A Day in Nature

Today I had to wake up early for the challenge course. We all met in the lounge to do an outfit check then we headed down to the dining hall for breakfast. After breakfast we meet behind the ratty for a bus that would take us to the challenge course. The bus ride was actually surprisingly relaxing. 

Once we got to the ropes course we all met up in a circle and then went over the rules and safety precautions that come with the ropes course. We got tick, bugs, and sun protection then headed off to the rest of our day. We split up into 2 groups within our class so I was with only 13 other girls. This was actually really helpful because we got to really get to know each other on a different level. 

The first activity we did was a type of trust exercise. Two individuals in the group acted as the eyes as the group and knew the final objective of the group. These two people couldn’t talk or move. The next two people were the voice. They shared directions with the body people. These were the people who could move to complete the assigned task. This class ended up being very difficult because it was hard to communicate when some of sense was taken away from us.

Next we did an activity called helium pole where we had to lower a pole to the ground using only our fingertips. This was surprisingly hard because to complete this task successfully we had to all move in perfect synchronization. Eventually we were able to finish but it was a little bit frustrating. We then did some trust exercises to help us later in the challenge course then have lunch.

After lunch we walked to the actual challenge course. This part of the day definitely lived up to its name. It was a challenge. Our group had a lot of very strong personalities which definitely made working together efficiently difficult. We all struggled and got frustrated by our lack of communication and patience. Although this was difficult it was definitely a learning experience. We got to see different sides of all of the people in our class which was a very interesting experience. The challenge course was also held in such a beautiful natural place which I really appreciated. I have not been able to really enjoy being outside for the last week so it was nice to be able to spend time in this refreshing environment. 

After the challenge course we were all exhausted. I feel asleep on the bus ride back which was so refreshing. The week of not enough sleep finally caught up to me. In the evening I worked on my homework with some classmates in the lounge and then we went to dinner together. After dinner we all went to watch the open mic night. This was cool because it was a very open environment where so many different types of people were performing. 

Finally I made it back to the dorms so that I could finish all of my work and hopefully get to bed early. I can’t wait to learn about public speaking tomorrow and am really glad that it is Friday and I will probably have a chance to relax.