Don't blink, for you might miss a magical moment

Wow! It's been an unbelievable 2 months in the field! What a wonderful adventure ending with an adorably thoughtful send off from our team here in Cambodia, complete with homemade super staff awards, a framed photo from our modeling shoot, and a NHCC tshirt...all to remind us we are a part of their special family. Such an honor and a dream to witness camp lotus and be part of their magic.
There is a camp-time continuum where the days go by fast but when you look back, things feel like forever ago...June 14th feels like last year yet I have so many vivid memories of the past 8 weeks...being a part of our first year program in Botswana, going on safari, eating kudu and baby duck eggs (tasty, just can't think about it), toilet paper tosses, LT modeling shoots, lightning plans, epic stage nights, the most adorable little humans, Cape Town, sprinting through airports, colleagues and friends that fill my heart with so much love and my life with so much happiness.
To those back home, get ready 'cause here I come! Thank you for your love and support from afar and I look forward to sharing stories and catching up.
Enjoy the photos, a compilation of my favorites!
Love
Mary

Good to be back!

Today is day 7 in Phnom Penh, where I am back for training and camp programming. We had a great week with the leadership team and they are so prepared. They have been planning and preparing for camp since May and have the camp prep list all checked off (this is not typical!) The team is young so there will be opportunities to build their leadership capacity and management skills, which I am very excited about. I also hear this is a really special program with a strong family vibe and deep connections so I can't wait to see it and be part of it!

Today is our off day and we are spending a portion lounging by the pool! We'll do a little exploring in Phnom Penh and try a new restaurant for dinner. Tonight, I'll catch up in some documents and emails as well as Skype with family back home.

This place is so friendly, pleasant and relaxing....ahhhhh :)

M

Quick one from Abu Dhabi

Hi all,
Just a quick update before my flight to Bangkok (one step closer to Cambodia!) For the past week, I had a wonderful Cape Town adventure that included Stellenbosch (South Africa's Napa valley), Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a massage, Simon's Town (penguins), the Cape of Good Hope, and a heck of a lot of laughs! Traveling solo is empowering but traveling with a buddy is SO much better...thanks, Hil.

Fun facts we learned along the way: the ocean south of Africa is actually the India Ocean, not the Arctic. Also, the penguins in Cape Town are not from Antarctica...sad, I know. Elevation of Table Mountain is about 3,500 feet and it has a rotating cablecar, one of 3 in the world, that can take up to 65 passengers at one time. We stayed at a great place, Hippo, off of Kloof Street and I recommend it to anyone!

Enjoy the photos and I'll be posting again soon,
Mary

So long Gabs, hello Cape Town!

Woo-eee! What a day it has been! Two days ago, on July 11th, Camp Hope Botswana finished its 2013 season serving 100 campers! We had a successful departure day and then debrief meetings with the staff and leadership team. In the evening the SeriousFun team celebrated at News Cafe where I had eggs Benedict and the world's best hollandaise sauce-no lie. It was an early night and we all slept in, getting about 12 hours sleep--that's the end of camp for ya! We went for a buffet breakfast at Mma Ramotswe's tea room and tooled around Main Mall looking for crafts and souvenirs. Around 3 we left for the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, about 30 minutes outside downtown Gabs. There we went on a great evening game drive (saw rhino incl. a baby, giraffe, hyena, zebra, warthog, eland, hippo, and wildebeest) and had a grand finale dinner. Hilary was finally able to order gluten free pasta, Zac and I enjoyed $3 Windhoeks (note they were .5 liters) and the girls had amazing butternut soup! It was such a nice way to celebrate the last month and soak up the last moments in Botswana.

