August Rains Bring... Good Times

Ambiguous August is finally on it's way out but of course we couldn't part ways with out a few good memories. Here we go!

The beautiful sunset that came after days of intense rain

Just like Karen Carpenter, rainy days and Mondays always get me down. On that same line of thinking, I am pretty sure that there are few things worse than a rainy Monday; alas, that is what greeted me this week. As I mentioned in my previous post (refresher: some ice fell into a lake and now Summer is over) the weather in Georgia is finally changing. This was made apparent by the rain that continued from Sunday evening through Tuesday evening. I don't do well staying cooped up indoors due to rain, I get stir crazy. To alleviate my idleness I decided to venture out of the house and visit my site mate (fellow volunteer living in the same city). The rain started to slow down and I was looking forward to the human interaction. To my dismay the rain picked up and doubled its intensity before I made it to the corner to catch the bus. I was drenched by the time I made it to Randi's house. The only thing that saves this day from the not-worth-remembering pile was the peanut butter cookies that we (read Randi) made with the limited ingredients found in a Georgian kitchen (Someday I'll dedicate a post to the woes of cooking abroad).

Georgians sandblast the images of the deceased on their tombstones, they also create gathering
 places near the grave and often some to visit and eat a meal in the cemetery on various holidays 

Tuesday the ever present rains brought more excitement. I was out of the house most of the day with my regular Tuesday work and returned that evening to find my house empty. I wasn't surprised since my family regularly disappears in the evening, I just went about taking care of several things I needed to do. Not long after arriving home another storm picked up and this time knocked the power out. I set up camp in the living room with my computer and flashlight and continued to work. I later went into the kitchen for a snack and noticed some water in the bathroom, the floor drain was overflowing. After eating I went back into the kitchen to wash my dishes and noticed water on the floor, however it wasn't coming from the bathroom. The water was coming from the adjacent storage/all purpose room where there was water gushing in from both the front and back doors. On further inspection I discovered that the entire neighborhood had flooded. The drainage areas were full of water and had overflowed their banks, first flooding the street, and now coming into everyone's yards and homes. There wasn't much I could do. I picked up as many belongings from the floor as I could and tried to minimize any potential damages.

There were plenty of shoes floating around as the water rose

Overall about 5-6 inches of water came into our house, reaching just below the height necessary to have flooded the living room as well.  My family didn't arrive home until 1am and were surprised by the amount of water in the house (I'd called to tell them it was flooding, I don't think they believed me). It wasn't a big deal however because by that point the water was already receding. I was exhausted and debated staying up to help take care of things but opted to go to bed (don't think less of me), I'd done plenty of work already.

The water was at least 6 inches deep in the front yard

In addition to exciting rainstorms and flooding, this week also marked my first karate lesson. Bright and early Wednesday morning I met my new teacher at the local dojo (I am using the stereotypical karate language loosely here). He has one other student and my assignment was to just follow along as he shouted order in Georgian to the boy. I had previously told my Georgian tutor that I wanted to take up a new hobby and she had found some options for me- karate, wrestling, and boxing. For my safety I chose karate.

This first workout wasn't too complicated. It did involve a few tumbling moves like standing back-bend walkovers, which I can no longer do, but overall it was fine. We even got to practice a lot of karate kicks. There were a few complicated ones that I still don't understand, despite all the modeling that the other student did for me. I am sure it will take a few more rounds to get it all down.

After the rain storms had ended we visited the port side beach to watch the waves crash into the rock

My new teacher also doesn't speak any English and instead of texting my in Georgian has opted to having some mysterious kid send me messages (thanks karate kid) in broken English to tell me what he wants me to do. This set up lead me to be invited over to Zaza's (my teacher) 24/7 bar down by the port on Thursday night. The bar was tricky to find and was actually empty minus Zaza and some friends and relatives, I assume they probably constitute the "regulars", I'm not sure how profitable the place is otherwise.

I hung out for hours while various people grilled me on the same questions- where are you from (referring to my heritage and not nationality)? What is your religion, are you Catholic? Christian? What do you think of Georgia, it's people, the food? How long have you been here, what are you doing, how long with you stay? Whenever I meet new Georgians, especially men, these are the questions that I am berated with.

Local men erecting a cross for my neighborhood.

