although I could go on for ages).   Let me tell you  something  about the nature and the Safari we did. So on the first day we hopped on  the  jeep  and  drove  into the heart  of  the  national park.  And  we  were  so  lucky. We  saw  so  many  beautiful and  stunning  animals like birds,  mammals,  elephants and a cute, tiny  loris.  But the best  was  the  leopard.  We discovered  it  while  it  was sleeping on a tree. But suddenly it moved and walked in direction  of some  deer.  But the deer were lucky because the  leopard seemed to be too  tired for  hunting. It was an amazing  experience  to  see the animals  in the nature.  Our naturalist was so skilled and had such a great eye.  When we came back from Safari we were warmly welcomed again with  some refreshments. Later we had dinner at the campsite which  includes  barbeque, a bonfire,  some nice bottles of wine  and much more.  Every one  of  us  had  a  really  good sleep  this  night  in  the  luxury tents.  The  next  day  the manager arranged  birdwatching in  the  early  morning  for  us. Before  we  had some  tea  and coffee  as  well  as  biscuits  and bananas.  Our naturalist showed us  so  many  different birds  and shared  his  great  knowledge with  us.  After  returning  to  the camping site we enjoyed such a nice breakfast with everything you can imagine for breakfast. Now it was time to pack our stuff. When we were ready the manager made sure that we have enough water for our trip back to Colombo and a member of staff brought us to our bus station.
All together  this was an amazing experience. Everything was just perfect and I felt  so good and could enjoy the nature in a  special  way.  Especially what the manager explained us about the ECO concept of  Mahoora Tented Safari Camp  impressed me. You feel that they really care for the nature and for the  people  living  in  that  area  since  they  are  raising  their  awareness  for  the  nature.

Kim Wawroschek's experience in Hodiya - pre school project

Sri Lanka, the „Pearl of the Indian Ocean“, welcomed me with endless dreamlike beaches, beautiful green tea estates and breathtaking mountains. I don’t know what I expected when I went there, but it was definitely not that diversity of beauty… Every area has its own special beauty, own climate and somehow even an own smell in the air…

Teaching in a preschool in a place so different from what I had known so far was a challenging, life-enhancing and wonderful experience. People around the school, children, teachers, parents and everyone else have been so kindhearted and willing to help that it was a real pleasure to be there.

Except the fact that I taught English to preschool students, being in Sri Lanka taught me a lot myself. During my stay I became more independent, open-minded and definitely more patient. I’m hoping to keep that feeling of serenity for a while…

Within the 6 weeks of my stay I have met a bunch of interesting people and made some beautiful friendships. To me, srilankan people always seem to be happy. And by happy I don’t just mean that they are in a good mood or friendly, it’s more that they seem to be satisfied with their life. That feeling was remarkable for me because in Germany or maybe in Europe in general having a “good life” is always measured by the wealth and people always aspire to have more. More money, a better job, a bigger house… So to witness and to realize that different understanding of happiness was a once in a lifetime experience.

Looking back, I gained so much more during my stay than what I dreamed of… 

Jean's Ever Lasting memories in Sri Lanka

  

Passionate tropical islands, vast blue sea, beautiful golden beaches. But the island, Sri Lanka, graceful left in my mind in memory of far more than the scenery along the way.

   

  Have been here for one month and a half, being around  with different cultures, influenced by a different environment, and I started to believe that time will tell all the things. There was no need to set up our own rules, whether about the past, present or future, just take things easy.  

  

  To feel the culture of the country, to be with the people, the students, the teachers and all kinds of people, I learned from their attitude.

