Sunday, October 23, 2011
First Year Retreat
So, back on Saturday, I went to the First Year Retreat out at Recreation Unlimited with my fellow first year Humanities scholars. I have to admit, I wasn't to eager to get going. Maybe it was the fact that I had woken up about 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at Haverfield House and that I hadn't had breakfast. Anyway, we had started out with some get to know you activities, and eventually we separated into groups to do some low ropes courses. I think the culmination of m time at Recreation Unlimited was doing a trust fall with my group. This is a pretty big thing for me, since I'm generally terrified of heights. So, add the fact that I'm falling into the arms of people that I barely know, and it's not a good combination. In the end though, my group had caught me. Overall, I believe this was a great experience to go to with my friends in the Humanities Scholars.
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I also had a really great time at the first-year retreat yesterday.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations were low at the start of the trip considering the fact that it was freezing outside and the bus ride was longer than I would have like but upon arrival, my attitude changed very quickly. Our group leader was really fun and got along well with us. Our group was also a lot of fun. We joked around with each other while we completed our tasks (some more quickly than others) and convinced Ben to do a trust fall! I had a really great time and I think it was a great way to get to know some of the first-year Humanities Scholars a lot better.
I had a great time at the Humanities retreat as well. Like the others, I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the early morning wake up call, and the weather to start off reminded me more of Wisconsin than it did Ohio. Once we actually arrived at Recreation Unlimited, however, my attitude quickly changed. I love being outdoors, and the fact all our activities were in the woods (despite the chilly temperatures) really excited me. The most exciting thing I have to say is either when our group broke the Tomahawk wire, or getting to take part in the Trust Fall. It was also great getting to know Humanity Scholars I don't ever see outside of the meetings or classes - I definitely look forward to more opportunities to do so!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to sound like a copy cat but I had a good time at the retreat too. I hate mornings, the outdoors, and the cold so my first impressions on the retreat were not good ones haha. At first I was a little hesitant about getting out of my comfort zone so that added to my skepticism of whether or not the retreat was going to be good. Although once we got involved, it wasn't all that bad and I actually had a lot of fun. Normally, I don't like most ice breaks but the name with an action one we did was entertaining and a lot less "dorky" than most I've ever had to do. I would use it in future situations given the chance. I also liked doing the across the river situation. I thought it was a good team building experience and it was really funny when we missed the opportunity to take the more obvious route. I really had a good time meeting some of the other people that aren't necessarily on my floor or in my classes.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we had the retreat because I feel like I got to know more people who I don't usually see because they commute. It was fun even though it was early on Saturday morning. It also wasn't too cold outside so that was nice. I enjoyed the team building activities that required you to think outside the box. We did a spider web activity that would have been a lot easier if we had "listened" to the directions. We also did one activity that required us to lower down a hula hoop to the ground with just our fingers. It was really hard and we never accomplished this because we had way too many people. I had a good time at this Humanities Scholars Retreat.
ReplyDeleteThe first year retreat was a lot of fun. It was great to get to know some of the other people in the Humanities Scholars. The activities were fun too, however much they invaded my personal space :) I will admit that my group had some trouble with a few tasks...including the trust fall and even broke the tight-rope too (I'm sure Ben has pics of that...) Overall it was a great experience; the weather was perfect and I got to know a lot of other Humanities members.
ReplyDeleteI do realize that I comment on this post well after the retreat. Though the retreat was not in our typical classroom setting, I believe that it provided us with an extremely educational experience. Educational in an unconventional sense, as we learned the nuances of social interaction and teamwork, rather than the quadratic formula or pythagorean's theorem. I feel as if this experience really worked to concrete our relationship as a scholars group, as we were urged to interact with people in which we did not previously know and/or spend time with. After the retreat, I feel as if I formed many new friendships/acquaintances in which i would not have formed without the retreat and being squeezed into a small wooden box, hiking, and forming a carpet maze with.
ReplyDeleteThe retreat was a lot of fun. Sometimes the best bonding experiences happen when you're the most frustrated. Getting up at 7:00 to do obstacle courses in the cold definitely causes some frustration. I don't think I enjoyed the activities themselves very much, but I loved everyone's reactions. It was so easy to laugh and joke around at all the silly things we had to do. Usually failing miserably on one of the obstacles was a lot more fun that doing it correctly. After the retreat I felt like I'd seen everyone in the Humanities program in a new light
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