It was the week after my end-semester examination and I needed to release the stress that i had endured for 3 weeks. That was exactly when Lokkas put a thread in the group saying that more people can join the educational meeting with the University of Wayamba. It was such a coincidence because right after the exams, I was just regretting the fact that i couldn’t volunteer to go for the joint meeting. Without a second thought, I put my name down on the thread.
The day had arrived. A bright Saturday morning on which around 7 am all of us who volunteered got into the bus with great enthusiasm. Our journey to the University of Wayamba was quite long but we were never bored throughout our ride. We were entertained by our very own fellow Gaveliers with a bunch of trip songs we would usually sing and the rest of us found some comfy places in the bus to have a good nap before getting to the educational meeting.
The Gavel Club of the University of Wayamba warmly welcomed us with refreshments before we started the formal proceedings. It was a very kind gesture. While having our refreshments, we got to mix and mingle with our new friends as well. The meeting was commenced and led by Gv. Semindhi which she then handed over to the Toastmaster. The purpose of the joint educational meeting was emphasized by him and then handed over the meeting to the General Evaluator to describe her role and to introduce her team. Speaking of the theme for the day it was something we all look for in our life; Happiness.
The Grammarian presented the word of the day which was “Felicitous”, which means fortunate and contentment to relate with the theme. The mentioned proceedings were followed by the Round Robin session. This session was something different from what we were used to. It was in the form of a story to be continued by each participant and towards the end nobody remembered the beginning. Then it was the Table Topic session in which we learned that Cinderella would have been happy even without her glass shoe and that happiness lies on our thoughts and actions. To make this session even more exciting our Table Topic Master even wore a T-shirt with a happy face. The meeting was indeed very interactive and spontaneous and it felt very homely. The formal meeting was concluded by the Toastmaster handing over the Gavel to the President. Once the educational meeting was over, we had a birthday celebration and a small dance session where we all showcased our dancing skills while vibing to some amazing songs.
We felt tired after dancing so we had to head towards their canteen to have lunch after taking pictures. At around 2.30 pm we waved goodbye to our newly found friends. The next destination was a happy place for many of us. The blazing sun cast over us at the Negombo beach. Yet we swung by the seashore and indulged ourselves with ice cream. After a good hour or two on the beach, we were prepared to head home. If you think we were drained out by then, you are wrong. The ride home was engaging and loud with everyone on the bus singing old songs, bringing back some of my childhood memories. By 6 pm we came back to our university and the we all left to go home.
As for me, it was a unique, fun and memorable experience that I would love to re-live again and again.