By Amélie Schwab from Germany

When I told somebody that I am going to Sri Lanka for 3 months then the person was shocked because it is such a long time. But while in Sri Lanka the weeks passed by too fast.

I started my journey with the introduction week in Kandy. It was the best start for me because this week I’ve learned a lot about the culture, the people and I’ve visited some great places in Kandy. AJ, the coordinator, was the right person for that and we had a lot of fun in the spice garden getting a massage or doing a boat tour on the Kandy Lake.

After the introduction week, my actual work started in the preschool. Kids were every time so grateful when we came helping them. The teachers are so friendly and even sometimes I was in charge of Butterfly. This was a new experience and I felt so good when everything went well and it also gave me confidence in myself.

My next station was the Elephant Care Relief Project for three weeks. Staying in a host family was a little bit special but the whole family has such a big heart and they cared a lot about me. I really felt blessed to stay with them. I don’t know how I should express the feelings I had while I was working with Mali, the elephant. Seeing her lying in the river so happy and peaceful made me happy too. Through cleaning Mali every day in the river we had a deep connection. The people at the project are so lovely with Mali and they really want to make a change for the elephants. Mali was one of my highlights.

Ambalangoda was the third and last stop in Sri Lanka. I did the turtle project for 5 weeks. I think turtles are such nice and cute creatures and I love feeding them. It made me happy and relaxed at the same time even if we had to cut the fish before. I liked the project because we had every time something to do and even carrying the turtles was fun. The people at the accommodation are the friendliest Sri Lankan persons I know. I felt so welcome and everything was so clean and in good quality.

Beach Week now is the end of my adventure. It was nice to see a little bit more of Sri Lanka and the beautiful nature. I think it was the perfect ending. There is a program every day but the days are not so full and stressed.

After all, I just want to say thank you to the people of Green Lion. You made a lot for me. It was really good to know that I can text somebody when I am having problems here even on the weekend or in the middle of the night. Everywhere I went, I felt so welcome and blessed to stay with your organisation.

And meeting new people, helping the locals and the animals was a wonderful experience. I would do it over and over again. At first, people from all over the world were strangers to me. Now I can call some of them friends.

Thank you.

Amélie

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