ISTA Festival in Sri Lanka

From the 10-14th of November, 15 students from years 7-9 participated in the ISTA Festival. It was an all-round fantastic experience and great fun! This year, it was hosted at the Overseas School of Colombo in Sri Lanka with the theme of “Creating Karma”. Everything in Sri Lanka/OSC (Overseas School of Colombo) was fantastic, from their fried rice to their (massive) school grounds.

Seven schools attended from a host of places including; Mumbai, Jordan, Syria and Thailand.

The general plan of this festival was to split into different “ensembles” for the three days and, at the end, each ensemble was to present their piece to their families, host families, friends and teachers.

The first day was spent mostly in these ensembles with breaks for workshops. On the second day, there was an “out and about” where we had the chance to visit a traditional Sri Lankan temple and a model village which showed how, traditionally, people lived. We got to see how they prayed, cooked, and crafted their own things. It showed us the rich history of Sri Lanka and immersed us in the culture which, in turn, immersed us in the theme (Creating Karma). On the third day, we had mostly ensemble time to prepare our final performance.

Most of the festival was spent in our ensembles but during breaks and lunchtimes we were all mixed around.

This festival was a fantastic way to meet new people in a non-judgemental, fun environment.

An integral part of meeting new people was the host families we stayed with. They were all incredibly kind and so welcoming. It was really interesting meeting students from all over the world and comparing lives and growing friendships.

I am certain that during this festival we have shared friendships and experiences that we will never forget.

Madeleine Tzatzakis in year 9.

Have a look at the movie here

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