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Day 7 (Sunday)
I’m so sorry that I haven’t been able to update at all for the past two weeks (yikes)! I just got to be too busy, and then when I actually had some free time, I could never get the internet to work. But I did document each day, so I’ll just continue where I left off, if you don’t mind.
The first official day of camp began at 7:30 in the morning, which is pretty dramatic considering I was getting out of bed at noon a week before. All the Christians in the camp (leaders, campers, interns, Czechs, & Americans) were asked to come to a morning devotional time before breakfast. So we’re doing the usual singing, sharing, praying… Meanwhile, I’m sort of, kind of freaking out. In two hours, I would be teaching English to almost strangers who specifically came to camp to improve they’re speaking skills. They wanted to learn the language, so if I didn’t deliver, they’d be disappointed. & after all this time, all this preparation, all these miles I’d travelled to get here, I couldn’t disappoint.
Ready or not, here we go. With my tiny lesson plan & my even tinier confidence, I dove in.
& it wasn’t too bad. No, it wasn’t bad at all. The class was smaller than I expected: seven people (Daniela, Bob, Martina, Richard, Lukas, Marek, & Iva!), which made some of the activities I had planned out go by more quickly than I had intended. But it did make the setting a lot more informal, which was exactly what I needed. The theme for the day was Getting to Know You. For the first half of class, we went through some vocabulary & slang (oh, boy); then during the second half we did activities like the Name Game (or, the say-your-name-and-something-you-like-to-do-that-starts-with-your-first-initial game), skits, & charades. But thank the good Lord I wasn’t alone.
I don’t think I mentioned it earlier, but we have six pretty awesome interns on our team: Bonnie & Jonathan – American leaders, Alli & Ryan – Americans, & Jenda & Eva – Czechs. So my helper/co-leader is Jon, who’s great. He gives me constructive advice without being overbearing & encouragement without being patronizing.
However, my classes didn’t end there. During free time, I led a “drawing class” I guess you could call it with a wonderful camper & artist Kristina. Honestly, I didn’t think that many people would show up, but low & behold, nearly half the camp did. Kristina & I just looked at each other & said, “Okay, now what?” It turned out to be more like a drawing session where everyone got a piece of paper & had free reign to do whatever they wanted with it, which turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself).
Me trying to explain how to draw a picture on my computer to Ondra!
From there, Annie & Kuba led the camp in sports – or recreation, if you’re more familiar with Hume Lake’s way of doing crazy games. & let me tell you, I just about died. Have you ever been able to do a four-legged race, where four people are connected at the ankle in a circle? Have you ever done that? Bah, that was tough, & it didn’t help that I forgot a belt. We did a few other crazy games & relays before the fun was ruined by a poisonous snake. Don’t worry, Mom. No one was bit, thank the Lord. Just freaked out, at the most.
That’s me, on top of everyone during the four-legged race…
After dinner, Annie & I taught everyone the wonderful game of Shuffle Buns (the move-to-the-next-seat-before-the-person-in-the-middle-gets-it-before-you-do game). I was a little concerned about how sturdy the chairs were… I’m pretty sure we broke one… But on that note, we went into songs, which included ridiculous motions & a fun camp dance session (which you’re definitely gonna wanna see when we get home). Then Jon told the story of Rahab the prostitute, & how she was redeemed through her decision to help the Jews concur Jericho. The discussion group that followed seemed to go well from what I saw. No huge, deep conversations came from it, but it was just the first day. I’m sure more will come from the discussions later in the week.
Singing songs, with motions!
The activity afterwards, however, was something entirely different. Four of us: Jon, campers Merriam, Martina, & I all wrote our names on a little note card. Then Jon told us to flip it over and write down one word that summarized the day for us. After much thought, I chose the word “open” because so far, this whole experience is forcing me to be more open to certain things like different cultures, foods, & even how I interact with people.
So, first full day of camp: check!
