3rd day of Paapedi 2013

15. March 2013

Today is the 3^rd day of our journey. Our program is intense. We get up at 5 o clock every morning and fall into bed around 12 at night. And it feels so good!!! There are many things about our group of “yathris” (travellers) that impress me. Our 25 youngsters are inspiring. They are ready for every item on our daily schedule. No debating whether it is hip or cool enough or “just not my kind”  or whatever. Those guys just dive into the activities and do them with passion and commitment. Whether ‘street theatre’, speeches in front of a crowd, talking to pedestrians about our environmental campaign or singing a song. Everybody joins in and is a part of the group. There is so much caring and sharing among our yathris which is a new experience to me, because having grown up in Germany, I know that the first thing that many people there would do would be “complaining about something that is not how they expected it to be”. But the attitude among those young guys is really different. Our trip is definitely not a luxury journey. We have to deal with all kinds of challenges. And our travellers are content with what is offered and they appreciate what they have. I see them with admiration and I feel that I can learn a lot from them and their attitudes. I feel that this journey does a lot with us all. We are learning from each other, we are learning from Kanchana, and of course from nature. You should be here with us to experience this power of enthusiasm.

Teaching about bikes

Nadeesha in the middle of  public awareness programme

Yathrees at Thalawa tank with environmetal protection division of Police

Jai