COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Swimming Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Jessica Moyes
We returned from our island stay sunburnt, exhausted but very grateful for our awesome experience.
This week is the first week that the senior primary students are involved in swimming which is great. They were enthusiastic and fun to swim with. It was much easier to work with the older kids too because of their increased English and greater trust in us.
Australia Day celebrations were in full swing after swimming. I had brought a beach ball, bucket hat and bunting flags, as had other girls, with Australian flags which added to the spirit. We walked to Chappeys house where he had a BBQ set up with roast potatoes, fish and vegetables. An Australian flag was erected in the sand and a table and chairs under an umbrella were also set up. We ate and then watched local maldivians perform with bodu beru (drums) and singing. This was a pretty fantastic cultural experience for us. We then continued to dance and sing to current music from home. At around 11 the police arrived, and in regular Aussie style, our party was closed down due to noise.
We strolled home still singing and dancing. An unreal end to a very busy week, and a wonderful celebration that was organised by asad and chappey.
On Monday shafeeq sir allocated me a class with grade 6B to teach an English lesson on the Statue of Liberty as a comprehension activity. This was a little nerve racking as I am much more comfortable instructing in an aquatic location and am not used to classroom time. It was rewarding to chat to the kids at swimming that afternoon and find that they knew much of the skills and content from the class.
A few members have organised a 'clean up Thinadoo day' which was held on Friday. We performed a rap chant in front of the school to promote the event. The clean up was a huge success and a whole truck load of rubbish was picked up from the beach area, stadium and school surrounds.
A few of us have attended bodu beru practice on a couple of occasions at night which is fun. They teach us how to play and perform for us. These are the cultural experiences that are likely to stay with me for a long time! They played we will rock you as Lauren and I sung along, and also played Madonnas 'Isla boneta' and a Santana song. Very cool!
I decided to get up early and go for a run because of a school cancellation. You'd think a 6am run would be refreshing, but I've never been so exhausted from a run. The heat is incredibly draining. However the sunrise was a welcome motivator.
Speaking of sunrises, Lauren, steff and I woke on Saturday and Sunday morning for the sunrise and watched from the jetty.
We ended the week with a farewell party for Lauren B and Mel P who departed for Singapore. We had plenty of chocolate and chips. Iku's wife even made desert dishes for us which was lovely! We ended the night with an affirmation circle where we each wrote something positive about each other as an anonymous comment.
Week three has been unreal. Apart from our excessive Oreo, banana, coconut and cereal consumption, everyone is well and ready for our final week in the Maldives.
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