July 2022 | CAMP, CAMP, CAMP!

 

July, July... I think of this month and I just feel ... tired.  It was fun (like the colors on Ellie's fingernails above), but I felt like we were always hopping.

Introverts, brace yourselves :-)

We continued our first camp cycle on Healthy Living that had begun at the end of June, covering topics like eating well and handling our emotions.

We also discussed the issue of disability, with the hopes of increasing empathy and compassion while also decreasing fear of individuals who might live differently because of physical or cognitive needs.  Below, these campers volunteered to navigate all of the activities of camp as an individual with blindness.  We were so proud of them ALL!  Many others volunteered to hold doors or push wheelchairs for our friends at VT.  They were super!

(Above) Ellie was a buddy for Lisjana during the weeks of camp.  She would get her drinking water, walk her from station to station, get her snacks, etc.  I was very proud of Ellie's servant heart in serving Lisjana and doing it with a smile!

(below) On the day we talked about making good food choices, campers made these planters in craft time, including planting vegetable seeds inside!  Ellie's role in camp was to assist one of the VT students, but she also found herself participating with all the other campers.  She went above and beyond in her creativity making this planter (made from a felt-covered soft drink bottle). :-)

This was my view (below), much of camp.  Nathan created incredible original content for each day's opening and closing programs and lessons.  He continues to amaze me with his creativity and breadth of knowledge!

(Above) We have had two wonderful volunteers with us this summer.  Sadly, we've been so busy and tired at the conclusion of each day, that we lacked the energy to take them to many of the usual nearby sites in Albania.  One Saturday evening, though, we got dressed up and broke away to Durres.

Above, we celebrated July 4 at an American restaurant in Tirana with dear friends!

Below, Nathan and Luli practice a skit demonstrating taking care of our teeth.

The second week of July started the second, two-week cycle of camp.  This cycle featured an international theme.  Here we are (below) on the night before Camp #2 commenced, making sugar cookies that would be decorated during craft time!

The first nation profiled was Qatar -- as host of this year's World Cup.  Students had a passport that they completed each day for each country we discussed, including coloring the flag, filling out facts of interest, earning an "official" stamp at the end of the lesson! (designed by Nathan, of course)

Below, Kosta poses with his decorated cookies in the shapes of a soccer ball, jersey, and cleats!

On "Japan" day, you HAVE to karaoke, right?

We had "sushi" (bananas and chocolate rice cereal) which students could eat with chopsticks.
(See our Instagram Reels for some fun video of this)

This week of camp found three new friends from Holland to help us with camp.  They taught us all about Kings Day (the King of Holland's birthday), the reason Holland has so many waterways and windmills, and more! And they made us some tasty snacks, too!

Colorful flags outside were to set the tone for the fun inside!

On USA day, we dressed in our "red-white-and-blue"!  And Reni took over computer A/V duties when my help was needed in the craft room!

A favorite portion of each day's camps were the quiz videos on everything from country flags to identifying the origin of various cuisines to photographs of landmarks.  Our students are uber competitive, as you can see from their animated expressions shouting out the answers below.

On USA day we decorated baseball hats.  The principle of "less is more" did not apply here, ha ha!

Below, I pose with some members of the red team.

We ended each week with water games!  These were a universal hit!

For the lesson on Albania day, Nathan created a virtual tour of some of Albania's most famous sites.  Then he had the student tick boxes indicating if they "had been" or "wanted to visit" each of these sites.  Mari Grace (one of our mid-term volunteers) has a very long bucket list we need to fill in a short time!

Below, Zhania made petulla (fry bread) served with cheese and honey or nutella!

We celebrated the conclusion of camp -- er, I mean, our 23rd wedding anniversary -- with a stay at a country inn about 90-minutes away. It was a surprise planned by Nathan and he did well! Mari Grace and Hannah graciously agreed to stay with the kids. What. A. Treat.

The last week of July brought another team from Holland.  This team hosted VBS.  It was nice to "just" be helpers and not responsible for planning all of the content!

One day for crafts, the kids were given the opportunity to make their own t-shirts.  They had all sorts of colors and paints with which to decorate them.  This is what Reni chose to put on his shirt:
Car Guy (noun) -- like normal guys but cooler.

This team worked HARD and in addition to providing VBS, they also installed a playground in Vlashaj!!!  Their hometown was upgrading its equipment and graciously allowed the team to bring the old playground to Albania.  As you can see, it still has a lot of life left!

They rented a backhoe which dug holes in which we could secure the pieces in cement.

We could barely keep the kids off of it before it was even fully installed!

The team worked in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees without a complaint.

In addition to installing the equipment, they also painted the basketball court to mitigate the sun reflection.  

They also realized Nathan's long-time vision of a chessboard on the well cover.  It's the perfect height!

Below, the painted court and the playground roped off while the cement dries.

This summer we converted the homeschool room into a second guestroom.  Nathan hung these curtains (which used to be in a different space), we bought a succulent and threw down a second-hand rug, and voila! The room feels so much homier!

We welcomed my mom and sister just in time for Reni's birthday!  On Saturday we invited the village kids to a nerf gun battle in the kalceto.  Special thanks to Luli for his help in setting up the 'shields'.  Someday, I'd love to get some more equipment and a few camo sheets that we could use to cover the barriers and I think we could market this as a party package!

Instead of cake, we had ice cream cones...

Reni graciously allowed Nathan to make a simple chocolate cake this year with chocolate cream-cheese icing (in the past he has made much more elaborate cakes). 

Oh, be still my heart, this boy is not so much a boy, anymore!  Below, he models some gifts from Gigi -- a bathroom (his request) and a magazine on cars!

And with that, we wrapped up a very busy month.  While most of our friends in the USA were preparing to return to school, we breathed a sign of relief for August's arrival and the chance to enjoy a visit with family and a break from programs.  We'll be back soon with an update on August!