Well, I woke up at 6:00 am on a Saturday... I was NOT too happy about that. lol So, after a 2 hour car ride, we arrived at Camp O' Bannon, in Newark, OH. We were the first ones to arrive so at first, we thought we had the wrong place. So, I got a name tag which read Matilda for a while because the guy giving them out decided I was going to be Matilda today. Then kids started flooding in. But, none of these kids were PDO, they were all Re-Entry kids who have been in America for about 9 months and are approaching their departures home. For a while, I thought I was the only American Overseas student. But one more did show up. Her name is Liz and she went to Japan last summer and is now going to Russia for a year. She was very excited for me and we talked during a lot of the orientation.The orientation began with a few games. The first game, we formed a circle than closed our eyes and walked across the circle and grabbed hands with someone. Then, we had to reform the circle. It took us less than a minute to reform the circle. Marty (Name tag guy) was impressed. The next game, we scrunched up the circle so much that we had to sit on the person's knees behind us. Then we tried walking while in this position. After one step we fell.
Pictures of some of the most amazing people I have ever met.
Next, we did introductions. They went around the room and everyone introduced themselves and told where they are from.Many host parents were here for this part so they talked about their host children. My favorite introduction was Toti's. She is from Argentina. Her host mom described her as being overly dramatic, but in a hilarious way. Her catch phrase is "I like this so much that I want to make babies with it!" I almost died of laughter. lol
After intros, we did some sessions. They basically told me everything I already knew. I did learn that "Failure is my friend." lol And Japanese people do not get sarcasm. lol I need to turn the sarcasm switch off when I go to Japan.
Liz and Lu Capture the flag!
After this session we had a lunch break. Then we played capture the flag. It was kinda fun for a game or two... then it was getting a little old. lol So, I decided to take a walk with Liz. Then, she introduced me to her host sister, Lu from China. They were so close that it was crazy! lol After that we "Meet The Critic." I won't go into details so I don't ruin it for anyone else who hasn't had orientation. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but they still grilled us.
"The YFU Theater"
After that was dinner. We had some burgers and a cheesy potato thing. It was really good. We also had this oreo pudding type thing. It was good. Everyone kept commenting on how disgusting it looked when you mixed it all together. lol Looks can be deceiving. After we ate, we were pt into groups and we made skits. These skits were something that we experienced as host sudents. Well, that worked for the International Students. lol Liz and I were in our own group and did Stereo-Types of Japan! It was pretty good. But there were a lot of skits that were better. lol
The lodge full of mattresses More amazing people Saki and I
At night, we played a lot more games. We had a game of laser tag. Yep, laser tag! It was so much fun! But there was one bad thing... every time you got shot the gun shocked you. It hurt like crap! Even on the low setting! I couldn't play for more than three games! lol Then I went inside and talked with some of the exchange students. Then I thought I would introduce them to Egyptian rat Screw but they already knew what it was! And they were good too! I got killed... Then we played Kung Fu aka Ninjas. It was a lot of fun. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.Yum! So, a bunch of us grabbed our mattresses from our cabins and brought them into the main lodge. I tried to sleep but these people were freakin nocturnal! The lights didn't actually go out until 3 or 4 am. I just remember seeing a 3 on my cell phone and groaning. lol
Morning came very quickly. Most of us were extremely tired so no one actually woke up on time. lol We had a traditional American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes! lol After we ate, we played one final game of Kung Fu which was recorded so I might be able to find it..lol Then we went inside and they gave us (including myself) a t shirt. We then got everyone to sign them. It was a lot of fun. I knew all these people for such a short amount of time and I'm going to miss them so much. I almost wish that the orientation could have gone on forever. Now, I'm trying desperately to find these people on FaceBook. Wish me luck!
Picture we took on a huge tree in the woods. Ironically, it had really good cell phone reception even though it's in the middle of the woods. lol
oh wow, the orientation sounds like a lot of fun!!! Now I'm excited for mine ^-^
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