As much as I would love to rehash all the awesomeness that occurred during the week of July 28th-August 3rd, I believe it would be much easier to show you.
The above video can also be found at our awesome Camp G-GLOW blog, where I am a one of three bloggers that keep the thing updated and looking pretty. The other two working on the blog are Jackie, and Adi, our Ethiopian counterpart who occasionally does a post in Amharic for Ethiopian readers not too familiar with English. You can find all the nitty gritty details of what we did at Camp G-GLOW at this convenient location, but first, another video!
(Because I know how much you all love videos). This one above is actually a slideshow of OhnSoon's excellent photographic documentation of our week-long camp. It's worth more photos than I could ever simply embed in this post. That being said...
Oh, look! It's me, with my campers, and fellow Yellow Team Leaders, Kat, Yeshi and Samantha (black shirts from left to right that are not me).
So as I said, you can get the details right here at our official blog, but where else but here will you get a more personal reaction of my experience at camp? Being the official blogger is great, but I do have to keep things in perspective, talk about activities, be sure to remember which camper did which adorable thing, and which counselor led which activity, and make sure everyone's names get a mention. Here, I can just talk about it, from my perspective, without worrying about all that.
So I'm going to lay all my cards on the table and be super honest: I did not want to do Camp G-GLOW this year. Nope. I didn't want the stress, and I was worried about bringing students that I had no personal relationship with to camp with me. My site mate, Christina, is the one that works at the primary schools and she basically went through the camper selection process for me. Though I had (enthusiastically) participated in Christina's mini Camp GLOW in Hossana, I was more wary about the one in Sodo. The Hossana camp was easy to say yes to. For one thing, no travel was involved, and at 6:00 the kids could go home and so could I. On top of that, we didn't have to feed them as students just went home for lunch, too. So all I needed to focus on was the actual camp things, like lessons, activities and management. Sodo added a whole new barrel of fish. It was bigger, involved travel with kids I didn't know (I hate traveling in this country) and you are on practically 24/7 and always have to be a role model.
Despite all that, I said yes. I said yes primarily because Christina made me say yes. She pointed out that, because she was COSing, she couldn't take the kids herself and I needed to take them or they wouldn't be able to attend. If you want to get me to do anything, tell me I'm taking a once in a lifetime opportunity away from kids. Gets me every time. So I acquiesced and started my prep.
Prepping for Camp G-GLOW is probably the easiest thing I have ever done as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I know for a fact that it was far more difficult for other PCVs, who took on bigger roles in the camp organization, especially Emily, our Camp Director, and Dan the logistics coordinator who actually lives in Sodo. But thanks to these other wonderful and responsible people, my preparation was a breeze. I had one lesson I really wanted to do - making All About Books - a genius notion (if I do say so myself) that combines American-style literacy education ala the Writer's Workshop Model with a fun and informal assessment of what students had learned at camp so far. Students would write and illustrate a book about the topics we were learning about at camp to show what they had retained. Boom, one lesson done. And the second lesson on leadership was literally handed to me by Emily, and all I had to do was execute the lesson plan (with a few personal touches). So that was easy. Then there was camper selection. Christina agreed to do it for me, because she knows all the kids and the teachers in the primary schools and picked four gobez (smart) campers for me to bring. So that was easy, too. Then I was concerned about transportation. No need! Because Hossana is a hub town close to Sodo, Emily managed to contract a bus for us that would pick us up right here, along with campers who met up here from Gunchire and Durame. So that was super easy and required minimal effort on my part.
And then, there was camp proper. Camp itself was not as easy. It was a lot of hard work, and very high stress. But it was rewarding, too. I realized on my way down that it was OK that I didn't know my Hossana campers. I'd get to know them, and I did, quite well. All of us are meeting again next week for a mini reunion and shay/buna (tea/coffee) so I can give them all CDs of photos and the two videos I linked to earlier in this post. Anyways, at camp, I got to know a lot of the campers, not just the ones from my site. I grew very fond of my Yellow Team, even though they all had their flaws, too. I hate to pick favorites - actually, not really - but my favorite was definitely Yohannes. He was super gobez and adorable. I was also fond of Mihret, a junior counselor I brought from Hossana who asked me for more responsibility when she realized she wasn't being utilized. And when we gave her more responsibility as a helper in the classroom, she really stepped up. I was super proud. I also have a soft spot for Getachew, just because he was so little and had an angry face. He was like my own little grumpy cat. I remember, I was handing out rings of pride (rewards for good behavior, but everyone starts each day with one) in the morning and asked if someone didn't get one. Getachew raised his hand, even though I could see one clearly around his nametag. I said he already had one, and he said, "So? Give me another," in this adorable grumpy-cat way. I laughed, then he smiled, and we both laughed. Was it a bit petulant and irreverent? Perhaps. But he's so little, it made me laugh.
I'm being kicked out of my usual cafe so that they can clean, so I'll just sum up here - Camp preparation was easy. Camp itself was hard. But worth it. I'm glad I went, I had an exhausting, stressful, and fantastic time, and I know it's something that the campers who attended will carry with them for the rest of their lives. How do I know this with such certainty? When I first met my host brother, Foad, last year in Bekoji, the first thing he did was show me photos and the certificate he received for attending one of these Peace Corps Camps a few years previously. He beamed from ear to ear, a teenager now applying to college (at the time), still proud of the certificate he earned for attending "an American-style summer camp."
So yes. I have a feeling that, should these campers encounter Peace Corps Volunteers in the future, next year, in five years, or in ten years, they'll beam and react in much the same way as Foad - by wanting to enthuse about their experiences at Camp G-GLOW, Sodo, 2013.