Georgia is an incredibly homogeneous place- 84% ethnic Georgian and 84% Georgian Orthodox. They strongly identify with the fact that they are ethnically Georgian with long lines of Georgian heritage. If you live in Georgia you must be ethnically Georgian and also Georgian Orthodox. When they meet me they are curious and want to see how we are similar too help build trust. By simply being Christian trust is already established. They definitely seem to look for common ground to build off of. It is worth noting also that due to the homogenous nature of Georgia, being a minority here would be very difficult. Many PCVs have shared their experiences with Georgians, and I will send a shout out to Angela who wrote two powerful posts on her experiences as a Chinese-American in Georgia. They are definitely worth the read- part I part II

Putting my Boy Scout skills to work, it only took three matches! 

After a somewhat exciting week, I was able to unwind and visit some fellow volunteers who had come out to spend the weekend at the beach in Grigoleti, the town just south of Poti. It was a great way to end our summer and celebrate how far we have come in our Peace Corps journey. September will bring a lot of changes and will really mark the beginning of our volunteer service as all of our primary project assignments begin to pick up steam. The last few months have been fantastic, but it's the next 22 months that I am most looking forward to. I'm ready to start working with my school and see what projects we can come up with.

The Simple Life (sans Paris and Nicole)

August drags on so there is little to report on this week. An average week for me looks something like this: Monday- respond to any emails from the week before, study Georgian, rest at home; Tuesday- laundry, Georgian lessons, buy lunch somewhere I’ve yet to visit, hang out at the library (those librarians and I are quickly becoming friends, help teach English club with the other volunteers in Poti, end the day at the beach; Wednesday- go visit other volunteers nearby and get to know another city; Thursday- same as Tuesday without laundry and the beach; Friday- finished up any leftover work and get to my weekend plans as quickly as possible. Come September first this will probably all change, but for the time being it is a pretty nice schedule.

My monday walk took me out to the nearby lake

On a cultural note this past Wednesday was the Day of Transfiguration, this is the day the Orthodox Church commemorates the transfiguration of Jesus. It is called ფერისცვალება (peristsvaleba) which literally means “change of color”. There are different traditions and stories about this date depending on the region you are in, but this dates is looked to as the beginning of the seasonal change in Georgia. Somewhere in the mountains some ice drops into a lake and the weather starts to change (I’m fuzzy on the details). Given that it has been so wretched hot here in Poti, I have been looking forward to this day, and GUESS WHAT!? It has gotten A LOT cooler here. Wednesday was about 100 degrees and since then the temperature has dropped off. I don’t know what it is, some sort of Farmer’s Almanac tradition most likely, but I have never been happier about an obscure August day in my life. Hopefully you can all have your ფერისცვალება soon.

This weekend I had a meeting in Tbilisi so I decided to travel in the day before and visit my host family in Skra (I also stayed a day later and was able to attend the local LDS Church on Sunday in Tbilisi). A trip back to the village was everything that I was in need of. I left the village just 6 weeks ago, so I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome- but I underestimated my family for sure. My time in the village was spent making food, eating, and just spending time with the people I care about- it was wonderful.

Village Life vs City Life

In PC Georgia a majority of the volunteers are placed in villages where the need is more apparent. I was quite surprised to receive my assignment to work in a city. While I had been afraid of being isolated in a remote village, but the thought of being placed in a city hadn’t crossed my mind. Given the differences between the two I thought I would provide a brief comparison of Georgian life in both.

Skra is a village of about 1,200 people, it is also the main village in its area and houses some of the support functions (government, medical, school, etc.) for smaller surrounding villages. Most of the work in Skra was agricultural based. Skra’s main cash crop is the cherry and during the end of June to beginning of July people come from all over to buy and distribute their cherries, I’ve seen Russians, Turks, Armenians, and Azeri all in town to buy cherries. Most families make their living from this time of the year. There are endless orchards surrounding the city, my family alone sold over 1 ton of cherries. Other local sources of income include teaching, small stories, and other small commercial businesses. A lot of men also work outside of the village doing manual labor, military, or other jobs in various parts of Georgia. 

The grapes are coming in, harvest will be in October. I definitely won't miss out on this!

In Poti the economic activity is a lot more varies and a lot less dependent on agriculture. There is a large bazar where people from the surrounding area come to sell their good, there are various stores and agencies, and most of all there is the port. I would guess that an easy majority of the people in Poti have employment for or connected to the port’s activity- import/export, logistics, etc. The standard of living is probably a little higher in the city as well, with more people enjoying more luxury items, for example I’ve heard of houses with central heating (come winter I will befriend them). Another difference would be the fact that it is more common for both men and women to have a job here than in the village. My host father is the manager of a gas station and my mom works for the municipality.

