A big thunder storm rolled in today and it is pouring rain. Everyone seems to be glad there is some relief from the heat & dryness (sound familiar?). I opted to skip camp today not knowing how long the storm would last and I've been working hard at uploading lots of pictures.
As far as I can tell, no complaints about a boring summer here. The days, while kind of lazy, seem to pass by quickly. Hopefully you can all get a sense of what it's like for the campers at Alliance.
Sergei and Gena in the pool.
Orderly entrance into the pool.
Olga & Julia hanging on the side of the pool.
Sergei's friend Artur.
The dormitories are two story cement buildings. There are ten rooms on each floor with 5 or 6 kids in each. Every day from 1:00-4:00 there is a mandartory rest time. Most of them actually fall asleep. However, in Serger's room, they are usually playing Pokeman on the game boy or talking about FIFA updates.
Sergei has thoroughly enjoyed receiving mail from home. Thank you to all who have written. It has been a fun way to reconnect with many people he met in December, as well as those he will be meeting soon. Next to him is Igor and another Sergei who we refer to as "Game Boy Bob" because he has not looked up in days!!
These kids are all creative and make the most of what they have. The boys have been busy making sling shots from plastic bottle necks and the fingers of latex gloves. Very clever and definitely annoying to the girls.
They also manage to sneak in a workout when ever the spirit moves them. There is playground equipment in most of the parks and all around the school. But who needs equipment when a ladder will suffice. Chin ups, pull ups and push ups keep them in shape.
Below, some of the younger kids are in the lounge of the dormitory. They are pracitcing for a performance. Most nights there is some sort of performance in the auditorium. So far we have seen a celebration of the forest, a evening of romance, a fashion show and the crowning of Miss Alliance. The boys and girls are always working on a routine or some ball room dancing. And..there are always costumes. It is adorable!
Sergei (other Sergei) below is quite the gynmast and breakdancer. It doesn't matter what the ground is like, asphalt, grass or concrete. All he needs is an audience which was usually Craig or me. 
Below we are playing a game called ELEVEN. It took me a few minutes to catch on. Everyone stands in a circle and passes a volley ball. The person receiving the eleventh pass has to bounce (or smash if you are one of guys) it in the center. If you miscount or make a bad shot, you are sent to the center in a crouching position. As the game continues, the owner of the eleventh shot can smash the ball at anyone in the center and if it connects with a person, the entire group is free to come out. Boys and girls play together and the boys show absolutely no mercy...especially our happy go lucky Sergei! 
Many of our camp visits have been been spent sitting on a blanket under a tree. Eventually, just about everyone from the orphanage checks in to say "ha-ll0". We have passed the time doing a little bit of language practice, playing cards, sharing black sunflower seeds or knotting friendship bracelets.
Above, I am sitting with Katia, Tonya, Olga & Dasha. Olga was teaching me how to make oragami segments that will eventually be used to construct a bird. Below, Svetlana (Sveta) is holding a partially completed bird. I have not yet seen the completed project but will sometime this week.
Some outdoor adventure skills were being conducted by the activities director.
This was one of my favorite days. They taught me (not really) a card game called DURAK (means "fool" in Russian). For the life of me, I could not catch on. Of course, no one really explained ANYTHING to me. I knew it involved a trump card but that was all I could figure out. In any event, when I shuffled the cards they were completely fascinated. It defintely drew a crowd. So for the next half hour, we all practiced shuffling the American way. In the meantime, Sergey (translator) has explained the game to me and it will be fun to teach at home so that we can play with Sergei.
Sergei and Sasha playing a game on Craig's blackberry. Everyday, these two would check in with a big smile. Eventually Craig got the message that they were itching to play games with his blackberry and he would oblige.
This picture captures how I will remember my camp visits. Everyone squeezed together, all ages, boys and girls and just hanging around on a blanket under the tree with some peanut m&ms, a journal and a deck of cards.
Perfect picutre of summer. Great times, great friends and overall good memories. I know Ssergei is preparing in his own way to say goodbye to these kids.
Some he has known for many years. Most of the older kids will graduate to a technical school next year. It is sad to say that while they have the opportunity to learn a trade, most will drop out because of the lack of support and supervision.
boys are so cute
ReplyDelete