Hello everyone!
My name is Gleb and I’m thirteen years old. I live in Yaroslavl, and this is my fifth time taking part in the summer camp at MMC. I am a member of the Blue Crew (Water Angels) and I want to share today’s experience with you.
We woke up to a bright sunny morning with so much energy. Today was a special day because one of my teammates was celebrating her birthday. The team prepared a placard with birthday wishes for her. This was done as a secret to surprise her at how we love her. We began the day activities with our usual morning warm up. We cleaned up our rooms after the warmup session and began the day’s activities for each group.
For my group, our first activity was group time where we presented our card to the birthday girl, sang the birthday song for her and congratulated her again. She was really happy! During this group time, we learned the expressions for the day and practiced our motto. After this, we had a very delicious breakfast. The first common meeting for the day began and the whole camp once again sang the birthday song for my teammate and presented her with a mug as a gift for her. We went for our group time after the meeting. At this time, we were to create a story for our team’s name and motto. It was interesting because everyone had nice ideas. Our Captains helped us to put them together.
Right from here, we had sports. The hot sunny weather made it very good for swimming. I joined my friends who wanted to swim, and it was amazing. There were other activities for those who didn’t want to swim. They played table tennis and darts in the Sports hall. After our sports lesson, we went for the English lesson. Wow! Learning English was very fun. We laughed and learned and practiced, improving ourselves. The next lesson was Workshop where we made bracelets with threads. At first, it looked difficult but with the help of our Workshop leader and Captains, we were able to do it in the end. I was so excited to have made such a craft.
We went for lunch and had a nap time. During the nap time, I played ‘Monopoly’ game with my friends. It was a new game for me, but I liked it. After the nap time, we had a common meeting for all groups and then each group met once again to prepare their performance. During our group meeting, we practiced our plot. After we divided among ourselves those to take care of decorations and costumes. We went for snacks and had Stations-at-Options after. It was during this time that we made our decorations in the Shipyard and prepared our costumes. We had a rehearsal one more time on stage to know how we were to perform.
After the rehearsals of all teams, we had dinner and were ready for the main event of the day. Every team showed their performance, and it was so funny and wonderful. We laughed and enjoyed every part we saw on the stage. After the event, we had a candlelight session where we learnt about each other. We had snacks and once again congratulated the birthday girl. We ended the day by sharing the birthday girl her cake. It was very delicious! We went back to our rooms, took a shower and slept. Wow! Today was a fantastic day and I hope tomorrow will also be.
Gleb Ryabtsov,
Water Angels (Blue Crew)
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It is always an amazing experience to be with kids. A lot of people say it makes you childish, but I say it is a great opportunity for one to learn and enjoy his/her early years of life once again. Looking back in one’s life brings back cherishing memories of childhood which can never be recreated because time cannot be reversed. Nonetheless, thanks to the International Youth Camp here at MMC, Nerekhta, we are able to experience these refreshing moments once again.
My name is David Owusu-Mensah, a native English Speaker from Ghana in the western part of Africa, yet I am a proud global citizen. I am a student at the National Research University Higher School of Economics pursuing a master’s degree in Economics and Economic Policy in Moscow, Russia. Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride as I spill the beans on our epic camp adventure from yesterday!
It was amazing to wake up to another refreshing morning here in our camp. You may ask, “what makes this so refreshing?”. It was the birthday of one of my cadets (kids) and her friends had already begun the preparation yesternight as a surprise for her. It was so funny to see how the girls were trying to distract her from trying to know what was going on. They kept watch to make sure they were the first to wake up and congratulate her. This is a family bonding that can’t be easily found, but here at MMC the true saying, ‘…there’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother…’ is brought to light before your very eyes. I was waiting eagerly for this day to witness the feeling and amusement she would put up and lo and behold, it was thrilling and heartwarming. During our first group meeting, the entire team congratulated her and gave her some wishes and the unending smile on her face told it all – a rare gem of true love shared with her.
This year’s camp theme is about an expedition to the Lost Island and our main event today was for each team to introduce its name and motto. Returning from breakfast and our first common assembly, we met for a discussion on our plot. Young cadets collaborated and shared interesting ideas on how to get the work done. It was lovely to see how the kids themselves came to a consensus amidst the differing opinions. This left an indelible mark on me and gave me the hope of a brighter future generation who are eager to work towards one common goal. After this meeting there was sports. The weather was very sunny, making it conducive for swimming. However, I decided to share my time to witness the girls who didn’t want to swim but to cheer up the birthday girl with a different activity. They played table tennis, which our lady of the day was so talented at. Even though the other girls were very good at it, they were so excited playing together laughing through the entire period.
Later, the kids gathered for their English lessons in different groups. It was wonderful to see them at this time so keen to improve themselves with the language. Each person was poised and ready to answer and ask questions. Later, we visited the Shipyard where we made bracelets. The team spirit I witnessed among these cadets was awesome. Every member tried to assist a friend as the task was a little challenging at the beginning. In the end, each person had a bracelet to wear. Right from here, we had lunch and took some time off to rest. Later teams gathered for the group meetings in preparation of the evening’s event. I could feel the enthusiasm in the whole camp as every cadet was exerting their most efforts to honor their team. This continued through other activities of the day such as Stations-at-Options where every team was making decorations and preparing costumes.
Finally, the long-awaited time was here. We enjoyed every bit of the performances displayed by each crew on stage. The most exciting thing was to see how all crews supported each other, an important trait that this world needs to advance itself being demonstrated by these young cadets. How inspiring this is! The day ended with the final birthday celebration for our special lady of the day. We shared a delicious and beautiful cake with her and once again congratulated her.
I must admit that to miss camping at MMC during summer is to miss my favorite adventure of the year full of unforgettable experiences, laughter and bonds that last a lifetime. It is an opportunity you don’t want to pass up. Join us for the next session and create your own cherished memories – you won’t regret it!
David Owusu-Mensah,
Captain of Blue Crew (Water Angels).