The students here are lively, the spiritual which belongs to children is dripping showed. School where I taught is a boys' school and I taught fourth-grade, in the beginning, it is a pretty daunting thing to control the order of the class . While the kids hyperactivity, they really respect the teachers and are willing to offer the teacher help. Once I want to clean the blackboard they will show their enthusiasm and when I need to write a lot on the blackboard, they will come to help. I’m really moved by their respect towards the teachers. When I was in the class, teaching though only simple words or sentences from the book, still need to consider carefully about the class form, I corrected students’ handwriting or spelling, they are very active and especially like to ask me to draw stars to them. They asked my Chinese name, asked my signature, and then they gave me their writing of my name as a gift, just like abstract paintings, but I was still impressed. This moment, I truly appreciated my own identity, in the classroom, just like a teacher, not just one sitting in a classroom of students. I have a new identity in school from then on, and I need to have a different mentality to deal with the problem. Oil lamps lit classroom, Buddha smiles without a word, the lights on her face is beautiful, and I fell in love with this kind of piety and pure.

Come out to a country fascinated me a lot through AIESEC, I would say, is really a  luck for me. Choose educational projects, experience a different educational philosophy and culture, experience a group of children with a different style of alive and kicking; in CS branch, met a group of careful and considerate buddies;  in the intern house, where EPs live together, just like a family, which we can plan a weekend trip together, go grocery shopping and cooking together.  To experience Lanka in the street, in the local small restaurant, in Lanka buses, on the train of Lanka, and the temples and churches in Lanka, to experience a wide variety of belonging to Sri Lanka's uniqueness. All unfamiliar things made me have a different feeling from ever before. I think that I fell in love with this country far away from China, a country which has a belief.

The life here is so different from China: very strange meal times, the crowded buses which people can leisurely hanging on the door of, the driver seems like barefoot driving, walking barefoot in the temple, changing into tan complexion and so on. I cherished these precious memories like unforgettable pictures, and bounding into books, open when leisure, I am sure to come to laugh out.


Wang Jinying
From China

Gabby's one of a kind Experience in Gurugedara Project

At the beginning, the reason why I came to Sri Lanka was because I just didn't want to stay at home doing almost nothing in the holidays. I haven't expected what I want to obtain in that unfamiliar country during that period of time.  However as time went by, it is surprising that how much I’ve received.

Although I prepared each lesson seriously, I didn't think what I was doing could really change something. Will my students really get something from me? I doubted it. I kept this thought until that morning. A girl, she is the monitor of one class. She’s so quiet and when I looked at her and invited her to answer questions, she would remain silent for most of the time. That day, she came into the office, called my name and gave me an envelope. Surprised, I asked her whether the envelope was for me. She nodded her head and said yes. Opening it, I found a handmade thank you card. She made it to appreciate my teaching. Also on that day, after I finish the class, a girl went along with me to the office. On the way, she asked the things about China. She told me that she was interested in what I was showing in the class and wanted to know more about my country. I was surprised. The two girls changed my mind and I began to realize my value of being there.

During this period of time, I’ve also got many Sri Lanka friends. The organizing committee of my project was awesome and I learned a lot from them. Thank you to all of them and I will be back. Not kidding!

Gabby Lu
From China

Erik's "awesome Experience with awesome people" in Sri Lanka

Many of my first time experiences of my life happened in Sri Lanka, Like the first time going abroad alone, the first time teaching English, the first surfing and many more. All these experiences will surely be the one that has always taught me how to start out my following life. 

Over a month journey in Sri Lanka, I had to be independent but never felt lonely because of the company of all the people I met  who were my dear team mates, Colombo South AIESECers, local people, Exchange Participants from all over the world and of course the smiling faces of the students which was always the greatest part of the journey. We developed friendships with each other. 

We shared stories with each other. We experienced a lot together. Together we explored a fantastic and unforgettable Sri Lanka by living a local life instead of a traveler's viewpoint. Together we explored ourselves. And finally, we tried our best to make a little change to the world as well as to the children in schools we taught. Awesome experience with awesome people in an awesome country J

Erik Fung

"Never thought I could have this wonderful experience." Monica's Experience in Sri Lanka

Never thought I could have this wonderful experience.

Our project is an education one thus I spent one month with the naughty, innocent and caring boys J So glad that I could do something for them, they also taught me how to love and what kindness is.

