English Camp Graduation!

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The last day of camp is always bittersweet.  In our case, it didn't need to be quite so bitter, since we had our graduation at 8 in the evening afterwards.  (Remember, Spaniards don't east dinner til around 10, so this is kind of like having a 5pm school activity that all the parents can attend.)  The kids marched in with their monitors/volunteers holding flags from various English-speaking countries.  Some city officials came and talked about how pleased they were that Global Ventures offers this experience to Tres Cantos kids.  The campers sang camp songs in English.  (The Ants Go Marching is always a crowd and kid favorite.)  Some parents and kids competed in a relay like the children did during sports times.  (Always fun to watch the parents, who came straight from work, competing 

Meet & greet & eat!

in their heels or dress clothes.  Interestingly, it's usually the parents of boys who volunteer.  They must get used to stuff like this!)  Then all the different groups of kids perform their activity for the parents.  This year, kids sang songs about a pirate and a crazy moose.  (You can click links for examples on YouTube!)  The oldest boys did basketball drills to the Rocky theme song.  Then the oldest girls did their "Waka Waka" dance.  It was great fun, although only 

moderately about "English."  lol.  We finished up with meeting the parents of our small groups & telling them the good qualities we had seen in their children during camp.  All the kids went home with "graduation" certificates & we celebrated with food outside!  Spanish omelettes (called "tortillas" in Spain), olives, bread, chips - all the usual Spanish finger foods.  We also had cupcakes for the kids.  During English camp, parents could come drink coffee and do crafts while practicing their own English.  The last day, all the parents decorated those cupcakes for us to eat later on.  Such a yummy craft! It's fun to see how English Camp is more something to benefit the whole community, rather than just the kids.

Tim Wendel & me

I truly loved getting to be in Spain again this summer.  It may not have been the best thing for my grad school research, coming as it did in the middle of the summer, but it reminded me again of the bigger picture in which I participate.  I got to once again help my friends in Spain "build bridges that can bear the weight of truth" and developed a few friendships myself.  I also remembered how traveling to different cultures and contexts does not need to be something that makes me nervous.  God is at work in each place, and as I follow where he leads, I look forward to participating in that, whether going on a mission trip or researching or learning a new language.