As my first season of being a coach for Girls on the Run comes to a close, I can say that it's been quite a wild ride being an eight-year-old all over again.  The adventure was brought sharply into focus during our final Celebration 5K at GVSU last Friday night.  The stadium was a frenzied, chaotic, wiggling and screaming mob of pink, ribbons, glitter, tutus, wild socks and dyed hair.  It was an introvert's nightmare and explains why Megan and I spent the later part of Friday evening rehashing the event over multiple Alaskan Amber Ales at Hops.  Think I'm being dramatic?  I challenge you to envision yourself in the following video (a mere 30 seconds) and imagine being in the middle of it all from 5:30 until the gun went off at 7:00.  Insanity.


The race went well and everyone finished without mishap.  One of the coolest things about the event was seeing all of the family and friends who came out to run with, cheer on and just generally support the girls.  It made me feel part of a very special and strong community that cares about our youth, which was a pretty powerful and overwhelming feeling.


We have our last practice tomorrow which is going to be more of a party and awards ceremony.  We're going to give the money we raised at the bake sale to a Human Society representative and we're going to talk about what we liked and what we learned from the program as well as hand out individual certificates.  But mostly we're going to have one last chance to hang out, eat snacks and have fun together.



If you know me, you know I'm not really much of a kid person. I generally find children to be frustrating and at times extremely unreasonable to deal with.  Being a coach pushed me way outside my comfort zone and I know that being a camp counselor is going to stretch me even further.  But meeting with this group of 8-10 year olds turned out not only to be fascinating as I learned a lot about their emotional and developmental stages but also extremely rewarding as I saw them change and grow as people.  Turns out a lot can change for pre-teens in three months.  I'm going to miss talking about sleepovers, report cards, dance routines, hair braiding options and the latest cute thing to collect.

Over the course of the program girls opened up about problems at school (bullying, cheating, tattling, mean girls, exclusion), issues at home (divorce, adoption, death, money) and personal issues (being lonely, low self-esteem, stress).  It was so hard for me to try and think back to what life was like for me as an eight-year-old so that I could try and relate with their daily struggles and thought processes. But above all, being a GOTR coach challenged me to be silly.  Without a doubt, one of the most common critiques for me in the past both professionally and personally has been that I take myself too seriously. I don't really enjoy 'doing' silly but successfully wrangling a gaggle of girls twice a week simply demanded it.  It was a challenge, but I learned a lot and loosened up.  Fortunately, for me, I have someone in my life who is an expert at all things silly and ridiculous - perhaps I should be paying more attention.

My co-coach, Megan and one of the girls

One of the areas of program education for Girls on the Run is Community Service.  We talk a lot about how to use our time and talents to help others at school, at home and in our city.  One way every GOTR group puts this curriculum into action is by putting on our own Community Impact Project.  Although helping the community in some way is one goal of the CIP, the main goal is to guide the girls as they learn how to plan and implement a major project themselves.  Being somewhat of a control freak, I knew it would be hard for me to stay relatively hands off and not barge in to take charge instead of letting the girls be leaders.

Lots of interested buyers!

Making posters to try and lure cars in from the road

During several of our practices we had some time to talk and present about various ideas, vote, plan and delegate responsibilities.  Everything went surprisingly well throughout the whole process and I was impressed with how seriously everyone took their responsibility.  I also continued to be surprised about how excited the girls were about doing everything themselves.   Some original ideas were: dog walking, bake sale, making cards for hospitals/retirement homes, making thank-you bags for teachers and a drink sale.  The ultimate idea decided upon was a bake sale to be held during practice time after school.




Megan (my co-coach) and I were pretty nervous for this event since we didn't know what to expect.  Would the girls remember their baked goodies? Would anyone come? Would it be hard for 17 eight-year-olds to stay engaged in a bake sale for two hours? Turns out our fears were unfounded and the bake sale was a huge success (due largely in part to a neighboring student baseball game with a hungry and bored audience).  Everyone sold out and we made a total of $253.27!  The girls have decided to donate the money to the local Humane Society and a representative is coming to receive the money during our last practice - how cool is that?

Come on out this Friday (May 29) to run, volunteer or cheer for our big GOTR 5 k event at Grand Valley State University - it's going to be fun!

