I found myself loving rock climbing as well even though I only got to climb once. I knew it would be a great way for kids to push themselves. I found myself having to rely on other people and equipment to save my life. It’s scary, exciting and fulfilling all at once. I never got
I found myself loving rock climbing as well even though I only got to climb once. I knew it would be a great way for kids to push themselves. I found myself having to rely on other people and equipment to save my life. It’s scary, exciting and fulfilling all at once.
I never got myself to like mountain biking though. I found myself pushing the bike uphill next to me most of the time. Plus, even though people tell me that you have to get used to it, I don’t think that I will ever feel that those mountain bike seats are comfortable.
A week later, we got our first group of kids at the camp. It was a bunch of 10-11 year olds from the International School of Milan, Italy. Most of the staff had been dreading their arrival. They were afraid that these kids would all be spoiled and posh. Well, it turned out that, yes, most of them were filthy rich and they would talk about how many Ferraris and servants they had at home as though it was everyday conversation. However, they were really fun kids. All of them seemed to have marionette strings attached to their hands that made their hands flail around whenever they talked. I learned that the best way to get little Italian boys to quit arguing is to get in the middle of it, pinch your fingers together and hold your hands like this in front of your chest and yell, “BASTA!” “Basta,” means “enough”. However, I came to think that the finger pinching thing is just used for everything to add a bit more emotion to it.
Jane Goodall was there for about two days of the one week session that she was running. I never really got to talk with her. However, she was the most amazing woman to stand in the same room with. She told us the story of her life and we all hung on her every word. She seemed to have an energy around her that inspired everyone. It was outstanding.
During the session, we had kids from all over the world at our camp. We had kids from America, Bahrain, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, HollandÂ… you name it. Most of them had lived in at least three different countries by the ripe old age of 10. Some of them could tell you the best Club Med to go to or what county to get your “house staff” from. But all of them taught me something that I never knew before. I learned some important words in many different languages. Mostly, however, they taught me that it is the children who grow up with the most money that are some of the poorest in the world. Most of them didn’t know how to wash dishes or even make their bed. Some of them had never even been hugged. Nearly all of them were dying for love. I learned that all of us need certain things in our lives. Perhaps money is important to get “things” in our society. However, far more important are the simple things such as love, understanding and encouragement.
We had one group in particular that really changed the way that I looked at things. It was our last week of camp. For the staff, most of the activities had become a little bit mundane even though they were amazing things to be doing as part of a job. So, when we set off on our last hike, I neglected to take my camera because I knew that I had already seen all the same scenery countless times. Besides, there are no animals in Switzerland. So, I decided that it wasn’t worth it. I later found this to be one of the biggest mistakes that I ever made.
My coworker (Lee) and I were a bit surprised when we reached our lunch spot early. Normally, we were a bit behind schedule and wound up stopping early on the trail, once the children’s complaining of hunger became unbearable. We realized that these kids had to be the most amazing hikers that we had ever had. My group had actually been the last group to leave but we passed up the others and wound up being far ahead of schedule. Never, did a single kid complain unless it was to say that we were going too slowly and that the others were going to catch up to us. They were the kind of group that teachers dream about. They all shouted about how fun it was and how exciting it was to be hiking in the Swiss Alps.
So, when we arrived at the Boulder Field well ahead of schedule, Lee and I decided that we ought to try something new with this group seeing as though they were clearly up for a challenge. So, we found a new trail on the topographical map that looked like it went to the same place that we were going. It actually looked better, because, on the new trail, we didn’t have to retrace our steps as much.