The above video can also be found at our awesome Camp G-GLOW blog, where I am a one of three bloggers that keep the thing updated and looking pretty. The other two working on the blog are Jackie, and Adi, our Ethiopian counterpart who occasionally does a post in Amharic for Ethiopian readers not too familiar with English. You can find all the nitty gritty details of what we did at Camp G-GLOW at this convenient location, but first, another video!
(Because I know how much you all love videos). This one above is actually a slideshow of OhnSoon's excellent photographic documentation of our week-long camp. It's worth more photos than I could ever simply embed in this post. That being said...
Oh, look! It's me, with my campers, and fellow Yellow Team Leaders, Kat, Yeshi and Samantha (black shirts from left to right that are not me).
So as I said, you can get the details right here at our official blog, but where else but here will you get a more personal reaction of my experience at camp? Being the official blogger is great, but I do have to keep things in perspective, talk about activities, be sure to remember which camper did which adorable thing, and which counselor led which activity, and make sure everyone's names get a mention. Here, I can just talk about it, from my perspective, without worrying about all that.
So I'm going to lay all my cards on the table and be super honest: I did not want to do Camp G-GLOW this year. Nope. I didn't want the stress, and I was worried about bringing students that I had no personal relationship with to camp with me. My site mate, Christina, is the one that works at the primary schools and she basically went through the camper selection process for me. Though I had (enthusiastically) participated in Christina's mini Camp GLOW in Hossana, I was more wary about the one in Sodo. The Hossana camp was easy to say yes to. For one thing, no travel was involved, and at 6:00 the kids could go home and so could I. On top of that, we didn't have to feed them as students just went home for lunch, too. So all I needed to focus on was the actual camp things, like lessons, activities and management. Sodo added a whole new barrel of fish. It was bigger, involved travel with kids I didn't know (I hate traveling in this country) and you are on practically 24/7 and always have to be a role model.
Despite all that, I said yes. I said yes primarily because Christina made me say yes. She pointed out that, because she was COSing, she couldn't take the kids herself and I needed to take them or they wouldn't be able to attend. If you want to get me to do anything, tell me I'm taking a once in a lifetime opportunity away from kids. Gets me every time. So I acquiesced and started my prep.
Prepping for Camp G-GLOW is probably the easiest thing I have ever done as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I know for a fact that it was far more difficult for other PCVs, who took on bigger roles in the camp organization, especially Emily, our Camp Director, and Dan the logistics coordinator who actually lives in Sodo. But thanks to these other wonderful and responsible people, my preparation was a breeze. I had one lesson I really wanted to do - making All About Books - a genius notion (if I do say so myself) that combines American-style literacy education ala the Writer's Workshop Model with a fun and informal assessment of what students had learned at camp so far. Students would write and illustrate a book about the topics we were learning about at camp to show what they had retained. Boom, one lesson done. And the second lesson on leadership was literally handed to me by Emily, and all I had to do was execute the lesson plan (with a few personal touches). So that was easy. Then there was camper selection. Christina agreed to do it for me, because she knows all the kids and the teachers in the primary schools and picked four gobez (smart) campers for me to bring. So that was easy, too. Then I was concerned about transportation. No need! Because Hossana is a hub town close to Sodo, Emily managed to contract a bus for us that would pick us up right here, along with campers who met up here from Gunchire and Durame. So that was super easy and required minimal effort on my part.
And then, there was camp proper. Camp itself was not as easy. It was a lot of hard work, and very high stress. But it was rewarding, too. I realized on my way down that it was OK that I didn't know my Hossana campers. I'd get to know them, and I did, quite well. All of us are meeting again next week for a mini reunion and shay/buna (tea/coffee) so I can give them all CDs of photos and the two videos I linked to earlier in this post. Anyways, at camp, I got to know a lot of the campers, not just the ones from my site. I grew very fond of my Yellow Team, even though they all had their flaws, too. I hate to pick favorites - actually, not really - but my favorite was definitely Yohannes. He was super gobez and adorable. I was also fond of Mihret, a junior counselor I brought from Hossana who asked me for more responsibility when she realized she wasn't being utilized. And when we gave her more responsibility as a helper in the classroom, she really stepped up. I was super proud. I also have a soft spot for Getachew, just because he was so little and had an angry face. He was like my own little grumpy cat. I remember, I was handing out rings of pride (rewards for good behavior, but everyone starts each day with one) in the morning and asked if someone didn't get one. Getachew raised his hand, even though I could see one clearly around his nametag. I said he already had one, and he said, "So? Give me another," in this adorable grumpy-cat way. I laughed, then he smiled, and we both laughed. Was it a bit petulant and irreverent? Perhaps. But he's so little, it made me laugh.
I'm being kicked out of my usual cafe so that they can clean, so I'll just sum up here - Camp preparation was easy. Camp itself was hard. But worth it. I'm glad I went, I had an exhausting, stressful, and fantastic time, and I know it's something that the campers who attended will carry with them for the rest of their lives. How do I know this with such certainty? When I first met my host brother, Foad, last year in Bekoji, the first thing he did was show me photos and the certificate he received for attending one of these Peace Corps Camps a few years previously. He beamed from ear to ear, a teenager now applying to college (at the time), still proud of the certificate he earned for attending "an American-style summer camp."
So yes. I have a feeling that, should these campers encounter Peace Corps Volunteers in the future, next year, in five years, or in ten years, they'll beam and react in much the same way as Foad - by wanting to enthuse about their experiences at Camp G-GLOW, Sodo, 2013.
Is that "Grumpy Cat" first row, second from the right in your YELLOW TEAM picture?
ReplyDeleteHaha! You picked him out! That's him, that little guy. Also two kids down from him is Yohannes, squatting next to me. Mihret, our Junior Counselor, is standing directly above me, next to Kat.
ReplyDelete