It did not snow this week! But that meant it was free rein for mosquitoes, and they certainly took advantage. After significant scratching, I decided to count my bites. Forty-one. I have forty-one mosquito bites. That is a personal record. I have never seen so many mosquitoes at one time. Right now, my itchiness is leading me to prefer the snow.

This week presented many challenges, some of which turned out well, others were just plain challenging. The mosquitoes are atop my list. I also completed my first ever “swamp run”. To do this, I had to help kids run through the swamp, across shoulder-deep ditches, through thick mud and sticks and bushes. This was a new experience that I would not have done on my own, and probably won’t ever do again. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it, though. This week was exhausting. Our days started with a staff meeting at 6:30AM, and ended with another small group staff meeting that ended between 10:30 and 11PM. I enjoy working hard and being busy, but I was under the impression that CFE would be more along the lines of working 5-10 hour days (not 16). This week also presented me with the challenge of dealing with my fear of heights. My group did the high ropes, during which I had to clip and unclip kids along the cables. I did not enjoy walking across a tight rope, fifty feet in the air, but I am glad I did it. The high ropes course ended with a zipline down from the top of a very large tree. It was terrifying climbing up and getting ready to jump off the platform. My legs were very shaky. But zipped down to the ground was really fun, and again, I am glad I did it. The final challenge for me was the food. The food prepared was good, and adequate, but I really enjoy cooking for myself. I enjoy eating certain types of foods, and avoiding others. It seemed that the foods I tend to avoid were quite common this week.

Despite these challenges, I learned a lot at Educo. I really like their emphasis on environmental sustainability. I would like to take that back with me when I return to the classroom. As well, I now have a few more little games and icebreakers that I can use to get to know my students, and to help them get to know each other.