After my couple of first days at the school, Lien and I decided to have a relaxing weekend, as it has been an eventful couple of weeks, so we went to Negomabo, West Coast. It is quite a tourist-y place but it is a really beautiful place. Sri Lanka does celebrate Valentine's Day! The restaurants there were full of special offers for loved up couples.

When Lien and I were about to leave, the students asked so much questions, where we were going, why, what we were planning to do, and the question being asked frequently was that if and when we were coming back. We explained that we were coming back on Sunday, then they asked whether we would come back in the morning or in the evening! Which was funny, the students do really like asking questions, especially about us, it could be small things such as if I had a shower that day, whether it was in the morning or in the afternoon. And what is amazing, is that they remember every detail of the previous volunteers, their routines, even what time they would have their shower! Anyway, as Lien and I made our way to Negomabo, we bumped into a Deaf man. We tried out our Sri Lankan sign language and it went smoothly! *pats my head* we managed to hold a conversation, he was an electrician and he helped us with directions as well. He also asked us if we like Sri Lanka :) which we said yes to, of course.

There were much more white people in Negomabo, we weren't quite the only whites in the village anymore! As soon as we found a hostel, we went for a bite. We had pizza, and I finally got access to wifi, so I managed to FaceTime with my family and some of my friends!

After an early night, we went to the beach, which was just a couple of minutes walk away. It was bliss, just relaxing and swimming in the sea. Although, I got burnt. It was quite sore, ah well! And then on Saturday, Lien and I hired bikes and explore the area. We went to the Dutch Fort, and the Fish Market. The smell at the fish market was unbelievably horrible, and the fact that I don't like fish doesn't exactly help, but the sight was brilliant. People working, cleaning fish, selling them and fishing from sea. It was definitely worth the smell! We also went shopping, we spent quite a lot but we told ourselves, we do really 'need' the clothes for teaching, so we felt kinda better. Hah!

During the weekend, Lien and I talked a lot about the school, what we can do and how. It is really difficult, not because of the children. Just that, I dunno, I think it's like how do we make the most of the little materials we have and how to make it interesting. Like I said, the children like asking questions about us, so we thought we could talk about ourselves and get them to do the same, in English. For example, I can tell them about my family, teaching them the names like Mother or Sister. It worked really well, we also encouraged them to draw a picture of their family, as well as labelling them. They then taught us the signs for the words, they really like teaching us. They would feel proud, which is lovely to see. And the way they signs is SO BEAUTIFUL! No joke, I could watch them signing all day long. Their face expressions, the wee flicks, body movements, just beautiful. After the weekend, we felt refreshed and so much more positive about the school, we were really looking forward to the rest of our time there.