Home!

By now Adam and I have spoken with most of you (and your parents) and you are all safe back at home.

We are busy back at our base here in the beautiful New Hampshire mountains at WMI's International Summer Camp where we have begun writing our student evaluations and finishing all of the other paperwork we need to do. And, of course, Adam ensures that we go swimming in the lake at least once a day! We've been going off the dive tower, doing triangles (distance swims), swinging on the rope swing, and having fun on the lake/bike launch (a ramp that launches a bike and its rider into the lake at high speeds!)

Here is our first completed video! There will likely be more to follow in the coming weeks, so keep checking the blog.

We will also be uploading all of the photos that we took in the next few days, so will share those links with you as soon as they exist!

We hope you are all relaxing and enjoying the rest of your summers!

Goodbye Barrouallie!

Today we said goodbye to our home for the past three weeks, the town of Barrouallie, and packed our stuff up to move to the island of Bequia.

We have gotten to know and love many of the locals in Barrouallie, so it was hard to say goodbye, but we know we’ve made some friendships that will last forever. On Monday night we were invited to the twins’ home (Omora and Somora) for their birthday party, which was a lovely last lime (party) at which to say our farewells. We let loose with plenty of fruit cocktail soda and sparkling grape juice and a gigantic homemade flan prepared by Tania.

Our camp last week went fantastically! It was run at the local secondary school, which is about a 5-minute walk from where we are staying at the primary school. Each of our students was in charge of designing, planning and running one class, and helped out in many others. The schedule was as follows:

Monday
Andy – Pencil Drawing
Kaleigh – Music Making and Singing
Gabe – Capture the Flag

Tuesday
Mike – Card Games
Sade – Makeovers and nail polish / Frisbee Golf
Julia – Gatorball

Wednesday
Jamel – Make Your Own Board Game
Tania – Volleyball
Chris – Football (American)

Thursday
Hanna – Abstract Painting
Margaux – Bracelet Making
Paul – Soccer

On Friday we took a camp-wide field trip to the Northernmost point on the Island, to see one of the most breathtaking places in all of the Caribbean, the Owia Salt Ponds. They are sheltered from the strong waves of the Atlantic by striking volcanic rock and are surrounded on three sides by lush green hills. As the waves from the Atlantic hit the rocks, the salt water washes over the barrier and into the salt ponds, continuously supplying fresh salt water.

We ended camp on Saturday with a beach bash at the beautiful Mount Wynn beach, which is located two towns south of Barrouallie.

Finally this week we have some sad news. We have lost one of our intrepid members. Last Friday Julia was running across the school grounds, stepped on something the wrong way and broke her foot. She will be okay, but Julia, her family, and the trip leaders came to the conclusion that her health was the number one priority, and that the best place for her to heal was at home in Spain. We all miss Julia’s beautiful smiles and warm personality.

We miss you all and hope your summer is as exciting as ours!

We will see you all in just a little over a week. OFF TO BEQUIA!!!

On the way back from Mount Wynn

The whole group at Owia

The spectacular Salt Ponds

More Photos!

Update #2: Student Notes

Bridge Caribbean Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!
Our Caribbean Team is doing great...they are enjoying the rich culture and beauty of their St. Vincent Community and continually growing as a team.

Student Notes:

Margaux - enjoyed hiking La Soufriere, the Island’s Volcano, and learned a lot about the culture at Carnival (both Mardi Gras and J’Ouvert). She also loves “chillaxing” (chill + relax) and our sunset swims at the dock. We’re proud of the way she really brings the group together and tries to involve everyone!

Chris - Overcame his fear of heights in climbing a steep patch of rocks on a hike to Dark View Falls. He surprised us with pizza as a treat for Jamel’s Birthday, and in the process, accidentally discovered how to make play-dough! Chris is doing a great job integrating himself into group life.

Gabe – Enjoyed the volcano hike. He is also learning to understand the local dialect, island patois. It sounds like English, but it really takes a while to get the hang of it. Go Gabe! He also loves to care for and play with our adopted group mutt, Moose Face.

