Whew! Time flies by when you are traveling AND having fun teaching English!!
We began our English Camp, called Angloville, on August 9th and left on the 15th. Upon our arrival, we thought we were both in over our heads because the program itself required constant conversation with Polish kids for about 10 hours a day with little free time. We were worried because we were spending our vacation time working so hard when we just want to relax... but Boy were we wrong and suprised!
Although most of our journals are chronologically ordered this one will not be because we can't remember the order of events already anyways. However, this journal is to signify the first life changing experience for both of us on this trip thus far. At the beginning of the week, the kids (aged 11-18) were shy to speak a second language for an entire week. In some cases it was some kids first time away from home at camp. (It was Michael's first camp ever too, which made them feel better ;) ) One of our favorite parts of camp was watching these kids break out of their shells and become more comfortable with each other and us throughout the week.
Many fun games were played such as foxes and rabbits, bull rush, duck duck goose, prisoner of war, the hungry alligator, a scavenger hunt, multiple team based relay games. Between us both, we got more running done in this one week of camp than we have in years. (Karmen got to be the goose in duck duck goose about 6 times// we all know what that means :p) It brings a smile to our faces to reminisce already of the excitement and level of competition that each kid shared with us during these activities.
One activity that we particularly enjoyed was Angloville Idol where each team we had was given lyrics to different songs and were judged similar to American Idol songs. Such songs handed out were: Summer Lovin by Grease (which nobody knew!), The Lazy dog by Bruno Mars, Shine Bright like a Diamond, Single Ladies, Happy by Pharrell Williams and more. The coordinators for the camp were judges and each team was judged based on creativity, costume, participation, and choreography. The effort put into these acts were hilarious and Michael is still upset to this day that his team didn't get placed in the top.three. hehe.
Besides fun games, each day we had about three speaking sessions with different kids for a few hours. These sessions really gave us insight on the amazing aptitude each child held. Maybe these kids were the cream of the crop but it's boggling how far advanced they are in comparison to kids their age in the United States. First off these kids are spending a week of their summer holiday to practice a second language. Secondly, we met so many that have a good idea of what they want as a career - many want to be doctors, a few scientists, many engineers, a few lawyers. Michael was dissappointed that none were interested in finances in the least - but hey its just more money for him to manage! Another notable difference was the determination of each kid. They really wanted to practice their English and are also learning 3 other languages such as French, German and Russian. Crazy huh? These kids weren't thinking about the cutest boy or girl at camp but instead are focusing on their futures.
There is so much more to add about this experience but we don't want to overwhelm our readers with too much reading. It can honestly be said that this 70 hours of volunteering each, during our travels has been a very enriching experience because of the friendships we created. The other volunteers were a lot of fun to work with and ranged from Australia, New Zealand, the US, Ireland, the UK, and South Africa. Their attitudes and kindness towards us and the campers will resonate with us forever and we hope to see them again on our travels.
