Badminton Half-Way Point

As we are approaching the half-way point of the badminton activity I wanted to reflect on how my skills (developing new skills) and overall badminton is improving.
I think one of the things I do well now, and am still improving on, is serving. Some of my friends and I have noticed I have been putting significantly more points on the board due to my serves, as they are low and close to the boundaries, making them hard for the opponents to receive (increased awareness of strengths). But one of the things I still need to improve is my responsiveness and stance, as we had a training regarding this and I struggled a bit (increased awareness of areas for growth), and due to this I lost a lot points, as I wasn't able to react quick enough or reach the shuttlecock quick enough. Hopefully with more training I will be able to improve on this further.
The biggest thing I still need to improve is my smashes, since I didn't know how to do one before the activity (undertaking new challenges), and I am still learning. Mr. De Silva and some of my peers (working collaboratively with others) suggested to use my wrist instead my whole arm when smashing, which is something that I still need to work on (increased awareness of areas for growth).
Another thing I need to improve on are my single games, as I have noticed that, generally, I win most of my doubles, but lose most of my singles. Therefore I hope I can improve on this further, and be better at it towards the end of the badminton activity.

Week Without Walls

On the last week of January some of classmates and friends from the lower grade and I went on the Week Without Walls trip, as you know from an earlier post on the WWW goals. Not all of the goals fulfilled, unfortunately, but it was still a really fun trip, where everyone enjoyed themselves, and become more aware of not only their host country (Sri Lanka), but everyone else on their trip and themselves (increased awareness).

Part of the eco-lodge we were staying in.

On the first day, we made our way to the eco-lodge, "Back-of-Beyond," ( http://www.backofbeyond.lk/locations/dehigahaela.php ), which is is very eco-friendly, as the huts and common lodge house were made out of mud and straw and all the food produce were self grown by the lodge, creating a very different and enjoyable atmosphere for all of us (issues of global importance). We received our WWW journals, a space where we could reflect on each our days, and identify and write down different plant and animal species we saw during the trip. Later that day we went down to the river/stream for a quick swim, so we could freshen up and experience the nature around us. Also we went on a night walk in a nature reserve, we we saw a variety of animals, such as deers, slender loris, and other animals, which added up to a good start to our journals (planned and initiated activites).

Us going for a swim in the river.

The second day, we mainly focused on learning and exploring more about Sri Lankan culture and its history, as we traveled to the ancient ruins of Ritugala, a beautiful place where nature and mankind bordered in the same place and explored the border between nature and mankind, as over the years much of nature incorporated itself to be a part of the statues and ruins, and it was a truly beautiful site to see. During this visit my friends and I also played a game, where the sand was 'lava' and where we couldn't touch the sand, making all the hiking much more entertaining and fun (collaborating with others).

Us outisde Ritugala

On the third day we headed up to Trincomalee, while traveling there we stopped at Medirigiriya, where we met the art 'Art on Wheels' WWW trip sketching a few Buddhist statues. The Medirigirya stop gave us an opportunity to observe Buddhist statues and ruins where we learned more about the religious background of Buddhism. After that we headed to Trincomalee, where we visited a Hindu Temple, which was located at the top of a cliff, and was relatively new. This opportunity really taught me about Hinduism as a religion, a religion I didn't know much about until now, especially about their beliefs and gods. For example: I learned that their leader of Gods (like Zeus), is their God of Destruction and the Universe; Shiva. Afterwards we were able to look around that area of Trinco a bit more, and purchase souvenirs and even climb trees, but unfortunately we were not able to carry out the service part of our trip: picking up trash across the streets, as we didn't have enough tiime in our schedule to fit it in. We headed down to the Chaaya Blu resort where we would spend the evening and night, and unfortunately we were not able to go to Pigeon Island and snorkel as it was the rough season for the sea, so it would have been dangerous.

Exploring the beach in Trinco.

Couple of my friends and I outside the Buddhist temple.

