We will miss so many things from project, here is a
1. Each other!
2. SChow supermarket (and their interesting exchange rate....)
3. The Aruban welcome
4. Zoë and Sophie will miss their giant bed
5. Singing, especially in the car
6. Our Aruban sisters, mothers and grandmothers
7. Ice pops of unknown flavour (Miriam will not miss these!)
8. Playing spot or bite
9. Photo fail of the day
10. Our miniature, U.V, antique telephone
11. Chocolate spread sandwiches at any hour!
12. Pastechi
13. Jimmy, the accomodation handyman
14. Referring to songs, energisers and games as 'SEGs'
15. Sun, sand and sea
16. Random nakedness being completely acceptable #sorrynotsorry
Things we won't miss too much...
1. 'Wobble technology' washing machine
2. Temperamental burglar alarms!!
3. Toilet paper bins...
4. Having just one full size mug and 6 team members
5. Breaking 4 glasses in our accomodation
6. Constant battling to keep sand out of our accomodation, and out of our beds?!
7. DEET in the mouth and eyes!
8. Doors that do not want to close or open
9. Lights that dim when you use the shower
10. Living without a kettle
11. Our poor hire car, that clearly has been driven through the outrageous terrain of the National Park too many times!
12. Carb loaded meals...
13. Suicidal dogs in the roads
14. Working until midnight every night for 3 weeks!
15. The beds in bedroom 1!
16. Having to physically open a closed road when we want to leave our accommodation!
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Monday, 5 September 2016
24 hours in the life of the GOLD Team
Friday Evening
Last night was our last night of after school training with 11-17 year old girls in the North of the Island. The sky did not disappoint, with a sunset that turned from yellow and orange through to deep pink and purple. It was great to see so many girls after a long day of school for a session lasting almost 5 hours.
We played 'silent law ladders', (a new firm favourite!) a VERY energetic round of 'Ride my pony', and had an excellent debate with the girls before a dinner break. We were touched by the kind words of the girls and leaders, and it was heart warming to see that our visit has meant as much to Aruba as it has to us.
Saturday Morning
The team were reduced to 4 for training this morning, with Anne and Sophie at home. The session was a great success, with a focus on how current leaders plan their meetings. It featured a jigsaw activity where teams had to break up and learn about the Guiding 5 Essentials, before regrouping and each teaching each other about what they had learned.
We were delighted to hear that the Scout Leader who had been so inspired by our training sessions, now feels ready to take over an upcoming 3 month absence. The pledge auction we ran saw the trading of some brilliant resources, including:
Saturday Afternoon Rainbow and Brownie session!
We headed to Noord district for our 5pm combined session with the Beyisima and Kabouter, with lots of ideas for 90 minutes of games and songs. It was so wonderful to meet the girls, we shared our songs and began to learn some of theirs! The girls made beautiful brightly coloured sticker fish on straws, which we took outside to play 'Ride My Dolphin' and 'Fishes in the Sea'.
The evening finished with ice pops and some lovely group photos. It was so special to see the team in action with younger girls, and was something that we all thoroughly enjoyed. There have been so many special moments over the last few weeks, and we headed home feeling shocked that our time here has passed so quickly!
What's next?
Goodbyes and flights are coming soon...
Ridiculous moments
Confusion caused by scenes of a crumbling nun being hoisted/ manhandled by two priests into the back of a pick up truck...
Anne being terrified and screaming at the handy man from our accommodation when he crept up on her and Sophie while they were doing the team washing in the cupboard.
Last night was our last night of after school training with 11-17 year old girls in the North of the Island. The sky did not disappoint, with a sunset that turned from yellow and orange through to deep pink and purple. It was great to see so many girls after a long day of school for a session lasting almost 5 hours.
We played 'silent law ladders', (a new firm favourite!) a VERY energetic round of 'Ride my pony', and had an excellent debate with the girls before a dinner break. We were touched by the kind words of the girls and leaders, and it was heart warming to see that our visit has meant as much to Aruba as it has to us.
Saturday Morning
The team were reduced to 4 for training this morning, with Anne and Sophie at home. The session was a great success, with a focus on how current leaders plan their meetings. It featured a jigsaw activity where teams had to break up and learn about the Guiding 5 Essentials, before regrouping and each teaching each other about what they had learned.
We were delighted to hear that the Scout Leader who had been so inspired by our training sessions, now feels ready to take over an upcoming 3 month absence. The pledge auction we ran saw the trading of some brilliant resources, including:
Venues
Knot tiring session
Craft sessions
Recruitment support
Supporting new leaders
Saturday Afternoon Rainbow and Brownie session!
