Update # 2: Direct from Marvelous Molokai!

Bridge Hawaii Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain...
Bridge Hawaii is rockin! I spoke with Kate and Taya on the phone last night, and the trip is going so well that they were a bit hesitant to tell me just how smoothly everything is running--they didn't want to jinx themselves! However, they did tell me that the group is having an awesome time on Molokai, and that they have been working hard, playing harder, singing their voices out, and dancing like there's no tomorrow--from where we sit in the office here in Windsor, all that sounds just like a classic Windsor Mountain good time. The group has been running camp games with the kids at the Molokai Youth Center, going out on MMT's, as well as getting a little bit of education in edgewise: yesterday they visited an overlook where they were able to see the Leper Colony at Kalaupapa--one of the last such communities in the world. On the way home, they also visited the famous "Phallic Rock" (no explanation necessary). Legend has it that any female who touches this rock will instantly become extremely fertile, but...

!!!!!!!!DON'T WORRY NO ONE WENT ANYWHERE NEAR THAT ROCK!!!!!!!!

And now, without further ado, here are specific notes on each student, straight from an email sent in by Kate and Taya:

"Ava loved talking to Vicki (a local schoolteacher) and has been do a great job of helping the kids at the Molokai Youth Center with their reading skills.

Chef Allison has become our resident expert on how to cut exotic fruits we find. She is also treating us to her fabulous freestyle raps.

Zoe makes everyone look forward to the campfires by playing wonderful music every night and says that even though she already was friends with most of the people in the group, she is learning new things about everyone and making friends with the people she didn't already know.

Noah misses working on the Organic Farm on the Big Island, but has enjoyed Molokai quite a bit, particularly working with kids at the youth center and starting spontaneous group games. He has also amused everyone with his hoarse voiced alter-ego, Nathan Benjamin Goldbergowitz.

Margot was thrilled about going on an MMT and has been motivating members of the group to go running almost every day.

Ian is a fantastic dj to have during long car rides. He has been great at getting everyone in the group excited for everything and his energy is contagious.

Joe was leader of the day on Maslow's Day, and even though it was a day off with no planned activities, he did an amazing job of making sure there were plenty of unplanned activities for people to be entertained with, including a big game of ultimate frisbee.

Henry--Everyone at the youth center is begging to see his dancing skills and hear him sing. They also like climbing all over him during their down time. He is very popular there.

Julia was the leader of the day on Monday and took charge of thanking our host for the BBQ. She is very excited to welcome Adam and Ben to the group when they arrive on Thursday. She has also been expanding her culinary horizons gradually with the variety of different meals we've had.

Matt built a nice campfire for everyone last night. He really enjoyed teaching the purple lilacs song to a group of people during the MMT and when he ran into some of them in the grocery store they demanded an encore.

Nick tried his luck at spearfishing for the first time and caught a fish! He has impressed us so much with his positive attitude throughout the trip

Carey is a natural at working with the Youth Center kids helping them with art projects and just hanging out. This morning a bunch of the little girls decided it would be fun to dress him up and he was such a good sport. He is very helpful at food preparation, even when it is not his turn to cook."

That's all for now, folks. The group will welcome their final two members--Adam and Ben--on Thursday, just in time to spend the weekend at Uncle Moke's Hale, where they will learn how to prepare a traditional Hawaiian Luau, as well as listen to Moke's famous talk-stories. Moke is quite a character, and I can't wait to tell you all about him in our next email update, due to you next Wednesday, July 23rd. Also, all Bridge Hawaii students will call home next Tuesday, July 22nd. We are not 100% sure of the time of that call yet, but since Hawaii is six hours earlier than us here on the East Coast, it will most likely happen between 6pm and 10pm est. We will send out a quick email this weekend to let you know exactly when to expect the call.

Update # 1: Camping and Exploring

Bridge Hawaii Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!
We apologize for the delay in getting this email update out to you. Trans-Pacific cell-phone tag can be a real blast!