The schools are another major difference. Skra’s school had less than 100 students and 3 English teachers who basically worked part time. Poti has 12 schools with my school having about 625 students and 6 English teachers each working full time. The school in Skra was an old run down factory from the Soviet era- the basement and third floor were both unusable. In Poti my school is also almost 100 years old but it has been recently renovated. Also students and their parents assist in decorating the school to give it a happier ambiance. 

Making tonis puri (Georgian bread) the dough cooks on the sides like tandoori.

One of the main prides villagers have in their way of life is that it is nearly 100% natural. My family had a cow which they used for milk, cheese, and cream. They grew their own potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and various fruits. They were raising 3 pigs and almost 40 chickens for meat and eggs. My mom made Georgian bread (tonis puri) weekly, about 40 loaves for 5 days (they eat A LOT of bread here). They also had a large stock of homemade honey, jams, and the ever boasted wine. In just the day I was there we had two different jams, fresh bread, homemade cake and cheese bread, peach juice, and they even killed two chickens and prepared them both for lunch and dinner. You’d be hard pressed to find some food item that hadn’t originated from within a kilometer of our home. My family is up around 6 am every day taking care of chores. That is not the same story in Poti. Here in we buy our bread from the man down the street, we buy fruits to make jam (occasionally we have enough fruit on one of our trees but it doesn’t appear to be very often), there are more options to grab a bite in town, most of the food we eat is purchased at the store or bazar. While it’s not on the same level as life in the USA, it is definitely not the same as the village either. 

There were 39 chickens, now there are 37... 

The amenities of the city are definitely an improvement to the village, however the size of the city makes it more difficult to feel a sense of community. There is also no way that you could ever become the well-known local celebrity that many people in the villages tend to become. Here I am more anonymous and inconspicuous- that is until I try to speak Georgian and come out sounding hopelessly lost. Many people are much too busy to spend time with me, yet this isn’t too bad since the options for entertainment expand past what we have in our house, like what happens in the village. 

My host dad pondering life (or probably just looking at the pigs)

In the end I am glad that I am in the city long term. I have more access to resources and opportunities for work that I would not have in a smaller village. However, I have to also deal with larger class sizes, less community, less space, less delicious cooking, and less generous hospitality (note- city people aren’t inhospitable). These are two very different Georgias with different needs to be addressed. Hopefully I will be able to find ways to help them meet those needs. As the year goes on I am sure that I will also get busier like many of the city people; however, I will also find time to escape to the village like so many people here do when they need a break.

Creative Coping Strategies

I'm going to forgo the typical "what I did this week post" and instead talk about my experience here in the Peace Corps. Although if you want to know what my week was like I'll sum it up in a haiku for you:

Not much going on

Hot and sweaty every day

Weekends can be fun

I've realized that most of my posts are either a collection of stories or travel log of the previous week's events- very factual, not as emotional. I'm going to try to go a little bit deeper today and I'm not sure how it is going to turn out so (not to be cliche) please bear with me.

Contemplating life or just posing for a classic pic, you decide

Being in the Peace Corps is hard, however; it might not be hard for the reasons you are thinking. There is a stereotypical image that most people associate with Peace Corps, usually some African village, living in a hut, eating with your hands, and working with people who look like tribal warriors and have probably never seen an American before. Granted I am sure that this experience does exist somewhere for some volunteers, I am fairly confident in saying that it isn't the norm. A majority of Peace Corps volunteers have daily access to running water, internet, and other conveniences. What you eat, what your house is like, your access to modern conveniences, etc. these can all be challenges, but they are also really easy to adapt to. After a short time you realize that this is "just the way it is" and you just get used to it. 

More difficult are the social, mental, and emotional challenges that come your way. These are things that aren't normal for everyone else, they are the baggage that comes with being a transplant in a new world. These are the things that hit me this week. 

I reached a point this week where I felt like I was just going to lose it. I hadn't left the house all day, I had no plans, it was too hot to stand being outside, and by that evening I could've probably counted the words I'd spoken audibly on my fingers. I was not happy. I'm an extroverted person, I need human and social interaction and for various reasons I wasn't getting it. I felt like I was being restrained and I wasn't able to be me. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to visit someone who knew me and get lost in conversation. I wanted to feel comfortable. I wanted to relax. The problem was that I couldn't have what I wanted. 

