relief. that's the first word that comes to my mind at the end of the 21-day international village. to have managed to run the village on a non-existent budget not only takes skill and cunning; it also takes a lot of patience and a lot of coffee.
the kids have boarded their planes (and buses) and are safe in their homes, in their respective countries. no more 8 a.m. wake up calls via whistles, gongs and what-have-yous. no more "can i talk with you?" tete-a-tetes with leaders too. i'm so relieved that other than bites, rashes, constipation, lice (yes, lice... but they were imported!), and the occasional leader throwing-up here and there, we did not have any major medical emergencies. growing up in a family of doctors paid off in camp. i think that dad would have been proud of me with my calmness and diagnoses :)
to my think, 21-days is too short for an international camp. although sometimes, having an all-girls leaders' pool made me think that 21 days was too long! hahaha! estrogen level was way too high!
on the good side... camp always makes me feel proud of my being filipino. the staff and i put on a great staff day dancing the tinikling, serving fishballs, kikiam, squid balls, ice candy, fresh buko (fresh coconut), eating lunch on banana leaves with our hands, and giving out free tricycle rides. we also made the kids play simple street games (the one where you put a Php 1 coin on your forehead and contort your facial muscles til it gets to your chin) and had the kids cover their faces in flour and water. for what reason? absolutely nothing! fun without a PS2... priceless!
the kids have boarded their planes (and buses) and are safe in their homes, in their respective countries. no more 8 a.m. wake up calls via whistles, gongs and what-have-yous. no more "can i talk with you?" tete-a-tetes with leaders too. i'm so relieved that other than bites, rashes, constipation, lice (yes, lice... but they were imported!), and the occasional leader throwing-up here and there, we did not have any major medical emergencies. growing up in a family of doctors paid off in camp. i think that dad would have been proud of me with my calmness and diagnoses :)
to my think, 21-days is too short for an international camp. although sometimes, having an all-girls leaders' pool made me think that 21 days was too long! hahaha! estrogen level was way too high!
on the good side... camp always makes me feel proud of my being filipino. the staff and i put on a great staff day dancing the tinikling, serving fishballs, kikiam, squid balls, ice candy, fresh buko (fresh coconut), eating lunch on banana leaves with our hands, and giving out free tricycle rides. we also made the kids play simple street games (the one where you put a Php 1 coin on your forehead and contort your facial muscles til it gets to your chin) and had the kids cover their faces in flour and water. for what reason? absolutely nothing! fun without a PS2... priceless!
snaps too for philippine hospitality! we had a great kitchen staff, an "abuseable" resort staff, and generous homestay hosts. like i said in open day, "to run a village, it takes a village."
i love, i love, i love my chapter board! they trusted me to make the decisions in camp and backed them up all the way. i applaud their dedication, working "behind the behind the scenes," always available for consultation, shopping for us, driving for us... and these are moms! they deserve much, much more than a camp shirt!
i loved the delegation the baguio chapter sent over... and so did everyone else! they were REAL people - 3 of the 4 kids were "scholars" (a child of a taxi driver, a child of an OCW - overseas contract worker, a child of a machine operator). now THAT is for whom i truly would like CISV to be. i know that for them, 21 days was way too short. i know that it'll make such an impact on their lives and hopefully give them a boost of confidence and aspire them to be and do better.
directing a camp can be stressful - i got the white hair (6!) to prove it - and rewarding. as camp director, it sucked that i wasn't around all the time. no wonder they call it "running" a camp. i miss being with kids. being a leader is way easier. so, what do you get from being camp director? gifts, a lot more paper and paperwork than i left with, new friendships - i now have friends in luxembourg and guatemala! how cool is that?! - laundry, a sense of relief, and yes, fulfillment.
will i staff again? hmmm... what country are we talkling about? :)
2 comments:
and don't forget the havaianas!
of course! not just one pair, but two! where else can you get a pair of havaianas for an old sarong?
the other pair was a gift. it's good to be the queen :)
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