I can't believe I took this long to write about my camping adventure with the jovenes! I have so much to say and so many pictures! I will do my best in trying to give you the run down without boring you and also try to post as many pics as possible!
Let's just open with the fact that I was pretty nervous about this camping trip. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE Camp! I love the idea of it. Maybe not the bug bites and and poison ivy aspect, but more of the bonding and taking people out of their element to stretch themselves to new heights. However, I had NO idea if all of that would transpire and I had NO clue how I was going to do it all in Spanish!
We were taking 20 of our kids and meeting up with another group of 20 in Portoviejo. There were only 4 facilitators total so I was on edge about being one of the few adults.
We left late in the evening and took a night bus to Protoviejo to meet up with the Aldea. The kids were pretty good on the bus. Really, myself and the other facilitator were in the front and they were in the back. There were some up front with us but the majority were in the back so either they were behaved or they knew how to keep their madness to a minimum : )
The Aldea of Portoviejo was Beauitful! Lot's of green trees and wooden houses.
We got in at a crazy hour, like, 4 am in the morning. Since I hadn't slept on the bus due to my colleague wanting to talk all night and not sleep, I was anxious to get a morning nap before we started the day. We were divided in two houses, one for the guys and one for the girls. That meant I was in charge of all the teen girls! I was nervous about that, but I thought to myself, being nervous will only make this situation that much harder, so I decided to suck it up and go with it. Well it those girls were so crunk about being in a new place (with new boys) that they did NOT sleep, there were blasting music, fighting of bed arrangements and simply doing the most.
My way of dealing with my limited Spanish with all these girls talking at once was telling them that this experience was about team building and part of team building is resolving conflicts in a camp and compromising way. Well that worked they figured there stuff out, sure I didn't get to sleep but we had a fairly peaceful house. Even though we weren't supposed to leave our little house until 9:00 am the girls were going crazy with cabin fever so I finally said we could walk around. That's when we met all the lovely people of the Aldea and it was great.
Later I met with the other two youth facilitators and we pretty much had mini meetings all morning. Then we hopped on a bus and left. I was actually in a van with a group of my jovenes from Atacames and again I was alone and in charge. I was with some of the older boys who can be intimidating and they were Certainly testing me. After some strong words and getting upset in English they seemed to calm down and we were good after that. Discipline is SO hard in Spanish!
Once we arrived to the site I was blown away. It was sooooo beauitful. It was a location called "La Finca" and they are used to receiving groups. They provided the tents and items to use for our cook out. The first item of business was ICE BREAKERS...well that and the ground rules of Camp. I had to introduce myself as one of the leaders and that was a bit nerve-racking only because half the kids originally thought I was just another joven, sigh. Once they got that though we were good to go.
The Facilitators were worried about a couple of things 1) That the kids from the two different Aldeas would not get along 2) That they would be cliquey and not mix between the two groups 3) They wouldn't participate with all of their hearts and be too cool for school.
Well the I felt that everyone did a great job at the Dinamicas and people were being really respectful to one another. Next we had tent assignments. Two to a tent..Including ME! That was a bit of drama but it worked out it made for a lot of hilarious encounters. Speaking of hilarious, can I just say there were SO many times I was supposed to be disciplining the kids cause they would be talking out of turn or just doing the most, but it would be so funny I would just have to hide my face so they wouldn't know how funny they are. Argh, those kids especially the ones from my Aldea ALWAYS have something to say and they are actually pretty fun. There is just a time and a place for everything...but man was that a challenge.
We also ran down the schedule and the rules. The biggest event of that night was the COOKOUT! I was SOOOO Excited for this. We put them in mixed groups i.e. boys and girls and from the different Aldeas and told them that the group that worked the best together and who had the best finish product would win. We also informed them that we would be observing them over the next couple of days to see who cooperates the best, who participates the most and who keeps their tent the cleanest... and so the games began.
Building a camp fire can be a challenge anyone who has tried knows that. We were sure our well meaning teens would try a few times and throw in the towel, but that never happened, not once in any group! They were fanning those flames like crazy, choking on smoke and laughing the whole time. It was SOOO great to see.