We headed to Noord district for our 5pm combined session with the Beyisima and Kabouter, with lots of ideas for 90 minutes of games and songs. It was so wonderful to meet the girls, we shared our songs and began to learn some of theirs! The girls made beautiful brightly coloured sticker fish on straws, which we took outside to play 'Ride My Dolphin' and 'Fishes in the Sea'.
The evening finished with ice pops and some lovely group photos. It was so special to see the team in action with younger girls, and was something that we all thoroughly enjoyed. There have been so many special moments over the last few weeks, and we headed home feeling shocked that our time here has passed so quickly!
What's next?
Goodbyes and flights are coming soon...
Ridiculous moments
Confusion caused by scenes of a crumbling nun being hoisted/ manhandled by two priests into the back of a pick up truck...
Anne being terrified and screaming at the handy man from our accommodation when he crept up on her and Sophie while they were doing the team washing in the cupboard.
Friday, 2 September 2016
Another day, another training space!
Tonight we were based in the North of the island, at Felipe B Tromp School. The blue and white school building has a huge open square that we used for energisers and games. We trained 36 Padvindsters under the swirly pink and orange skies, and headed into a gated sports hall when it became too dark.
It was wonderful to see some of the Padvindsters from our initial training weekend, and it is hard to believe that we are now less than a week away from the end of project! We ran a Desert Island activity, asked what the girls liked, learned and would improve about the APG and created invitations for friends. Hopefully, we will see some new faces at tomorrow's bring a friend session!Some of the feedback about the APG really touched our hearts, and we can't wait to share it all with the board and current leaders.
'I learned to be disciplined, to be lovely, to have love for what you do and a lot of things that you didn't know you can do.'
'I learned the joy of being in a group and how to get through anything.'
'Way too many things, but mostly how to accept people for who they truly are.'
'First aid, new fun songs, lots of games, how to make a fire, the scouting law.'
We started the session with the ever popular Splat, and sang 'Down by banks of the hanky panky'. Thunderation has been a great song to teach the girls; the GOLDies enjoy it almost as much as the girls! It was such a joy to learn some of the songs the girls like to sing, and we left with 'Oh, Oh Lay Lay' completely stuck in our heads!
Ridiculous moments:
The sweltering heat during training, and it still being 29 degrees at 10pm!
Eating like dogs out of plastic containers, because we forgot forks....whoops!
Playing school or prison in the gated sports hall
What's coming next?
- We will have our second day of Padvindsters training tomorrow, followed by weekend training on both days, and a visit to a special Beyisima and Kabouters session that has been organised just for us.
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
An Aruban Adventure!
Tuesday was our one full day off, with no morning or evening training sessions. Delivering effective and engaging training requires lots of planning that often runs all through the day, and late into the evening. Our tour guides for the day were the beautiful and inspiring Guiding sisters, Eli and Rose. We have come to know them well from many training sessions and despite Rose being unwell, and it being Eli's birthday, the ladies arrived at our apartment bright and early!
First stop was to the famous red anchor, which we proceeded to climb all over for photo purposes. We saw the island's prison, and the oil refinery that is currently closed. The views of the sea were absolutely breathtaking and we even saw some brave kite surfers, sharing the sea with strong currents and sharks!
We then visited Baby Beach and were lucky enough to catch the Grade 6 school children learning to swim in the beautiful sea water. We've been in something of a training bubble for the last two weeks, so we were completely bowled over to see the true beauty of the country. There are no words to describe the beach, however, Zoë has created a fantastic 360 picture that is already on our Facebook page. Next we were off to the Arikok National Park to explore the Quadiriki bat caves and drive through some incredible desert scenery!
We stopped by a natural fish foot spa, and there were plenty of giggles and squeals as the largest fish came to clean away our dead skin! The sun was shining and we proudly gifted two of our Aruba badges to our fabulous hosts. We soon broke into singing and spirits could not have been higher!
We headed out of the National Park to grab some lunch at Glenn's Bar. We tried an Aruban Cheese and Cornmeal delicacy called Funchi and it was lovely to chat more with Rose and Eli. After food, we headed to the newly renovated California Lighthouse, which offers astonishing views of the sea all around. (This is also where Sophie and Zoë took their wedding picture!) Some of the team were sunburned, as even factor 50 couldn't protect us from the glorious sunshine!
