English Camp 2019

Camp time is always a special time for the VISIONEERS and their friends. Already in March every open spot for the camp was taken. Finally summer also came to Berlin and 21 teenagers started the journey towards Mecklenburg-Vorpommern together with a German-American team. Our intercultural encounters already started on the bus ride: Syrian Folk meets American Hip – Hop meets Afghan Pop. And of course on full volume all at the same time. When we arrived in Fleeth, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), the camp started with a bunch of games to get to know everyone better.

Dale – the ultimate master of ceremonies was in charge for that during the whole camp. The house itself was a big open space with enough room for community and English lessons. The giant garden was beautiful and with the ping-pong tables and fireplace very tempting but the beach that was only 5 minutes away won every time! Between English lesson with friends from the USA, a rallye throughout the whole area and many, many beach volleyball tournaments we also had the opportunity to take the canoes that belong to the house out on the open waters of lake Müritz. The times on the water were intense and special: here a lot of those things that creates life in all its shades and colours and give it a new direction were talked about. Sometimes it’s easier to find words about loss and pain in a feeling of ultimate freedom that open waters can give you.

At the beach – like at every good camp - we hung out, talked and laughed. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t our friend during camp but it didn’t prevent anyone from jumping into the lake! Also it didn’t protect us from capsizing but we learned that one of Happy’s hobbies isn’t necessarily swimming – he prefers to get back to the shore on the head of a teamer instead of using his own paws! Well… at least everyone is safe!

The highlights of the English camp are definitely the evenings that also carry a lot of potential conflicts: at campfire and sun downing we talk, discuss and question the big religions of this world. Heated discussions give the room that it takes to clean up misunderstandings and false presumptions about one another. True to the motto: “other countries, other manners” every country has their own education system that passes on a specific world view. It needs to be learned to critical question the point of view you learned to see the world in. And that also happens at the English camp: to learn to withstand the opinion of others and to orientate yourself on facts.

The intense discussions were often going on until the middle of the night and were finished off by movies or ping pong tournaments. The community was special. A lot of the teenagers didn’t have the feeling of belonging to something greater than themselves for a long time and to have a place somewhere in this world. At camp there is a place for everyone.