Just a couple weeks ago, Brandywine Valley hosted its second-ever Passport Village! Like last year, the day camp aimed to educated local 8- and 10-year-olds about cultures all around the world, promote global peace and understanding, and introduce them to CISV!
This year, Passport Village was held at Montgomery School in Chester Springs. Each day was centered around a region of the world and campers participated in activities that reflected that region’s culture. We started off Monday by exploring American culture, playing plenty of getting-to-know-you games, and introducing what Passport Village is all about! We enjoyed a delicious Panera lunch.
On Tuesday, BV participants – Juliana Bueno and her son, Leo, came in to talk about the lifestyle and cuisine in Brazil! The campers had so much fun learning about Brazil’s rich culture and afterward got their hands dirty to making brigadeiro – a traditional Brazilian dessert! Campers also learned about La Fiesta Nacional de la Nieve, an Argentinian festival that celebrates snow, and played a version of Capture the Flag that simulated immigration. For lunch, the campers indulged in some yummy tacos!
On Wednesday, we explored European culture as campers learned the history behind Viking gods, played traditional Viking games, discovered similarities and differences between European and American economies, and learned about cultural monuments like the Acropolis and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Campers enjoyed pizza and pasta for lunch.
Campers dived into Asian culture on Thursday as they explored West Asian music and dance, discovered fun facts about different Asian countries, and created dragon masks for Lunar New Year! We also had the incredible opportunity to video call a friend in Amman, and ask some questions about her life in Jordan! Special thanks to Bamboo House of Noodles for donating a wonderful Vietnamese lunch!
On Friday, campers learned about Africa by playing a traditional Tanzanian game called Shake and also managed their own country to learn about the scarcity of resources. For lunch, Tagine and other Moroccan foods were served! We closed out camp with our last activity – writing personal letters to all the campers and staff!
Our wonderful staff consisted of 5 JCs: Maia Demitrack, Kate Shyrock, Stephen Blair, Quinn Faller, and Tucker Tyree; 2 directors: Bryan Boro and Deirdre Schmidt; and 1 coordinator: Cindy Le. Over the past couple of months, this amazing team has put in countless hours of planning to create educational activities, manage logistics, and so much more! We couldn’t have done it without the help of our lovely volunteers as well! They showed their love and support for Passport Village by chaperoning, providing lunch, and supplying snacks! Thank you to everyone who contributed to Passport Village’s amazing success!
Here are some pictures from this year’s camp!
