Highlight: The hour that my team spent together making a company. Each team had to make a company, decide what its product was, design a poster for it, and decide where it was located. My team had the distinct disadvantage of having to speak in English. For half of my team, it is not a problem since one is American, two have an American parent and one has grown up in a bilingual family. For me, it was fun to watch them come up with ideas and share them all in English. Our team was dubbed, “Super Star Air Kids,” and our company is an airline whose airplanes double as submarines and takes kids on deep-sea adventures.
Lowlight: The five-hour bus ride to get here. I had heard it was only three but that was not the case. We hit traffic getting out of the city, had to make two bathroom breaks, and stop once to pick up supplies. And trying to keep 43 wiggling, hyperactive kids sitting and quiet is no easy thing. But, we did survive and the adventure begins….
Day 2 – China Day
Highlight: This was my day to lead and the theme was Beijing, China and the Summer Olympics. We spent the morning preparing for the Olympics and then in the afternoon we had six different Olympic Games (variations of real events, such as the javelin throw with chopsticks). So, there were really two highlights for me. The first was the awards ceremony. One of the preparations for the Olympics was making medals. The kids had sparkly paper, pens and ribbons and they made some great medals. In the afternoon, we sat outside in a big circle and each teacher called their group up and awarded a medal to each child, some for best in an event, others for good attitudes, encouraging teammates or being a good sport. It was fun to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. The second was in the evening, when we lit the Olympic torch. The kids lined up from the front of our hotel all the way to the campfire. Then Andreka lit the torch and a great cheer went up. The kids then passed the torch all the way down the line to me, the last person. I held it up and they again cheered. I then used it to light our campfire. And we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores, which was a first for many of these kids’ as they don’t have marshmallows here. It was amazing to watch their faces as they enjoyed this new, sticky treat. (Thanks mom and dad and Patrick for the marshmallows and graham crackers. You made many kids day!)
Lowlight: The thought of making it through so many more days. This day was actually one of those days without any clear lowlights. I was busy (since it was my day to lead) and I had lots of fun.
Day 3 – Hollywood Day
Highlight: We spent the morning creating movies based on children’s movies (Shrek, Aladdin, The Incredibles). My team had Shrek and we made a movie about the dragon and Donkey’s children. Mama dragon and the children went on a picnic and the children got lost in the woods. A year later, when their wings finally worked, they were reunited with their mom. It was complete with a narrator, costumes, props and sets. The highlight however, was winning the Oscar for Most Original film. According to my kids, this was the best award you could win. We had Oscars made of chocolate bars, wrapped in tin foil to look like an Oscar. The kids and teachers all brought fancy clothes, wore make-up and did their hair fancy. The upstairs room was decorated beautifully and was complete with a red carpet.
Lowlight: For me, it was the same thing, the Oscar night. I was sitting with my team, all dressed up and my team was the last one to get their Oscar. So, when the teacher announcing started talking, she was looking at my team and I knew she was talking about my team. However, I couldn’t really understand her. Then when my kids got called up, she asked them if they had anything to say. One of my kids gave a speech and again, I couldn’t understand. I just felt so frustrated because I wanted so desperately to understand. I was so proud of them, but I felt so much like an outsider. This is when I am so frustrated with being the foreigner.
Day 4 – Paris Day
Highlight: This day was supposed to be our Canada day, but we had to change it because it rained on and off all day. Instead we learned about the Versailles Gardens and created our own of scrap materials and things from outside. The highlight for me was during this time. After we collected all of our things from outside, I had to get something from my room, so I sent the kids upstairs to get started. We had done some work, but they were not really getting into it and I felt like I was pushing, pushing, pushing. It took me a few minutes to get what I needed and I was a little worried at what I might find when I came upstairs. But, they were working happily and had created a really fantastic garden complete with planter boxes around the trees and little tiny flowerpots. It was fun to see them working together so well.
