Diverbo Summer Camp: A memoir

Sat in Madrid airport staring at the runway having just heard an announcement that the Madrid to Liverpool flight will be delayed for a further ninety-five minutes. Perfect opportunity to reflect on the thrills of the last fortnight!

Fall back three months ago where I was sat in an office in the centre of Manchester, feeling somewhat unfulfilled with my circumstances at the time. Granted, I did have a good job and I was doing well for myself. A successful career in insurance beckoned. However, something deep down was missing. I was sick of looking out of the same office window every day, hearing the same-old office chit-chat and dealing with annoying customers. Surely there was more to life than this? Then it hit me. I needed a new challenge and a new environment. I decided that I wanted to travel. But where? And how?

I never really considered teaching as a potential career option whilst going through school and university. I was always drawn towards the corporate world, where hard work was rewarded with financial prosperity and walking into work with a swagger shirt, tie and designer watch was, at the time, my utopia. But now having worked in an office environment for well over two years, I feel unfulfilled and ready for a new challenge. That new challenge will be to combine teaching with traveling, and to do this I enrolled on a TEFL course in late May, and by July I was certified.

It feels amazing to have a qualified skill that is in such high demand all over the world. You hear the saying a lot, but the world certainly is your oyster, especially with TEFL. I would recommend any native English speaker with a degree and the openness to challenge themselves in a new culture, to consider TEFL as their next career move. I am happy to say that in September 2017, I will be travelling to Vietnam to teach English in schools; I cannot wait! Having handed in my notice at work, and with the flight for Vietnam booked for late August, I needed to find something to do during the summer to keep me on my toes.

I first heard of Diverbo through the jobsite of my TEFL course provider. The company operates summer camps for Spanish teenagers, with the aim that the teens will be immersed in, and improve on, their English language skills. To facilitate this, English/Anglo teenagers from around the world would also be accepted on camp as volunteers. Each camp would be led by what is known as a PD (Programme Director) and a MC (Master of Ceremonies). Alongside both positions, vacancies were available for native English speakers to work as counsellors on camp. Counsellors are the link between the MC, PD and the teens. Each counsellor would oversee approximately ten of the teens and would also be required to lead activities through-out the day.

I saw this as a perfect opportunity for me to gain some experience of working with teenagers before my Vietnam adventure. After a successful Skype interview, I was accepted on the programme, and was due to start on 13th July for a period of two weeks.

Upon arrival in Madrid I was hit with a wave of heat, probably the hottest that I have ever experienced. I stayed the night at an old-fashioned hotel, a stone’s throw away from the famous Bernabeu. I did manage to sneak out before bed-time just to have a walk around the stadium, but still, even at 11pm, it was thirty-five degrees! The following day I attended the initial training day where I was informed of all the rules, responsibilities and expectations. It was also a good chance to ask any final questions that we had, and to meet some of the other counsellors. In the afternoon, I was informed of my camp location. I would be travelling four hours West, close to the boarder of Portugal to a town called Valverde. Upon being advised of our locations, the counsellors were excitedly trying to find the other counsellors that they would be working with.

At this point I heard a voice at the back of the room from a guy that had just entered. I could tell that he was from Eastern Europe but could not pin it down. “Who is Ryan” he exclaimed in a loud but calm voice. He introduced himself confidently as Matiss from Latvia. He was to be a counsellor on my camp, and not only that, my roommate for the duration of programme. Little did I know that we would go on to develop a strong friendship or “bromance” if you like!

Before the camps could start, we needed the teens! First task of the programme was to pick up all the Anglo teens from the airport and arrange them to their correct hotels for the night. Matiss and I were on airport duty, Terminal 2. We were fortunate that we only had to pick up nine teens, however the first was at 9am and the last 9pm – a very long day was in store. But at least we had each other, right? Wrong. Upon arriving at the airport, I could not find Matiss anywhere. I worried that I may have got the wrong location. Low and behold, it was not me that made the mistake..

