Sunday, September 21, 2008

Submitted by Harry Schindele

“You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you!”

Wow, what a trip! We all made it and now it is Sunday morning and our 1st day of volunteer work.

We began with a continental breakfast and much chatter about our trip and nightly sleep. First order of “Sam I Am” involved our “name-those-to-the-right” game. Once completed each volunteer offered brief summaries of their personal lives --- some interesting stuff.

Next we discussed the “Philosophy of Service” for Global Volunteers – “Wage peace and promote justice,” followed by the 10 guiding principles.

Some housekeeping chores followed:
Social planning – Millie, Susan, and Jackie
Care Taken – Shirley

SAM was so pleased with our language effort she volunteered to buy the 1st round.

We spent some time developing team goals, summaries by:
Culture & Crete
Helping Others
Developing Friendship
Have Fun

After lunch we discussed the following desirable characteristics of our team – Goodwill, learn & serve friendship, enjoyment, and flexibility.

Team assignments were next on Sam’s agenda. Interestingly, volunteers were a big part of that decision. That was rather nice.

Finally, we reviewed school policy and personal safety. Fire, earthquakes, parachuting, and water boarding were to be avoided.

School policies included: No gifts, no one on one with students, follow teacher’s lead, no early photos.