Lowlight: This was a hard day for my team. Three of my boys share a room as well as being on the same team and it is a lot of together time, and they got in their third fight of the day. And at dinner time, they were using bad language and saying mean things to and about each other. So, after being formally rebuked by the director of the camp, two of the girls were in tears and everyone was very sad. Not a good way to end the day, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Day 5 – Canada Day
Highlight: Today we went on a trip to the forest. We rode on two different open-air trains, which felt very much like we had gone back in time. We walked for an hour or so through the woods, stopping to look at different things in nature as we went (my favorite was the four foot high ant hill. We stopped in a meadow and played soccer and other games for about an hour or so before heading back. The highlight for me was getting ready for bed at the end of the day – not me getting ready, but 4 of my boys. I was assigned to look after one of the rooms with four of my second grade boys in it. This involved me sitting in their room for an hour or so, making sure they showered (with soap) and washed their hair, brushed their teeth, got pajamas on and got into bed with the covers on properly. This was quite a challenge and very funny to watch. I had to say everything multiple times and very slowly. Meanwhile, my boys (who have no shame) were running around their room (before and after their showers) with no clothes on. And after their showers, they didn’t dry off, just put on their pajamas. So, I tried my best to towel them off, especially their hair, as our school nurse says that if you go to bed with wet hair, you will get sick. It was fun to bond with my boys in this special (although silly way) and feel like I was just one of the teachers, instead of the foreign teacher.
Lowlight: At the end of the day, all the teachers were sitting in our little room getting things ready for the next day. I was helping and listening to the banter around me. They were laughing and telling stories and having fun and I realized how much I missed being a part of a group like that.
Day 6 – Vienna Day
Highlight: This was a really fun day. We set up a carnival for the kids outside while they learned about Mozart inside. We had six different games/booths: a hit the prize game, a scary forest walk, a tattoo parlor, a strong man/arm wrestling, a tumbling and a Frisbee game. Each kid got 20 Euros and could buy tickets for 2 Euros each. The kids had a blast running from booth to booth, playing games, winning prizes and just having fun. I ran the tattoo parlor, which was a huge success. However, the highlight for me was connecting with two of the teachers, Katka and Vierka, that have very limited English. First, when we were getting ready for the carnival, they asked me to do their makeup, which I did very garishly – bright pink circles on their cheeks and bold purple, blue and green eye shadow. They were so happy to have me do it. Yeah! Later, Vierka noticed I was pink (okay, red) from being in the sun and offered me after sun lotion. So, I went to her room and put some on her back and then she put some on mine. And then, when they found out that I could french braid, they wanted me to braid their hair. So, in the afternoon, while the kids were playing outside, I sat with both of them and braided their hair. We talked in Slovish – my new favorite language, a combination of Slovak and English. These two teachers had not really talked with me before because of the language barrier but now have each talked to me several times. Praise the Lord!
Lowlight: Today was really a great day. The only lowlight was realizing that I am not even half way done with camp as tomorrow we get a fresh group of children and start all over again.
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| SvP 2 & 3 |
Day 7 – Slovakia Day
Highlight: Today was the last day for our kids. We finished the week by watching a slide show of pictures of the week. Then we gathered outside and the kids took turns praising each other until each of the children had been praised. Even though I couldn’t understand all of it, it was very precious to see the kids telling about who had helped them during the week, who had played well and who had made their week better. But the highlight for me was when the bus pulled up and my fourth graders and Magda got off the bus. I was so happy to see all of them.
Lowlight: So, while today was the last day for my first group, it was the first day for my second group. When the bus pulled up and the kids piled off with all of their bags and we helped them carry their bags up to their rooms, I had the strangest sense of déjà vu. Only, it was real. It was only a week ago I had done the exact same thing, but with my first group of kids. Then, when the bus left with the first group and we started the program with the second group, I just wanted to scream, “But we’ve already done this!” There are six of us teachers who are staying for the full two weeks (with two new and rested teachers). We all were a little crazy tonight as we are pretty exhausted and know exactly what we are facing for the next week. I hope we can all survive….
