ABOUT ME

ABOUT ME

I should have done this first! But I was so involved about my book, I started with it; anyway, it is better late than never!

I am Surangika Senanayake (nee  Palihakkara), born in Sri Lanka and now living in New Zealand. I have a sister and a brother, both living in Sri Lanka, which is a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean; voted as the No.1 tourist destination for 2013 by Lonely Planet and you will see lots of beautiful images and articles about Sri Lanka in National Geographic.

I received my primary education at Ferguson High School in Ratnapura- a city very famous for precious stones such as amethists, garnets, rubies and sapphires. Also, the world's first woman prime minister, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranayake was a student at Ferguson High School. This is where I started learning music; I was only 6.

Here are some images.

The school of my childhood; loaded with memories.

The emblem of the school

Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranayake.

 The world's first woman prime minister.

I am still in touch with some of the friends, thanks to Facebook.

Now let me tell a bit about my secondary education. It was at Ladies' College, Colombo. I qualified in music while studying here. I have lots of memories about crazy things we did then, as any teenager would. But we had tough exams too. I am very much in touch with my friends from Ladies' College. It was from here that I entered university to obtain a B.Sc degree.

This is a snap of the back play ground of the school;  I don't have a front view; Shall get one later.

And this is the emblem.

 After graduation, I worked for a little while; met my future husband; got married and went to live in Oman for 15 years where we started a family. Our daughter and son were born in Sri Lanka but grew up in Oman. They went to the British School there. 

I was a stay-at -home mum and my friends asked me to teach music. So, that's how it all began!

Then we emigrated to New Zealand, and after many years, I followed a course in proofreading and editing with New Zealand Institute of Business Studies. This gave me the confidence to write a book. 

And that's how Help Me Learn Music was born!