From sleepless nights to peace of mind

Working in Colombo is the kind of move really interesting, fun and outgoing people take. The people that go with the flow and see where they end up.

I was never that person. My life was mapped out and I had about 500 safety nets on the off chance something were to go wrong.

Let me give you some background information: I was in a job that had no meaning, no challenges, and no future.

One day I decided enough was enough and I went I search for something new. Fortunately, I stumbled upon this little gem called SVS. My thoughts were that this isn’t me, I can’t possibly do this, everything will be too different but I took the leap anyway.

I was on the plane thinking about all the things that could go wrong from the moment I got there
⁃ Who are these people I’ll be living with?
⁃ Is Sebastian really a principal or was he actually a weirdo looking to sell me on the black market
⁃ But most importantly, what if Sri Lankan food tasted bad, how would I survive

I got off the plane and looked through a sea of people, I finally saw the only white guy and a Sri Lankan-Filipino mix girl coming towards me with warm smiles, it was Sebastian and Melanie and they almost seemed normal. The first hurdle was over.

The next bullet point of anxiety were the teachers.
It’s normal to feel nervous I told myself as we pulled into the driveway. I walked into a beautiful house and introduced myself to everyone and almost immediately I felt at ease.

Long story short, the teachers here have become a weird dysfunctional family. We have the annoying little brother, the clumsy innocent sister, the one you think you should be scared of but is actually really cool, the two weird uncles, the slightly loopy dad, and the sweetest mother with the best hugs.
Whenever you feel alone, there’s always someone to talk to in this house.

the social side of this position is really fun too. A well thought out scavenger hunt by Melanie and Sebastian to get to know the city is the first activity followed by a fun evening out to really get to know all the teachers you are going to spend six months with.

There are a lot more social activities coming up on the calendar which I am looking forward to such as the trip to the other part of the project in the mountains and the international day at school where everyone gets to celebrate their cultures and backgrounds.

Although I still don’t know what I want to do in the future, I’m glad I got out of that dead-end job and took a chance on this place.

This is a leap of faith I’ll never forget or regret.