As usual I only have a moment but I thought I could just post a quick update.
It is Friday and the kids go to host families tonight before dinner. Sarah is going with Pau from Mexico and Marie is going with Marie from Norway. They are both super excited. Noah is going with Paco from Mexico and Mitch with William from Norway.... I did not realize until just now that they are the same countries.
Last night was our national night and it went quite well. We were worried if it was going to go well at all, for we were doing it with Canada whos leader then got sick... and both Sarah and Noahs stomachs were bothering them (the stomach flu is going around camp at the moment, though neither have it, just a stomach ache). So while I was trying to plan national night I was also being doctor Samm and running around nonstop. Desipte the complications we had a great time.
We and Canada talked a bit about our countries then we did three stations. One with string to make bracelets, one to play basketball and one to learn (or try to!) Euchre. Many people liked the little but of Euchre they played and want to play it again today which is awesome. At each station we gave away some of the litting things we had. Then we all did the Cha Cha Slide, getting everyone to dance with us, and then we made Smores, which people loved.
Everyone had fun and it was fun for us. And now that it is over we all feel a load of stress gone. From here on out we have nothing huge to do and it feels great.
It is lunch time, and I am starving, so this is all for now. I will post a lot more tonight after the kids go to families!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Where are the words?
I am trying to write an email to everyone but it is currently impossible. It is really hard for me to put into words what is going on and how the kids are doing. They are doing great and everyone loves them to death, but beyond that I cannot explain.
Today, though, was a great day. There had been a few days of complete stress and frustration, especially between us leaders\staff\JCs. We had a huge discussion in the leaders meeting yesterday (and I cried it was so intense, though I cry easily so that does not mean too much), and even though what I felt was not said in the meeting I had the opportunity to explain my frustrations later. Just telling it to the people that matter made a difference. And even though the discussion was frustration and many other big words I can not think of right now, it gave us the opportunity to talk and get things off our shoulders. I felt better this morning just for being able to say how I think the night before.
Then today was an amazing day to put me back on track and make me feel like one should feel. Our planning group did activity I and III, as II was the Norwegian National Night\Afternoon, and I really believe it went as good as we could have ever wanted it to. For acvity one we did one of my energizers from camp that everyone loved. Then we did a game where we all put on other peoples shoes and formed a circle with them, which is not at all a fair way to explain it, but ask me later. It was really fun and people had a good time with it. Then we did the activity where everyone is in a circle holding hands and we pass a hula hoop around the whole circle (so we have to get through it and such). Kids also loved this one. THEN we did the game where everyone has to stand on the blanket and it is folded so it gets harder and harder. It went way to easy so we then did it where we flip the whole blanket over. People still loved it! But it only took like 60 minutes, with debrief, when we anticipated it taking the whole time. So we then just did a running game which worked great.
But when we did evaulation it was amazing, everyone seemed to just love the activities!
Then was Norway stuff which was a lot of fun.
And then activity III, we did another energizer (not one of mine though, which was okay!) then we did Me Too, my favorite ice breaker, and then the peanut butter river \ foot bridge one. It was crazy, and the kids had a lot of fun and got frustrated and mad and then felt good when they finished, even though they all cheated. But it was great. When the groups evaluated almost all of them felt like the kids really got a lot out of the activities! They had fun AND learned! I really just felt like it was a great time. Many people complimented us on how well things went, too, which always feels good.
Today, though, was a great day. There had been a few days of complete stress and frustration, especially between us leaders\staff\JCs. We had a huge discussion in the leaders meeting yesterday (and I cried it was so intense, though I cry easily so that does not mean too much), and even though what I felt was not said in the meeting I had the opportunity to explain my frustrations later. Just telling it to the people that matter made a difference. And even though the discussion was frustration and many other big words I can not think of right now, it gave us the opportunity to talk and get things off our shoulders. I felt better this morning just for being able to say how I think the night before.