Moreover, I made many friends with Chinese and Sri Lankan and I believe our friendship will be long-lasting. During my internship in Lanka, our buddy always did their best to help us and cared about us.

AIESEC CS also warmly welcomes Chinese Interns , they held the Dragon Da Danza for us to celebrate the Chinese New Year ,how considerate !

I'm badly fascinated with the life in Lanka, slow life there. Never need to hurry and it’s just about enjoying everything.

Awesome scenery! Awesome project! Awesome experience!

Definitely will come back one day!

Monica Huang
From China

Nitya's Life Changing Experience with Gurugedara project

Hey, I’m Nitya, from China. I was an EP who took part the Gurugedara project of AIESEC Colombo South.

Have you ever felt being treated gently by this world? Sri Lanka will definitely give you a chance.

I spent a whole month in this fascinating and beautiful island and I will never forget the life in Sri Lanka, in Mount Lavinia.

In Sri Lanka, I met lots of cute and smart kids. Their smile like sunshine, giving me so much happiness. Teachers in the school regard us as their sisters. They brought us meals every day and took care of us, when we returned to China, they even came to the inn we lived in and sent us gifts. People in Sri Lanka are really friendly, they always asked me three questions. Where do you come from? Do you like Sri Lanka? And once I met a cute grandma who asked me ‘Do you like me?’ Ha-ha. That’s so cute.

As for our buddies, I just want to say they are awesome. Not only did they do their duty as AIESECers, but also kept company with us as friends. They are dependable, patient, and really full of energy for life and AIESEC. We will be life-long friends.

Sri Lanka treated us with enthusiasm and humanity. I was really touched and impressive.

Moreover, there are so many splendid landscapes in Sri Lanka. The wonderful beaches, the magnificent Sigiria, the ancient towns and the attracting Holton Plains are some of them. All of these places were covered with our memories.

The experience in Sri Lanka, with CS, made me feel that when I old and become a grandma, I still have beautiful and unforgettable stories to tell. Haha J

Incredible Sri Lanka, and dear friends, I will meet you again sometime. When I say this, I mean it!

" By participating in GCDP, it keeps me reading the book in the name of “world”" Rodrick's impact story

   It`s a pleasure to participate in GCDP this winter. For my project, AQUA is about water resource protection. Our work includes visiting the water treatment plant, teaching schoolchildren the knowledge of right ways to use water, leaflets distribution, and cooperating with National Water Board by doing surveys on local people about their water usage. AQUA consists of 3 Taiwanese, 9 Chinese, and 1 Indonesian. Getting along with people from different cultures has so much fun for me. Through working together, we cultivated friendship and created some great memories.

AIESEC CS values the quality and the experience of GCDP very much. They held lots of creative and inspiring activities like Intern Conference, Global Village, and Dragon de Danza etc. EP Buddies in project AQUA are very responsible. They helped us solving many problems. Also, they took us to sightseeing in idle time between tasks. We always had great times together, experiencing the beauty of the country.

  Paying visit on Sri Lanka not only broke stereotypes but also made me full of memories and gratitude. Sri Lanka as I recognized before is a small island in the in Indian Ocean, which is famous for its teas. I further realized that Sri Lanka is an English-friendly country and completely different one from India. Its majority race is Sinhala and Tamil.

Many expected and unexpected cultural shocks happened during my journey. It`s the best part of traveling to a brand-new country for me. There are many special experiences such as taking 10-hour train to Badula in order to visit National Water Board, getting to Galle Fort on the National Day, doing yoga for my first time in dawn, having a great time sunbathing in Mont Lavinia. I like to try something new and challenging and my GCDP in Sri Lanka had reached my expectation. It means a lot to me. I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to my parents and those who helps me to attend this amazing project. I improved my language abilities and learned being independent, dealing with problems alone. What I experienced makes me more grateful to everything.

Last but not least, I have read a sentence that “The world is a book, those who remain at the same place browse just one page of it.”I am glad that I have been some places and paged the world. By participating in GCDP, it keeps me reading the book in the name of “world”.