thilini

The following is a blog written by Thilini Weerakkody

It’s 7:58pm and I am sitting in my warm and comfy bed, my stomach and legs shielded from the cold air. I am re-reading this year’s journal entries once again because I like how my mind’s experiences sound written out. Does that seem narcissistic? Probably, but it’s true. It’s just nice to have words that totally encompass whatever emotions or thoughts which ran through my head during a particular moment. You can find the same satisfying connection in other people’s writing, but you have to actively look to have your worlds align.

As I skim through all of the Gap Year experiences I’ve had, I think about how few there are left. Currently, I am in my last placement: a small, mountainous village with just 8 people, where I am WWOOFing. Afterwards, I am traveling a week alone in Greece. Then, I […]

The following is a blog written by Thilini Weerakkody

I am introverted so, when discussing situational preferences, I usually state that I love isolation—and for the majority of my life that has proven true. I have always thought loneliness to be an unassuming, soothing presence, but when living alone in a foreign country, I’ve found solitude makes a more sinister company.

Without a support system and people to connect to while abroad, loneliness wears new clothes of fear and unease, making it unrecognizable to me as someone whose idealized being alone most of her life.  When I first made my transition from Negombo, where I was safe and loved, to Galle I felt that loss. The first day I arrived in Galle, the entire city was dreary and drenched in hard, violent rain, but as I took in the scene, I simply felt excited for what my life for the next […]

The following is a blog written by Thilini Weerakkody.

Some people may regard spending their days collecting rectal samples and working in a lab disgusting and tedious, but I think it’s fabulous.

Every morning, I get on the crowded Karapitya-Galle bus to make my way over to Mahamodara Hospitals. After a quick hello to all the guards at the gate, who I became acquainted when I was hopelessly lost with a dead phone, I walk over to Ward 5 to begin sample collection.

To be honest, sample collection is a rather monotonous and repetitive affair. I do a lot of sitting around, organizing and writing, but I don’t mind—it’s relaxing and an opportune time to ponder the deep complexities of life while listening to Taylor Swift songs. I don’t just laze around in chairs stacking documents though, a considerable amount of my time is spent weaving through the ward helping collect the […]