Then today was an amazing day to put me back on track and make me feel like one should feel. Our planning group did activity I and III, as II was the Norwegian National Night\Afternoon, and I really believe it went as good as we could have ever wanted it to. For acvity one we did one of my energizers from camp that everyone loved. Then we did a game where we all put on other peoples shoes and formed a circle with them, which is not at all a fair way to explain it, but ask me later. It was really fun and people had a good time with it. Then we did the activity where everyone is in a circle holding hands and we pass a hula hoop around the whole circle (so we have to get through it and such). Kids also loved this one. THEN we did the game where everyone has to stand on the blanket and it is folded so it gets harder and harder. It went way to easy so we then did it where we flip the whole blanket over. People still loved it! But it only took like 60 minutes, with debrief, when we anticipated it taking the whole time. So we then just did a running game which worked great.
But when we did evaulation it was amazing, everyone seemed to just love the activities!
Then was Norway stuff which was a lot of fun.
And then activity III, we did another energizer (not one of mine though, which was okay!) then we did Me Too, my favorite ice breaker, and then the peanut butter river \ foot bridge one. It was crazy, and the kids had a lot of fun and got frustrated and mad and then felt good when they finished, even though they all cheated. But it was great. When the groups evaluated almost all of them felt like the kids really got a lot out of the activities! They had fun AND learned! I really just felt like it was a great time. Many people complimented us on how well things went, too, which always feels good.
As a leader, today was amazing and gave me some much needed juice. Sleep is still rare, but I am going right to bed after this, giving me a good 7 hours..... that is a lot.
I still have no idea of what to write about the kids... it is hard to pin point specific things. The boys are constantly playing cards or soccer with all the other boys. The girls have a couple close friends, though they are starting to branch out and meet more people which is great to see.
I need my sleep so this is all for now. But I hope I have another happy post to write soon!
Hope all is good at home! We have gotten a couple packages for the kids, which they have enjoyed. Thanks for all the letters and small notes, they really appreciate it!
Monday, July 27, 2009
There is bad in every good
Things are still going great. This whole experience is impossible to describe. There are amazing moments and bad moments, and in the end they all blend together to create a wonderful experience.
Last night was the first national night and Italy and Germany did it together. We had Italian dinner and German dessert, which were both awesome. We played fun German games and learned facts about both countries. It was great!
As I write, the first group of people are taking their day off.... it will be strange to not have (all of) the boy leaders with us these next 24 hours, but it makes me look forward to a day away.
It is hard to write about all the good things for there are too many of them. The kids are doing really well, they have all made many new friends and are trying new things every day. As a leader, though, things are more difficult. We are all lacking sleep in a significant way and areat the crabby-point. I know this is normal, but it is so difficult to deal with. We all like each other as people but have issues working together. Certain people feel that the staff takes too much control of things and does not leave things to us leaders at all. On the other side, some feel that we do not have enough time for anything and the staff could do even more. It is an interesting situation for all of us to be in.
The important part in all of this is that we are learning, and everyone is. The kids are learning how to communicate, and even date, to people that barely speak the same language (like Sharhar from Israel and Mattis from Germany). Us leaders are learning how to fix our problems, which each other and with everything, while still staying close friends and making everyone happy. No one is always happy, but we are all staying friends through it all. To me that is the most important part.
I am glad that I have this experience and am already making my list of >things I will do differently< or at least things I noticed that could perhaps be changed. Its an amazing learning experience for everyone and I look forward to being able to see the changes in myself in the end.
Last night was the first national night and Italy and Germany did it together. We had Italian dinner and German dessert, which were both awesome. We played fun German games and learned facts about both countries. It was great!
As I write, the first group of people are taking their day off.... it will be strange to not have (all of) the boy leaders with us these next 24 hours, but it makes me look forward to a day away.
It is hard to write about all the good things for there are too many of them. The kids are doing really well, they have all made many new friends and are trying new things every day. As a leader, though, things are more difficult. We are all lacking sleep in a significant way and areat the crabby-point. I know this is normal, but it is so difficult to deal with. We all like each other as people but have issues working together. Certain people feel that the staff takes too much control of things and does not leave things to us leaders at all. On the other side, some feel that we do not have enough time for anything and the staff could do even more. It is an interesting situation for all of us to be in.