Here is the run-down on the trip so far:
After a loooong travel day (almost 4,000 miles for some of our students) the group settled in for a good night's sleep at Koa Wood Youth Hostel in Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii. The next morning they were up bright and early for the drive to their first campsite at the amazingly beautiful Punalu'u Beach. I am not exaggerating when I say amazing: Punalu'u is a black sand beach, and the water there is the most incredible shade of blue imaginable. Punalu'u is also home to a host of giant sea turtles, friendly creatures who don't mind sharing their home with teenagers (for a while at least). A full day of Windsor Mountain camp-style orientation games with short (yeah RIGHT) breaks for swimming and frolicking in the ocean was followed by the first the first group-cooked meal, which was a great success! Taya and Kate taught everyone how to use Coleman camp stoves to make dinner, and then taught everyone how to set up tents so they could turn in for the night.

The next day the group drove to an organic farm to plant lettuce! This was followed by--you guessed it--more swimming! Then they had an impromptu 4th of July celebration, highlighted by plenty of singing and dancing and having fun. This next is pure conjecture, but I can't imagine that this party did not include a rendition of Taya Win's famous camp anthem "Mr.. Pants". You will all have to confirm this with your loved ones when they call you for a quick check-in this Saturday.

The next two days were busy, busy, busy: the group went snorkeling at Two-Step Beach, hiked to the Captain Cook monument, did some more snorkeling, and then headed off to Volcanoes National Park--the newest place on earth! The visit to VNP included an incredible hike along a trail through a field of steam vents, a walk through a completely dark lava tunnel with no flashlights and eyes closed (a classic Windsor Mountain trust exercise), and finally, a 4 mile hike to a volcanic crater, where the group visited a cave painted with ancient Petroglyphs. Luckily, Taya was able to read these pre-historic missives, and informed the group that they said, in no uncertain terms: "It is now time to return to the campsite and eat a big, tasty meal." (but not before stopping at a real lava flow for a jam session, which probably included another rendition of "Mr.. Pants").

Enough of this update, though. Here is what you have all been waiting for--individual notes on our wonderful Windsor Mountain students:

Ian – Has stepped forward as a natural leader, proving his mettle as a superb navigator and thorough researcher for all the hiking trails. He was leader of the day on July 7th and impressed Taya and Kate with his leadership skills.

Henry - Had a great birthday! The team spent the day hiking and then everyone went out to dinner to celebrate. Stepping forward with his singing and dancing Henry has become the team entertainer.

Nick – Had a great time hiking the Captain Cook Monument and honed his snorkeling skills at Two-Step beach.

Margot – Is enjoying hiking and working on her tan. She has made quite an impression on the leaders by quickly making friends with everyone on the trip, and including everyone in all group activities.

Allison – Is also a fabulous asset to the group through her interpersonal skills. She was leader of the day July 6th and kept everyone laughing all day, even going to the extent of convincing everyone she had her own language!

Joseph – Was head chef last night, and cooked a fabulous meal of Mac-n-cheese with baked beans. Taya claims this was especially amazing since the team was on the last of their supplies and the Joseph was creating out of the remnants…WOW.

Carey – Seems to know everything there is to know about volcanoes. In fact, his leaders have found that he is a wealth of knowledge and a very good teacher. He has also shown himself to be a great leader with quite a sense of humor. While snorkeling the other day he saw some other scuba divers and swam down to give them a friendly tap and a little surprise. (Not sure I get the full picture…but Taya says it’s a team highlight).

Zoe – Has been singing the group to sleep almost every night with her sweet voice. She also enjoyed the big jam session they had on the farm where they are staying. She rocked out on guitar. Our leaders have also been impressed by her maturity and readiness to volunteer.

Matt – Is a great leader and a spectacular volunteer. Being very outdoor inclined, he loves all the hiking, and all the physical activities. The other day he got his shoe too wet to wear and made a make-shift shoe out of towel…very resourceful! He has also been an early riser, getting up in time to sit and watch the sunrise.

Noah – Has also been getting up to enjoy the serene sunrises. His positive attitude has been a joy to our leaders and a blessing to the team. He is always going out of his to way to talk to everyone while hiking and has become good friends with his teammates. He also loved watching the lava flow just outside the Volcanoes National Park.

Julia – Initially had tough time with the Captain Cook hike, especially on the way back up, but because of her great attitude, she gained lots of group support and respect. Since then she has been doing great on group hikes! Go Julia!

Ava- Is making friends with everyone, and is helpful regardless of the task. She enjoys the daily activities, and especially the hike through the Kilauea Iki Crater. As head chef, she cooked an awesome stir-fry that was savored by one and all.