The first group of teens arrived. The flight was from Amsterdam. One of the teens was placed at Valverde. She was the first teen I greeted, and ironically one of the last I said goodbye to at the end of the camp. It was like a full circle. The teens kept on rolling though-out the day, but still no sign of my Latvian friend, Matiss. I thought - Who is this guy? If he can’t even make it to the airport on time, what is he going to be like on camp? I had no time to worry, because it was a hectic day trying to get all the teens to the right bus. At about 4pm I received a Facebook friend request from the Latvian along with several messages excusing for his lack of appearance. It turns out that he had overslept and then had to go to hospital – fair does I guess. He showed his face at 8pm, one hour before the shift was due to finish. Well done Matiss!

We all arrived at the hotel, excited for the following day where we would be making the long bus trip to the camp. The bus journey was great. It was a good chance to look at the wonderful skyline and terrain around Madrid. It was also a chance to get to know my Latvian friend a little more. I liked his philosophy on life and we shared a lot of similarities, which was lucky given that we would be spending two weeks together. I must admit that we did feel a bit unsure of the procedures for the bus journey. We were the only two counsellors on the bus, full of about twenty Anglo teens. We did not know where we were going and where the pickup for the Spanish teens was. Add in the fact that the driver could only speak Spanish. Luckily Matiss had some Spanish speaking skills, so we got by. The first main task was to stop for lunch. I found a small area behind a wall where there was shade and a small restaurant with toilet facilities. It must be said that the sandwiches that were provided did not go down too well with the teens. My main concern was that they had enough water, because it was a damn hot day!

Back on the bus for another two hour drag, I thought it was a good opportunity to go and speak to some of the teens on the bus. There was a Canadian girl playing the ukulele. She taught me a few notes and I gave her a recommendation to listen to George Formby on YouTube. Alongside that, a few of the teens were singing. An Irish lad started singing and I commented that he had a great voice. Little did I know that in a few day’s time I would be star struck by his performance in the talent show.

After more hours and dozens more empty water bottles, we made it to Caceres, which was the pickup location for some of the Spanish teens. Matiss and I greeted them, thankful that we had found them. This was also the first time we both met the third counsellor, Nuria. She was Spanish and had already completed two weeks on camp. She filled us in with all the gossip of camp and what to expect. Camp was another hour away, but by this time we had reached an area where the terrain and the mountains were fantastic. As a keen runner, I was excited at the thought of running up some of the mountains during any free time I had. Unfortunately, I only went on two runs outside the camp during the whole fortnight. With a packed daily schedule, I was far too busy to fit in my training programme!

Upon arrival at camp, everyone was split into groups and each counsellor lead an ice breaker activity. We didn’t even get chance to drop our stuff off in our rooms. We were straight in with the ice-breakers. I lead a game where we were all in a circle and would have to think of a word that describes you, that begins with the same letter as your first name, along with an action. My example was Reliable Ryan, and others of memory included Real Ralph, Harassing Harrison and Juice-box Jae! Following the ice-breakers, we all sat down in an area called ‘The Terrace’. This was to be an important area for the duration of camp, for meeting and for watching performances in the evening. It was here where we first met the MC and PD, Nathan and Lindsey. They both came across as very friendly, but at the same time a degree of strictness, which was important whilst they were reading out the rules for camp. As a way of discouraging rule breaking, individuals would lose points for their teams. For instance, speaking Spanish was banned, and so was swearing. We also met the final counsellor, Kate. A very friendly Australian of whom I saw as a role model during my time on camp.

The points system was a central part of the camp. Everyone was allocated to a team led by one of the counsellors. My team was the Black team, and our first group task was to think of a team name, logo, slogan and presentation for the evenings performance. My team consisted of four Spanish girls, two Spanish boys and four Anglo’s. One of the Anglo’s had travelled all the way from Hawaii, and had lost her luggage. It did not arrive until four days into camp but I did not hear her complaining at any point, what a trooper! The team called themselves the Black Pirates, and the slogan was ‘There is no aye in team!’. I was happy with the team that was allocated to me. All four counsellors were intent on getting the most points during the week, in particular Nuria.

Since the programme was designed to help the Spaniards improve on their English, counsellors were required to complete level tests at the start and end of the week, to note their development. It was good from my perspective, and I am sure the Anglo’s too, to be there to help the Spaniards with their English language skills. I was very impressed with the general level of English that I heard, and how some of the Spaniards started off very quiet but then blossomed through the week.

