Bridge Caribbean 2009: Farewell St. Vincent

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Farewell St. Vincent

Greetings from St.Vincent (land of the infamous "Shark Bake Sandwich" yup, shark!) We wanted to update everyone and let you all know that Camp Windsor Mountain 1.0 was a HUGE success! We finished our last day of camp Friday...and what wonderfulweek it was!!! We had no idea how many local kids to expect, but we consistantly had about 100 campers each day (Thursday reached 145!!!) ! We (Kate and Adam) are just thrilled and unbelievably proud of how well this group of students pulled off such an amazing camp (from recruitment to planning & supply shopping to implementing and teaching great classes! What a feat!)

Some of the highlights of this week's camp were:

The Fashion Show Large Group Activity (Breanna and Theo tied for most fabulous outfit designed by a small group of campers)

Romi & Lila's make your own coconut people class was very well-run (& super popular)

Celeste & Jahlil's Kickball/Baseball classes were a HUGE hit, and local kids were thrilled to learn a new exciting game!

Sarah & David are surely our EXPERT game leaders. They taught the campers tons of tag games, relay races and silly ice-breakers.

Arielle's "Feminine side" class was also very well attended...local girls (and boys!) exitedly painted their faces and toenails with the help of Ari's endless enthusiasm!

We were able to make it to the beach a few times this week as well, which has been a great way to cool off and decompress after some crazy/fun days! We also have been eating some wonderful meals down at "Mrs. Black's Shop"....heaping plates of chicken & rice for under $2 USD...!! Visiting the Owia salt ponds was another wonderful experience for all...swimming and hanging out in the salt pools and climbing to the top of a natural rock formation that seperated the salt ponds from the Atlantic ocean was surely filled with "magic moments"

Friday night, the students organized an incredible final banquet to culminate our time on St. Vincent. THey invited everyone we worked closely with over the past few weeks as a thank you...and we spent all night eating and having great conversations with our guests/new friends. we will surely miss St.Vincent and all the amazing people we met there. Today, we said goodbye to our host family, the Cupids..and some tears were shed! But now.............off to BEQUIA!!!

Phone Call Schedule and Mail Stop Information

The Bridge Caribbean campers will be calling home on these dates and times (Eastern Standard Time). Please make sure you are available to receive the calls - we don't want you to miss the chance to hear from them! Call times cannot be rescheduled.

July 1 or 2 (quick call after arriving)
July 10 between 7 and 9 pm (Romi will call home at 9am EST on July 11)
July 19 between 12 and 2 pm
July 29 between 2 and 4 pm (quick call before departing)

You can send mail to the Bridge Caribbean group at:
Windsor Mountain Group
c/o Peace Corps
P.O. 884
New Montrose
Kingstown, St. Vincent

The last day for mail pick up is July 30, please make sure your mail will arrive before then to ensure delivery. Families may send flat letters to the program participants. Place student's name in the bottom right corner of the envelope. Please do not send packages or money.

Meet Your Leaders

Kate Berge

Kate Berge believes that there are no two things that go better together than travel and education, and can be seen spanning the globe, looking for opportunities that allow her to combine these two passions. Kate most recently returned from working on Semester at Sea, a “floating university” study abroad program where she planned programs and events for college students aboard the 800-person passenger ship. She also lead in-country excursions including a Habitat for Humanity program in South Africa, a homestay trip in India, and a volcano hike (where she roasted marshmallows over active lava!) in Guatemala. Kate holds a Masters in Science from Northeastern University in Applied Education Psychology and Counseling and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Ithaca College. Kate is currently living in Boston, MA and is excited for her next great adventure….BRIDGE CARIBBEAN 2009! This will be Kate’s fourth (!) summer with Windsor Mountain and she could not be happier about heading to the Islands with Adam and a group of awesome students! This will truly be an epic summer! (Leaders in Training ’06, Bridge Hawaii ’07 and ‘08).

Adam Aronovitz

Adam has committed himself to education both in and out of the classroom. He currently lives in Boston and teaches 6th grade math and leads an Outdoor Education program at the Mario Umana Middle School Academy in East Boston. He absolutely loves to travel and could not be more excited about being a co-leader on the Bridge Caribbean expedition for the second time. He has traveled extensively across the globe and likes nothing more than truly soaking up the culture in various countries and interacting with the local population. Adam earned his undergraduate degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in the field of International Political Economics and earned his master's degree at London's University of Westminster in International Relations. When Adam is not teaching or traveling or continuing his own education, you can find him participating in any out-of-doors activities from sailing to scuba diving and skiing to backpacking. To replenish his reserves for this high-energy lifestyle, Adam enjoys frequenting the many ethnic eateries in the Boston area, especially the fine establishments in Chinatown. (Bridge Puerto Rico '06, Bridge Mexico '07, Bridge Caribbean ‘08).

Bridge Caribbean 2009

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Farewell St. Vincent

Windsor Mountain Website Information

Blog Archive

Phone Call Schedule and Mail Stop Information

Caribbean Map

What Time Is It In St. Vincent?

Meet Your Leaders

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