I'm Ready

     We've done it. We finally made it to the end of Friday. It was all downhill from Wednesday but it was still a lot of work. Now that Friday is over. We can finally rest a bit. Not too much though. Saturday will still be busy. But academically, we aren't going to be doing anything. Photos, packing, traveling, and saying goodbye.

     I published the post yesterday before the evening's festivities so I'll catch up on that first. After Max's talk, we broke into our teams for some preparations. We needed to make a skit on using the theme of "What do you do if you only have one hour to live." Each team was wildly different. Mine did different last-minute activities before the world ends. Except we did a variant on the "little people" sketch. The others were things like mobsters and hit men, a crashing plane and a mixed up medical report.
     The event was titled as an "anti-talent show." Whomever had the inclination could show off a certain talent (or not). Mixed in among the skits were performances of singing, poetry, music, and general goofballery. The British team performed a scene from Quest for the Holy Grail. The Texans did a mock opera.
     The Ukrainian staff performed their traditional skit as a spiritual lesson for the camp. It left the entire British contingent in tears. I think it had a deeper impact on the students than we could see at first.
     After the skit, all the staff went up to the American's room for a party. I got to have some very good chocolate and pizza and also talk with some people while relaxing. Even though we didn't go up until after midnight, it was still a good time. While I didn't leave until after 2AM, some people stayed much later. At breakfast today, there were a lot of tired staff. Apparently I was so tired last night that when Tim got back, I asked (in my sleep) what time it was. I don't remember it. If the Texas team throws parties like that every year, I definitely want to come back.
     So, Friday. It's the last day of academic work as well as spiritual lessons. In the beginner group, we mainly focused on review of what they learned so far. Tim, Elliot and Andrew switched out for different parts of it. For most of the students, it was very obvious that they improved over the week. It's hard work learning a new language. They had a head start but they made good progress thus week.
     During the remainder of the day, we followed the usual schedule. Meals, lessons, activities, team time and lectures were all checked off as the day went on. In the afternoon, we assembled puzzles made from pictures taken of the teams on the first day. Max finished off his series this week with an overview of the Gospel. I collected sticks for the bonfire. We took team pictures with our new shirts. The English speakers even filmed some short invitations for an advertisement video that the Liberty team wants to make next year.
     After the final dinner of camp, we officially closed the camp with closing ceremonies. That included videos and a final word from Max.
     We followed that up with an evening on the beach.
     I'm ready to get back to several things in the next day or so. My apartment, air conditioning, a regular sleep schedule, no bugs, and my own clean shower. Yeah, it's sad that camp is ending. But by this point, it's time. It's been a lot of fun and the whole staff need a rest. Most will be going back to work in the coming days. I'll be going back to Kiev to start my preparations for departure on September 1st.
     Alright, it's again time to put down the phone and sleep. Have a good weekend.

"Podge Catface" sitting on my lap. That's the name that Tallis gave her.

Yes, that's a real, live hedgehog. I saw it while I was coming back from the beach.