On the fourth day, was quite a bad day for some, as a couple of my friends from the group woke up sick and incapable of participating in activities, so therefore not everyone could carry out the activities we had planned to do, which was unfortunate. In the morning, after having breakfast our group headed down the beach for a nice walk and to explore a bit, but as we ventured further away from the resort, the beach became more and more filled with all types of thrash, from shoes, to pencil cases, to water bottles, it was quite unpleasant, which raised the concern of Sri Lanka's environmental issues, where our group discussed about the problems and possible solutions, and how it could be dealt with, and some excellent suggestions came up from almost everyone in the group (engaged in issues of global importance) (considering the ethical implications of our actions)! Later that day we headed down to the Sigirya eco-ledge which was owned by the same owners of 'Back of Beyond' so this eco lodge was just as environmentally friendly, but was stiill quite a different experience from the other one, as this one was set in the middle of the forest. Before we made it out to the eco lodge we visited an ancient Buddhist Temple, which was quite calm and peaceful and was a nice addition after all the activities we did early! During this visit we started to raise the concerns of ethical issues as some of us didn't know the rules when visiting a Buddhist Temple, and others were quite offended and, as a group we discussed how this could be avoided and how this is an issue in the modern world (considering the ethical implications of our actions). When we made it to the eco lodge, we had free time, so we could relax which was quite nice, most our group played cards together, making our group come together closer and really bond. Later that night, we headed out to a small open field just a few hundred metres outside of lodge, where we gazed at the stars and reflected upon our day and us as a group, where we really bonded a lot as everyone got to know more about everyone else, and lot more about the trip itself and us as a group (planned and initiated activities).

The view from the top of Swami Rock (this picture
is not doing it justice)!

The final day we headed out bright and early to Swami Rock, after breakfast, to climb it. Swami Rock was located next to Sigirya Rock, which is quite a popular Sri Lankan cultural spot among tourists and locals (Sigirya). It was a nice climb (developing new skills), as we past through the forest of an ancient monastery, where we got to see what the monastery were like back then and learn a bit about the history of Buddhism, so it was a peaceful and calm walk. At the halfway point we stopped at an ancient Buddha statue, where the Buddha was in his 'lying pose,' they were some signs located around the statues so we got read a bit more of Buddhism as a religion. Opposite to the Buddha statue was a breath-taking view, which as nothing compared what is was like when we reached the top. The top was surreal. Everything was so calm and peaceful, but yet exciting and breath-taking at the same time, and was definitely one of the highlights for me on this WWW.
Overall it was a excellent WWW, where, not only me, but everyone in our group definitely enjoyed themselves and had fun, while still learning about Sri Lanka's culture and Sri Lanka as a country and its religious background. Although we could not carry out the service side of our WWW, there definitely a lot of creativity and action, where, not only me, but many people in the group, undertook new challenges, collaborated with each other, and developed new skills, and I enjoyed all of it throughout the trip. It was definitely a good note to end my first and last WWW!

Some our group at the top of Swami Rock!

Art Update.

    Last semester I had joined the drawing club in hope of getting new aspirations for my next art piece, and my supervisor Mr. Mactavish introduced to a new artist; Francis Bacon, of which many of his pieces were abstract, and me being more of a detailed artists, liking to draw from real life and abstract was a weak point of mine (increased awareness for growth), it interested me, and I decided to experiment a bit with some of his work.
    Going through his book a couple of his pieces really stood out to me, and really interested me (shown below).

The style, and way of art used in this pictures really was something I wasn't used to (as I am more a detailed shading artist) so I decided to challenge myself a bit and see what I could produce (undertaking new challenges). Using the middle picture and some of my ideas about society and life, I decided to make a piece based on what I saw society as. While producing the piece, I had a couple of difficulties, not with the working of the piece itself, but the abstract of it. Since it was new to me, I had some difficulty on really how to capture it on to my transcription, so I had to experiment around with that until I could settle on one I liked (showing perseverance and commitment towards the drawing). But finally I came out with a piece (shown below), which I was particularly proud of, since it was only one of the few abstract pieces done by me. As for the interpenetration of the picture, I'll leave that up to you.

     

     Next semester (the 2nd semester), I wanted to try something new in the art side (undertaking new challenges), and decided to sign up for surface embellishment, where we learn different and new skills (such as: how to make stencils, laser printing, stitching, etc.) along the course and combine them all to create a t-shirt the way we want (developing new skills). I thought it would really cool and interesting to experiment with different sides of art, instead sticking with something that is familiar and comfortable to me, and try and push myself outside of my comfort zone.

