The Day
08.07.2013
The long awaited IFC 2013 began! We were really excited, and we woke up early morning to prepare the farm. Everyone was sleepy but working hard as always. We had our final rehearsal at 11pm, had lunch, and stand by at our posts waiting for the kids. After we waited for awhile, 3 little kids came, and they were assigned to my team! A boy named Ale, and 2 girls, Vivian & Cindy.
Ale was so shy! Maybe because he couldn't speak any English. Vivian & Cindy were energetic and adorable, and their English good for their age. They were all 10 years old, and so small! :) In an hour everybody came, and I got 6 kids on my team, another Cindy, Gina, and a 16-year-old Sam.
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| Meet Vivian, Cindy, and Ale! |
We opened IFC with short speeches by farmers, and some government officials. And then all foreigners had to present something about their home countries. Alex: ROMANIA, Hui Zhen: SINGAPORE, Katya: RUSSIA, and Me: INDONESIA.
We tried to be as interactive as possible, but even though the kids responded with simple 'Yes' or 'No', I think they didn't have any idea of what we were talking about :D
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| POPO, my partner trying to explain The Indonesian Blankon |
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We started our activity by distributing Bamboo Hats to the kids. And they had time to draw whatever they want on it, and of course some tried to present their drawings in front of everyone. Brave kids! :D
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| Vivian and her hat |
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| She said the top wasn't watermelon. Everybody think otherwise :) |
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| Vivian's Presentation |
In IFC, we had lots of activities! We walked around the village trying to understand the watering system, we learned to seed, harvest, cook, build our own tents, and water war! For 4 days we had awesome times together! (see pictures below). Our main purpose of this camp was for children to learn about organic farming, so they could appreciate the nature and be grateful for their food. Moreover, it was for kids to learn English, and open their mind of other cultures brought by foreign trainers, such as me.
You could notice their improvement in the camp. At first they wouldn't even talk. They were so shy and quiet, they didn't want to do dance or sing together. But on each day, they gained their confidence. They tried to speak English with me, they participated in every activity, and it was so great! When i first saw them, some of them were spoilt city boys and girls but then they became so independent. They didn't mind cleaning the dishes or to get themselves dirty during activities.
I myself, learned a lot from them. I learned to relax, to enjoy the earth below my feet, to feel the wind that blows to my cheeks, breath the clean air and look up to the blue sky every day. I didn't care about how my T-shirt got dirty, how it smells in the chicken house, how I got myself completely soaked in water war. I simply didn't care. I dropped my guard and set myself free. It helped me grow, and prepared myself for my journey in the next 2 months.
Follow my instagram for more pictures of my journey in Taiwan.
Note: Pictures taken with my phone camera, Google Nexus 4, 500d, & others
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Pictures:
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| Seeding |
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| Jay burned under the sun |
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| Give us rice! |
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| Walking around the village |
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| Vivian and her Bamboo Hat :) |
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| Getting inside the huge fridge. 0 degrees inside! |
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| Pumpkin Lantern. First day when Tomas came! |
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| Building Ground Oven |
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| Katya with her morning dance |
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| Awesome barbeque! (mostly pork.... only some chicken) |
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| Night adventure with the kids |
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| Cooking our first Soto Ayam! |
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| Gado Gado! |
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| Veggie Lunch |
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| Sandy, Farmer, Hui Zhen, and Yeng Yeng |
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| Alex found a snail. It was hiding inside, and he sang a Romanian song to lure it out. Surprisingly, IT WORKED! |
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| Jacky, our Camp Leader! |
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| Me and the big Romanian Dude. |
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| The farmer, Uncle SOHO! |
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| Sam's Nametag |
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| Indonesian Flag on IFFC 2013 |
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| Michelle & Popo |
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