Belated Greetings

My name is Daniel Javitch and I am an English as a Second Language teacher and teacher trainer in San Francisco, California. I was invited by Saaraketha and Fulbright-Sri Lanka to come to Sri Lanka to train 6 young rural teachers who will be offering English language classes at Saaraketha and to teach some classes myself. I was in Sri Lanka in the summer of 2008 for 10 days, mostly in the Cultural Triangle, and am extremely excited to return, renew some friendships and learn more about this fascinating country.

I have been so busy since I arrived that I have not had an opportunity to post anything yet, so to catch up a bit...

I did not know too many details about Saaraketha before I arrived in Sri Lanka. I had been sent many materials and emails but was unclear about the scope of the project. Prasanna, Charitha, and Harshi have spent some time explaining the work that has been done at The Farm, and that is planned in the future, and the only words to describe their vision is fascinating and a bit overwhelming. Their commitment to social and environmental justice in an underdeveloped area of the country is admirable, and they seem to have persuaded many people to contribute to their cause because of their vision and also their passion.

Over the past few days, Patrick and I have walked more miles around the city than most westerners seem to be allowed to do. Virtually every few feet a tuk-tuk pulls up and tries to cajole us into the vehicle. "You want to walk... really?" is the most common thing we've heard. Strangely, we have not seen so much cricket this visit but maybe that is because the World Cup in soccer is going on. We did have a chance to play with some boys in Pettah though we would have done better if the game had switched to basketball. I also made the mistake of buying some food on the street without regard for the spiciness of Sri Lankan food, which was not a wise decision. Every morning when I wake up, with a view of the Indian Ocean out my window, I shake my head at how unlikely it is that I am in Sri Lanka again for the second time in 3 years.

I have enjoyed learning the background of Saaraketha and visiting in Colombo, but I am here to teach -- which is my passion -- and I cannot wait to meet the teacher trainees and students at Wilgamuwa. All the rest is somewhat prelude to that.