Now onto today! It was sad to say goodbye and we had to say it to Zac first, who had a flight at 1 pm. The 3 girls had some downtime since our flight didn't leave until 4:30 so Hilary and I got some extra layers for Cape Town and we found a wifi cafe to do some work. At the airport, right as we thought we'd be boarding, we find out the plane has a hole...somewhere, and we are delayed 2 hours. This wasn't much of a problem for Melissa since her flight from Joburg was at 11 pm but for Hilary and I, it meant we'd miss our connection to Cape Town. Fortunately though, we made it! After a vwry quick goodbye to Melissa, lots of sprinting, sweating, telling the SA Airways people they are ridiculous, and dropping over $250, we sat safely on the plane. Everything shut down as soon as we had gone through; ticket counter, bag check in, security checkpoint! When we got on the flight, we were both in middle seats but the nice lady next to me offered to move and let Hilary sit there. She reminded us that there are good people in this world! Once we relaxed, the flight was great; wine, chicken curry, and some solid girl chat. When we arrived at the airport, so did our bags (thank goodness) and the driver from the hotel was waiting...to take us to the most amazingly awesome and affordable boutique hotel in Cape Town, complete with Mexican and Thai restaurants right downstairs, heated bathroom floors, speedy wifi, and a bath tub! Oh and by the way, Table Mountain is unbelievable..you look left and see the far of a mountain, you look right and see the ocean. I am in love and it isn't even daylight :)

Enjoy the photos from the last days in Gabs and keep it classy state-side,
Mary

PS Zac got us all elephant figurines to thank us and always remind us of this trip...quite possibly the cutest thing ever (see photo, sideways)

Camp Hope 2013 Staff Training

It is in the books! Yesterday we had our closing with 23 wonderful, super energetic staff and on Sunday we will all welcome the campers! The days were long (yet it flew by) and the staff learned a lot of new concepts, but their energy never let up. They were all appreciative of the new techniques they learned for working with children and many shared this during nightly colour group chats. The local Leadership team members did really well taking the lead on the training sessions with our support planning and co-facilitating. A solid foundation has been laid and will continue to be built up over the next two weeks!

The food at camp is so-so, nothing to write home about though, which is why we were really craving western food last night. The whole week we were looking forward to the Mugg & Bean and it certainly satisfied, especially the chocolate cake at the end :)

Photos below include the packed camp van, all of our flip charts showing all that we accomplished during the ST week, and the cake!

Stay cool,
Mary

Camp Hope Leadership Team training

Hi all,
We just finished a fabulous training week with our leadership team in Botswana! This is our first year partnering here and we have really set off on the right foot together, connecting quickly and discovering the best ways to support each other to make camp magic happen. The team had done so much work leading up to this past week, recruiting 24 staff and over 100 campers for 2 sessions. On Monday morning they brought so much energy and enthusiasm to our little apartment 'training center' aka the living room! That first morning set the tone for the entire week and hopefully for all of camp programming. We are all aware that bumps in the road will happen and we are prepared to get through them together. The theme we have taken on is Botho, which essentially means 'I am because we are.' The idea is that no man is an island and we are a person through the people around us. This theme was the first instance of the Camp Hope team infusing their culture and they continued to do this all week with songs and cheers (kilos), making this program theirs!

Our little SeriousFun team is getting on great, too. It's not always a joy dealing with things like no hot water, confusing washing machines, funky tasting ketchup, unfriendly locals, and the smell of burning trash, but with these 3 it's so entertaining and we laugh together like its our one and only job! Below are a few pictures including our team (Melissa, Hilary, Zac) and our camp director here, B2.

Hope everyone is well back in the states, happy solstice!!
Mary

PS Friday night dinner included an absolutely amazing DJ by our table (maybe a bit too close)--he was gooood! Picture below..

Camp Hope Botswana

Hi all,
The Epic Afrasian Adventure is underway! This afternoon our little SeriousFun team met up at JFK and had a great time getting to know each other. Sadly, we had to split at 4:30, three going to terminal 4 and myself heading to terminal 8. My itinerary starts later but I actually arrive in Botswana first--silly flight paths!

Spending more than enough hours in JFK int'l airport, I've realized 3 things about the place:
1. Food is crazy expensive! $10 for a pretzel dog and soda (no worries, I didn't get this)
2. The water bubblers have zero water pressure
3. No wifi

Fortunately I have a really good book and don't mind having lots of thinking time :)

First stop, Qatar,
Mary

Grand Finale #1

This is going to be short and sweet. Basically because there are so many emotions spinning through me right now, that it is going to take 20 hours in a plane to put them into words.

