Camp was always a big part of my life in America, and it has continued to be so here. While it's a bit different, there are definitely common aspects. But I think it's the uncommon aspects that are the best (low or no cost, day camp, availability of supplies, etc.)
There are not many extracurricular activities here - chess, music school, karate (only for boys, of course). And most of these stop in the summer. But not for the teenage girls of Ujar - there's day camp (arts & sports) to come to. A week has already gone by (three days of camp) and we've had fun making suncatchers and stained glass windows out of tissue paper, playing kickball, volleyball, and all types of relays. And for the most part, these are things that they can easily replicate later with their friends or family (even if some supplies were sent from America).
But one of the best parts of camp happened before it even started. Volunteering is not something that is done a lot - at least not for people you don't know. Here it's all about your family and neighbors. But I was talking about my camp preparations with one of my local friends and she asked if she could help out with camp (not me asking, but her volunteering). While it's great to have an adult role model that's a Peace Corps Volunteer, in my view, it's even better to have a local one. She'll be around after I leave, she understands what it's like to be a teenage girl in Ujar from her past personal experience, and she's more relatable to the girls (I get a lot of leeway because I'm a foreigner).
0 comments:
Post a Comment