CDI-SLP Day 7

August 22, 2009

On the second official day of our program, I feel as though we have already gotten more comfortable as a program. The main activity of the day was a sort of world tour foreign cultures lead by our Cultural Differences team: Jia, Michaela, and Julia.

The day started with a very fun name game that we call, “Ting!” The students and mentors then had a chance to get to know each other better through a game called “Walk About, Talk About.” Another notable game included “Chaos and Change” where our students had to complete a task, but we gave the students certain disabilities and restraints. For example, some students were no longer allow to use their hands, while other students could not talk, and still others were blindfolded and not allowed to see. Through this game our students learned to deal with adversity and change while still obtaining their goals.



Lined up during Walk About, Talk About:
Meeting and Greeting, Walking and Talking

During our break and lunch time, we happened upon an open basketball court and started a pick-up game. This was a great impromptu bonding activity for both the students, both with each other and with the mentors. Spectators and competitors alike cheered when Eddy, one of our shortest students, scored the first basket of the game.



An exciting game: Doris with ball

We ended the day with a five staged cultural fair, “Journey Around the World.” Students were spilt into four teams and we asked them to each construct a team passport. We had some very creative passports ideas, including the toilet displayed below.



A passport for all your traveling needs

At each station of “Journey Around the World,” mentors shared their knowledge and experience about a different country. The countries included USA, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and Kenya. At the USA stations, Jia taught us all a hip-hop dance. In Mexico, I taught our students to salsa. In Brazil, Julia shared some typical Brazilian drinks and snacks. Colin and Wesley taught Japanese and had sushi. Finally, Julian spoke some Swahili and shared his experience in Kenya with us. This activity and this day was a complete success. Big thanks to the SLP Cultural Difference team for two fantastic opening days.



Julia welcoming us to Brazil

~Dave