Looking back now, it is hard to remember everything that we did, so I will only pick out some memorable points. In the interest of protecting identities, I have omitted the names of the teens. The days always started at 9pm where we would eat breakfast. This would be followed by a warm-up at 10am on the car park. Now one thing that I did not like about the camp initially, was the lack of sports facilities. Valverde was the smallest Diverbo camp. The only space for sports activities was a stony car park at the very front of the camp. Death Valley would be an appropriate name. Low and behold on the first warm up activity, an Irish girl was the first to fall, grazing her behind in the process. Warm-ups usually consisted of sing songs, games and running around like chickens.

On the third morning, we played a game of ‘duck, duck, goose’, and I fell victim to the treacherous stone car park, slipping on my knees, nearly bringing down a tree branch in the process! Warm ups were generally quite fun and I was fortunate to have led a boot-camp activity where I had the teens perform push ups, sit ups and planks. After this activity two of the Anglo’s came to me later in the day to ask if I could take them out on circuit training first thing the following morning, before breakfast. I was amazed that anybody would come to me and ask to lead a circuit training session for them. Maybe I didn’t work them hard enough in the warm-up! As it turned out, I enjoyed waking up early and putting them through their paces. They enjoyed it so much that they asked for it again the following day. This time around there were five others also interested. Lindsey, the PD, was made aware of this and soon put a stop to it on the justification that the teens were getting too tired from it. We still managed to sneak in a few circuits during free-time in the day.

A central part of the day was 1-2-1’s. This was where the Spaniard’s each got paired with an Anglo, and had an hour to ninety minutes to talk to each other. It was a great way for everybody to get to know each other, and of course for the Spaniards to improve their English skills. During this time, we as counsellors would parade around and join into the conversations. I found it amazing that the teens had enough to talk about for such a long time!

Morning 1-2-1’s were followed by group activities. This was where the teams would work together, and put together a presentation or performance for the evening’s entertainment. Activities included Dragon’s Den, making an egg protector, creating a made-up country, designing a boat, dancing, singing and performing, to name a few. During group activities, it was a good opportunity for the counsellors to monitor how the Spaniards were interacting in a group environment, and to see how supportive each Anglo was to the cause. Group activities were followed by lunch. The food overall was good. I managed to try some new Spanish dishes that I hadn’t eaten before. Quite often Matiss and I would still be hungry, since we were getting the same size portion as the teens. We did not shy away from asking for more, and we were lucky to have had a good relationship with the kitchen staff.

Afternoons began with free-time. The teens could decide whether they wanted to stay in their rooms, stay on the terrace, or go to the pool. Unsurprisingly the clear majority opted for the pool. Both me and Matiss also had this preference. The weather was hot for the duration of the two weeks. A good chance to get a nice tan before heading back to rainy England. In the pool, the teens usually played volleyball, which I joined in with. Music would also be playing, and almost certainly it would be the same rap music chosen by an Anglo from New York. He formed a good relationship with both myself and Matiss. One of my funniest moments on camp was playing a prank on the guy, when we saw his light on during night watch. He was sat beside his window playing music. Matiss and I snuck up on him and jumped out and shouted. His face turned and his chin dropped like a bowling pin. He juggled his phone in his hands and leapt down onto the sofa, squealing like a little lamb. Matiss and I were in stitches for a good few hours.

Free-time lasted for two hours, and was followed by another set of 1-2-1’s and group ‘fun-fun’. The ‘fun-fun’ activities largely consisted of card games and ‘never have I ever’, a popular game that I played during my university years. The counsellors did have to be around to ensure topics remained PG! At quarter past six, snacks were handed out and we the counsellors had to tot up our points for the day, and relay them back to the teens. We could award plus points for good behaviour or things of note, and minus points for rule breaking. Nuria and Kate, the two veteran counsellors on camp, were very good at awarding minus points to the other teams. It took me a good few days to award a minus point, but when I did the teens leapt up in a massive cheer, maybe because they had realised that I grew some balls (more on balls later).