Today the group traveled to the island of Molokai, where they will work with the students at the Molokai Youth Center, help our friend Vicky prepare her elementary school for the upcoming year, and visit Uncle Moke's Hale, where they will get a crash course in traditional Hawaiian Culture, Uncle Moke style.

Please look for our next email update to be delivered ON TIME next Wednesday, July 16th, 2008. Also, all Bridge Hawaii students will call home for a quick check-in this Saturday, July 12th, at around 6pm est.

Letter from you leaders

Aloha Bridge Hawaii students,

We hope you are gearing up and getting excited for our upcoming adventures island hopping through Hawaii! We are here in base camp at the beautiful Windsor Mountain International Summer Camp spending long hours in the office getting all the details sorted, and we are both eager to get the program started! In addition to bringing the Windsor Mountain spirit to a youth center on Molokai, we will be exploring volcanoes, helping out at local community gardens, snorkeling, and learning about Hawaiian culture. As you may know, we have one day set aside for surf lessons on Maui, which we need release forms for in order to participate. If you received that form, please send it in so we can check that off of our to-do list. If you did not receive the form, please contact us immediately so we can send one to you. (if you have any other outstanding forms…send those in as well!)

We hope everyone is prepared to learn, to be challenged, to face new situations, and most importantly, prepared to have fun! You will be living and working with new and old friends (some you may even have for a lifetime) on beautiful islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean …how much better can it get?

In order to be well-prepared for some of the situations we will come across during the program, we have a little “homework” for each of you to work on over the next few weeks before we head west:

1.) Bring a notebook with 5 games, 3 recipes and 1 song written down. We are planning a bunch of group activities for the Molokai Youth Center, so come with plenty of ideas so we are prepared to plan and implement these activities. Also come with ideas for daily group rituals—things to do at morning meeting, at meal times, etc…

2.) Although Hawaii is one of the 50 states, there is definitely a way of life that is unique to the islands. Do a little research on Hawaiian culture. Research Hawaiian cultural identity issues. Compare and contrast “old” Hawaiian culture to “new” Hawaiian culture. You also might want to rent the movie “Whale Rider” because although it takes place in New Zealand instead of Hawaii, it is a pretty good representation of Pacific island culture. Here is one article that we came across that is worth a read. See what you can find! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Renaissance.

3.) Read up on the land issues that are occurring on the island of Molokai. On what side of the issue do you stand ? How do you think the locals on Molokai view tourism? Is the island changing? Please do a little background research on the island of Molokai before you meet us; it is very different from the other islands, and the more research you do beforehand, the more we will be able to delve into when we get there. We will be focusing a great deal of our program on issues facing the people of Molokai and whether or not changes and development are going to be a positive or negative for the people of Molokai.

Thanks ahead of time for working on all of this. We will be sending out another e-mail later this week about a special initiative we are busy planning for y’all.

One more thought: remember, pack really light- the weather is consistently warm, aside from the occasional rainstorm. You need to be able to carry all of your belongings by yourself in one trip. This is very important—if we can’t fit everything in the vans we might have to send things home!
OK, That’s it for now…we will be calling each of you over the next few days so we can check-in with you and answer any questions you may have!

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

-Kate and Taya

May-June Letter to Hawaii Travelers

Bridge Hawaii Families,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!

Bridge LIT Hawaii 2008--23 days and counting! I hope everyone at home is getting excited, because here at camp, we are over the moon! Just this past weekend over 100 Windsor Mountain friends, family and alumni were on campus for Richard Herman's 70th birthday party. 47 years of Camp here in New Hampshire, and 41 years of International Student Travel--sometimes it is hard to believe what an amazing thing Richard has accomplished. We all feel lucky to be part of the continuing success of this special organization, and are ready (chomping at the bit, more like it) to start the 2008 season.

Trip News

On the calendar, please take note of the days that the students will phone home, and the days when you should expect an email update from the Windsor Mountain Travel office. Look for a special letter from your leaders to arrive this week! Also, if anyone would like to receive a hard copy of this info via traditional post, please let us know, and we will send a packet out to you right away.

Also, please feel free to call us with any questions you have about the itinerary. Everything is in place and it could not be better. Time to get psyched for another fantastic Windsor Mountain Summer!

Best,
Angus, Marjorie, Lou, Taya, Kate, and the entire Windsor Mountain Team