Back to Reality

The final week of camp...And Elizabeth and I are in charge of Global Adventures, the heart of the YPN experience. A chance to really showcase your country and culture to Canadian youth. At the beginning of camp Viki asked told me "Culture? The United States doesn't have any culture!" Throughout the summer other counselors have been interested in how I was going to teach campers about issues in the United States.

Elizabeth and I had a different plan. Teach about other global issues and bring the conversation back to life in Canada. That's how we came up with our two biggest activities. "Perceptions" and "Waste Not, Want Not"

"Perceptions" is an activity that I learned from the Peace Learning Center back in Indianapolis. It required me writing 3 very different sets facts about myself on 3 different pieces of paper. Afterward, these facts were taped to the wall and the children were told each set was somebody. The children (and their counselors) had to guess exactly what kind of characteristics each different person had. At the end I would reveal that they were all the same person, and they were actually me. Children and counselors alike were surprised to find out that that someone who has a tattoo can also sleep with a stuffed duck...

"Waste Not, Want Not" is a activity that Elizabeth and I found while browsing through Peace Week binders. It is a stimulation about water conservation that entails team building. Each cabin group was given a bucket of water to do a list of 8 activities that varied from drinking to gardening. There is not enough water in the bucket to do all 8, so some of them have to be done with dirty water or not at all. The group has to decide. It is pretty similar to what children in Africa have to deal with every day. The children are even more amazed to learn that you use 40 liters of water every time you brush your teeth and leave the tap on, and only 2 if you turn it off...

It's probably the teacher in me but my favorite moment this week was when I sat at Marco and Toni' table for lunch. Their cabin invited me to site with them after our global session. Jacob was the one who got the pitcher of water. He very carefully brought it over to the table and placed it in front of and said "This is how much water they get in Africa. We aren't going to waste it!". I was so touched and impressed by how the message sunk in! Learning CAN and SHOULD be fun!