Following the point re-count, it was time for the free choice activity. This gave the counsellors an opportunity to lead an activity of their own liking. Across the fortnight, I led activities including: tag rugby, comedy, quidditch, dodgeball and poker. Of note was the first week’s comedy session. I do not think I have laughed so much in a space of two hours than I did during the session. The teens performed the best sketches to the rest of the group in the evening presentation. Nathan made it clear to me to ensure there was no swearing or controversial topics. I must admit that I had my heart in my throat with some of the jokes, but thankfully they got a good reaction. I set a series of scenarios, including: Awkward First dates, When Sports go Wrong and Good Cop-Bad cop. We finished on some of-the-cuff one liners. I would start by asking a question with the line ‘Name something you wouldn’t…’ and give a scenario such as ‘hear from the Queen’ or ‘See on a plane’. I was very impressed with some of the performances in the group. It was also good to see some of the quieter members in the camp to come out of their shell and demonstrate their fantastic acting and comedy skills. I tried the comedy session again in the second week, and it was a complete flop. It taught me a valuable lesson and one that I will take into my teaching career.

Free-choice preceded dinner, and then at 10pm we would all meet on the terrace and begin the night- time performances and activities. It was great from my perspective to watch all the performances of the day, and get involved in some of the performances. In the second week, Nathan had the idea of a staff soap opera. Each night we would perform an improvised sketch. It is safe to say that I may have got too much into the sketches. Through-out the week I booted a ball out of camp, annoyed Nuria for standing on some of her clothes, and I also made an offensive comment at the end of one of the sketches in front of all the teens. I suppose that is the danger of improvised acting!

My favourite night time activity was a sing song contest. Nathan would say a word such as love or items of clothing, and in our teams, we had to sing a song that included that word. It would keep on going on until one team failed and one team were left. My team got really into it, and so did I in fact. We got the highest point total in that activity, thanks mainly to a last-minute rendition of ‘You can leave your hat on’. One night we played a game of find the counsellor. Matiss, Kate, Nuria and I all hid somewhere on camp, and in their teams the teens had to find us. It was during this activity that a major accident occurred on camp. Someone had climbed up one of the walls near the pool. The walls were almost like ancient ruins but at some points were seven-foot deep. Unfortunately, she got a little too close to the edge and fell on both her knees. She was rushed to the medical centre and an early night was ordered for the rest of camp. Everyone was obviously worried and it was the counsellors job to reassure everyone. Fortunately, she was not too damaged and I was amazed at how quick her recovery had been.

Night curfew was always at 12pm (except for party night) and lights had to be out by 1pm. The four counsellors alternated one night on-one night off, where we would do night duty in pairs. This consisted of making sure nobody was leaving their rooms and ensuring lights were indeed off at 1pm. We also had to knock on doors to check that everyone was there. This usually lasted until half 1 – 2am. The days were long but I did not lose my enthusiasm at all during the two weeks. It is a good point to interject here and comment on the experience for me personally. I never thought that I would have so much fun on camp. At times, I felt like one of the teens. This was helped by the fact that I developed great friendships with the group. Me and Matiss during the day would just look at each other in amazement and say, ‘We’re getting paid for this’ – and that is not to sound arrogant. We were generally having a great time and it was nice to hear that the teens also had the time of their lives.

One of the hardest parts of the fortnight fell on the first Saturday. This was the day where the first group of Spaniards would leave the camp and be replaced by a second group of Spaniards. Emotions were high saying their goodbyes, and it was important for us as counsellors to bring the enthusiasm back into some of the Anglo’s. After all, a new set of Spaniards would be arriving and it would be unfair on them if the Anglo’s were less interested during the second week. Low and behold after the first night or so, the Anglo’s were back to their jolly selves and we welcomed the new Spaniards with open arms. The night before they arrived, the Anglo’s watched a film, of which I fell asleep in. This would not have been a problem but for the fact that Nathan had asked me to lead a debate the following morning for an hour, discussing the key themes of the film. I was so impressed with some of the mature answers that the teens gave. It was great to be able to hear their opinions on real-life issues and it was also a good experience for me to lead a group in a class-room setting.

New teams were arranged upon the arrival of the Spaniards, and this time around I was the yellow team. Note that my first week team, The Black Pirates, came second by only two points to Nuria’s ‘Fanta-stick’ orange team. I could not come second again! My team for the second week consisted of four Spanish girls and one Spanish boy, who was an aspiring engineer. I was very happy with the Anglo’s that were on my team after developing a good relationship with all of them during the first week. They called themselves the Daffodil Dudes, a.k.a ‘The Double D’s’. Our performance in the evening consisted of the girls swaying in the field like pretty daffodils, and the boys marching in wearing bras to the tune of an RnB classic!