They were given veggies for a salsa, verdes to cook on the grill and of course Carne! They dug holes in the ground, were given a grate and coal and were told to have at it. The facilitators basically just rotated around giving a hand when needed and observing how everyone worked together. People who got the hang of the fire went to other groups to help them, I was really impressed with them. We also had music going to so dance breaks were a Constant and I was Loving that!
I ended up hanging out with and helping Mesa 4 (table 4) the most. In my opinion they were doing a great job of rotating tasks (not just giving dicing veggies to girls and hard fire work to the boys) and were respectful of each other. They were also closest to the radio and the hammock but SURELY that had nothing to do with it. Plus, I figured if I was going to be eating red meat it should be from the best team. It was funny how the two male facilitators were "taste testing" the meat of Every group to make sure it was okay :)
At the end we went into our big ol' tiki bamboo hut and had a big feast among everyone. It had gone from day to night and everyone had worked hard from their grub and grub we indeed did!
After that it was time for the festivities, Talent show and Mixer. We had a system and those kids let loose!!! Maybe some tried to act shy at first, but there was singing, dancing, maybe even the boys were inspired to some pole dancing? I dunno. What happens at camp stays at camp. All I know is the kids from my Aldea were not holding back and wowed the crowed. I was so proud. The girls are already pretty much a groups so they had plenty of routines to choose from. Our boys...ahem, improvised and had everyone Dying with laughter. Actually it was from that night that one of our boys who is normally incredibly shy broke out of his shell and ended up winning one of the awards at the end. Those are the camp stories I LOVE.
We had sing a longs and then after the singing, dancing and laughter ended we had a Baile or Dance. It was so fun to cut loose and kick it with the kids. I feel like they are the happiest when they are dancing. They just light up and throw caution to the wind. Getting those revved up kids to go to bed was a task. Everyone was hype and love connections were being made. We were close together in our tents so everyone was talking back and forth through their tents, so once again being the adults was not the best position to be in. All thing considered though I think they quieted down at a reasonable time. They were being SO funny though and we were standing outside of the tents covering our mouths and hugging each other trying to muffle our laughs because we were trying to be serious and tell them to go to be but I tell you the stuff that comes out of their mouths!! Ha Ha!
The next day were up bright and early to start the fun all over again. We made breakfast in the same groups and talked about the challenges of making the cookout fires and how that related to life. So Camp, I love it. We also told them how pleased we were overall wit how they worked together. We did some morning exercises which I got to lead and then we went on an epic hike. When we had "hike" on the schedule I thought it was going to be some leisurely stroll over a grassy knoll. No sirma'am. This was a hike in the sun with a beauitful view of the mountains, into a thick forest with no joke inclines and slippery rocks which all culminated at a huge rocky clearing that was just monumental! I could hardly look up at it because I felt like I was going to fall back. That was a rigorous hike but so worth it. I thought there maybe be a lot of complaining but everyone was a good sport about the whole thing. We definitely hung out and rested at the clearing though for a good minute before heading back.
Once we got back we finally got to partake in the event the kids had all been waiting for. The RIO! (the river) They changed into their swim gear and went crazy in the water for about 4 hours. It was a cool river.
There were shallow parts for the beginner swimmers a bridge that had a super strong (and fun) current rushing under it and then deep waters down current. They were all screaming, laughing and helping one another climb up on rocks, grab onto the rope attached to the bridge and inventing new river games to play. It was SO great seeing them all so carefree and happy. I really enjoyed that part. After that we had a grubbin fish lunch before heading back to the Aldea.
Once back at the Aldea we continued the fun. I thought it was going to be an easy night since we were enjoying ourselves playing co-ed soccer and basketball. However, once
all the boys came over to our house and starting trouble we had some conflict mediation issues. Of course all in all it worked out, but my co-facilitator almost quit and we almost cancelled the last part of our trip! Drama. At the end though the kids apologized for acting up and we were still on for Monti Cristi the next day.