Probably a good visual representation of my emotions

It is hard to really describe how I was feeling at that particular moment, but it was hard. I needed a release and all my usual go to methods were unavailable. This happens in Peace Corp. You often find yourself in uncomfortable or frustrating situations and you have to figure a new way out. For me in this moment it was going on a run. 

For anyone that doesn't know me well, this might sound like a perfectly normal thing, but for me it isn't. I hate running, when I run I do it on a treadmill. I do not run outside. I don't go on runs. I don't find it relaxing or soothing. I find it uncomfortable and it makes me way too hot and sweaty to possibly be happy. Needless to say, the decision to go on a run did not come naturally to me.

I put those headphones in and ran aimlessly away from my house. I ended up in a field near by and just followed any path I saw. I dogged cows and cow pies until I was alone. Then I stopped because I was out of breath, naturally. I continued walking and wandering for awhile. I was still feeling upset and angsty. I picked up the pace and just started to swing my arms, do some high knees and jump around. This went on for awhile until I stumbled upon a lake I hadn't known about before. The sun was setting in the distance and it reflected in the water before me. It was an amazing site that just caused me to stop, take a deep breath (still panting), and enjoy the moment. I found a moment of relaxation finally. 

My location of clarity

I wandered around the lake for awhile and then continued my run. This is one of those moments in life that I wish was recorded because if I were able to watch the scene as some invisible observer I am sure that I would be rolling on the floor laughing because of the sheer ridiculousness of the sight. Here was some weird looking foreigner, running through weeds along cow paths, jumping, punching the air, yelling, and altogether looking like an absolute lunatic. 

Eventually I made it back to a path I was semi familiar with and decided to just keep going (there were a lot of emotions that had been pent up for quite awhile). As I ran and attempted to regain composure I finally noticed that the clouds had gathered and it was starting to sprinkle. I was a couple miles from home by now and so I decided to keep going because I was closer to my fellow volunteer's house and I could possibly take shelter there. 

The scene quickly changed and I was not jogging/walking through muddy puddles and finally laughing at my ridiculous fortune. I just kept singing to my music- I'll admit I listened to Fight Song more than once while on this run. Eventually I made it to Randi's house and found some shelter, more importantly my anger/frustration/sadness/etc. was also all gone. 

I should probably clarify a few things- yes, I am mentally well; yes, I am glad to be here; no, this isn't a common occurrence; no, I'm not sure if I am going to take up running; and yes, I do eat ice cream everyday so I probably should run more. Overall things are going well for me, there is no need to worry. I just wanted to try and illustrate what this experience is like. It's not all adventure and changing the world. Just like so many other experiences in life, it is a roller coaster of highs and lows. I find a lot of joy in small things and I laugh and daily misfortunes and awkward moments quite regularly. I'm also sure that this isn't going to be the last time that I'm feeling like I'm on the edge of a breakdown. I'm still adjusting to this new life and trying to figure out how to find outlets to replace those I have lost. More walks to the beach are probably in order. 

I also got to explore this cave today so I can't complain about life. 

There you have it, my attempt at getting a little deeper in my blog. Send me an email or leave a message of facebook. Share your thoughts with me and let me know what else you want to know about my experience here or about Georgia- it's culture, people, etc. I'm more than happy to answer and continue sharing all of this with all of you!

Anecdotal August

August has always been a strange month. It's the beginning of the end of summer. There are no holidays to celebrate, and school is just around the corner. These are no in the dog days of summer. I don't have much to report on this week and **Spoiler Alert** Nor is much planned for next week. In an ode to these lazy days I would like to provide you with a few anecdotes.

Filtered Favors-
Although I don't always drink filtered water, I've decided to keep using my water filter. I like to have options. Monday evening I was being extra zealous about keeping my water supply plenished so I filled up the upper portion before I headed to bed. The only problem was that I hadn't checked the lower portion to see if there was room for the water to filter down. In the morning I noticed that there were quite a few wet items on the table near the filter. It took a minute to realize what had happened. The water had seeped out of the seal between the chambers and flooded the table. My brother had left his school bag on the table and upon further inspection I noticed that all of the contents were drenched. I then spent my time trying to stash the bags contents around the house/yard in various sunny places in hopes that it would dry. After hours of forced sunbathing the books were in more or less acceptable condition and I restocked his bag as it had been. The kid couldn't be to upset, he hates chemistry- drenching his books was practically a favor.

