Sunday, October 31, 2010
First Year Retreat
On October 30, the first year Humanities scholars were rolling out of bed in order to make the 8am bus trip to make the mandatory retreat. I, like many other scholars, was very not so happy to be up and running at 8am on Halloween weekend. The cold October air quickly caused many of us to complain about being outside, but after an hour or so, the temperature wasn't too bad. The actual retreat started (for the gold team) by passing around a ball in order to get to know each other's names. I felt as if I was back in elementary school, but understood the purpose in the activity. Throughout the morning we participated in other activities including a blind fold maze, getting across carpet squares in specific patterns, and the trust fall. Each activity was somewhat ridiculous, but in the end each one had a specific message to go along with its purpose. Whether it was learning to work together towards one goal or to plan ahead in order to achieve success, each activity was accompanied by a hidden theme. I was never happy to be on retreat on Saturday morning, but I have to say that I came out of the retreat knowing a few more people from our Humanities scholars program and now had the ability to relate to them.
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i also enjoyed the retreat a great deal. it was very difficult to wake up by 745 on halloween weekend, but it was worth it. in my group were 2 commuting HUmanities scholars and one that lives in Jones. it was really neat to get to meet and bond with them especially since i probably would never have realized they were fellow first years. these 3 girls were all very cool and it was a good experience for all of us to bond together. it was also very interesting and exciting to work with a large number of people i had never met before in hopes of being successful at completing our task. it was really awesome that we were all able to cooperate right off the bat. i think overall it was a great bonding experience, especially because it was cold so we all huddled together for warmth.
ReplyDeletei really liked the camp we went to as well. our group got a chance to talk with our leader all about working at the camp and all the different things the camp does and the children they help. it is definitely a place i would look into working at.
thats all. thanks Ben and Daniel for the gummies!
The morning of the retreat did not begin very positively. As Adam, HAV 2's crowned RA, so eloquently put it "You know its fun if it's mandatory!" All over, the mood of the common room was tired, annoyed, and a general sense of not really with it. When we boarded the CABS busses the mood didn't get much better, but THEN Ben brought out the food! And what could at least slightly perk up a group of grumpy sleepy humanities scholars other than food! When we finally got to the camp it was extremely cold, and after warming up for a good minute and a half in the bathrooms we were divided into groups, and, all huddled together, my group set off to our first mission.
ReplyDeleteOverall I ended up having a lot of fun on the retreat. I was with a group of people I didn't know very well at all, and I ended up talking to all of them in one way or another and learning so much about everyone. Since so many of us didn't know very much about each other I think it made us more determined to bond together to get through the challenges that were placed before us and to keep positive attitudes. One of our groups highlights was when we accidentally broke the tire challenge and spent the next few minutes just laughing about the whole situation. I also loved the thrill of the trust fall, it was so exhilarating to be in free fall, if only for a moment, plus we had fun catching Ben and Daniel. My group leader was very chill and informative about the camp which was side information that was interesting. Also, for the most part, our group stayed very positive, which I definitely think added to the experience and made it much better for me.
Overall, even though I was sooo cold, it was a lot of fun.
i enjoyed the retreat as well. however it reminded me of 6th grade camp. where we were learning about team building. the difference was that instead of a bunch of 12 year olds figuring things out, it was a bunch of 18,19 year olds. i feel that since we were older we were able to figure out a lot of the activities fairly quickly. i have to say since saturday, i'm pretty sure i don't have any personal space issues. even with all the stepping out of your comfort zone, i had a nice time. i learned more about myself and my fellow scholars.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I had been dreading the retreat a little bit. I thought it was just going to be a long, cold, early morning with a bunch of people who knew each other but didn't know me. I kept to myself at the beginning, not really knowing how to approach people and not having the energy to. Once we got to the recreation site, everyone was so cold that we formed into one great group huddle. That's when I started warming up to everyone a bit more and feeling a little bit less like an outcast.
ReplyDeleteMy group seemed to hit it off from the very start. Our tour guide was really entertaining and the activities let us have a lot of fun together. So, all in all, the trip was not as horrible as I had anticipated. It was actually pretty great.
I, as well, enjoyed the Humanities Retreat overall. Despite the freezing weather, my lack of caffeine, and the early hour of our departure, I truly took a lot away from the experience. Not only was I able to goof around with some of the friends I already had made from my department, but I also came to get to know a few other individuals whom I have begun a nice friendship with. Between the blind maze, the "raging rapids," and the frightening trust fall, it goes without saying that most of the activities we all had to participate in were rather ridiculous and succeeded in dragging us out of our comfort zones. They did, however, also bring about lots of laughs and conversation, and helped me (as well as many others, I'm sure) get to know other fellow Humanities Scholars on more personal levels.
ReplyDeleteSo, to echo all of the other comments, I personally would have to say that the retreat was actually a pretty worthwhile experience. I'm glad that we were provided with this opportunity of fellowship.
First off, Gold Team RULES! Second off, I pretty much agree with everything you said. Even though I hated the cold and lack of sleep, the activities themselves were fun. As a suggestion for next year, pick a weekend other than Halloween weekend. It might be better to choose a weekend earlier in the year so that students are more likely to want to meet new friends and not stay in the cliques they have already formed. Also, leaving later (maybe 10 a.m. or 11 a.m.) would cause a lot more people to be in a better mood and be more receptive the activities. Attitude is everything, and I feel that this retreat could have gone a lot better if people had a better attitude.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone above has said. At first, I was not so excited about going. I was not thrilled about the lack of sleep and being out in the freezing cold. However, I ended up having a great time. It reminded me of being back at camp again. Even though I had participated in most of the activities before it was great it do it with a new group of people. I got to meet a lot of new people that I didn't know so well before. Overall I thought this was a good experience.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't looking forward to the retreat because I thought it was just going to be cold, long, and tiring. I hadn't gotten up that early in sooo long and I, frankly, wasn't looking forward to it. I was so tired when it started (I had worked that night, also, so i ended up getting like....15 minutes of sleep) and I was really worried it would be bad because of how cold it was. Overall, though, I had a really great time. It was so nice to meet all a lot of the people in the scholars program that I hadn't gotten to know before then. I'm so happy I actually did the trust fall, also!! It was a really nice time.
ReplyDelete