The important part in all of this is that we are learning, and everyone is. The kids are learning how to communicate, and even date, to people that barely speak the same language (like Sharhar from Israel and Mattis from Germany). Us leaders are learning how to fix our problems, which each other and with everything, while still staying close friends and making everyone happy. No one is always happy, but we are all staying friends through it all. To me that is the most important part.
I am glad that I have this experience and am already making my list of >things I will do differently< or at least things I noticed that could perhaps be changed. Its an amazing learning experience for everyone and I look forward to being able to see the changes in myself in the end.
Friday, July 24, 2009
more on yesterday...
Okay, so I have another 10 minutes and want to write a bit more!
There have been issues within the leaders, a few leaders have such strong personalities and attachment with CISV that they take over. Not in a mean way, but they know what they are doing and want to do it and do not always take time to listen to other ideas.
This was a huge problem for me the first few days as I knew I had great ideas and was upset my lack of CISV experience made them discredit my ideas. Then, Wednesday was my planning day and for the third activity I did my favorite energizer from camp and everyone LOVED it. When we went on our excursion yesterday we did it before we left, at the train station, once we got off the train and again later that day. 4 times! After that I felt like the few people who had previously not taken the time to listen to my ideas finally started appreciating me. It felt great and so far today things are going really well.
Perhaps to them I just needed to prove myself and I finally did that! I like all the leaders, there was just a power situation and a couple people were just so on top of everything there was no room for the rest of us. But the couple people who agreed with me all think things are on there way to getting better, even without us saying anything. We will take on the issue if we see it come back, but it is exciting that it may be solved!
This sort of drama is not what I want to write about, but since the problem is on its way to being solved I am extremely happy to write about the change of ways!
The leaders all get along great which we believe has helped the kids mingle and mix faster than usual. When we met the other village yesterday the JC's from both talked to each other. The other village could not beleive we had only been together for a few days, 4 to be exact. Tons of kids jumped into the middle of our big circle to lead songs and were pushing people to do their favortie ones. The other village had a few kids do the same, but mostly as a delegation, and they have been together for two weeks. Their kids have started becoming friends now, two weeks in, and we are almost past the name games and getting to know each other stage after only a few days.
On the forming, storming, norming, performing chart the Vicky Village is about to climb the stairs from forming to storming, and it is a great thing to see!
Eve wants to check email, so I will write more soon.... hopefully in a couple days!!!!
Things are great!
There have been issues within the leaders, a few leaders have such strong personalities and attachment with CISV that they take over. Not in a mean way, but they know what they are doing and want to do it and do not always take time to listen to other ideas.
This was a huge problem for me the first few days as I knew I had great ideas and was upset my lack of CISV experience made them discredit my ideas. Then, Wednesday was my planning day and for the third activity I did my favorite energizer from camp and everyone LOVED it. When we went on our excursion yesterday we did it before we left, at the train station, once we got off the train and again later that day. 4 times! After that I felt like the few people who had previously not taken the time to listen to my ideas finally started appreciating me. It felt great and so far today things are going really well.
Perhaps to them I just needed to prove myself and I finally did that! I like all the leaders, there was just a power situation and a couple people were just so on top of everything there was no room for the rest of us. But the couple people who agreed with me all think things are on there way to getting better, even without us saying anything. We will take on the issue if we see it come back, but it is exciting that it may be solved!
This sort of drama is not what I want to write about, but since the problem is on its way to being solved I am extremely happy to write about the change of ways!
The leaders all get along great which we believe has helped the kids mingle and mix faster than usual. When we met the other village yesterday the JC's from both talked to each other. The other village could not beleive we had only been together for a few days, 4 to be exact. Tons of kids jumped into the middle of our big circle to lead songs and were pushing people to do their favortie ones. The other village had a few kids do the same, but mostly as a delegation, and they have been together for two weeks. Their kids have started becoming friends now, two weeks in, and we are almost past the name games and getting to know each other stage after only a few days.
