Camp Memories

Photos and Videos

June 17 to 21, 2013

Friday, June 21: We finished our week together with a "visit" to Sweden with Anton and his daughters Anja and Ellinor, on one of the special days in Sweden, Midsummer Eve. We learned about the many outdoor activities that people in Sweden like to do, the climate, language, land forms, geography, and the Saami people. We made and tried reindeer lassos; weaved together a heart ornament; had a "fika" (a mid-morning snack) of hard bread, cheese, marmalade, chocolate, and lingonberry juice; sang some songs; and heard a story about a strange bird that lives in Sweden. What a great week we have had!

Thursday, June 20: We were privileged to learn about Palestine with special guests Lana, and her sons Shaddy and Rami, who are also campers. We learned about the languages, sports, clothing, arts, pastimes, and a whole lot more. We decorated plates in typical Palestinian fashion and made bookmarks in Arabesque art style; we played three games ("Four Sticks," "Little Bird," similar to hopscotch, and a name game); we tasted spinach pies, sesame candy, a sweet syrupy cake, dates, and a blossom-flavored lemonade; we heard two stories (the origin of the Tales of the Arabian Nights and a story about a man who had trouble with his slippers); and continued creating our scrapbooks. It was another great, full day of Camp!

Wednesday, June 19: Today, we "visited" Guatemala with special guest Susan Mariscal and her husband Seth. She showed us pictures of her country and told us about what is was like for her growing up in Guatemala. We made three crafts ("pica pica" eggs, bracelets, and a stick/ring-catch game), played two games ("pulling onions" and "Toronjil the Bull"), tasted a delicious snack (sugar cookies, baby bananas, flavored corn chips, and guava or tamarind drink), listened to some folktales, and continued working on our scrapbooks.

More photos, from professional photographer Carey Bustard, are available here.

Tuesday, June 18: Today, we headed down under for a visit to New Zealand with special guests Doug, Rosalind, Hannah, and Katie Nyce. The told us about the sports, geography, history, animals, languages, and schools in New Zealand. We made poi and danced with them; we tasted ANZAC biscuits, fairy bread, kiwi fruit (not be be confused with kiwi birds or kiwi, what New Zealanders are called); and we heard some folktales. It was a full day with lots to learn and experience!

Monday, June 17: We started off our week with a trip to Georgia (the country, not the state) with our special guest Niko Chocheli, and his wife, Kristen. He told us all kinds of things about the country where he grew up; we learned how to write our names in the beautiful Georgian script; he taught us a game (similar to dodge ball) that he played when he was young; we tasted cheese bread, grapes, and either tarragon soda, pear soda, or pomegranate juice; and heard lots of short stories, fables, and folktales. Georgia is a country rich in history, arts, and culture, and we are privileged to learn about the country from Niko. We ended our time together by starting our scrapbooks.

More photos, from professional photographer Carey Bustard, are available here.

Listen to Niko say a Georgian tongue twister!

Kids and Cultures Camp 2012

photos by Thaniel, Kristina, and Timm Wenger of Kids and Cultures

Friday, June 15: We finished our week of Camp with a "visit" to Brazil with our special guest Eduardo, an exchange student who studied at McCaskey High School this past year. He told us all about his hometown, school, festivals, endangered species, foods, and more. We decorated Carnaval masks; played two games, "Dona da Rua" (Owner of the Street) and "Gato Louco" (Crazy Cat); and tried pipoca (popcorn), brigadeiro (chocolate treats), and guarana (the favorite soda of Brazil). We finished our scrapbooks and said goodbyes until next year.

We thank all the great campers, wonderful staff, and fantastic guests who made this week the best week of Kids and Cultures Camp yet!

Thursday, June 14: Zipporah (Mama Jotham) joined us today, along with her friends Antonella (Mama Ron), Tim, Paul, Ron, Jotham, Collins, Glenda, and Karen (Mama Dulce), to help us learn about Kenya! We learned about the climate, animals, government, languages, flag, sports, musical instruments, and lots more. We played two games, made bead bracelets, and tasted a delicious snack of papaya, pineapple, mango, mandazis, and chai. One more day of Camp!

Mama Ron makes and sells beautiful beaded jewelry and clothing, some of which is pictured below. Contact her if you are interested in seeing and possibly buying any of her items.

