Unusual summer vacationBy: Tatiana

When we think about vacation we imagine long traveling, high mountains, endless beaches, many great places to visit, lots of fun and relaxation, so do I... Except one summer vacation 4 years ago, when for the first time, I did not know what to expect or what to imagine… Just two things were clear to me - I was heading to the mountains, somewhere near to Zarnesti village for spending one week with some children.

My godfather was organizing a summer holiday camp and told me that he would need volunteers to supervise and take care of the children. I accepted without hesitation to help him, even if I didn’t know how it will be. Then, of course, many questions were crossing my mind … Will I be a reliable help? Will I have fun? Will I relax? Had no idea… until the next morning when I woke up in the middle of the nature and met my new “vacation partners” – twenty children aged between five and twelve years. In that moment I was fully convinced about the great opportunity I was offered and the unusual but wonderful experience I was about to live. I totally dedicated to my new role of supervising the children and integrated with pleasure in the new community. All my questions and anxiety vanished right away.

The children were wonderful and full of energy, so we started immediately to play different games and have fun together. This is where my adventure begun… Even from the first day they were organized in two teams, were given a notebook with their names on it, where it was written down each activity we had and the score they achieved individually. It became their holiday camp journal and, for sure, a great summer camp witness after years. So, they were motivated to get high score at every activity because the competition was between the teams.

We had a daily schedule to respect and many things to learn together. We were waking up at 8:30am every morning, having the breakfast and preparing for the first activity. Probably this was the most sensitive moment of the day as I had to explain daily (half on the children were five years old) why do we have to eat our breakfast, to arrange our hair, to take our raincoat with us, to shoe with proper shoes for the scheduled activities, to wear a warm blouse, not just a t-shirt and so on... Once we were passing this stage, everything was fine and everyone ready for the planned activities. To be in good shape, I was waking up 30 minutes earlier and enjoying my coffee quietly while admiring the lake from the yard. The fresh air, the silence and the atmosphere were helping me “charge my batteries”…

It was holiday, so there was plenty of time for new games and experiences. The activities were different every day – the only constant being eating and sleeping hours. During the day we were taking trips in the mountains to discover the surroundings, were learning the steps for the upcoming alpinism adventure, gathering flowers or playing different games such as volleyball, ping pong, the hunter and the ducks or hide and seek. This part reminded me about childhood and its great moments of fun…

Also, short trips were organized for visiting the nearest historical and natural monuments and we were trying to spend as much time as possible in the nature. For instance, one day we tasted the Tyrolienne adventure while the other day we all became alpinists; we went in Prapastiile Zarnestilor defile where we discovered the alpinism challenge that was a unique experience for everyone. We climbed at approximately 25 meters high but the great feeling cannot be described in words.

Despite the great efforts and fear I felt up there, I would do that again any time and barely can wait the next adventure. We spent the whole day there and enjoyed a great traditional lunch with barbeque.

After the well deserved lunch and resting time, the schedule for the second half of the day included activities like learning the archery, games with hidden notes and the treasure hunting game through the forest.

All the evenings were ending with a thematic party like the riddle evening, the Chinese evening or we were just paying different educative games. Every thematic evening was meant to teach children general things about a country, an historical event or a well-known tradition, but in a funny and interactive way.

Even if at the end of the day the tiredness was overwhelming, the feeling was great. The good memories and amusing moments over the day were giving me an interesting mix of feelings of comfort, happiness and freedom… Probably you wonder from where the freedom feeling comes… It comes from my short Enduro adventure that was an amazing experience which reminded me the adrenalin taste and made me promise, that one day, I will be able to drive myself an Enduro bike…

In the end, all I can say is that I constantly think about the next summer holyday camp, as this kind of vacation cannot be compared with any other one. So, if you are given the change, never refuse an unusual vacation because you never know…

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