Tania – Has a soft spot for the local babies. She has stepped out as a group leader, modeling respect, and volunteering to do whatever needs to be done. She’s also learned that when you set your mind to something, you can achieve anything.

Julia - Gets along well with everyone in the group, and loves exploring new parts of the Island. She also boogied down dancing at J’Ouvert.

Sade - Enjoyed talking to the local park ranger, Leon, on the hike up the Volcano. She had a blast shopping (for both camp supplies and souvenirs) in Kingstown. We’ve also been blessed that she is a great listener for the group members.

Paul-Antoine – Is getting to know the rest of the group better, definitely improving his English, and making us all laugh with his silliness. He had fun playing in the waterfalls at Dark View Falls. He has also been stepping up in the last week to help with a lot of the cooking and other group chores.

Jamel - Got a Snow Tiger cake for his birthday and really loved it (see picture)! (Snow Tigers being a creature discovered at Carnival that the group has turned into a mythical figure). He enjoyed some downhill sprinting in the rain with Mike, and is making his leaders proud in the swimming department: he is starting to get the hang of the front crawl.

Hanna: Really enjoyed the Volcano hike. She learned a lot about Kingstown by exploring during supply shopping for camp. She wants everyone to know her name is spelled without an “H” at the end! She has become a team role model and the other members of the group look up to her.

Andy - likes to explore different parts of the island, and is always willing to lend a hand with tasks/activities/chores. He takes a leadership role in getting things done and motivating the group.

Mike - Was the first to the top of the Volcano during the hike. He is learning to play (and love) Backgammon. He showed us his dance moves at the Carnival (J’Ouvert), and really likes the adopted group mutt, Moose Face.

Kaleigh – Also enjoyed dancing at J’Ouvert, and clearing her mind by taking waterfall showers at Dark View Falls. We have also enjoyed the way she shares her personal experiences and enlightens the group to different ways of life.

Remember to keep checking the Blog for updates on the team by our leader Kelly Morr. Your next student call home will be on Saturday the 19th of July, and be looking for the next email update in your inbox on Tuesday, July 22nd.

The Week in Review

It's been a crazy week here in St. Vincent. We've seen many of the natural wonders of the Island. We toured Dark View Falls, an amazing two-tier waterfall in the north of the Island, and we hiked La Soufriere, a 7-mile hike with a 3.5 mile, 3000 foot ascent (we were shocked to find that after walking through a tropical rain-forest for two hours, it was actually quite cold and misty at the summit.)

We've also been learning more about the culture here on the Island. We've made friends with many of the local children, and have become particularly close with the twins Umore and Somore. Their family has been kind enough to invite us to lunch the past two Sundays, and they have cooked us some amazing local chicken and fish dishes. We've also been experiencing Vincey Mas, both in Kingstown and our local village, by dancing to crazy Soca music and just enjoying the jovial atmosphere.

This morning we started our Friendship camp with local youths! The camp is set up at the local high school, which is a short walk from where we're staying (at the primary school.) We were a little nervous at first when no one had showed up 15 minutes after start time. 30 Minutes after start, however, they began to appear. Apparently, because it was raining many of the local students didn't leave their houses on time. The first day of camp turned out to be a great success!

Kaleigh shared many America folk songs during her music class, Andy impressed us all with his artistic abilities during his pencil drawing class, and Gabe shared his energy and enthusiasm for a camp-wide game of Capture the Flag.

The rest of the week, the rest of our group will be sharing their wonderful and diverse talents with us and the local community, culminating with a big community beach-bash on Saturday.

We miss you and hope all is well at home!

Enjoy a few pictures of our adventures: (There are several more uploaded on our flickr account, as well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27923306@N02/

Hello from Barrouallie!

A quick hello from all of us! We moved from Kingstown to Barrouallie (pronounced Bar-uh-lee, preferably with a Caribbean accent). on the 3rd, and have been living in the primary school here in town. We have been planning for our summer camp, which starts on July 14th, as well as been interacting with the local community (especially the children), and exploring the natural beauty of the Island through sunset swims at the warf, and excursions to local waterfalls. Tomorrow we are planning on hiking up the island's volcano!

