Camp Ayandeh got off to a bit of a late start, as we gave our campers an extra hour to sleep in this morning. After breakfast and our walk back to campus from the dorms, the campers were given time to do an activity of their own design - quite literally, the name of the activity was "Design Your Own Activity." Campers were broken up into groups and given time to think about the mission of Camp Ayandeh, what kinds of activities we do, what they see in Camp Ayandeh's future, and then design an activity that they felt would fit in with the mission and future of Camp Ayandeh. This activity gave the campers free rein and let their creatives juices flow.
After lunch, we did an activity that tied into another one of IAAB's major projects that relates to Iranian-American high schoolers: the Essay Contest. After a short introduction to the Essay Contest by EC Project Manager Mina Tehrani, campers were asked to respond to this year's Essay Contest prompts, which were then discussed in their groups. Campers were also given an opportunity to think of questions that they themselves would also like to answer.
Following the Essay Contest activity, campers got into their counselor groups and began to wrap up their preparations for tonight's Talent Show. There is a great deal of secrecy among the groups, so that everyone's act remains a surprise.
Finally, the time for the Final Vasati Challenge has arrived. Counselors and campers broke up into 4 teams and began a tournament that would give one team bragging rights for the entire upcoming year: Vasati Champion. Despite the hot Georgia sun, several rounds of Vasati were played and competition for the title was intense. After Vasati, we made our final walk over to the Duc (the cafeteria) for the last "shaam" consisting of college campus food - which, if the Talent Show skits that followed dinner were any indication, we do not think the campers will miss. There is a strong suspicion that the campers will be asking for ghormeh-sabzi, kookoo and fesenjoon upon their return home!!
After dinner, we walked back to the dorms for our last discussion activity, followed by last-minute Talent Show prep. The energy level was high as campers changed into their costumes, put the finishing touches on props, and memorized their lines. Finally, it was time to showcase what the counselor groups had been working on all week. One by one, the groups made Camp Ayandeh alternatively laugh, cheer and clap. We were wowed by breakdancing, singing, parodies and comic impressions, and touched by the effort that the campers put into their skits.
Following the Talent Show, we had yet another birthday to celebrate with camp counselor Nakkisa Akhavan. Then, the party really started with our final dance party, which continued until the wee hours. The campers actually danced their way through the night, as they cherished every last moment of their last night at Camp Ayandeh 2008 together...
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