SRI LANKA: December 04, 2005

This is the first of many blog posts detailing the trip of 12 college students to Sri Lanka. The students will be accompanied by Fr. Jim Cerbone, Dean William Merriman and Dr. Peter McCarthy. The trip will take place in 2006. The purpose of this long journey to the other side of the world is to visit and work in St. Benedict's College, a kindergarten to grade 13 school run by the DeLaSalle Christian Brothers and located in the Sri Lankan capital city of Columbo.

This afternoon we had the pleasure of attending a Sri Lankan brunch at the home of Mr. Immac (Casey) Thampoe, the president of the US chapter of the St. Benedict's Alumni Association. While there we had a chance to meet not only Mr. Thampoe's lovely family but also some distinguished members of the alumni society. Among them were Dr. Neil DeVotta, professor of Political Science at Hartwick College and Luke DeSilva, a Stanford, Ct. realtor.

We began our afternoon by meeting some of the "Old Bens" as the alumni like to refer to themselves. They regailed us with stories of what it was like to grow up in Sri Lanka and attend school at St. Benedict's. What was particularly impressive was the warm feelings and close contact that they still had with their alma mater even though they were thousands of miles away. Dr DeVotta told us that while many Americans closely identify with the college or university that they attended, those in the Sri Lankan community here were inextricably tied to the scool that served to mold their ethics and values during their their secondary education years, as well as imbue them with the spiritual, ethical and family values that they practice today.

It became quite evident as the afternoon progressed that these acitve alumni were committed to "GIVING BACK" and helping to enrich the present student body of St. Benedicts, just as they had been blessed during their time spent there. With this in mind, the students of Manhattan College have the opportunity to work at St. Benedicts. Our role will be varied. Many of the student participants are elementary and secondary education majors. This trip will afford them the opportunity to try out some of their developing pedagogical skills in the area of teaching both written and spoken English. We are certainly looking forward to our trip. Below are some photos of St. Benedicts College along with photos from the afteroon brunch.