On Monday and Tuesday we took excursions back into Kingstown (it's about a 40 minute drive from our town) to celebrate Vincey Mas. Monday was J'ouvert, which was a huge dance party in the streets with face/body painting and Soca music. Tuesday was Mardi Gras, and featured a costume competition and parade, with eye popping, colorful costumes.

We miss everyone at home and hope you are having as wonderful a summer as we are!

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Update # 1: Friendship Camp Preparation

Bridge Caribbean Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!
We apologize for the slight delay in this our first update. Our Bridge Caribbean leaders inform us that our team is readily enjoying the St. Vincent community and making friendships fast.

And now from the leaders…

Orientation 7/1- 7/2: hmmmm...first night, we played some games including something called the dance move name game. The following day we explored Kingstown, and the students explored the central vegetable market and found fruits they had never seen before. We also talked with the very informative Peace Corps volunteers about the island and its cultural issues, and had time to relax and enjoy Indian Bay beach.

Barrouallie 7/3 –7/9: We have been hanging with the local kids a ton and every night we get to watch the sunset with our Caribbean community at the wharf. We hiked to Wallibou Waterfalls on Sunday and on Monday we caught the very lively Vincy Mas in Kingstown.

Tomorrow we plan to hike to the beautiful La Soufriere Volcano on the north of the island. You can follow this link for a little more info and to see what we will see: http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/stvincent/soufriere_vin.html

Student Notes:

Hannah - Is fascinated with Caribbean culture and is taking every opportunity to learn and bond with our St. Vincent friends. She is impressed with the simple lifestyle of St. Vincent and the contentment with which people live.

Margaux - has become an essential part of the group through her team building skills and by keeping an eye out for the morale of everyone. She challenges the team to do their best and keeps us laughing. The other day she amused the whole group with her funny faces during a staring contest with Mike.

Andy - is well liked among the group. Recently he has been learning to swim. He went out with Adam and even swam a few strokes without life jacket! He also had his first experience attending a religious meeting when we went to a church service.

Tania – Fell in love with Indian Valley Beach and was impressed by St. Vincent hospitality. She has been a great help translating for Julia (our student from Spain) and has taught our group a little Spanish in the process. We have been impressed with her mature reflections on our experience.

Mike – Mike and Margaux’s staring contest continues to be a highlight on our trip. And Mike keeps us infused with the Windsor Mountain Spirit by sharing his ideas and energy with the group. The other night he made us all an amazing Mango Chili.

Paul-Antoine - Is teaching French to the local kids and enjoyed an opportunity to speak on the radio at the radio station. The radio guys joked with him in French and he responded in English. He also impressed us by teaming with Margaux to cook a great dinner of chicken and rice with a French sauce. Yum.

Sade - Had a great time at J’ouvert at Vincey Mas. She is an excellent team member and builds relationships quickly. She is also very good with the St. Vincent children and she reached out to comfort Moses (a little boy in our friendship camp) when he was feeling bad.

Gabe - Loved our expedition to the Wallabu Water Falls. He has great energy and had a gymnastics competition with several of the kids. We have also noticed his long late-night philosophical conversations with many members of the group

Kaleigh – Is Windsor Mountain songs and music to St. Vincent by teaching the guitar to the St. Vincent children. She is also expanding her culinary palate and trying new things, mixing her food more! She also loved our MMT in Barrouallie.

Julia – Loves the sights and sounds of our community. She has been taking sunset swims and trying lots of new Caribbean fruits

Jamel – Was really excited about his first time ever on an airplane and loved having the window seat on the trip from San Juan to St. Vincent. He is always smiling, keeping us cheery and joking with the group. He loved exploring Kingstown during Vincey Mas and he found a Snow Tiger costume!

Chris - Kept our energy up on the flight down and has been teaching the other students new techniques in the kitchen. He was initially having some trouble adjusting to group dynamics, but seems to be doing much better and really enjoying his time here.

Over the next two days our team will continue to final preparations for friendship camp. All students will call home tomorrow night, so you can hear some of the great stories yourselves!

Kingstown!

