Camping!

Last weekend we went to a camp-out with students from school. It was an overnight event for any kids that wanted to participate, and it was intended to let the kids get to know and bond with each other. We thought it was so we could get to know our kids, but it didn't turn out that way. The people running the camp put all of us teachers in one group, and the kids were in there own groups, and each group did team-building activities and games. It was fun, and we had a good time, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We were the red team, and we put on red war paint in case anyone wasn't sure which team the adult foreigners were on.

The camp was really well run. It took place at this resort near school called Villa Ada, that has pools, a lake, food, open spaces, and is also a hotel. Plan Honduras, which is an NGO, ran the camp. They brought tents and sleeping mats and food was provided. Here is a picture of two of my 3rd graders, Ricky and Enrique, playing on an old swing set.

We played silly games with the whole group, and we had to make up a cheer for our team. Our cheer was in Spanish and was basically 'red team! red team! we are happy!' Maybe not the world's best cheer, but it was the best we could do. There was one game we played which turned out to be pretty hilarious. We had to cross a 'river', and we had only one pair of shoes we were allowed to use to cross it. Everyone had to get across, and each person could only use the shoes once. We tried a bunch of different tactics, and the one that finally worked out (sort of) was three people going across on the shoes. You can see in this picture, Tony has me on his shoulders and Liam is walking on the toes. We got across this way, then Liam went back in the shoes. This strategy would have worked, except everyone but me is too heavy to go on people's shoulders. So we didn't win, but we did give a good shot, and it was very funny.

We did see our kids sometimes. We all had meals together, and here is a picture of me with three of my third grade boys. We are waiting for the food people to come out and feed us. These boys are Julio, Jakzzel, and Fernando Jose. The kids had a great time, too. They got to play, and eat together, and run around. At night we had a bonfire and each team presented a cultural number. We had Nikki Jayne demonstrate her poi (a Maori thing...if you've seen Amarina do it at camp, you know how awesome it is) and Liam accompanied her on the guitar, while the rest of us watched. It was very cultural.

Julie and I shared a tent, and even got some sleep, although it sounded like the kids were up until at least 2am.

In the morning, the kids had calisthenics, which I joined for part of the time, then we had breakfast, played some more silly games and songs, and went home, where of course, I took a shower and slept for most of the day.