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!