Andrew making the "whoa that's cold" face after jumping in Lake Michigan (about 50 degrees)

As part of the Citizen Diplomacy Challenge of the State Department (and also because it was a lot of fun) we hosted Andrew, an exchange participant from New Zealand, for the weekend.  We made it an action-packed three days and I don't think it's a weekend that he's going to forget anytime soon!  Andrew wanted to see real life in "small-town" America since he had mainly only spent time in bigger cities.  Fortunately, the weather cooperated and we had a blast on the shores of Lake Michigan.

My parents were very excited to have Andrew with us and one night we had a traditional Midwestern summer BBQ with hamburgers, potato salad and baked beans.  We finished the night by sitting around the campfire in the backyard and toasting marshmallows to teach Andrew how to make S'mores - he loved them but also commented on how Americans like everything very sweet.

He brought us real Cadbury chocolate from New Zealand!

On Saturday Andrew wanted to try hitting baseballs since he likes to play cricket in New Zealand.  We took him to the batting cages and started off with slow pitch softball. He made it all the way up to the Major Leagues fastball and did great!  He is looking forward to going to an actual baseball game in the coming weeks.



We finished the weekend by spending time at the beach and by going on a "Dune Buggy Ride" which is a must-do if you visit Michigan.  We had a great time and it was hard to say good-bye.  Hearing Andrew's stories about New Zealand definitely makes me want to visit his hometown of Christchurch some day!

For Christmas this year, Mom and Dad gave us all a gift certificate for a Segway tour of Grand Rapids.  It was something fun to look forward to in the spring and a good excuse to get everyone together and do something different.  We booked a Saturday in May and lucked out with decent springtime weather - always a gamble in Michigan.

We met at the loading dock near Bagger Dave's restaurant right downtown and our guide, "Segway Mike", distributed safety helmets and bright neon vests.  After a short description of our tour, Segway Mike proceeded to tell us how Segways work - essentially they are gyroscopes controlled by body movement and balance.  Fortunately, we had time to practice on them in a nearby parking lot.

Frankly, I was terrified and initially felt completely out of control.  Even when I was crawling along at about 3 mph it felt like I was flying (their maximum speed is 12.5 mph).  I learned very quickly that being stiff and panicky on a Segway is the worst way to be since it's best maneuvered with smooth, graceful movements leaning backward and forward.  Susie, John and Sean zoomed along right away but I stuck in the back with Mom and Dad, afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop for traffic or veer out of the way of unsuspecting children.  Come to find out that Mom was in the back because unbeknownst to her, her Segway was set to "Turtle" mode and it was all she could do to crawl along at a snail's pace.  Sean, on the other hand, was scolded for being "dangerously overconfident" while attempting to go backwards and turn simultaneously.



After the first hour of the tour and many challenges including steep ramps, bumps and sharp turns, I started to relax and really enjoyed the last thirty minutes.  We covered a lot of ground and went over many of the bridges, past museums and mosaics, checked out sculptures and fountains and stopped at the fish bridge for a look at some giant Carp and to see the way different fish can climb back upstream.

After the tour finished, we headed to lunch at Bagger Dave's and rehashed the morning's events.  We all concluded that the experience had been a lot of fun and some family members even expressed wishful thinking in purchasing a Segway for their own (they run about $5000).  As for me, I was happy to be once again on my own two feet though grateful for the experience of gyroscoping around Grand Rapids for the morning.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

After speaking at the Rotary District 6290 International Conference about my past international exchange experiences, I was invited to speak at several individual clubs around Michigan.  Past District Governor, Chris Etienne, arranged a sort of mini speaking tour for me and organized host families and contact information.  I left on Monday, May 11 and didn't get back until late Thursday night.  Though it was tiring to be on the road and speaking to so many clubs, it also gave me kind of a rush to be able to share my passion for international exchange and hear similar stories from local Rotarians.