We stopped for a final picture in front of one of many portable Aruba signs, and then said farewell to our brilliant Tour Guides. We headed home in lots of traffic, feeling incredibly happy that we'd had such a wonderful day with our Aruban friends.
Whats coming next?
- Guides/Padvindsters and their +1's training tonight
Ridiculous moments...
- Taking our mini van over some very exciting terrain in the Arikok National Park...
- Alexandra singing in the car whilst stuck in the traffic jam
- Sophie, having had a Lush deodorant bar for 2 weeks, is still not sure how to use it! (Readers, any advice on whether it should be wet or not would be greatly appreciated.)
First stop was to the famous red anchor, which we proceeded to climb all over for photo purposes. We saw the island's prison, and the oil refinery that is currently closed. The views of the sea were absolutely breathtaking and we even saw some brave kite surfers, sharing the sea with strong currents and sharks!
We then visited Baby Beach and were lucky enough to catch the Grade 6 school children learning to swim in the beautiful sea water. We've been in something of a training bubble for the last two weeks, so we were completely bowled over to see the true beauty of the country. There are no words to describe the beach, however, Zoë has created a fantastic 360 picture that is already on our Facebook page. Next we were off to the Arikok National Park to explore the Quadiriki bat caves and drive through some incredible desert scenery!
We stopped by a natural fish foot spa, and there were plenty of giggles and squeals as the largest fish came to clean away our dead skin! The sun was shining and we proudly gifted two of our Aruba badges to our fabulous hosts. We soon broke into singing and spirits could not have been higher!
We headed out of the National Park to grab some lunch at Glenn's Bar. We tried an Aruban Cheese and Cornmeal delicacy called Funchi and it was lovely to chat more with Rose and Eli. After food, we headed to the newly renovated California Lighthouse, which offers astonishing views of the sea all around. (This is also where Sophie and Zoë took their wedding picture!) Some of the team were sunburned, as even factor 50 couldn't protect us from the glorious sunshine!
We stopped for a final picture in front of one of many portable Aruba signs, and then said farewell to our brilliant Tour Guides. We headed home in lots of traffic, feeling incredibly happy that we'd had such a wonderful day with our Aruban friends.
Whats coming next?
- Guides/Padvindsters and their +1's training tonight
Ridiculous moments...
- Taking our mini van over some very exciting terrain in the Arikok National Park...
- Alexandra singing in the car whilst stuck in the traffic jam
- Sophie, having had a Lush deodorant bar for 2 weeks, is still not sure how to use it! (Readers, any advice on whether it should be wet or not would be greatly appreciated.)
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Leaders of the future... Guide sessions begin!
Monday began with frantic planning and resource creation to prepare for an evening of training with the Padvindsters (Guides) and we had to get creative with dinner plans to ensure we were set up with plenty of time! Our team have really developed over the last 2 weeks, and our increased ability to work to challenging or changing deadlines is something we're proud of.
We took the scenic route (Miriam got us very lost!) to Savaneta Padvindsters Club House, which was our first training venue without air conditioning. The outdoor covered space was the best place to train, given the excessive 37 degree heat! Our aims for the session were to empower the girls to have a voice, to provide a space to reflect on what they love about APG, and to think about becoming future leaders, whilst having fun.
The girls loved 'Elephant Football', Thunderation and 'Bon Dia Padvindsters', incorporating a glitter handshake to show how one Guide can spread positive impact into the wider community. Encouraging the girls to think about what makes a good leader, and making sure that they understood that leaders come with different strengths and circumstances, it's the combined effort of different people that make a great Guide unit.
We finished the 4 hour session slightly delirious, rather sweaty and with a reminder for the Padvindsters to bring a friend along with them to our Wednesday evening training session.
What's coming next?
- Our one day off is on Tuesday, and we will be exploring the island with Eli and Rose.
Ridiculous moments:
- Miriam trying to pronounce APG with the Papiamento accent
- Alexandra having to create sandwiches from an empty fridge
We took the scenic route (Miriam got us very lost!) to Savaneta Padvindsters Club House, which was our first training venue without air conditioning. The outdoor covered space was the best place to train, given the excessive 37 degree heat! Our aims for the session were to empower the girls to have a voice, to provide a space to reflect on what they love about APG, and to think about becoming future leaders, whilst having fun.
The girls loved 'Elephant Football', Thunderation and 'Bon Dia Padvindsters', incorporating a glitter handshake to show how one Guide can spread positive impact into the wider community. Encouraging the girls to think about what makes a good leader, and making sure that they understood that leaders come with different strengths and circumstances, it's the combined effort of different people that make a great Guide unit.