Wash, Rinse, and....
I recently purchased some coconut soap which has gotten me all excited for my shower time. Who doesn't love the smell of coconut while they shower, it's magical! Tuesday morning was my first test. I hopped in the shower and proceed to work up the most prodigious lather, it smelled wonderful. After I had transformed into a human coconut I heard a gurgling noise and noticed my water supply begin to sputter. In a matter of seconds my water was gone. I was stranded in some limbo between coconut Paradise and waterless Hell. Before long a solution came. I hopped out of the tub, grabbed my half full water bottle from the fridge and headed for the water filter- a train of soap in my path. I filled up the remaining portion and got back in the shower. The water was ice cold, my tropical fantasy was ruined. I continued to pour cold water all over me until every last drop of coconut magic went down the drain. Reason #241 why I still keep my filter full.

The New 5 Buck Cluck
I make no effort to hide my love for poultry in this land of pork and beef. After consistent protein -less meals I was ready for some chicken. I wandered into the first cafe I found and proceeded to peruse the menu (dictionary in hand). Everything was in Georgian and Russian, with most dishes being listed under some pet name. When the waitress came to take my order I asked for a cucumber, bread, and chicken. She pointed out the appropriate items on the menu and was on her way. A few minutes later a waitress appeared with a full chicken displayed on a platter. I was clearly dining alone yet for some reason they had insisted on bringing me a full chicken platter. Excess seems to be the norm around here. No one seemed to bat an eye at the "fat American" in the corner working his way through a basket of bread, plates of cucumbers, and a full roasted chicken.

You gonna eat all of that?

Animal Entourage 
Like most countries, Georgia has quite a high number of stray and "wild" cats and dogs. They often think my fellow volunteers are strange for the amount of attention they give to these stray animals when they encounter them on the streets. I however have no problem resisting the urge to bend over and pet the (potentially flea ridden) animals. Thus is came as a surprise when while visiting our "summer house" various pets began to approach me as if I were some exotic pied piper. In less than 2 hours I had amassed a following of 3 dogs and a cat which followed me wherever I went on the property. I got bored and decided to make an attempt at photographing them in the fading daylight. I can only imagine what the scene looked like to the neighbors. I would whistle and every creature would come to my location (apparently the whistle is universal). Next I would run away as fast as I could to then take pictures of the animals with the perfect lighting. Somehow they were all onto me and no one felt like cooperating. The animals would follow wherever  I went, making the photography portion difficult. My host dad caught me in the process, he just looked at me running and attempting to capture the moment- shook his head and went back to work.

One of my incorrigible models 

I've got a better idea!
Yesterday I had a few friends in town with intention of going kayaking. We arrived at the national park's visitor center only to find out that there was no kayaking on Saturdays- contrary to what they'd told us previously. Feeling bummed we went on our way. When my dad found out he immediately made a call and then excitedly began to tell us about an even better place we wanted to take us. 20 min later we pulled up to a normal Georgian house in the hills of Guria. The family greeted us and then let us into their yard. My dad showed the way up to their balcony from where we could see everything from Batumi to Poti to the mountains in the distance. My dad's only words to us- isn't this better than kayaking? I'm just not sure if he was right. Standing on a stranger's balcony admiring the view just doesn't really have all that common with floating through the marshy wetlands and flat water in the park.

Good view beat kayaking anyways

These are just a few of the moments that made me laugh this week (one from each day). Laughter is my medicine, I doubt they make much sense to anyone but myself. However, I hope that as the dog days drag on, you may all find moments to just sit and laugh. Despite the various complicated challenges of life, our days really are just a collection of ridiculous experiences that we tend not to use as intended- daily reminders to laugh and find joy.

P.S. I think I am being force vegetarianizes, this was my dinner:

I had very little to work with today...

BUILDing great things in Georgia

In case I haven't told you, it is REALLY hot here in Poti- and most of Georgia. This is provided me with an instant conversation starter with almost any Georgian I meet. I just walk up to someone and say- it's hot or it's very hot, and we have now have something to bond over. Warning, talking about the weather is not the best way to start a very engaging conversation.