I spoke in Petoskey, Traverse City, Elk Rapids, East Jordan, Charlevoix and Holland.  In some cities, I spoke at both the morning and the noon meetings or both the noon meeting and the evening meeting.  It was fascinating to see how each club was a little bit different but at all clubs I was warmly welcomed and encouraged.  It was also a privilege to get to know Chris better as she accompanied me to many of the meetings and also let me tag along to some of her community development events.  One highlight of the trip was a wine tasting fundraiser during which a picture of me and Chris made it on the front page of the paper the next day! Another highlight was pulling the winning raffle ticket for Tom Jackson and then having him sign over the winnings to me!  I was very grateful for the generosity as the money helped with the expenses of the trip as well as with future visa paperwork for my upcoming trip to Japan.  Thanks for letting me share my story with you, Rotary!

This summer, before I go to Japan, I'm going to spend six weeks as a Portuguese counselor for Concordia Language Villages camp.  The official description of the camp is: We are builders of globally minded communities and guides to world fluency. Our cultural immersion programs in the North Woods of Minnesota engage our participants in learnful play to develop language proficiency. Since 1961 over 150,000 villagers have joined us in our mission to create responsible global citizens.

When campers are dropped off it's like they are leaving the country and traveling to Brazil.  They get a passport, have to speak Portuguese, eat the local food, learn the regional dances and play the national sports.  During the day they take language classes along with other traditional camp activities, all in the target language.

I've never worked at a camp before but have heard so much about CLV and how fun and successful it is, that I've been wanting to work there and check it out for awhile.  As a bonus, I'll only be about 3 hours away from Sean's camp where he will be working as a wilderness trip leader in northern Wisconsin.

Last week Thursday, I made the long drive to Detroit to attend the Diplomacy Begins Here conference put on by Global Ties U.S. and the Department of State.  Here's how the event was advertised: Global Ties U.S. and our members, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, are hosting a series of Diplomacy Begins Here summits across the United States that will bring together local, national, and international leaders from the business, government, and nonprofit world. Together, we will foster connections and growth in the international exchange community and celebrate the critical role that public and citizen diplomacy programs play in building a more peaceful, prosperous world at home and abroad.



The conference was only a day long and I had a fantastic time as the emphasis was on the power of youth international exchange as a type of diplomacy, which is something I'm really interested in.  The keynote speaker was the former ambassador of Kuwait, Amb. Lebaron, who talked about his time in the Middle East and ways to improve international relations.  Here's a few things that he said:

Every Monday and Wednesday afternoon I head to a nearby elementary school to coach Girls on the Run.  Girls on the Run is a program started a few years ago in North Carolina as a way to empower young women.  The goals of the project include not only a healthier lifestyle and exercise habits but also ways to deal with common problems faced by 8-10 year-olds such as self-esteem, confidence, peer pressure, bullying, friends and setting goals.  Every practice is about an hour and a half long and includes discussion and games related to a certain topic (yesterday was "gossip") followed by a workout.



The workout involves about 30-40 minutes of activity (preferably running) but girls are allowed to walk, skip, jog etc. as long as they stay moving.  The program began in March and goes all the way until the end of school and culminates in a 5k race at Grand Valley State University.  So far, the program has been a lot of fun but also a pretty intense time commitment.  Luckily, I have a co-coach and we have some junior and assistant coaches from the neighboring high school.  They help a lot with crowd control and being positive role models for the girls.  We have a full roster of participants (17) and I have quickly learned that it can be REALLY challenging and a bit maddening to quiet down a giggling, squirming gaggle of pre-teens constantly.  We've quickly learned how to channel that energy into physical activity and have practice outdoors as often as we can.



Lately it's been difficult knowing how to motivate the girls who simply want to walk laps.  It quickly became apparent which girls are in the program to run and which ones are there because it's essentially free child care.  Yesterday, the motivation problem was solved with glitter stickers.  For every lap completed, a girl earned a sticker which she could put on her shirt to keep track of her lap count.  However, if she ran the entire lap (1/3 mile) then she would earn a special glitter sticker.  Suddenly, everyone was running laps in order to earn the special stickers - it worked amazingly well!

Now we just have to think of some additional creative ideas to get us through the month of May - any suggestions?

Cute quotes from the girls so far:

"Can we stay after practice late to show you our praise dance?"
"Can I run one more lap so I can reach my goal?"
"Are we going to have GOTR next year because I want to do it again."
"At first I hated running, but now I kind of like it."
"Can we make up our own skits about bullying at the end of practice?" [after seeing Megan and I act out a bullying scenario]