5th August 2010

Today, we woke up, eagerly anticipating the yet-to come experiences of the day. After scrambling and arguing around the showers, we headed out for the village at precisely 8 a.m. It was a 20 minute drive during which the majority of us slept on each others’ shoulders. Upon reaching the village, we were greeted even more grandly than before. A long line of people stared at us from all sides and a small group of dancing people and a band motioned us towards the village. Reaching the village, the people put on a performance for us, beginning with a visit to the temple where we took the blessings of the monks and offered flowers. The program consisted of a dance by the little kids and one by the not-so-little kids. Afterwards we sang the national anthems of both countries and got to work. We began by painting the walls of their main hall and shifting clay to build a platform. The locals were a lot of help. They served us lunch and helped us wherever possible. By the end of the day, we finished painting and were half done with the platform. We had also built a pathway around the hall. We quickly rushed back to the hotel, raced into the shower and back to the village for a special cultural program they had put on for us. The program was amazing with traditional dances and music from Sri Lanka. They received many standing ovations from us. With our heads full of what we had seen, we went back to our rooms and off to sleep.