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.