Day 8 – China Day
Highlight: This one is easy. Marshmallows. The day was pretty much the same as the week before with all the same events and such. The kids seemed to really enjoy everything. Again, we lit the Olympic torch and passed it down the line of children to light the campfire. I explained again about how to make s’mores and we got started. This time however, I had each 4th grader pair up with a 2nd grader and cook their marshmallows together, since we had two pronged sticks to cook on. This worked very well and we made our way through 3 bags of marshmallows, 9 bars of chocolate and 2 boxes of graham crackers. Each time I emptied a bag of marshmallows, one of my 4th graders would come running up and ask if they could have the empty bags. They are very impressed with those American marshmallows.
Lowlight: My team this time around is much more difficult. They are not team players and I have too many leaders. In addition, they don’t want to use their English and so are reluctant to do things. I feel like I am constantly the bad guy. Hopefully things will get better as I had a small chance to talk to them about their behavior today.
Day 9 – Hollywood Day
Highlight: There were several. First, in the afternoon, we had free time and several of my 4th grade girls invited me to play games with them. We ended up playing 3 different games, and they spoke in English the whole time. Second, I got to play hairdresser. Tonight was our Oscar night (because we had made movies in the morning) and it was announced at lunch that I was the best hairdresser. So starting at about four in the afternoon, I did girls hair straight until about seven (with a small break for dinner). I did crown braids, French braids, side braids, farmers braids, fish braids, ponytails, up-does and whatever else I could think of. It was lots of fun and good bonding time with my students, and even one of the teachers. Third, after our Oscar night (my group again won the award for The Most Original film) one of my 4th grade boys started crying in the corner. I went over to him and put my arm around him and started to talk to him. (He had been struggling the previous day with homesickness.) I asked him what was wrong and he said his stomach was hurting all through the Oscar night. I asked him if he wanted to go to his room or to see the nurse. He told me he wanted to go see the nurse. I offered to go with him or to have one of his friends go with him. He said he wanted me to go with him. This meant a lot to me as so often it seems that my kids would rather have one of their friends or a teacher who speaks Slovak than me. It was nice to be chosen.
Lowlight: I am tired. And I know that I won’t get any less, even if I get a good night’s sleep, as it is just so tiring. And I know that me being so tired is effecting how I am relating to my group, to the rest of the kids and to the other teachers. I really am enjoying camp, but I am ready to go home. Jayne (my boss) sent me a text message yesterday that I need to dwell on, lean on, and have faith in: Matt. 11.28, Jesus said come to me all who are weary…, and I will give you rest. Just the words I need to hear as I am so very weary.
Day 10 – Canada Day
Highlight: Today was one of those days when I just marveled at this beautiful country that I live in. Slovakia is so amazingly beautiful. I don’t know if the photos we took will do it justice, so if you want to know how amazing it is, you will have to come and see for yourself. Today we again went by an open-air train to a national park. It was one of those perfect days. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot. We had an ongoing game which lead to one of the highlights of my day. The game is called “spnka,” which means paperclip in Slovak. Each teacher had 30 paperclips and the kids each had one. If you were asked a question, you had to answer with more than one word or you had to give the person who asked you the question a spnka. I had forgotten my spinkas at the hotel, but the kids kept trying to collect them from me anyways. My group was last along with the principal. I told my group they had to speak in English as our principal is going to Wheaton College for 6 weeks this summer and needs to practice his English. So, two of my boys kept up a steady stream of conversation with us for over an hour. Much of it was aimed at getting spinkas but I didn’t mind as it was nice to have someone spending time talking with me. I ended up losing more than 45 paperclips, even though I didn’t have that many. The second highlight was when we stopped to play soccer. Not all the kids wanted to play, so one other teacher and I decided to play Frisbee. Two of our second graders soon joined us and kids kept coming and going. We had twelve kids playing at one time or another. It was fun to see them trying to throw and catch the Frisbee and get excited when they succeeded.
