As I mentioned in my last post, VE has kicked off it's 2009 Unite. Act. Engage annual campaign. Alexandre de la Biche, a member of the September 2009 class created a video to be shown at various campaign events. We're all extremely impressed with the video, so I'd like you to see it! Enjoy!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
It's November?
Yes, it's November. Somehow we sailed through September and October, and all of a sudden we're planning for the December class of volunteers to come in! Yimes.
I would say that October was pretty much as euphoric as September. The new volunteers continue to make my job (and life) a huge joy. For that reason I was incredibly excited for their Jornada. And as it turned out, I was excited for good reason! From start to finish, the weekend retreat was filled with positive energy. The September class was game for anything and handled the group-building exercises and challenges with more zest than I've ever seen.
As usual, the weekend was filled with beautifully ridiculous moments. Firstly, a cat ate one of our quiches. The event was dramatically re-enacted in one of our group photos:
Secondly, the owner's daughters, one of whom is named Genesis, spent the majority of the weekend attempting to join and/or modify our activities. At one point, all 20-something of us found ourselves walking in circles like monkeys and elephants and whatever else Genesis came up with, freezing when she yelled "Paren!" and changing when she yelled "Cambio!". As Chris eloquently describes in his Jornada-related blog post, it was an important, no-one-gives-a-shit-about-what-people-think moment. It became a theme of conversation, about the importance of being silly and comfortable with ourselves so we can help the kids we work with feel comfortable with themselves. They're all trying so hard to be cool, and as I discovered with the girls at Entre Todas a while ago, my favorite way to behave around them is to be incredibly uncool. I think VE does a great job of helping people over that hurdle of self-consciousness, regardless of who's running the activity.
In the end, Genesis walked off with our frisbee, but we won't hold it against her.
I was a bit apprehensive about the new additions I made to Jornada, but everyone dove right into the new games and seemed to have a fantastic time. I heard nothing but good things about people's experiences in their small groups, and, although someone pointed it out specifically on my personal poster, I was not the only one to "get really huggy" at Jornada.
Here's the traditional group photo, as well as a now practically requisite jumping photo featuring all the antiguos (old volunteers):
Back at the VE office, we've begun a new tradition: Friday lunch! Although we almost always eat lunch together, now we each take turns cooking a beautiful meal for the rest of the office staff (and whoever else is smart enough to schedule an early-afternoon meeting) every Friday. Normally the person who's cooking gets no work done as they cook all morning, then we gorge ourselves, impressed by everyone's ability to come up with creative gluten-free vegetarian meals.
In other office-related fun, I made this video after a particularly productive afternoon (the day after Jornada is not built for productivity). Ann's mom sent her a care package that included Halloween-themed parachuters. We launched them out of the office window and ran into a bit of an issue with some potted plants a couple floors down. Enjoy!
I would say that October was pretty much as euphoric as September. The new volunteers continue to make my job (and life) a huge joy. For that reason I was incredibly excited for their Jornada. And as it turned out, I was excited for good reason! From start to finish, the weekend retreat was filled with positive energy. The September class was game for anything and handled the group-building exercises and challenges with more zest than I've ever seen.
As usual, the weekend was filled with beautifully ridiculous moments. Firstly, a cat ate one of our quiches. The event was dramatically re-enacted in one of our group photos:
Secondly, the owner's daughters, one of whom is named Genesis, spent the majority of the weekend attempting to join and/or modify our activities. At one point, all 20-something of us found ourselves walking in circles like monkeys and elephants and whatever else Genesis came up with, freezing when she yelled "Paren!" and changing when she yelled "Cambio!". As Chris eloquently describes in his Jornada-related blog post, it was an important, no-one-gives-a-shit-about-what-people-think moment. It became a theme of conversation, about the importance of being silly and comfortable with ourselves so we can help the kids we work with feel comfortable with themselves. They're all trying so hard to be cool, and as I discovered with the girls at Entre Todas a while ago, my favorite way to behave around them is to be incredibly uncool. I think VE does a great job of helping people over that hurdle of self-consciousness, regardless of who's running the activity.In the end, Genesis walked off with our frisbee, but we won't hold it against her.
I was a bit apprehensive about the new additions I made to Jornada, but everyone dove right into the new games and seemed to have a fantastic time. I heard nothing but good things about people's experiences in their small groups, and, although someone pointed it out specifically on my personal poster, I was not the only one to "get really huggy" at Jornada.
Here's the traditional group photo, as well as a now practically requisite jumping photo featuring all the antiguos (old volunteers):
Back at the VE office, we've begun a new tradition: Friday lunch! Although we almost always eat lunch together, now we each take turns cooking a beautiful meal for the rest of the office staff (and whoever else is smart enough to schedule an early-afternoon meeting) every Friday. Normally the person who's cooking gets no work done as they cook all morning, then we gorge ourselves, impressed by everyone's ability to come up with creative gluten-free vegetarian meals. In other office-related fun, I made this video after a particularly productive afternoon (the day after Jornada is not built for productivity). Ann's mom sent her a care package that included Halloween-themed parachuters. We launched them out of the office window and ran into a bit of an issue with some potted plants a couple floors down. Enjoy!
We also celebrated Halloween with impressive costumes. Here's a sample, as you'll find Matt dressed as a box of Gato wine and me as, well, gluten.
In other VE news, last night we held the kick-off event for out annual Unite. Act. Engage. fundraising campaign. The event was a trivia night held in a beautiful backyard in Ñuñoa, a more residential area of Santiago. With about twenty white-tableclothed tables, twinkly lights, a lit swimming pool, DJs from Santiago Radio, ten donated cases of wine, raffle prizes, traditional Chilean barbecued sausages, and a gaggle of happy VE volunteers in their matching t-shirts, it was a classy event. We even had an accordion band playing during the cocktail hour before the trivia started. It seems like every gringo in Santiago was there, and they all seemed to have a fantastic time. Rumor has it we made more money than expected, so the event was pretty much a smashing success!
And finally, I've purchased a plane ticket home for Christmas! I'll be in New England from December 22nd to January 6th. I'll be in Connecticut for Christmas with my mom's family, New Hampshire for a few days to check out my dad's new digs in North Conway, then in Maine to sit in front of the woodstove, sled, and eat my weight in gluten-free products. I suppose I should go to the dentist as well. Regardless, I'm beyond excited to see all you lovely New England-ers and have a little vacation!
In other VE news, last night we held the kick-off event for out annual Unite. Act. Engage. fundraising campaign. The event was a trivia night held in a beautiful backyard in Ñuñoa, a more residential area of Santiago. With about twenty white-tableclothed tables, twinkly lights, a lit swimming pool, DJs from Santiago Radio, ten donated cases of wine, raffle prizes, traditional Chilean barbecued sausages, and a gaggle of happy VE volunteers in their matching t-shirts, it was a classy event. We even had an accordion band playing during the cocktail hour before the trivia started. It seems like every gringo in Santiago was there, and they all seemed to have a fantastic time. Rumor has it we made more money than expected, so the event was pretty much a smashing success!And finally, I've purchased a plane ticket home for Christmas! I'll be in New England from December 22nd to January 6th. I'll be in Connecticut for Christmas with my mom's family, New Hampshire for a few days to check out my dad's new digs in North Conway, then in Maine to sit in front of the woodstove, sled, and eat my weight in gluten-free products. I suppose I should go to the dentist as well. Regardless, I'm beyond excited to see all you lovely New England-ers and have a little vacation!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