TFC Service Update

Unfortunately, we are not able to continue to visit the orphanage: Children's Street Centre, as the leader of the orphanage explained to us how she was concerned with the sensitivity of our focus/objective and getting the children involved or exposed to such subjects, although we didn't plan to.
This is quite unfortunate, but as group we understand the situation (considering of ethical actions). We therefore need to find other orphanages who are willing and able to permit us to visit their orphanages to carry out planned and initiated activities with the children, as we feel this is a huge part of our group as a service project, thus this is on our priority list at the moment (showing perseverance and commitment in our activities).
Simultaneously we hope to start working on our first newsletter and safety guides that we are going to send out to the contacts we collected from our visits to the Good Market, Crescat, etc. and we hope to visit another site to expand our contacts (to increase more awareness). Hopefully this way we can increase more awareness on the subject within Sri Lanka, and cause more people to take action.

Badminton First Week

     On Monday, I attended my first badminton session of the semester, which was more difficult that I thought it'd be, but hopefully I can improve this over the course of the semester.
    When playing I've noticed I need to improve mostly, my aim, as most of the time the shuttle does not land where I want it to (increased awareness in areas needed of growth), therefore I tend to waste opportunities to gain a point advantage in the game. Within the session, I have learnt when is the right time to smash the shuttlecock (which usually makes it difficult for the opponent to hit it back), from observing some of my fellow colleagues play (developing new skills). Deciding to test this out, I found a partner for a doubles game, with some of my peers as the opponents. It was a tough match especially since I had to work collaboratively with my partner, but my smashing has definitely improved a lot, (as before I didn't know how to smash), but it still needs work (increased awareness in areas needed of growth), as we did end up losing a good match.
    Towards the end of the session, I played one more game to try and apply all the newly learned skills into an actual game (the video below shows a part of this game), and I ended up winning, but I still had a lot more to work on!

Semester Goals

    The first semester for me was a good experience, especially with the different activities I took part in and explored. I now have a better idea what to expect and to achieve in the second semester (increased awareness in areas for growth).
     I will be continuing TFC and hope I will continue to be engaged in issues of global importance, undertake new challenges, and work collaboratively with others. As TFC has given more insight on issues occurring, not only in our community, but worldwide, and I hope this will continue to educate me. I will also try out more creative methods to spread awareness on this subject, therefore making it more effective. We will continue to visit the children in the World's Vision Children's Street Centre, and hopefully educate them and create an even stronger bond between us.
     For my action, I will be trying out new sports; badminton, etc. (undertaking new challenges), while trying to continue some of my old ones; swimming. In this section have I have definitely developed new skills, and improved on them, and hopefully that will continue through to the second semester.
     Art will be continuing on to the second semester, but I hope I can produce more pieces than in the first, aqnd experiment with more styles of drawing (undertaking new challenges) such as pen sketches, pencil shading, tc. (developing new skills). Hopefully I can also improve further than in my first semester, especially with some of my pencils sketches, which need more depth (increased awareness in areas for growth).

TFC Children's Street Centre Visit

    On the 12th of December, me and my service group visited the Children's Street Center, which is a center who shelters 42 children between the ages as low as 5 to as high as 17, who have been abandoned by their parents for different reasons. Therefore we thought it would be possible that these children have been or taken part in the sex industry in Sri Lanka, and thought it would be appropriate to help and educate them on, not the subject directly as that would raise concerns (considering our ethical actions), but their safety in general (engaged in issues of global importance).
     Although,we discussed early, that it would be too straightforward and too concerning to immediately educate them on safety, and that we should form a type of friendship bond with the children, so they trust us more and realize who we are (considering our ethical actions). Therefore we planned and initiated on visiting them every month or so to build a bond and be able to help them every so often. Eventually, we agreed on having an 'Arts and Crafts Day' for our first visit, thinking this was a good idea for bonding (planned and initiated activities).
    For the Arts and Crafts Day we decided to have three sections of various arts and crafts; a finger painting mural, making Christmas cards, and making 3D christmas trees and other physical crafts, and all the stations were well balanced in terms of the number of kids, making all craft stations a huge success, and I even got to use my language skills to use (sinhala) to communicate with them, which without doubt made a more friendlier relationship (worked collaboratively with others).
    After the activities were finished we said goodbye to our newly made friends, and asked whether they enjoyed it and whether we could come again; all of them said "yes." Making all the members of TFC feel good about, not only themselves, but realizing that the future of TFC is confirmed, with the center and TFC in general (increased awareness in areas for growth and improvement).