Summer Camp!

*Summer*Camp*! July 15-26, 2010

In July I went up to El Jadida, a beach town, equipped with cafés, ice cream, beignets, Beach spiced coffee, sand, waves kites… It was the perfect place to start my summer and spend two weeks getting to know more Moroccan youth, catch up with some PCVs I hadn’t seen in a while and relax a bit. The camp is an English Emersion camp. PCVs work as counselors, Teach English and run country clubs. For Country clubs we choose Anglophone countries and teach students about them, cooking food, playing games and doing dances from those countries.

The morning is dedicated to English and beach time. After that students come back, eat lunch, have library time, go to country clubs and then finish by Moroccan clubs. They have a little break after that and then in the evening there is a theme night and a dance party.

My club was Club India. I can’t say I know a whole lot about India though I think it’s a place I’d like to visit on my way home from Peace Corps. The other PCV working with me and I cut up a map of India to make it into a puzzle. Students colored it in, glued famous landmarks where they belonged and put the puzzle together. The next day we learned some facts about India and played a game called KoKo. It was a fun game of tag that all of the kids enjoyed despite the hot sun. Other activities included watching videos about India, making chai, doing Yoga, having a cultural discussion with some visiting American students that happened to be from India and learning the Slumdog Millionaire Dance (refrain from comments about the cultural accuracy of the Sumdog Millionaire Dance J ) It was a great week and students seemed to have a good time.

It was a long but good week. Despite some drama between Moroccan staff and American staff things seemed to run relatively smoothly. I have to give props to our American Coordinator and her ability to negotiate, intermediate and communicate with the Moroccan Coordinators. It certainly wasn’t an easy job.