(trying to wrap this up since I'm just rambing on and on)
We just took the Atacames kids to Monti Cristi and again my co facilitator and I were anticipating it being a challenge just us two maneuvering our kids through the city. Well we were pleasantly surprised by their behavior. We went to a museum and were given a personal tour and the kids were quiet and attentive. They were being obedient and I was really pleased. After seeing other sites in the city we took another short trip to the beach. I didn't know if the kids would care to see ANOTHER beach since they live near the beach in Atacames, but they Loved it...of course.
We once again had a grubbin lunch and the kids were excited to try tiny lobsters for the first time. We took a fabulous boat ride which was amazing. The water was so clear you could see to the bottom in some parts. I wish I had pictures of it, but I was in the Splash Seat so I left with hardly any pics of the boat ride and a pair of sopping wet pants!! After that we had ice creams, kicked it a bit and headed back to Portoviejo to get our bags to head back to Esmeraldas.
There were sometimes I was alone with the kids when we would be waiting on my Co to pay for something or get something and THAT was stressful because just having a bunch of teens sit and wait sometimes up to 30 mintues....whooo weeee. However, we all bonded and I felt the respect of each and every one of them.
As we were waiting for the bus the boys were going through my camera and showing me the girls they liked, who had exchanged phone numbers and Facebook information, I loved it. So cute. I was so ready for the ride back because I pretty much hadn't slept since we left Atacames and I big plans for sleep on the night bus. Well I did get to sleep but I also got Got by one of the teens I let borrow my camera. All is fair in Love and Camp!
Merry Christmas, from the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of he World), where Salsa is played in place of Jingle Bells, Coconut Batidos are consumed in place of Egg Nog and sand castles are made in place of where snow angels would be. My third Christmas here in Ecuador. Thinking of my friends and family during this (very hot) holiday Season. Love you and miss you All!
We got in at a crazy hour, like, 4 am in the morning. Since I hadn't slept on the bus due to my colleague wanting to talk all night and not sleep, I was anxious to get a morning nap before we started the day. We were divided in two houses, one for the guys and one for the girls. That meant I was in charge of all the teen girls! I was nervous about that, but I thought to myself, being nervous will only make this situation that much harder, so I decided to suck it up and go with it. Well it those girls were so crunk about being in a new place (with new boys) that they did NOT sleep, there were blasting music, fighting of bed arrangements and simply doing the most. 
Once we arrived to the site I was blown away. It was sooooo beauitful. It was a location called "La Finca" and they are used to receiving groups. They provided the tents and items to use for our cook out. The first item of business was ICE BREAKERS...well that and the ground rules of Camp. I had to introduce myself as one of the leaders and that was a bit nerve-racking only because half the kids originally thought I was just another joven, sigh. Once they got that though we were good to go.
The Facilitators were worried about a couple of things 1) That the kids from the two different Aldeas would not get along 2) That they would be cliquey and not mix between the two groups 3) They wouldn't participate with all of their hearts and be too cool for school.
We also ran down the schedule and the rules. The biggest event of that night was the COOKOUT! I was SOOOO Excited for this. We put them in mixed groups i.e. boys and girls and from the different Aldeas and told them that the group that worked the best together and who had the best finish product would win. We also informed them that we would be observing them over the next couple of days to see who cooperates the best, who participates the most and who keeps their tent the cleanest... and so the games began. 
They were given veggies for a salsa, verdes to cook on the grill and of course Carne! They dug holes in the ground, were given a grate and coal and were told to have at it. The facilitators basically just rotated around giving a hand when needed and observing how everyone worked together. People who got the hang of the fire went to other groups to help them, I was really impressed with them. We also had music going to so dance breaks were a Constant and I was Loving that! 
At the end we went into our big ol' tiki bamboo hut and had a big feast among everyone. It had gone from day to night and everyone had worked hard from their grub and grub we indeed did! 
Once back at the Aldea we continued the fun. I thought it was going to be an easy night since we were enjoying ourselves playing co-ed soccer and basketball. However, once 
all the boys came over to our house and starting trouble we had some conflict mediation issues. Of course all in all it worked out, but my co-facilitator almost quit and we almost cancelled the last part of our trip! Drama. At the end though the kids apologized for acting up and we were still on for Monti Cristi the next day.
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