Summer Camp!

This summer my girls are learning phrasal verbs, and ever since I taught them “look forward to,” they couldn’t stop saying how much they were looking forward to summer camp! And it did not disappoint. The 3rd Annual Talas Summer Camp, from July 2-6, was a great success.

Of course, for the Talas volunteers, summer camp started long before July 2. We started the planning in April, and it’s actually pretty amazing that we were able to pull it off in just 3 months! (Note to future camp organizers: start the planning EARLY!) This year, we decided to do an overnight camp, which hugely multiplies the time, effort, planning, money, and responsibility involved. We had a great group working together to make it all happen from the beginning, but as the Camp Director this year, the bulk of responsibility fell on my shoulders, especially in the weeks right before camp after Chris & Malinda left. But I have to say that as much work as it was, I really enjoyed myself! There were certainly times in the week before camp that I just wanted to press “pause” and take a vacation, but overall, this kind of director work energizes and motivates me—just give me something to plan and I’m happy! :-)

Once camp actually started, things were so well-planned that there were very few issues or problems that arose, and though it was exhausting just being responsible for 50 students 24 hours a day, it really wasn’t actually that difficult to run things. Like I said before, we had an amazing team of 27 volunteers (all 12 Talasians, 7 volunteers who came in from other oblasts, and 8 local university student translators) who were always on top of things and efficiently fulfilling each of their individual responsibilities. So with so many great people, my work during camp was pretty easy! Just making sure everything was running smoothly and troubleshooting when issues arose. It was fun!

So what exactly did camp consist of? We had 50 students from 10 different villages in Talas (each volunteer chose 5-7 of his/her best students to attend) all gathered at “Camp Barchin” in the forest about 30 minutes outside Talas city for 5 days and 4 nights. Each day had a different theme, which usually began with morning sessions on that theme and then arts & crafts and sports in the afternoon. Free time until dinner, and then each night we had a special evening activity, such as Capture the Flag, Bonfire & Smores, and a Disco (the students LOVE their discos!). The first day was the Welcome & Team-Building day. We broke the students up into 6 teams and they each had to come up with a team name, flag and cheer. We also had a ropes course of different team-building activities (trust fall, etc.), which was one of the most successful activities of the whole camp. The second day was Gender & Diversity day. This day we were fortunate to have 4 locals give sessions on Dating, Relationships & Marriage, Bride-Kidnapping, and Women in the Workplace. They were all incredible and really inspired our students. In the afternoon we had an activity and discussion about prejudice & stereotypes, which was quite instructive. One of my students said she’d never heard of stereotypes before, and now she sees that they are bad and she doesn’t want to perpetuate them. Woohoo! That’s why we do these camps :-).

The third day was the Fourth of July, so we just spent the whole day playing. Relay races, watermelon eating contests, and the beginning of the kickball tournament! The students had a blast, and my girls even presented us with a special gift: a flag they’d sown with the American flag on one side and the Kyrgyz flag on the other. That’s something I will treasure forever. Day 4 was Health, which was also one of our best days session-wise. In the morning we split up the girls and guys for sex education, trying to clear up a lot of the myths and misconceptions on the topic. We also had mini-sessions on Stress, Nutrition, and Smoking that the students really enjoyed. I don’t think many students here are taught about stress and how to deal with it, so it was really informative. My girls are still telling me stories of how they’ve dealt with recent stressful situations based on the things they learned in that session. Again, it’s so exciting to see things they were taught at camp impacting their everyday lives!

The last day was basically just cleaning up and goodbyes. We presented each team with special awards and each student took home a certificate, and by 3:30, they were all gone! None of the students wanted to leave, but they all left smiling, so I count that a great success. By Friday, all the volunteers were absolutely exhausted and glad it was over, but very proud of the week. We enjoyed a much needed rest and letting loose that evening, and then headed out to our respective villages Saturday morning.

For me, camp was gratifying not only because I know my students had a blast and learned some valuable things, but also because I was personally reminded that I am a good leader and I like leading. It had been a while since I’d been in charge of something like this before, and while the responsibility was a bit overwhelming at times, it also felt good to be in that place again. Several volunteers affirmed afterwards that they thought I’d done a great job as the director, stayed calm under stress, and treated everyone with courtesy and respect. For those things I’m really proud. Thanks to all of you who prayed for me that week; I could sense a special peace and confidence from God upon me, carrying me through and sustaining me. It was certainly one of the single most rewarding weeks of my Peace Corps service. It was great, and now I’m glad it’s over and life has returned to a slightly more normal pace :-).

Next… Gloria’s Visit!