Weekend Adventures

Here’s a few scenes from last weekend's busy-ness. On Saturday, I spent most of the day on campus at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. (My mom went with me; these irresistible daffodils were blooming in front of her house.)

We were at UNI to attend the Camp Adventure Dessert Fest and Program. There was quite a crowd of parents and friends on hand; after enjoying the dessert bar in Maucker Union, we all filed through a tunnel into venerable Lang Hall:

Our destination was the auditorium, site of the afternoon’s Camp Adventure send-off program. I'm too lazy to explain Camp Adventure to you, so here's the entry from Wikipedia:

Camp Adventure is a program run by the University of Northern Iowa that sends American college students to American military bases, embassies, and British Military installations throughout the world. These students run day camps as well overnight, and sports camps. Counselors also act as lifeguards for the children of military personnel stationed on bases.

Camp Adventure was founded at the University of Oregon in 1985. At its inception, the program sent 12 students to three sites in Korea. In 1997, it sent approximately 600 students to 118 program sites in 16 countries, including United Kingdom, Turkey, Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bahrain, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and the United States.

The camp counselors are trained in games and first aid, as well as how to deal with the problems that many military children have due to the isolation, frequent moves, and dangerous profession of their parents.

The counselors train for several months at the University of Northern Iowa and other Universities across the nation. They are then sent to the destination for the summer. Students are responsible for their own passport and visas, but the program provides transportation, room, and board. An extensive background check is performed on all counselor applicants.

Although the program is based at the University of Northern Iowa, Camp Adventure Youth Services students come from over 80 colleges and universities participate in this service-learning program that allows them to gain skills and experience related to youth services and program management.

Counselors receive 12 hours of college credit for participating in the program.

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This year's theme is "Catch the Magic". The students shown in this video--taken in the Lang Hall auditorium--are from colleges in Iowa:

My daughter was near the back of the group, shown in the center of this next photo. She's very excited for the chance to go to Europe this summer!

The program was interesting, though VERY long…..three hours! Yipes, it was difficult to sit that long…..and stay awake. There were skits and demonstrations by the students, plus several speakers, including the founder of Camp Adventure, Dr. Christopher Edginton. His definition of "magic" is: when something exceeds your expectations. (My own advice is to avoid having expectations......then everything that happens is magic!)

FINALLY, finally…..we were dismissed from the auditorium out into the surrounding high-ceilinged halls and stairwells of the old college building:

Fascinating architectural embellishments were the perfect companions to the lovely flowering trees adjacent to the front entrance:

On our way back to the parking lot, Mom and I meandered through the old part of campus. Here is Lawther Hall, a womens’ dormitory, its attic reportedly haunted by a ghost named “Augie”.

We were parked near the blocky, top-heavy Schindler Education Center, where education majors spend much of their time. Next door is an authentic one-room schoolhouse…..which, unfortunately, I did not think to snap a photo of.

Later in the evening, my mom, stepdad, and I, returned to campus for this theatre production:

Eurydice was performed in the black box Bertha Martin Theatre. There is seating on all four sides, with most of the show taking place down on the center floor. A few scenes ventured off onto small, elevated corner stages…..there is one shown in the next photo. My daughter operated lights on the catwalks in the ceiling---“up in the cats”, in her words.

Eurydice is a story out of Greek mythology, the deeper meanings of which are mostly lost on one such as myself who has never formally studied those classic tales. Parts of the play reminded me of Our Town, the biblical story of Lot’s wife, and possibly even Adam and Eve. The story’s setting was in the Underworld where Eurydice (yoo-RIH-dah-see) found herself after making a bad choice shortly after her marriage to Orpheus, whose head was ever full of music, an exasperation for Eurydice when she was alive. In the Underworld, Eurydice meets up with her deceased father. Their first challenge is to find a way to communicate with each other; the ensuing interaction between the two was fascinating. We had close-up views of the actors’ facial expressions due to the scenes taking place right in front of where we were sitting. Oh, and guess what.....the deceased ones, Eurydice and her father, had also forgotten how to read.....do you know what they did with letters and books in an attempt to "read" them?

Unfortunately, Eurydice had another serious problem---unwanted attention from The Lord of the Underworld, an obnoxiously lascivious, underwear-clad goon. In time, grieving Orpheus found a way to descend to the Underworld to try and find Eurydice--you may have heard of this story. Things didn't go very well as Orpheus attempted to follow the Lord of the Underworld's rules for a successful rescue of Eurydice. Lurking on the perimeter of every scene were stones which could speak, with sarcastic ridicule being their specialty. The Underworld seemed not a very nice place to be, that's for sure. The environs of the black box theatre was perfect for this murky, mind-stretching story.

My favorite line in the play was when Eurydice's distraught father asked the Lord of the Underworld, "How does one remember how to forget?" His earnest question was met by derisive laughter from the evil lord, of course.

As we left the theatre after the show, my mom and stepdad were shaking their heads at the strangeness of the story. Like me, they aren't much familiar with Greek myths. I must admit, Eurydice has provided food for thought as I now ponder what this or that aspect of the story might mean. Maybe that's the value of mythic tales......they challenge you to think, and are played out upon a foundation of deep meaning which can blossom as you view it in your mind's eye, similar to the way this performance was acted out right on the ground in front of us.....practically inside our personal space.

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On Sunday, Husband and I drove to the Quad-Cities for a surprise birthday gathering for our son who's turning 25 years old today! Goodness...time flies! How well I remember the day he was born; I had spent the previous day outdoors, picking up sticks and doing other yardwork. By evening, I was completely exhausted and fell into bed at 7 p.m., which was fortuitous, as the waters broke in the early morning hours. He was born around 2 p.m., I believe. It was the day before Easter, and snow fell the next day---on Easter! I can recall standing at the hospital window watching the snowflakes swirling down.

The surprise party was fun even though it rained most of the afternoon. Husband and I ended up staying there through the evening; our younger son was home doing the milking chores. We ended up in a nail-biting “500” card game with our son and daughter-in-law. I haven't played for years, but it all came back to me like second nature. I even scored two nello hands! Nello--or, “noler”, as the old-timers call it—is my favorite! Turning a losing hand into a winner. Bad fortune into good. Its fun to flip the rules upside down once in awhile!

I enjoyed this view through my son and daughter-in-law’s dining room window…..right into the treetops!

The weekend kind of wiped me out......the socializing was wonderful, of course, but, enough is enough, and ALL that sitting.....good grief! I needed to catch on stuff around home---you know how it goes---so I've been trying to avoid sitting down at the computer for a couple of days.

You may be worried that I’ve been neglecting Fred and Bessie. I understand your concern. Fear not, though, they are in good hands…..er, tail. Looks like Mookie has developed a close bond with the lip-locked pair. Maybe I’ll let him have that talk with Bessie…..

Blessings to you all!

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