We finished the 4 hour session slightly delirious, rather sweaty and with a reminder for the Padvindsters to bring a friend along with them to our Wednesday evening training session.
What's coming next?
- Our one day off is on Tuesday, and we will be exploring the island with Eli and Rose.
Ridiculous moments:
- Miriam trying to pronounce APG with the Papiamento accent
- Alexandra having to create sandwiches from an empty fridge
Saturday, 27 August 2016
Goats, crabs and Venezuelan lightening storms!
Our weekend training sessions are without doubt the most intense, but are also the most rewarding! Today we hosted training sessions for Guides (Padvindsters), existing leaders and those new to Guiding. The pre-session prep was immense. Day 1 has been a great success, as although we saw lower numbers than we hoped, our training hit exactly the mark we were aiming for.
The morning involved a role model themed balloon debate, which challenged participants to choose to save 2 flawed role models from 10 in a sinking hot air balloon! The key aim of the session was to convey that no one person is the perfect role model, we always have something to learn and skills to enhance and grow.
We also ran activities that focused on the unrealistic images of women in the media, talked about coping mechanisms for stress, and we ran another session of Girls Can themed activities. The fabulous resources we have been donated by Girlguiding North East England have been an incredible help; women and girls have bowled us over with their powerful responses.
It has been 37 degrees today in Aruba, and the heat is challenging both for the GOLD team, as well as the Aruban women. Our journey home was very warm, and was delayed by goats roaming in the road! We swam in the sea, watched an astonishing lightening storm light up the sky 20 miles away in Venezuela, and enjoyed watching our Ghost crab neighbours clambering over the beach!
Ridiculous moment of the day:
The realisation that, so far we've broken quite a few things... 4 glasses, the decking, many many pegs, a portable washing line, a hook, a toilet seat, Anne's plug socket and Miriam's elbow skin.
Mountain top moment:
Knowing that the strong bonds we have formed as a team are the fuel for us to deliver training that is receiving great feedback and making the difference that we so passionately want.
The morning involved a role model themed balloon debate, which challenged participants to choose to save 2 flawed role models from 10 in a sinking hot air balloon! The key aim of the session was to convey that no one person is the perfect role model, we always have something to learn and skills to enhance and grow.
We also ran activities that focused on the unrealistic images of women in the media, talked about coping mechanisms for stress, and we ran another session of Girls Can themed activities. The fabulous resources we have been donated by Girlguiding North East England have been an incredible help; women and girls have bowled us over with their powerful responses.
It has been 37 degrees today in Aruba, and the heat is challenging both for the GOLD team, as well as the Aruban women. Our journey home was very warm, and was delayed by goats roaming in the road! We swam in the sea, watched an astonishing lightening storm light up the sky 20 miles away in Venezuela, and enjoyed watching our Ghost crab neighbours clambering over the beach!
Ridiculous moment of the day:
The realisation that, so far we've broken quite a few things... 4 glasses, the decking, many many pegs, a portable washing line, a hook, a toilet seat, Anne's plug socket and Miriam's elbow skin.
Mountain top moment:
Knowing that the strong bonds we have formed as a team are the fuel for us to deliver training that is receiving great feedback and making the difference that we so passionately want.
Friday, 26 August 2016
First Week Reflections
This morning spirits are high, after a fantastic evening with Lula from Guiding in Aruba (APG) at the Carubbian street festival of San Nicolas. Street vendors, colourful costumes and Pastechi were the tonic we needed after a very busy first week! We've been training in Santa Cruz and San Nicolas, and are now being recognised from TV most places we go!Each GOLD project contains the same ethos and passion, but projects vary so much in content and context. For Aruba, we have an audience with fair English, drinking water, WiFi and we've hired a vehicle. Being a first year GOLD project, there are many firsts for our group to experience! We are building a structure that delivers over 3 years, and one that results in the APG progressing from associated to full members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
Our greatest joy in training here is without doubt the incredible feedback we have had at the end of each session so far! So much work hides behind the flow of each session we run, and hearing that it is making a positive impact gives us the energy to continually tweak and improve for the next two weeks. As we get to know Guides and Leaders here, our love for and respect for the women and girls we meet continues to grow.
Ridiculous moments
- Miriam walking in on Sita going to the toilet
- The genuine struggles to open, close and lock all doors in our accommodation.
- Sophie's 'light packing' means the team must scrape together to dress her!
What's coming next?
- We have a huge weekend of training ahead, with existing leaders and their plus ones, and we couldn't be more excited!
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