Olympic Challenges at Real Life!

Again, such a great week we had at Real Life!

On Monday, we put everyone to the test in our Real Life Olympics! There were a variety of challenges in which each "country" participated in. Each group had to come up with what "country" they wanted to be and color their own flag. Different teams included Thailand, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nepal, and more! After this, we began the challenges!

Different challenges include silly things like a pie eating contest, jello-spit contest, flying turtle contest, limbo, jump rope, tug-of-war, and more!

Wa Wa getting her face painted by Julia :)

Hser Ner Paw jump roping!

Do you know these Young Humanitarians?!

The application deadline for the 2012 Young Humanitarian Award has passed! All of the applications are off to the application judges and we are awaiting the names of the top 10 who will continue on to the interview round of the selection process.   

We have 68 amazing applicants this year from 36 different high schools and colleges throughout Utah.  One of these students is going to receive a $5,000 college scholarship and 3 others will receive a $1,000 college scholarship.  Do you know anyone on the list?! 

Here's what our teams are hoping to accomplish this summer!

Our teams are busy getting ready for their trips, coming up in June and July!  Not only are our teams engaged in their local service, they are busy fundraising for their project funds, and planning out their trips.  Here's a summary of what each team is working on:

The Friends & Family Team is similarly fired up to serve Peak Sneng in June, where they’ll be making improvements to the school, installing water filtration systems, and working with the recipients of 2011’s animal exchange program.

Expert Cartoonists at Real Life in Salt Lake City!

What a great week! We celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Monday, with a sweet scavenger hunt put together by Ali and Carolyn! Thank you guys!

On Wednesday, we had another 4H class where we learned how to build healthy relationships!

Finally... On Friday, the Visual Art Institute came and taught us how to draw cartoons! It was awesome to see how good some of us are at drawing.

 Sweet drawings BoBo!

Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt -- March 30th!

The Guatemala Team is super excited to announce our 

FLASHLIGHT EASTER EGG HUNT!  

Bring your family & friends, and support our team raise money for our projects to support Ak'tenamit-- an organization working with over 40 surrounding indigenous communities on Rio Dulce. Click here for more information on our projects.  E-mail Miriam for more details. 

Fishy Farms at Real Life!

What an awesome week we had at Real Life! We started it off amazingly- with a service project for the Peru micro-enterprise committee!

We spent Monday making fabric fish for the Peru team to sell. Each fish is going to be sold for 10 dollars for a fundraiser. All of the money used from selling the fish will go to loans for villagers in Peru to start their own fish farms!

Minnesota, Utah, Thailand... Connecting the dots

Getting to know our fellow team mates is one of the many joys of being part of our respective teams! The interactions that build us as a team before we go on our trips are a crucial part of our bonding and success. On a related, but also a completely random note...

Minnesota is known for a few things:

1. Where the saying "holy cow" originated!

2. Contains Mall of America (consisting of 9.5 million square feet!)

3. Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline (more than California,

Florida, and Hawaii combined)

4. Rochester is home to the world famous Mayo Clinic.

I pose the question...

What does Minnesota have to contribute to our Thailand team?

ANSWER: Only two of the greatest team members anyone could ask for! We are fortunate to have two Minnesotans on our team, but considering the distance between the Beehive State and the North Star State there isn't much opportunity to get to know these fabulous ladies!

Getting to know Michelle:

Michelle is a senior at Mayo Senior High in Rochester. She will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison (GO BADGERS!) in the fall.

To quote Michelle... "I loveeeee love love drawing and painting." She is working on a work-in-progress mural that she is painting in her bedroom of random things that she feels like painting.

Like most of us she loves hanging out with friends and listening to music. She fills her "free time" with cross country, running her yearbook staff as editor in chief, and of course...volunteering!

For her service Michelle volunteers at charter house in the supportive care and assisted living. She takes her dog there for pet therapy, gives hand massages, and reads to the residents.

Michelle said, "This service trip is going to be a life changing adventure and I'm so excited to have an international experience where I can help others at the same time. I am Minnesota nice, and I am really excited to meet all you Utah dwellers!"

Getting to know Lexi:

Lexi is also a senior at Mayo Senior High, and her and Michelle are the bestest of friends! She is "beyond excited" to attend the University of Denver (Colorado is beautiful!) in the fall.

She fills the little free time she has with skiing and playing volleyball! She is involved with volunteering at charter house with Michelle and doing those same things.

One of Lexi's major passions is Teen Council (Now pay attention because this is an off the wall, legit experience). Lexi is professionally trained to be part of Teen Council to teach at Middle schools and High schools across Minnesota. They teach students about Body Image, Values, Healthy Decision making, Anti-Bullying, Contraceptives, STI's, etc.

Lexi said, "...we heard about this opportunity and we seized it! Even though we are a bit more isolated from the Utah group, we're still planning to have a ton of fun with you guys when we meet!"

We too, here in Utah, are excited to meet you girls and share this wonderful experience with you guys!