Let the summer festivities begin. Some of you know from having read this blog before that the summer in Slovakia is all about the summer camps. Young people spend their entire summer vacation trying to squeeze in as many camps as they have time and money for. This was a camp for sophmores from the local high school where I some times help out. We had 30 energetic young people, all 16 years old. The 2 young ladies front and center are Mindy and Megan. The smiling face just behind them is Nancy. They are Americans who came to SK for the first time just to serve at this camp. There was 1 other Americans as well, Marisa, not pictures here.

We had a beautiful location in an area known as the Low Tatra's. The weather wasnt perfect but we did almost everything we wanted to do. The goal of this camp was language building, team building and FUN. All the activities were in english which is a big challenge for many of these young people. All in all there were very few communication problems. In years past, this camp always had a group of about 10 to 15 Americans coming to help at the camp. This year was a challenge to recruit, maybe due to the economic situation.

We had a total number of 12 adult leaders, most of whom were American, which is perfect for an English camp. Most of the leaders are teachers at the school. All the leaders really enjoyed spending time with this group of young people, even though they had just finished a long school year together. The young people were fun, excited and just had great attitudes as we challenged them with many activities which pushed them out of their comfort zones.

Many of the team building activities I mentioned were in the forest, like this one. The goal was to get the entire team from one point (the tree) to another point about 20 feet away without touching the ground. There were 6 of these tire cables spanning that distance. Not an easy task, but a ton of fun to try it.

Another fun one is this cable trapeze where 2 participants must rely on each other to move as far as they can along the cables as they continue to get further apart. An appropriate question for your partner here is "can I trust you?"
These camp experiences are so transforming for people of all ages. They build camaraderie, trust, understanding and a place where people feel as if they belong. These are some of the fundamental things which human beings hunger for the most. They are also the very things which are the least present in our daily lives as we rush around trying to accomplish our own personal agendas.

Other activities included this team event where 5 groups of 7 were each given the same materials with one common task. The materials were:one raw egg, a few pieces of short string, one piece of paper, 10 straws, one section of tape and one section of toilet paper. The goal was to use the materials any way you choose to help the egg survive a drop from a second story window. We had a variety activities at the camp knowing that not all people enjoy physical, sport type activities. Some people are obviously more creatively inclined and really enjoy activities like this one.

One of the finished designs! Monika is our presenter here.

And now for the big moment! The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. The silence is deafening. Everyone is holding their breath. Will the egg survive or will it become a sidewalk scramble?

Ahhh! Success! Only one out of 5 eggs didnt survive to tell the story to their grandchildren.

What a pleasure it is to be a part of these significant moments in life. Most of us have vivid memories of summer camp experiences. True, those memories can be either positive, negative or embarrassing. But for whatever reason these experiences seem to leave indelible impressions on our minds, memories which are often times never forgotten. For a leader at such a camp its quite motivating to know that there is a golden opportunity to have a significant impact on a young persons life.

Another fun team building activity challenges each small group (6) to find a way to remain on a small tree stump, completely off the ground, for 3 to 5 seconds. It takes a common sense strategy, a good plan and several people working together as one.

Heave ho, go really slow and dont let go!

The look of success!

Crazy games. The crazier, the better. In this one the group must rescue the rubber duck which is at the bottom of this pipe by filling it with water and raising duckie to the top. The problem is the pipe is full of holes. Oh my, that looks cold.

A deep thinking moment.

Here we have a group attempting to transport a small container of water, using these strings, through an obstacle course. After they get the hang of it, then they have 2 members blindfolded to throw a new wrinkle into the challenge. Clear communication, teamwork and active listening, is key.

This is one of my new friends, Robert. He's a quiet type of person but he has great leadership abilities. I am hoping to spend more time with Robert and some of his classmates in the near future.