Wednesday, June 13: Today's guest, Gladys (along with her sister Martha), shared about Honduras, where their family is from. We learned about the weather (it's hot!), the schools (kids go to school February through March), the sports (their uncle is a pro soccer player), and holidays (September 10 is children's day when kids have off school, have free admission to movies, and eat for free at restaurants!). We decorated trompos (tops) and made pulseras (bracelets). We tasted tres leches cake, plantain chips, and topogigios (frozen fruit drink). We played rayuela (a version of hopscotch) and las ollitas ("pots"). We heard two stories and finished the day by adding to our scrapbooks.

Tuesday, June 12: Today, our special guest Lenuta Lowery introduced us to Romania, the country where she was born and grew up. She told us about schools, special holidays, the weather, and how things have changed since the country is no longer under Communist rule. She sang a song for us (about rain!), taught us three games, and shared a snack that she had made (peach jelly cookies and fresh squeezed lemonade). We decorated eggs and heard two folktales (one about Noah and one about an impudent rooster). We also continued working on our scrapbooks.

Monday, June 11: We kicked off our week with a "visit" to Iraq, with our guest presenters Medoza and Aritoza. They told us about growing up in Iraq, Kurdish culture, clothing, languages, and what the climate is like. We made a craft with mosaic tiles; learned three games that some children in Iraq play; tasted kulecha (a pastry with cinnamon, sugar, and coconut), dates, and rose water; heard a story about the Arabian Nights; and started our scrapbooks for the week. We're off to a great start!

Kids and Cultures Camp 2011

Friday, June 24: We concluded our week with a "visit" to Afghanistan, with our guest presenter Ghulam Alizada. He told us about growing up in Afghanistan, the languages he speaks, and what his house was like where he lived as a child. He also answered lots of good questions from the campers. He taught us a new way to make paper airplanes and we made a mosaic design. Ghulam taught us a marbles game, a pebbles game, and a "tag" game that he played when he was a boy. We tried tea with cardamom, naan (bread), pistachios, pumpkin seeds, dates, and cookies with pomegranate. We also heard funny stories about Mullah Nasruddin. Thank you, everyone, for a great week!

Thursday, June 23: Today's travels took us to Cuba, a group of islands just south of Florida, with our guest presenter Merci Brill. Merci told us about growing up in Cuba, the history of the country, and what the country looks like. We made yarn people, paper hats, and paper boats; played two running games; tasted three milks cake; heard a folktale about a little cockroach; and listened to some beautiful music performed by Merci and her family.

Wednesday, June 22: We traveled to South Africa today with our guest presenter John Protopapas. He told us about growing up in South Africa and some of the changes that have happened there since he was a child. We had a surprise visit from Tom who brought his djembes, which he and John played (Tom is the husband of Hui-Ling, our Chinese guest from Monday who has been helping out all week). We made and played our own thumb pianos, played dithwai (a herding game with pebbles), tasted scones and rooibos tea, and worked on our scrapbooks.

Tuesday, June 21: Today we headed to the island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, with our special guest, Dr. Chrissi Hart (www.chrissihart.com). She told us about what it's like to grow up in Cyprus, we weaved baskets, played a marbles game and a bean bag and can game, tasted snacks from Cyprus, listened to a true story about a miracle that happened to Chrissi's grandmother (from her book Under the Grapevine), and tried a Greek/Cypriot wedding dance.

Monday, June 20: Camp kicked off with a trip to China with Hui-Ling Singer. She told us about life in the "two Chinas," we made and played with jiantzi shuttlecocks, played Chinese jump rope, learned how to use chopsticks, tried snacks from China, and heard about the 12 animals that each have a year named after them.

Kids and Cultures Camp 2010

We had two weeks of Camp, with guests from Syria, Hawaii, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Haiti, Italy, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and India. Photos by Timm Wenger and Tyler Shiner.

Kids and Cultures Camp 2009

We had guests join us from Poland, The Gambia, Iraq, Nepal, and El Salvador, in our one-week Camp session. Photos by Matthew Lester and Timm Wenger

Kids and Cultures Camp 2008

We had two overlapping sessions of Camp, plus extra sessions, all in one week. The destinations were South Africa, Hawaii, Myanmar (Burma), Italy, and Venezuela.