We all made it safe and sound to Kingstown, St. Vincent. We will be here for orientation for two days, before moving on to Barrouallie (pronounceed Bao-relly) to start setting up our summer camp.

If you need to get in touch with us for any reason, please contact the windsor mountain summer travel office at:
1-800-862-7760. They will know how to get in touch with us, and will do so as soon as possible!

Students will be calling home for just a short check in today (if they did not do so last night). Our next call home date is July 10th.

Hope you all are having a fabulous July thusfar, we will continue to post on here as often as possible, so check back for updates!

Orientation Pictures!

A glimpse of leader orientation at Base Camp in Windsor, New Hampsire:

More Pictures!

Small Things to Bring + email address + music

Thing 1:

Adam and I are in the middle of making phone calls to each and every one of you to make sure all of our travel plans are coordinated and everyone is psyched. If you haven't heard from one of us already, you should be getting a call in the next few days.


In the meantime, if you want to get ahead of the game, here are a few small things that we would like for you to bring:

• 10 camp ideas


• 2 quotes


• a small item that represents your home town or culture that you don't mind trading away


• good, sturdy shoes for hiking


• a bowl, cup, and silverwear


• at LEAST one recipe (each student will be head chef at least twice)

Thing 2:

If you have any questions before the trip leaves, or want to send us something, we now have an official trip email address! BridgeCaribbean@gmail.com


Thing 3:

Reminder that you are NOT allowed to bring ipods, mp3 players, or other personal listening devices with you on the trip. We are putting together a mix playlist, though, so feel free to email a few of your favorite songs to us and we'll add them to the list!

We are very photogenic

Hi!

Packing List Updates

You should have received a packing list in the mail several weeks ago. There are two major things that need to be added to it:

• Sleeping bag (preferably light weight; it does not get very cold at night in the Caribbean)


• Sleeping pad (foam, inflatable, other all fine, as long as it is compact (no air mattresses))

In addition, Adam and I are requesting that you bring a small trinket/token that represents your home town/community. This should be something that you are comfortable trading away.



14 more days!

-Kelly & Adam

Kelly's Leader Letter

Hello Tripees!

Wow, when did it get to be June? The recent weeks have blown by in a gust of twelve-hour workdays, sweeps week evenings, and Saturdays spent slowly accumulating my trip gear and a (barely) passable base tan on the beaches of Los Angeles. Earlier today I flipped open my calendar and realized I would be heading back to New Hampshire for leader training in a mere five days! The excitement of my second Windsor Mountain trip finally landed (along with the realization that I have a lot of laundry, cleaning, and packing to do this weekend.)

I grew up in Denver, Colorado, where I spent my youth hiking in the Rocky Mountains, skiing world-class mountains, and going on bike trips through the desert southwest. I was the bane of my mother’s housekeeping abilities, as I was constantly working on new crafts and projects, and leaving my masterpieces (and messes) scattered about every room in the house.

Between my junior and senior year in high school I discovered an amazing program that would allow me spend the summer studying theatre and traveling around Europe. I jumped on the chance to go, thus beginning my love-love relationship with Windsor Mountain, and my addiction to travel, exploration, and adventures (I think this is what Adam calls “itchy feet.” Glad to finally have an official diagnoses, because I’ve been putting off seeing the doctor for years.) This year marks my second summer at Windsor Mountain, and my first as a leader. I am thrilled to share this amazing experience with you!

I spent my undergraduate years at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where I majored in Film and Television Studies, Modified (with philosophy, sociology, psychology, and theatre.) When not in class, I was a member of the improv comedy troupe, Casual Thursday, and a competitor on the nationally ranked Dartmouth Figure Skating Team.

For the past three years I have been living, teaching, tutoring, writing, working weird jobs, and accumulating “Hollywood” stories in Los Angeles, California (between adventures, of course.) I recently optioned my first screenplay, and this fall I will begin working towards my Masters degree in writing at the University of Southern California.