Due to the rising mercury (does any one use mercury thermometers any more), I decided to get a haircut. I have already had two experiences with the haircut process in Georgia so my confidence is growing; however, this would be my first haircut in Poti and I wanted to start out on the right foot. I looked up some vocab and casually asked my brother for advice on where one might seeks a person with scissors and some experience. He just pointed out the window and down at the neighbor's place. I was worried that might be the case. Who knows if I will like their service and if I decided to never go back I would still have to see them on my street and they would know when I got my haircut elsewhere. This was a big commitment, potential for 2 years. I went for it!

Long story short- not bad. First pass with the clippers and I knew this would be a really short cut. I was a little concerned as the hair kept falling off. In the end my only complaint was that she switched my hair part from right to left and I don't know how I feel about it. Anyways, she wasn't to bad! She was pretty meticulous about it and I'm not bald. If you are ever feeling adventurous I would suggest getting your haircut in a foreign country, the ending will always be a surprise.

Small aside on my Poti wanderings: this week I found the central library branch (last week was just the children's library), I am now friends with all the librarians and the director. I can't tell you how many times they asked if I was single and mentioned various single women they knew- feels like home... Also I now have my eye on what might be a chess school. Chess is big in Georgia and HUGE in Poti, an few world chess champions come from here and they just had a competition. I hope to explore it a little more this week.

Part of the Martvili monestary

Most of this week was actually spent away from Poti. First, Alex's host family invited me to join them on a trip to Martvili (where several others PCVs live) I jumped at the chance to visit more parts of Georgia.We headed up Tuesday around noon, stopping at the Martvili monastery and a few other sites before reaching our final destination of the Martvili canyon. Everything there was gorgeous. It was some of the clearest and most turquoise water I have ever seen. I left my phone behind for most of our explorations for fear of getting it wet (rightly so since I fell in twice). There aren't many words to describe that place so I'll just leave this here...

The view from above

Swiped from Google, but accurate!

After a long day out in the canyons I came home to meet my former clustermate Jimmy in Poti. He had traveled from his site in the East to travel with me to BUILD camp the following day. Having so many visitors in Poti has started to help me hone my tour guide skills, I will be set for whenever visitors decide to stop in (hint, hint). 

Our first 2 campers!

The rest of my week was spent in the small town of Ureki, working with some fellow PCVs to run the first BUILD (Boys United In Leadership Development) Camp. The idea was created earlier in the year when the G14s were at a training together.  A group of 5 G14 PCVs (volunteers who arrived in Georgia in 2014) have been working on this camp for months and in July opened up applications for 4 G15 volunteers to join them for the first camp and then work with them to grow the camp afterwards. The purpose of the camp is to promote leadership (community involvement, volunteerism, goal setting, etc.) and break gender stereotypes( healthy living, resisting peer pressure, smoking/alcohol information, and health and development), there is quite a void in Georgia when it comes to training young men in these areas. Peace Corps Georgia has been doing great things with girls in similar camps, but this was really the first wide effort for boys in Georgia to also learn some of these valuable skills.

The whole group, campers and staff

Small group session on Leadership (including a section on female leaders

We arrived on Wednesday to meet with the Georgian counselors, review plans, and set up camp. Participants began to arrive on Thursday, and camp activities lasted until about noon on Sunday. It was a great success! We had 20 youth participate and they were lead by 4 Georgian counselors who understood the vision of the camp and provided great examples and role models for the boys (they also spoke English and acted as translators for us Americans).  

Who knew the YMCA was in Georgia? Also Georgians are bad at doing the YMCA

Morning exercises

Time as camp was mainly spent doing a variety of activities- there were daily exercises, meals, 9 small/large group training sessions, team building & critical thinking games, athletics, a trip to the beach, and of course a bonfire. It was amazing to see the boys really engage themselves in the sessions many of which challenged the messages they receive from their communities etc. The camp also had the boys design projects for them to implement in their communities, their counselors are going to follow up with them at various points over the following months to help ensure that the messages and trainings are taking root. I'm excited to hear about their progress. 

Team building/problem solving

Final night bonfire

It was definitely a little exhausting but a very rewarding experience overall. I'm looking forward to working with the other volunteers to smooth out a few kinks and then start to get ready for our next camp. We are hoping to expand the number of youth we can admit and really extend our reach which will take a lot of planning, fundraising, and grant writing. (I'll apologize now, but you will likely see some facebook posts next spring asking for donations to our camp, just a heads up.) I can't wait to see what the 4 of us G15s are going to be able to create for next summer's BUILD camp. 

The end to a successful camp

G15 group, and next year's organizers