Pauza Magazine Summer 2006 | Page 11

National Boys’ Outdoor Leadership Camp Part 1 by: David Fox, Mak9 In putting together this edition of the Pau3a! and calling it the summer issue, we had a bit of inconsistency with any material relating to summer activities. Ok, well, usually summer camps are featured in the fall edition. However, considering all the pictures you see on the front and back of the edition are from the camp, it behooves me to write a short summary on the wonderful week we had in Berovo. We arrived in Berovo an hour ahead of schedule. I’m sure that the directors of our camp, Todd and Adam were very happy to see us early instead of late. We were matched with our groups first off and given activities to do before supper. My group was called “Walking Dead.” I enjoyed getting to know my 3 kids from Negotino, 2 from Veles, and 2 from Demir Kapija. Our day was 3 sessions followed by lunch, then 3 more, dinner, elective activities, and free time at night. I taught Sculpting and Making Music along with our resident drummer, James. Kids also did tye-dye and made hand bracelets from leather for crafts. Outdoors skills and leadership were also a big part of the week. Activities included learning about camping, knots, first aid, environmental awareness, and teamwork games. The kids elected a president and vice-president for the camp. They arranged the Friday Field Day activities, and leaders of each group were also elected and had responsibilities. Democracy education and process was something very intriguing for the kids to participate in as well. The interest of the kids was very good. My group had very little problems; all my kids enjoyed each other and made good friends. There were a few kids that went home early but by their own choice. Some kids more enjoyed sunbathing than attending lessons. But, all in all, it was the best week of my summer so far, and I look forward to hearing about the continuing success of both the boys’ and girls’ camps in the coming years. I also taught baseball, many helping with that as well. These kids also played American football for the first time, and many enjoyed Ultimate Frisbee. We were near the Berovo Lake, but being as cold as it was and as deep as the lake is swimming was not possible; we opted for several days of Slip’n’Slide instead. Volume 4, issue 2 Page 11