On the forming, storming, norming, performing chart the Vicky Village is about to climb the stairs from forming to storming, and it is a great thing to see!
Eve wants to check email, so I will write more soon.... hopefully in a couple days!!!!
Things are great!
we ARE the world!
Things are crayz and fun. There is so much to write about and only 5 minutes to do so, but I will quickly update on our awesome excursion yesterday.
We went to a 'barefoot trail' that was 5 (I think) kilomaters long and must be walked without shoes. It starts with this huge mud hole and then has a lot of different textures to walk over. My feet hated it, but it was really cool. I just walked on the grass a lot. :) The best part was we walked thru a river, with water up past my knees, holding on to a rope. It was really neat. We later got to go swimming in the river which was also neat.
After the walk, we had lunch then were just playing games and stuff. THEN we lined up and started walking and were met by the We Are The World Village in Köln!!! It was super neat, and the kids all loved it. We all agree it made our kids a tighter group because all of a sudden they had an audience.
More on it later, I must go to activity.
But things are amazing and we are all learning a lot. I can explain later!!!!
We went to a 'barefoot trail' that was 5 (I think) kilomaters long and must be walked without shoes. It starts with this huge mud hole and then has a lot of different textures to walk over. My feet hated it, but it was really cool. I just walked on the grass a lot. :) The best part was we walked thru a river, with water up past my knees, holding on to a rope. It was really neat. We later got to go swimming in the river which was also neat.
After the walk, we had lunch then were just playing games and stuff. THEN we lined up and started walking and were met by the We Are The World Village in Köln!!! It was super neat, and the kids all loved it. We all agree it made our kids a tighter group because all of a sudden they had an audience.
More on it later, I must go to activity.
But things are amazing and we are all learning a lot. I can explain later!!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
And it has started
I am officially writing this from camp in Germany. I will not write much now, for I need to sleep, but I wanted to at least update everyone that I am here, as are the kids, and all is good!
We arrived at 7am Germany time on Friday, after a 7 hour flight and a lot of sitting. The kids went off to host families and I came to the camp, but only after waiting at the airport for the Israeli delegation, who actually did not arrive because their flight was redirected to Munich during a storm.... and then for the Sweedish delegation, who arrived late but at least at the correct airport. The leader, Eve, and I went back to camp with Matze and hung out a lot. I wanted to sleep but I did not until the end of the day. I am now good with the time change.
However, I still need sleep. So I am off for the night, hopefully I will have time to write tomorrow after the kids come!!!
We arrived at 7am Germany time on Friday, after a 7 hour flight and a lot of sitting. The kids went off to host families and I came to the camp, but only after waiting at the airport for the Israeli delegation, who actually did not arrive because their flight was redirected to Munich during a storm.... and then for the Sweedish delegation, who arrived late but at least at the correct airport. The leader, Eve, and I went back to camp with Matze and hung out a lot. I wanted to sleep but I did not until the end of the day. I am now good with the time change.
However, I still need sleep. So I am off for the night, hopefully I will have time to write tomorrow after the kids come!!!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Michael Jackson, We are the World!
I am having a hard time being productive (aka clean my room) because I feel that I have to watch this memorial service. So, why not take some time to reflect on the issue while doing so.
It would be lying to say that I loved Michael Jackson, I believe that like a lot of people I thought he was weird. But I did not dislike him, either. He made good music, a lot of which I did not fully appreciate, and some which I can never get out of my head. Nonetheless, to me, Jackson was another made crazy by fame celebrity, who cared too much about certain things, like little kids, for his own good.
But no one can deny how influential of a person he was, both in pop and in the world.
If there was one thing that influenced my unsure opinion of him the most, it was We are the World. I am a core Bob Geldof fan, and will be until I die. Live Aid was the biggest influence in my life and Bob Geldof my first true hero. [Note: they just started talking about We are the World and USA for Africa on the service] I had a slight dislike for Jackson because he copied my hero, Bob Geldof. We are the World was their attempt at the fame that Do they know it's Christmas had brought to Geldof and the British charity movement.
