Hisashiburi
Well, it's been a while since I last made an entry and a lot has happened since then. First, the first two-weekers left about a week ago and it was very sad to say goodbye eventhough the little runts were annoying at times. One thing I love about younger kids is that they aren't afraid to say what's on their mind at all and so I would always crack up when one of them would say something spontaneously hilarious. However, the newer kids are older so they are more mature and we are able to talk about much more personal and indepth stuff during "uchi danran" (cabin counsel). So far we've talked about religion, sexual identity, obesity, war, etc and I have been very surprised how open the kids are. One of the sensei's in my uchi is really good about talking about this kind of stuff and I think we were able to reach many of the kids one night. We got everyone to admit an occasion where they felt excluded or unwelcomed and an occasion where they felt special. This of course led into many different sub categories of topics, it was so enlightening.
Yesterday was International Day and we drove to the German village where we met up with about 12 other villages including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French, English, Italian, etc. And it was one of the best experiences ever. They had different activities throughout the day including peace talks, soccer tournaments, etc. Also there were a ton of foods, snacks, and clothing from all the many camps. I bought a cool Spanish shirt when I was there. Then in the end, for the closing program, each village performed a dance about peace and it was spectacular! Great music, cool props, awesome dance moves! I soon filled my memory card from it all, hehe. Ask me later for pics =P
Anyway, I only have one more week left, =( . I will definetely miss this place. I've learned so much, made so many friends and gained a new respect for studying languages and working towards creating connections. I hope I will be able to do this again next year!
Anyway, I heading out! Tomorrow we have off time and with my car FINALLY fixed, I can take a group of people to go wherever we please, YAY! Ok, TTYL! I'm looking forward to the walk home because you can see the starry sky SOOO well out here, it's the best I've ever seen - yay no light pollution! You can see the Milky Way super clear and I've even sat out there with friends one night and saw a bunch of shooting stars, it was breath taking! Take care and maybe see some of you guys soon!! XOXOXOXOXO
Yesterday was International Day and we drove to the German village where we met up with about 12 other villages including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French, English, Italian, etc. And it was one of the best experiences ever. They had different activities throughout the day including peace talks, soccer tournaments, etc. Also there were a ton of foods, snacks, and clothing from all the many camps. I bought a cool Spanish shirt when I was there. Then in the end, for the closing program, each village performed a dance about peace and it was spectacular! Great music, cool props, awesome dance moves! I soon filled my memory card from it all, hehe. Ask me later for pics =P
Anyway, I only have one more week left, =( . I will definetely miss this place. I've learned so much, made so many friends and gained a new respect for studying languages and working towards creating connections. I hope I will be able to do this again next year!
Anyway, I heading out! Tomorrow we have off time and with my car FINALLY fixed, I can take a group of people to go wherever we please, YAY! Ok, TTYL! I'm looking forward to the walk home because you can see the starry sky SOOO well out here, it's the best I've ever seen - yay no light pollution! You can see the Milky Way super clear and I've even sat out there with friends one night and saw a bunch of shooting stars, it was breath taking! Take care and maybe see some of you guys soon!! XOXOXOXOXO