AAVE Trip BLOG » 2008 » January
January 24, 2008
Surf Camp, Jalisco, Mexico 2007
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Surf Camp , add a comment
We had an incredible trip. Here is a link to the video I created to document our adventures:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6708035820987165009
Just cut and paste into your browser to watch the video.
Cheers,
Ryan
January 13, 2008
Africa #2A - South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana!
Posted by AAVE Camper in : Africa, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
AFRICA 2007 Families,
Flying in from varied locations around the world everyone landed safely in their first African airport with a couple smiling faces waiting to greet them. Our arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa, begins our 3 week journey, to that we are much enthused. Once all 13 students arrived we had a welcome party with an “authentic” pizza meal. Cory, Julandi, and Sibo are our three guides, all extremely experienced, hilarious and are fun filled with enthusiasm.
We set out the next morning to cross the border into Botswana and headed north to Maun, which is the gateway to the Okavango Delta. We played a quick game of cricket, thanks to Pranav and then headed out into our Mokoros (wooden dugout canoes) and started through the natural canals. We made camp on an island, where we started our game walks. We were out for about 4-6 hours, seeing tons of elephant, hippo, baboon and warthogs.
We then left Maun and headed for Sepupa, where we helped build a fence to help the local community. We also challenged the locals to a football match, which was EPIC. There were about 250-300 spectators lining the sidelines and cheering on their home team. The score ended up being 4-4 with Ben scoring 1 and Noah scoring 3. It was a truly incredible experience.
We headed further north through Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and back into Botswana’s famous Chobe National Park. We went on a boat safari and then a game drive, where we saw hundreds of kudu, giraffe, elephant and most importantly 4 lions feeding on a buffalo carcass. It was amazing.
Livingstone, Zambia arrived as our next destination. While most think of the location as just another place in Africa, all of us rowdy teenagers were brought in and pushed out with a sense of realization that we are a truly blessed bunch of people. The orphanage that was visited in this truly beautiful part of the world left the shadows of warm-hearted schoolboys and little proper ladies hovering over our hearts. Their voices of praise and song linger in our ears and the touch of their dry cold hands has imprinted stains in our palms. These underprivileged children opened our hearts, and with smiles and hugs we waved goodbye with the everlasting knowledge that we changed a life for the better.
And then along came a thousand tons of water…
Victoria Falls was next on our itinerary, Jaw dropping and mind-blowing scenery to which eyes are the beholder and words are inadequate.
From the fall we moved onward to the Makadikgadi Salt Pans in Botswana. The Pans, which cover an area roughly the size of Portugal, are completely barren and their almost total lack of vegetation allows for unhindered panoramic views of the landscape and of the sky at night. The feeling of solitude and the remoteness of the scene were truly spectacular. While at the Pans, we tried our hands at archery, Quad-biking and power kiting.
Then we went to Tuli. It was wild. We were warned about the lions and leopards wandering around our camp and were therefore too scared to venture from our tents to urinate. We awoke to the sound of jackals and hyenas, which was interesting to say the least. At the end of our stay in Tuli we drove back to our beautiful, oversized and safe truck and drove to the Lost City tucked away in our below freezing sleeping bags.
The Lost City was the beginning of the end, planned to give us kids a rest. Our venture into the casino with the exit expanding into a small (yet locally large) water park left us all ready to slide into hypothermia worthy water. Fast food consumed, ice cream slurped, and souvenirs purchased left us just enough time to enjoy the water.
The end of our trip was concluded with a decent dose of roller coasters, annoying amusement park employees, and wimpy fast food. After the headaches were handed out to most everyone, the Apartheid museum calmed our nerves. Words find no formation and visually it must be seen with teary eyes.
The 21 day trip has become a haze of beautiful pictures and a continuous flow of inside jokes, foolish games and wrestling. From days in and days out, the little pleasures here and there, all 16 individuals scattered from around the world have easily and most comfortably enjoyed each others, as well as the host natives company.
Bon Voyage!
Ellen, Noah and the AAVE Tribe
January 2, 2008
Summer Adventure Camp Heads to Alaska!
Posted by AAVE Camper in : General AAVE Trip BLOG, Ultimate Alaska , add a comment
I accomplished more than I ever thought possible and formed lifelong friendships.-Brad Braunstein, camper, UAK
It was very successful in that I made 12 other amazing new friends. Another reason I felt it was successful was just the fact I was in Alaska. It was so beautiful and I still have not stoppped talking about.-Lindsay Aaron, camper, UAK
I was doing things I hadn’t ever done or ever thought I could do. I had the most fun I’ve ever had on a trip and I met some amazing kids. I worked out some personal fears as well.-Theo Hoffman, camper, UAK
The successful part of the trip was surely the fact that I’m pretty confident about my skills in the wilderness now. I’ve learn a lot and I really love the fact that I can now be almost perfectly independent in any condition while I’m in the nature!-Camille Gervais, camper, UAK
Scott just returned from Alaska, and had his third fantastic trip with AAVE! He is healthy, muscular, mellow and confident upon his return, and has shared many stories and great pictures with us. You all do a fabulous job, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of Scott’s life. I would recommend your organization to all parents and teens who want to have an experience that will shape them for the rest of their lives.-Jill Zimmer, parent, UAK
Numerous successes took place on this trip. I feel I was successful in reaching my goal of becoming a better leader during the trip. I left my box which has helped me exponentially for activities I’m involved in back home. I also think that I learned a lot about being in the outdoors and backpacking. Meeting my group leaders was by far the BEST success of the trip.-Rick DeVoss, camper, UAK
Teens Sail Italy & Greece!
Posted by AAVE Parent in : General AAVE Trip BLOG, Italy & Greece , add a comment
Sonja came back with lots of exiting memories. She particularly enjoyed the scuba diving and the sailing. She looks foward to going on another trip next summer!-Jan Hagemeier, Parent
This was Jacob’s third year with you. As in the past, the trip was very well organised, the group leaders were fantastic, Jacob made new friends and the whole experience was great. It couldn’t have been better. In spite of the terrible heat in Greece, everyone seemed to be happy.-Kate Bennett, parent
I would say that the trip was very successful in all aspects. The leaders were fun and outgoing and the other teens in the trips as well. The whole group meshed well and everyone was ready to try everything our AAVE trip had to offer.-David Kuratek, camper
Stephanie was simply delighted by her trip. She enjoyed the activities and the atmosphere. She made good friends and the 3 weeks just flew by. Anne-Marie & Tony Morrongiello, parents
Everything about the trip was really fun! There wasn’t anything that I didn’t enjoy and all the activities were really fun. It was cool that we had a small group because we all got to know each other really well and got along great.-Stephanie Morrongiello, camper
It was awesome! It allowed me to be with my friend Nick but at the same time meet other friends from all over the world. I really liked learning about Greece and learning Scuba was amazing!-Oliver Shetler, camper