I have been in Asia for 6 weeks. This is the longest I have been away from home.

I have visited 3 different countries. This is the biggest adventure I have ever been on.

I have made new friends (lifers, for sure). This may be my favorite thing to do in the world.

I have supported, cared for, and praised others and I have been inspired, loved, and encouraged. This is proof that the power of positivity is real.

I have experienced overwhelming feelings of excitement and pride, invigorated by this incredible work--the achievement it allows for and the challenges it presents me. This is why I love my job.

I have gained new perspectives and connected with people from all different backgrounds. This is the beauty of being human.

I have laughed, cried, and sweated record amounts. This is better than it sounds :)

I leave Asia, a continent I never thought I'd visit, with a new sense of purpose, a rekindled love of humans, greater independence, and a whole lot of happiness to share with this world!

Spreading my love,
Mary

PS the photo is of my first solo facilitation at leadership team training in Vietnam, a personal magic moment.

Final days in Vietnam

After completing a most successful week of leadership team training with our super impressive, high capacity, thoughtful Camp Colors of Love team, our little SeriousFun team is enjoying our last day together doing a food tour and some site seeing. We've stopped at a cafe with wifi (which is free everywhere here) so I thought why not update the blog...
Here is a top 10 list of the past week:
1. The CCL team shared some wonderful TLC and deep thinking this week, as well as crazy fun (pic)
2. I don't fit in bathroom doorways here (pic)
3. The camp site is a beautiful resort, with some nice landscapes by the river (pic)
4. This week we have consumed more than a dozen cafe su das each, and we talked about it all the time...leading to an amazingly thoughtful gift from the CCL team, a coffee filter and special coffee to make cafe su da at home! (Pic)
5. Sally sells...sea snails by the Saigon roadside (pic)
6. Saw my first real scorpion...fortunately it was dead (pic)
7. With the incredible support of teammates Chrissie, Haley, Petra, Sofi and Tim over the past several weeks, I facilitated my first leadership team training session all on my own! Thank you all for helping me check that off my fellowship bucketlist! (2 pics of the teammates)
8. I can't believe I've been in Asia for 6 weeks! (Pic)
9. I've gained so many new perspectives, realized I CAN travel for weeks and weeks, and made many new friends, connecting with people all over the world :) #lifeisincredible
10. Looking forward to reuniting with friends and family back home in the states and catching my first Sox game of the summer...

Lots of love
Mary

Cambodia in a nutshell!

I'm realizing that I haven't been very good about blogging from Phnom Penh--there's been a lot of catching up with 'office work,' some exploring and some relaxing! During the past few days, we have had an inspiring visit to New Hope for Cambodian Children's Village, where we hold Camp Lotus, including seeing many of their sustainability projects (and piglets!) and on Thursday and Friday we had planning meetings for camp. Friday afternoon we made a trip to the killing fields and the genocide center. It was heavy but I'm glad we went. The adorable place we stayed at was very relaxing and the afternoon refreshers in the pool were always welcome! The hotel also had some friendly kitties. On Tuesday and Friday we went out with a few members of the camp team and it was wonderful getting to know them as I'll be back for camp in July! Throw a couple massages in the mix, some great meals at training restaurants for youth, and a trip to a Cambodian discotech, and the trip is complete :) enjoy the visual blog!
Off to Ho Chi Minh for the last leg of the Amazing Asian Adventure! Lots of love
Mary

A goodnight from Vietnam

We arrived safe in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) around 4 or so and were greeted at the airport by Letter from our camp leadership team (and her precious little nephew). Then we went to the hotel and were there barely 5 minutes when Quyen, camp director, called from the lobby. This camp team makes you feel like a camper when they welcome you to their country, leading to instant love!

Next up, iced cafe suda (sp?) which is coffee with condensed milk aka coffee magic. We had great talks about camp and such, didn't take long to realize how smart, mature, and impressive Quyen is...im.press.ive. For dinner I had my first bun cha experience, amazingness in the form of noodles, pork, and fresh greens. Tim and Hales really talked it up, for good reason!

Sleepy time,
Mary