Author Archives: amyl4c

I could easily stay here and keep living in Colombo, but I do have a life waiting for me back in Canada and so it’s time to head back. During our pre-departure training we’re warned about “reverse culture shock” – the experience of returning home after adapting to living in a new country. We’re toldContinue reading “Day 21 – Leaving is hard”

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of my mandate. My final two days at work have had a quieter pace – I’ve submitted my deliverables and am now focused on end of mandate reports, exit interviews, hand-off and final questions and of course a goodbye lunch with my partner organization here. Though myContinue reading “Day 19-20 – Wrap-up”

Week 3 – Time to deliver my training workshop and handover the resources I’ve developed during my time here. My final week kicked off with my Change Management 101 workshop Monday morning, focused on teaching key principles of change management, while using a “train the trainer” approach. The workshop went very well, with far moreContinue reading “Day 16, 17, 18 – Delivering on my mandate”

For my final full weekend in Sri Lanka I focused on two things I really wanted to see while here – elephants and the beaches. Luckily for me the south coast beaches aren’t too far from Colombo, and from there it is easy enough to get to Udawalawe National Park. In order to see both,Continue reading “Day 14-15 – Udawalawe National Park and Mirissa Beach”

In an earlier post I covered what exactly it is I’m doing here – focusing on knowledge-sharing and capacity building around change management and employee engagement. But I realized I didn’t really mention what it is MAS Intimates is trying to change, beyond “culture”. A quick overview… MAS Intimates is a leading garment manufacturer (forContinue reading “Day 12-13 – But why change management? What are they trying to change?”

Day 11 – the halfway point of my Sri Lanka experience! Since Wednesday was a holiday, Nina and I took a day-trip (via train!) to Galle, and specifically Galle Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the South-West Coast of Sri Lanka. One of the things you are supposed to “do” in SriContinue reading “Day 11 – Galle”

Week 2 – where the bulk of my “real” work will happen before we move into week 3 and the transition/handover phase. Halfway through the (short again) work week and I am knee-deep in executing on my mandate of Culture Change Agent for MAS Intimates. But what does this actually mean? And how do youContinue reading “Day 9-10 – So what exactly am I doing here anyway?”

My first week of work in Sri Lanka was a short one as Friday was Duruthu Ful Moon Poya, and as such a national holiday. This meant I had a 3-day weekend – a pleasant surprise! One of the challenges of Leave for Change is that it is really such a short time. You wantContinue reading “Day 6, 7, 8 – Hill country”

In our pre-departure training we are told that culture shock is a funny thing – it can hit you the moment you get off the plane (which it did for me in Dubai), or, more likely, it will hit you a few days in, when you least expect it, once the initial excitement has wornContinue reading “Day 4-5 – Onboard express and a little culture shock”

I had intended to write this post yesterday, but the jetlag which had so far only been moderate hit me. Hard. And despite drinking gallons and gallons of water, I still found myself challenged to stay hydrated. The heat and humidity in Colombo is intense – a bit like being smothered with a drenched weightedContinue reading “Day 2-3 – In-country orientation”