As the weeks, days, hours, and minutes count down to our departure, I’m sure you’re becoming more and more anxious and excited. As Adam mentioned, it would be fantastic if you could start thinking of ideas for our summer camp. Additionally, one of the important aspects of a Windsor Mountain trip is group living – we will all be taking care of each other this summer, including chores and cooking. If you could each find, practice, and learn at least one delicious recipe to share with the group before July, our taste buds will thank you!

Finally, I have the pleasure of telling you that our trip has been selected by Windsor Mountain to create a special project – a video blog (vlog?) documenting our time in the Caribbean! You will all be responsible for planning, shooting, and editing short videos/documentaries/dramas/comedies/etc about our adventures. We will be posting our videos online at http://bridgecaribbean2008.blogspot.com/ (bookmark it so your parents can find it easily!) Adam and I will also be using this site to bring you pre-trip updates, so check early and check often!


The memories from my first Windsor Mountain summer (as a student) are fresh in my mind. Eight years later I am still in touch with every single member of my trip. Each and every one of them is doing something unique and interesting with their lives, from studying Shakespeare in London, volunteering in Patagonia, working for women’s rights in the Ukraine, juggling professionally, and interning at Rolling Stone magazine.

This summer you will meet a group of diversely amazing young people, face and overcome extreme challenges, and grow into the person you will become. Are you excited yet?!


Most amiably, sincerely, and long-windedly yours,


Kelly Morr

Adam's Leader Letter

Greetings Bridge Caribbean Participants!!!


My name is Adam Aronovitz, and along with Kelly Morr, I will be leading Bridge Caribbean 2008 this summer. Our group has an entire month to experience the glorious beauty and culture of St Vincent & The Grenadines! I am sure you are as excited as Kelly and I are for this summer, and I would love to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself.

I grew up in the Boston area, spending my early years in Newton and the majority of my youth in a town called Sudbury, Massachusetts. I spent my undergraduate career at Tulane University in the majestic city of New Orleans where I fell heads-over-heels in love with the jazz, the magnificent food, and the unique culture of New Orleans and its inhabitants. I majored in International Political Economics, investigating the realities between international governance, the international marketplace, and all the invisible behind-the-scene forces that govern our international community.

I had a life-changing experience during the fall of my senior year. I enrolled in a study abroad program called Semester at Sea. For 100 days I lived and studied on a ship while circumnavigating the globe. Our ports of call were Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, and Cuba. I could spend years recounting my adventures but highlights included everything from volunteering at orphanages in Vietnam, India, and Kenya to seeing Fidel Castro speak in Cuba. Since this voyage I have constantly been seeking out opportunities to immerse myself in the unbelievable offerings of our planet. You could say that I have had “itchy feet” ever since.

Since I graduated from Tulane I earned a Masters Degree in London and I am currently teaching math and outdoor education at a middle school in East Boston. My school is a fascinating place. 70% of the student population is from Latin America and I really enjoy learning about their rich cultures and introducing them to the natural world through the outdoor education program that I designed.

This is my third consecutive summer with Windsor Mountain. In the summer of 2006 I led a trip to Puerto Rico which was an incredible experience. The highlights of this program were volunteering at a rainforest reforestation project and surfing on the West Coast of Puerto Rico. In the summer of 2007, I led Windsor Mountain’s Bridge Mexico trip in the Huasteca region of Central Mexico. This program had a very strong community service component. One of the highlights of my time on our fine, fine planet was organizing a ‘Medical Brigade’ last summer for indigenous communities in Mexico that had no access to medical care.

As the school year begins to wind down I find myself thinking more and more about our upcoming adventures in the Caribbean. We will all be taking this journey together soon and we will have an opportunity to talk before the expedition about certain details. In the next month try to spend some time thinking about your personal goals for our journey--what do you hope to get out of this program and more importantly, what do you hope to leave behind in the Caribbean?? As you know, a huge piece of our expedition involves designing, implementing, and running a summer camp program for the children of St. Vincent. Please be prepared with AT LEAST 10 ideas for activities that you could lead as part of the summer camp program. These could include games, songs, arts and crafts activities, and just about anything. Be creative!! Enjoy the rest of your school year; I look forward to meeting all of you!!!


Amor y Paz,

Adam Aronovitz