Reflections on Guest Season: The Laughs

Every summer, as guests come through in waves, the campus is filled with new life. From all across campus, you can hear the laughter and happy screams of our girls and guests as they play chase, tag, and occasionally have a water fight. But all of this laughter doesn’t necessarily come from games. Much of it comes from those hysterical moments of cross-cultural misunderstandings, as both our guests and girls try to educate and communicate with each other, sometimes falling short of fully understanding. Others come from simply working with children. For anyone who has travelled abroad, I am sure you can relate to these laughable moments. While there are many, we wanted to share a few with you, as seen through the eyes of six of our girls. We hope you enjoy…

Anna

“There was a guest who tried to climb all the way to the top of a papaya tree, thinking it was strong like a
mango. It was not. He got to the top and it broke in half!”
- Anna, 15

Esther

“Wes was reading buddies with Esther. She never wanted to sit still or read, so we all laughed. When he would come down after school, Esther would always run away from him.”
- Zai, 9

Drama with Meaghan Oppenheimer

“In drama with Meaghan, we had to play lots of silly games. There was one where we were holding a fake potato and pretended it was hot. Everyone made funny faces.” - Leticia, 13


“It was funny watching the guests dance to our songs. And to Beyonce, really funny when they danced to Beyonce.”
- Anna, 15

Rachel with a chicken

“Many of the guests are very afraid of things, like bugs. There were some guests who screamed every time the saw something fly, even if it was a pretty bird. They had to be inside a lot.”
- Pili, 16

Neema R

“It was funny to watch the guests to try to play football (soccer).” - Neema R, 17

Salome

“One guest said they liked the Masai so much they wanted to take them home in his pocket. How will they fit?”
- Salome, 8





Thanks for the memories. We hope to see you next year!








Chris Gates is the Founder & Executive Director of JBFC.