Because few people could work every single day during the week, I had a staff of 12 for the camp: three climbing instructors, four team games instructors, a yoga instructor, and four healthy lifestyles instructors. Pictured here are the Americans: Mike, Mike (called Manly to prevent confusion), me, Sean and Jon
DAY 1: The Climbing Wall
Every morning, Sean and Diana taught yoga to the kids.
Students learning from Mike how to belay
Manly holding down a kid
The kids doing trust falls
In the foreground, a team guides a team member blindfolded through an obstacle course. In the back, the other teams play another game
Playing more team games
Five people in my apartment meant we went and got Steve's old bed from his apartment since he's done with Peace Corps and will be moving soon. We carried this thing more than a mile back to my place, people staring at us the whole way.
Communal meals, cooked every night by Sean
DAY 2: THE CLIFFS
Going to the site
Diana teaching yoga
The kids attempting yoga
Equipment, waiting to be put up. It was a morning race to get all the routes up in the 30 minutes Sean and Diana were teaching yoga. On the last day, Mike and I got eight ropes up in 20 minutes.
The trio of activities:
Climbing
Healthy Lifestyles
Team Games (I am a dragon and they have to get my "treasure"--a figure 8 belay device--without me touching them)
Group photo from the end of Day 2
DAYS 3 & 4
Kids climbing:
Sean interviewed by the local news
Web activity: the kids have to get their entire team through without using a hole twice.
DAY 5
Jon and I put up a rope that stretched across the river that the kids (hooked in with a harness) had to pull themselves across hand over hand, Mission Impossible style. It was difficult getting it tight enough without a jumar or a grigri, which is why, on the first test, it sagged under my weight and I ended up in the water. I forgot my camera was in my pocket, which is why there are no more pictures until it dried out at the end of the day.
End of the day, end of the camp group photo: all the kids and most of the instructors with their tee-shirts and certificates.
The last communal meal before we hit the club. There were about fifteen of us at the club that night and we didn't come back until the sun was well up. Great camp.