AFS Volunteer "Fadderkompis" Fall 2009
Our whole family has become a support family for a girl named Guitar this year. The job description is slightly different from "fadderkompis" but the core is still the same. We are still there to support her through hardships in her year abroad. Guitar has stayed at our house a few days every now and then as she has had problems with her family, and we've also taken her to a harvest festival at Wiks slott and other "exotic" activities. She's helped us pick rowan berries to make jelly and we've made her a birthday cake (which in the end was ruined, so we had to buy one, but it's the thought that counts!) I've had some contact with her over e-mail as well, discussing what she can do about every day issues such as not understanding the bus system for the "lantisbussarna". She even calls me her "sister" which I find very flattering!
Dancing Oct 1st 2009, Oct 7th 2009
- Increased awareness of your strengths and areas for growth
- Undertaking new challenges
- Develop new skills
According to our CAS supervisor in year 2, "Planned and initiated activities" was automatically an outcome whenever you joined a new activity so I put that down as an outcome again.
Dancing in a group like you do in Street Dance definitely enhances "Working collaboratively with others" because we have to dance in relation to what the others do, if we just dance whatever it won't look good on stage! Also "Show perseverance and commitment" is something that is related to learning all these moves and then fulfilling it by performing them on stage at the end of the course. We have to practise a lot before that day comes!
Jogging September - October 12th
AFS camp leader June 12th 2009
The second camp I was a leader for was a whole lot bigger than the first one. This camp had around 80 parcipitants and we had to keep track of them all! Once, we had to wake up in the middle of the night and chase some guys out of the swimming pool. (They'd decided to take a midnight swim, but the pool was closed!) It was harder to be a leader this time because I was an actual leader and not just a helper, sort of. It's pretty hard to have authority over 80 kids just a couple of years younger than myself! It went relatively well, however, since some did respect me and saw me as someone in an "authority position"! Getting some of the kids talking and discussing was just impossible, during one of the discussions I led I had a really quiet group and I pretty much had to direct every question at one person in particular.
Friskis och Svettis February - March 2009
Anyway, Friskis and Svettis overall was kind of fun. No body was very good at it which in some ways made it all the more fun because there was no pressure. It really helped me get going after my medical issues again, slowly but surely. It took a few weeks and I was completely back on track again. Since there really is no pressure to be at the same level as all the others who go to Friskis and Svettis I could take my own time and only do the stuff that didn't hurt, or quit when I got uncomfortable.
IB news paper 21/1-09
BFG 28/1-09
Friskis och Svettis 16 and 28/1-09
AFS camp leader 9 to 11/1-09
I learnt a whole lot, herding the soon to be exchangers all weekend. I learnt that I can be polite but commanding, and be taking seriously too!, if I set my mind to it. I don't particularly like ordering people around, but I can get them to listen to me. Beatrice, the other new camp leader, and I helped the more experienced leaders and didn't take as much responsibility but we were mainly there to support and learn since we were both new to this. This is my third assignment as an AFS voluteer, the other two have been "support buddy" and sort of a PR-person. I really liked interacting with the Swedish exchnage students too, before it's only been the foreign ones and the possible ones. Some of the things we talked about during the camp was culture shock, how to handle adjusting to a new culture including language and values etc. How to deal with differing values was a big deal, I shared my experiences with homophobes and racists in foreign cultures. The point wasn't to scare them but rather (as was the point of the whole camp) to give them realistic expectations. The whole camp stretched from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.
AFS Volunteer "Fadderkompis" 29/12-08
Friskis och Svettis 7/12 2008
Open House 26/11 2008
Friskis och Svettis 1/12 2008
IB News paper and Musical meeting 20/11 2009
Yesterday I put together my first article for the IB Board. It's about travelling, and I decided to focus on the Strip in Las Vegas. I've never been involved in a school paper before and I don't know if journalism has any special rules or whatever, but hopefully I'll learn as I go. This time I figured out that finding sources takes way more time than actually writing the thing, for example. I met the deadline (or rather, I handed in the article before Gabby started nagging on me to get it done).
Friskis och Svettis 10/10 - 6/11 2008
- Oct 14, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Basic workout - not in the log because of computer crash
- Oct 29, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Medium workout
- Oct 31, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Dance workout
- Nov 7, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Dance workout
- Nov 14, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Dance workout
- Nov 16, 1h, Friskis och Svettis, Medium workout
I've been slacking off slightly on my Action lately. I quit track and field in May (friidrott) and wanted a break after working out on average 2 - 3 hours a day, 7 days a week. I never really got into it again. Friskis och Svettis is pretty fun, though, it's new for me. I've really improved my coordination so far. I felt silly jumping around to the beat of the music in the beginning, but I figure since everybody's doing it I shouldn't care.
I thought the dance workout wouldn't be that tough, but it sounded like fun so I tried it anyway, and I got hooked. It all depends on how much you put into it. If you do it full out, you're going to be sore the next day!
The medium workout was a good start for me, I tried the basic one first but I wasn't even out of breath after it. The medium however gets my pulse pumping. I think later I might be able to start going to medium pulse or intensive or something. I've noticed that I'm already a little better at crunches and push ups.