Lowlight: There wasn’t a really clear lowlight today. Maybe just that fact that I haven’t slept well for the last three nights and two nights in a row have woken up in the middle of the night with very painful leg cramps. I have also been waking up at 4, 5, 6 and 7. I think my body is trying to tell me that it has been pushed too hard. Only two and a half more days to go!
Day 11 – Paris Day
Highlight: I have begun to realize how much these two weeks have been about building relationships with the other teachers at my school. When you are cut off from all the normal people that you depend on, talk to and laugh with, you have to find someone else. And it is not always easy when you have language and culture barriers to overcome. But God is good and has allowed me to build many, many relationships during these two weeks. Case in point, today’s highlight. After the kids went to bed, the teacher’s gathered as usual to talk about tomorrow. When we were finished, we all gathered some sweets and headed up to the upstairs room where we have the projector set up and watched a movie on the big screen. We watched an American film in English with Czech subtitles. It was fun to hear my colleagues talking throughout the film and to be able to understand that they didn’t like the boss’ nephew and that they thought the star was cute and that one of my colleagues, Magda, looked like a girl in the film. It was nice to be one of the gang and not have language be a problem.
Lowlight: I found out today that when I get back to school I have parent’s night. We will get back Sunday night around 6 and then Tuesday and Wednesday I have parent-teacher conferences from 3-7pm. I feel so exhausted already I almost cried. The good thing was, I also found out that I don’t have to work on Monday, only a half-day on Wednesday and then Friday is a big game day (Day of Children), so I can choose if I want to come in or not. Next weekend, I also have a retreat with TeachOverseas, so no break then either, which is why my boss here is giving me as much time off as she can this week. I am going to need it!
Day 12 – Vienna Day
Highlight: Carnival! We had another carnival today and it was so much fun again. I did make-up all around again and then Katka did mine. I was the tattoo artist again and did as many as I could. Then, in the afternoon it started to rain, so we stayed inside and had clubs. Mine was a hair salon, which I supplemented with art supplies. I did French braids for an hour and a half while the girls waiting or finished drew pictures. Later, the teachers got in on the fun too and I braided Andreka, Katka, Magda, Vierka and Mirka’s hair. My hands are tired, but my heart is happy. The whole day was so good that I can’t pick a highlight.
Lowlight: Maybe the lunch (although I ate most of it). It was pizza with ham and cheese, but the sauce was just ketchup. I know I am becoming more and more Slovak as I finished most of mine and found it really wasn’t that bad. One more thing, is that I have found that not wearing shoes, inside or outside, is a no-no. I was barefoot outside during the carnival and several teachers mentioned it. Then, at dinner, I was walking around inside barefoot and several more teachers shared their concerns. I just told them that I am a crazy American and they laughed. One more day. Less than 24 hours to home!!! Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| SvP 2 & 4 |
Day 13: Slovakia and FINISHED!!!
Highlight: This day ended differently than I had hoped, but better than I had imagined. After watching a slide-show of our week together, saying thank you's and talking about what we liked best, we climbed on the bus for our trip home. It only took 4 hours and it seemed to pass fairly quickly. When we pulled into school however, there was not a big crowd of parents like I had imagined, just one of the teacher's boyfriends. No parents at all!!! Now, after two straight weeks of camp, it was very disappointing, but we just did what had to be done - unpacked the bus. Slowly parents came trickling in and we cheered whenever one arrived and tried to guess who would be the next one. After about 30 minutes of this, it started to rain. Big drops. So we took cover under a overhang and it stopped in a few minutes. Only to start up again in a few minutes, but this time it poured. And poured, and hailed, and poured. It continued like this for the next 20 minutes until everything was soaked and all of the children were finally gone. I had to carry my bags home in the rain. Yuck! However, saying goodbye to all the teachers was the best as we laughed and hugged and talked about getting together again soon. I think that I have made some good friends this week. It is so wonderful to see God working through every event in my life.
Lowlight: Nope! Not on this day. Maybe just the huge pile of laundry currently sitting on my floor.....
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