Camp Sweet Camp
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Onigiriman raised a valid query about it being "camping" if you stay at a chalet.
While staying at a nice weekend resort complete with a spacious living room, kitchen and cosy bedrooms definately has c-h-a-l-e-t written all over, we also did (fairly) similar things people would do at camping trips.
We set up our camp site (once we checked in at reception and moved our bags into designated bedrooms) and took note of our food supply (of potato chips, oreo cookies and the number for Canadian Pizza). After that, we went hiking (to Downtown East) and the students picked up useful food gathering tips (at MacDonald's). We also got up close and personal with wildlife and learnt survival skills (while fending ourselves against hungry Jurassic Park dinosaurs at the arcade). At the end of the day, we gathered around (the coffee table) for some songs (while watching the American Idol Finals) and marshmallows.
I'm glad that the kids enjoyed themselves including those who had never stayed overnight without their family before.
One of them was Rio*. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 11am so I sneaked in some work for the students to do while reassuring a very anxious mother who actually paced around school for nearly 3 hours so that she could see her son off. Ironically, it was the same person who wanted Rio to become less dependent on her for every little thing and suddenly, she realised that she has to learn to let go as well. When we arrived, I paired him up with a chatty boy and they got along very well to the point of both begging me to leave the lights in their bedroom on overnight. Rio's mom usually makes a special milk drink for him twice a day and it was the first time he had to do it by himself. Which he did. His usually nervous expression broke to a grin when I commented that it looked like mommy won't have to do it for him anymore at home. Now it is just a matter of reminding the mom to let him do more things by himself around the house.
It is easy to want to shelter people with special needs from the harsh world but for how long? In the end, it is about picking up life skills and integrating into society. Things we take for granted such as ordering something at restaurants, doing chores, taking the public bus and even interacting with other peers are little triumphs towards opening up their world. Just like feeling water and finally connecting it to a word, Helen Keller's dark world suddenly exploded into lights. My wish for my students is that they will all experience that Helen Keller moment that will propel them towards finding their own niche in Life. In the meantime, my colleagues and I will continue to brainstorm different ways and means to set them off on their way. |
