RCCI fundraiser

On the 4th of November, the Primary School put on a production of "Seussical". As the leader of RCCI, I was given the opportunity to organise to sell food in order to raise money for the CAS project. Kuval, Gurleen, Josh, Aparna and I made or bought snacks, and I went to the production and sold what we had made as parents were arriving. I made brownies! I sold most things for about 50 ruppees - I didn't like to charge much because we were in competition with several other CAS projects. What was not sold on the night I took home and my family ate it, and then donated 1,000 ruppees.

In total we raised 3,000 ruppees. I hope to use this to either give the kids gifts for Christmas or Sinhalese New Year. While it isn't a lot, and there isn't much that we can do for the kids with it, I think that sometimes the simple act of giving, and lighting up someones day is more important than grand gestures.

On the note of grand gestures, the school actually raised a significant amount of money in previous years to help the RCCI build a new centre for the kids. This project is currently in the proccess of finding land for building, but this is not something that students can really be involved in.

YOGA!

I have always thought that my flexibility was a little pathetic, and this year I have decided to do something about it. My mum takes yoga classes twice a week at her work, which is just down the road from school, so for the past 2 months I have been joining her. I would never have thought it would be such hard work! It is relaxing, but only in the sense that by the end of the 1 1/2 hour session I am so exhausted that my brain is completely empty. Because of SAISA football I have only been going once a week, but I would like to try and increase that to twice a week. I have been hurting in muscles that I didn't even know I had - particularly my hamstrings, which are also working from football, and all the muscles in my back.

There are a lot of poses that I have difficulty with because the strength and balance required are a little beyond me. I often end up shaking in the pose! The one pose that I want to work on particularly is the "downward dog pose" pictured below. This is used as a base for many of the other stretches. I really want to be able to get my feet flat on the floor and my spine fully relaxed like the woman in the picture. I figure that knowing what I have to work on is the first step.

I can feel the difference in my flexibility and balance already, but mostly the joy of yoga is that it does leave you feeling very healthy. Your muscles feel that they have been working, but in the right way. So even if I can only continue with one class a week, this is something that I WILL do, and hope to carry on with even next year in university.

SAISA Football

For the past 5 weeks I have been participating in the training sessions for the SAISA football team! I have never really played soccer since Grade 7, and even then it was not very seriously, so this is an entirely new experience for me. I've been surprised how different football is from basketball - it's alot slower and less close knit, but I think players have the opportunity to contribute more to the team without necessarily having an incredible skill level. However there are som similarities. Once again, being tall, my job is to stand at the back on defense and intimidate/run over people who are trying to score. I actually really enjoy this as it is more about body co-ordination and dealing with another person rather than dealing with the ball. I am not very good at dribbling.




The problem with playing defense is that many of the games we have played against other schools in Colombo have been very offense oriented for our team. That is, we have annihilated most other teams, and on defense this means I don't get much of a work out! However, I think that come SAISA this will change. We have also played a couple of boys teams who definitely gave the defense a lot to do (they beat us most of the time).



I have also discovered other ways that, as central defender or sweeper, I can contribute to the team. I tend to be able to see a lot more of what is going on than the other players, so I can yell out instructions. Apparently this is helpful - although it is a fine line to draw between helpful and bossy, so I will have to be careful. However, it is nice to feel useful, particularly in games where I'm not doing much.


I really enjoy the team atmosphere in football, and I'm having lots of fun getting to know some of the girls in younger grades that I would not otherwise have talked to. I think we have a really strong team.





My aims for the season are:

1. To make it onto the final team by showing consistent commitment and putting in 100% effort at trainings.
2. To work on my ball co-ordination so that I do not panic under pressure.
3. To learn how to position myself effectively on the field so that, with the other defenders, we create an effective wall against the attack.
4. To have the best team spirit ever!!