Team Building

These days move by so quickly, I feel I just wrote a big long entry and looking back realize that those events seem to have taken place ages ago. For the record I feel much better, I had to wear my glasses all week but finally my eye is pretty much normal.

This past Friday, we had our first Eco Camp- a practical application of the things we've learned in hub so far. We entertained 21 students from Woodford with ecology themed activities such as a water cycle demonstration, the migration game, compost relay, planting seeds and reusing bottles to make toys. We split the kids into 4 groups, 4 of us acting as team leaders, the rest of the trainees ran the activities as we rotated around, keeping the kids focused and excited. I was the leader of the Yellow Boas, a group very diverse in age and therefore a bit difficult to gauge in terms of education. Of course they were quiet to begin with, self conscious of getting answers wrong and of being an 'uncool' level of excited- a limitation I of course grew out of long ago.

With about an hour left, rain began to fall, heavy and persistent. We transitioned quickly to indoor activities and decided to cut out the last rotation in the interest of time and space. The kids readjusted and cooperated very well during this moment of chaos, we were impressed and relieved that nothing was truly ruined.
We finished the day with a game show to test what they had learned and followed that up with prizes for all and finally, lunch. Having done environmental education, this was better practice for working with my crew than with actual education.

The rain continued off and on into Saturday- a day we had set aside for a team building field trip into Kingston. On the walk down to catch the bus, I got soaking wet and was therefore rather miserable for much of the morning. The rain in the mountains is cold and the air is cool, both factors contributing to my misery. Our first stop was Devon House, an old plantation turned ice cream shop/bakery/plaza in Kingston. This was the first time I've had ice cream in Jamaica, though I quickly followed it with a hot cup of Blue Mountain Coffee.

With my shoes still soaked but my pants slowly drying, we walked down town to catch a bus to the stadium where an invitational track meet was being held. On our way, I stopped and bought a pair of rubber flats for 400JM, improving my mood significantly.
Once at the track meet, it was nice to sit and watch: the runners, the field, the audience. Jamaicans love their runners and the stands were swarming with excited fans, college students, moms dads and kids, seniors... people of all ages were there to cheer and be entertained. Men pedaled cotton candy, peanuts, banana chips and bag juice (essentially water and sugar in a bag which you bite a hole in to drink it). Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraiser and other Olympic contenders were there to run, and the crowd went wild when they did.
Finally, the part we were all excited for, was dinner at a JaMexican restaurant. Burritos! Tacos! Fajitas! Salsa! CHEESE! Red Stripe and Tequila too were consumed. We ate well and cheers'd with tequila and the drive home was high strung and giggly. The field trip had done it's job, we felt refreshed and united as the Green Initiative. The next day Autumn and Jackie came to my house and we hung out in my room, using the internet, trading music and watching TV shows on the computer. Being lazy and bonding :)