By Emily Richards
Day 1:
We arrived at school just like any other day, but after a short briefing from Doug we were on our way to an experience of a life time. We got to Doug’s cabin just in time for lunch. As I was throwing my stuff in my tent, I noticed people on the island across the river. Oh I thought, they must be doing the sweat lodge ceremony. (A part of the trip that I was kind of uncertain about.) We sat around the dying camp fire waiting for them to return. When the first group returned from the island they were all smiling and wet. A strange combo if you ask me, considering the weather and all. Both groups had lunch together and the second group met Mark. Then we watched the first group leave.
Shortly after the first group left Mark took us on a walk around the surrounding land, pointing out edible plants and other interesting points. We found a fallen down tree and used the inner bark to make rope. We found our way back to camp and Mark taught us how to play Zugal. Zugal is a game that is derived from a Viking game where swords were thrown and hands were lost. Of course we only used a stick and put our arms behind our backs when we lost them. Warning– if ever playing Zugal with Mark Warren, don’t stand next to him! We then gathered all the materials needed to make a firkit and let them dry before the fire. At the campfire Mark discussed the naming ceremony that was to come the next night. All the teachers went to bed and all the kids stayed up for a while and talked around the campfire.
DAY 2:
Doug woke us up early in the morning. As breakfast was being cooked a few of us thawed our feet out by the fire. We ate breakfast and headed up the road to the pine forest to learn how to stalk animals. First Mark pretended he was a deer and we stalked him. Then we headed deeper into the forest and played a game where one of us was blind folded and the others stalked him or her. When that was finished we headed back to camp to eat lunch. After a filling lunch of PB and J sandwiches (not salami and cheese- thank goodness), we went back up to the forest to pick our blinds for watching deer. We then went back to camp and made fire out of our fire kits that we had dried the night before. Ours had been burned in the camp fire so we dried out new wood determined to make fire the next day. It was starting to get dark so we started back up the road to slip into our blinds with hopes to see deer, and although nothing was seen it was a pleasurable experience for all. We all headed back to eat dinner. The naming ceremony was that evening and almost everyone received a name. I myself was thrilled to have a name that meant only something to me and was a mystery to everyone else. We also did a ceremony where we vowed to change ourselves for the better. With our minds wandering through our new found insight into ourselves we slept easily that night.
DAY 3-
We awoke in the morning feeling well rested. I found that my second set of fire kit tools were again burned in the fire. We canoed out to the island to complete the trip with the sweat lodge ceremony. Mark taught us a betting game using stones and Native American sign language. Then we all entered the sweat lodge and spoke of what is important about the person to our left. Mark gave a beautiful speech about the directions and the earth as a whole. We all arrived back at the camp from the island smiling and wet hoping that the trip could last just one more day, we left better, more well-rounded people.