So what? It was a charity song, money raised from the single was sent to Africa to help them in a terrible time. Yeah, Bob Geldof started it, but shouldn't I be proud that something as simple as a song changed the world? Of course I am. At least I am now.
I have grown and matured a lot since my initial love for Geldof and Live Aid. As I get ready to embark on this cultural, peace education experience next week I can look back at my life and understand things that I have done wrong and can grow from them. I held something I cared about so close I disliked anything that wasn't as true or as real as it.
The kids may have similar issues, we all might. Perhaps something about our society is so valuable to us that if we find out another culture does it differently we may dislike it for no reason other than it's different. But does it really matter? I believe that what is important is the focus or goal of things. Religions get caught up on which one is right, but to me what matters is if the religion makes the person a good, caring individual. Most people, cultures, religions and so on have a common purpose, to make life better for everyone.
Live Aid and Band Aid did just that. People who loved music came together for a concert by people who loved music to raise awareness and money for a country who needed help. They all wanted to make the world a better place for people who needed help.
People need to put aside their differences and strengthen the similarities. I hope that some day the world will teach people to love first, judge second and not be so quick to dislike the slight differences. I am an extremely open minded person and I am still guilty of this, what does that mean about the world?
I urge anyone who ever reads this blog to explore "Do they Know it's Christmas," "We are the World" and the efforts of Band Aid and Live Aid and let it inspire you. Bob Geldof had an idea, one person, and he changed the world. Michael Jackson helped.
As Jackson said himself: "There's nothing that can't be done if we raise our voice as one."
It would be lying to say that I loved Michael Jackson, I believe that like a lot of people I thought he was weird. But I did not dislike him, either. He made good music, a lot of which I did not fully appreciate, and some which I can never get out of my head. Nonetheless, to me, Jackson was another made crazy by fame celebrity, who cared too much about certain things, like little kids, for his own good.
But no one can deny how influential of a person he was, both in pop and in the world.
If there was one thing that influenced my unsure opinion of him the most, it was We are the World. I am a core Bob Geldof fan, and will be until I die. Live Aid was the biggest influence in my life and Bob Geldof my first true hero. [Note: they just started talking about We are the World and USA for Africa on the service] I had a slight dislike for Jackson because he copied my hero, Bob Geldof. We are the World was their attempt at the fame that Do they know it's Christmas had brought to Geldof and the British charity movement.
So what? It was a charity song, money raised from the single was sent to Africa to help them in a terrible time. Yeah, Bob Geldof started it, but shouldn't I be proud that something as simple as a song changed the world? Of course I am. At least I am now.
I have grown and matured a lot since my initial love for Geldof and Live Aid. As I get ready to embark on this cultural, peace education experience next week I can look back at my life and understand things that I have done wrong and can grow from them. I held something I cared about so close I disliked anything that wasn't as true or as real as it.
The kids may have similar issues, we all might. Perhaps something about our society is so valuable to us that if we find out another culture does it differently we may dislike it for no reason other than it's different. But does it really matter? I believe that what is important is the focus or goal of things. Religions get caught up on which one is right, but to me what matters is if the religion makes the person a good, caring individual. Most people, cultures, religions and so on have a common purpose, to make life better for everyone.
Live Aid and Band Aid did just that. People who loved music came together for a concert by people who loved music to raise awareness and money for a country who needed help. They all wanted to make the world a better place for people who needed help.
People need to put aside their differences and strengthen the similarities. I hope that some day the world will teach people to love first, judge second and not be so quick to dislike the slight differences. I am an extremely open minded person and I am still guilty of this, what does that mean about the world?
I urge anyone who ever reads this blog to explore "Do they Know it's Christmas," "We are the World" and the efforts of Band Aid and Live Aid and let it inspire you. Bob Geldof had an idea, one person, and he changed the world. Michael Jackson helped.
As Jackson said himself: "There's nothing that can't be done if we raise our voice as one."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
