Dear Boundless Families:
The puddles and mosquitos, despite their best efforts, couldn’t keep your kids from arriving safely. The day went without a hiccup.
I just popped my head in on both groups at dinnertime. Let’s be flies on the wall together so I can clue you in on the juicy stuff.
It poured all day. Same story all month, where it has rained 25 of the 29 days. Its impact is historically high water levels. This news is front and centre for the outdoor crew, who will have to reckon with descending the rivers safely. Dump your canoe in the wrong place and you could be picked up 2kms downstream. Everyone will have to be on their toes. And with more wetness comes more bugs. They are insane right now.
For the 13 students of the outdoor crew, the river’s gravity is integral to their theme, which is “Fight Club”. The first rule of Fight Club is that you are not supposed to talk about Fight Club. I’m going to break that right now.
One key principle of Fight Club?
One fight at a time.
This means facing one opponent at a time. Don’t engage the whole shebang in your head – too overwhelming. The group must focus on facing, squarely, whats directly in front of them. Stay in the moment.
The second principle is fight to the finish. No backing out. Lose the self-indulgence. You are no victim.
And finally, if someone on your team goes limp and shuts down, prop them up. All must fight. Together.
While its way too early to assess the impact of this credo – everyone is well on their way. No outliers as yet. Full participation. The sighs of relief that they are surrounded by pretty decent people is like a wind blowing the mosquitos of the mind away.
I also checked out the 20 kids in English. They were huddled in three different cohorts, and I happened upon one, where I overheard one student reading from a note that read,
“There is nothing as beautiful as a smile that struggles through tears”.
Okay.
Now I can finally reveal what novel they are studying – True Grit – which shall also serve as their mantra. Its a classic western, where the protagonist is a 14 year old girl who won’t take shit from anyone.
This is not entirely inappropriate, given that there are seventeen males and three gals. And who already wields the power? Yup, those three lasses. Makes me smile as I think about it. I hung out with them for a tad, and I get the sense they already know it.
This is all I can muster for today. I’ll write again on Sunday night, where I’ll surely have better tales to tell. But for now, let me assure you, without a trace of hyperbole, that we have had a beautiful day one. There is not a single soul that is feeling terribly out of sorts. I PROMISE.
“No news is good news” is the cornerstone of our communication policy with family as we go forward.
Thanks for sending your kids to us.
Warm regards,