My favourite group activity of the second week was the music video. Nathan, a fantastic theatre/drama tutor, arranged us into our teams and each of us would perform a section of the Ed Sheeran song, ‘Castle on the Hill’. After a few takes, we finally hit the nail on the head and the video culminated into everyone simultaneously jumping into the swimming pool. Everyone was splashing and laughing and I was desperately trying to find Matiss. It turns out he was trying to find me also, because we both knew what the other was thinking. We found each other, grabbed each other and in the emotion of the water splashing around us, we both screamed ‘We are getting paid for this!’. A fantastic moment of the trip and I will certainly be reminded of the moment upon hearing the song in the future.

On the Wednesday of the second week, Nathan had decided that we were to do a cross-dress. The night before Matiss and I exchanged clothes with Kate and Nuria. We had fun trying on different clothes, and painting our nails. I may even consider keeping my toe nails painted in the future to cover all the black nails from all the running that I have been doing! It was funny the following morning to see all the teens dressed like the other half. Some really got into character!

On the Friday of both weeks we held a party night. This was the only time that the 12pm curfew was not in place. Prior to the disco, a talent show was held. I was amazed at the amount of talent on show across the two weeks. Matiss and I also tried our hand at performing at the talent show. For a few days previously, we had established a game which appeared that we could read each other’s mind. Of course, we had our own trick, of which I will not share! We performed the routine on numerous occasions in the days prior, staying up until 3am on one occasion. In the performance Matiss was to guess a country that was chosen by the teens by listening to me and ‘reading my mind’. The performance went on for a good few minutes and I began to worry. The country of choice of Cambodia, and I used our tried and tested routine almost to perfection. Matiss however was lost. It turned out that he had never heard of Cambodia before. We messed up, big time, right in front of all the teens. The disappointment was written on our faces for the rest of the night. Although we did get some solace by successfully pulling off the routine to some of the counsellors from other camps on the final night at the hotel. One to work on if we are to ever be fortunate enough to work on the same camp again in the future!

After the party and when all the teens were tucked up in bed, the staff stayed up and jumped in the pool under the starlit skies; another special moment.

A final fond memory I have is that of the love box. The love box was just as it seems, a box where people could put in a love letter or thank you letter to anyone, and all would be read out at some stage before bedtime. It was nice to get some notes sent my way, and Matiss and I had some fun making some of our own. In the second week, one of the Spanish girls was wearing an Arctic Monkeys t-shirt. With me being a big fan of AM, I commented on it and we had a good discussion about our favourite songs. After establishing this mutual interest, we proceeded to write love notes to each other each night, in the lyrics of our favourite AM songs. I do not think that anyone realised the fact that it was us, or that the notes were written in the lyrics of AM! I also had a good relationship with some of the other campers, and have kept a couple of the notes that were written to me, and still wear the friendship bracelets that were made for me. They bring back happy memories every time I see them.

The final day of week two was equally as emotional as the first week’s goodbyes. Maybe there was the added emotion at the fact that the Anglo’s were also leaving, and of course all staff members. We spent one final night with the Anglo’s at the Diverbo hotel. It was a manic night with all the Anglo’s from all the Diverbo camps together in one hotel. I was on night duty and fortunately I was patrolling around an area where most of the Valverde population were sleeping for the night. We had good fun and it was great to witness the friendships that had been created between the teens. I also developed a good friendship with some of them, and will be sure to keep in touch and see what their futures hold for them. At the end of the camp, I asked Lindsey and Nathan for feedback on my performance, positive and negative. Overall, they were thrilled with my performance on camp, and sent me good wishes for my Vietnam adventure. They did say that at times I may have become too close to the teens and blurred the line between teen and counsellor. This is something for me to take away for next time, but I certainly do not regret getting close to the teens and developing good friendships with them. After all, the age gap between us is small in the grand scheme of things, and I enjoyed being in the role model position. I wish all the teens the best for their futures.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip for me was on the final morning, when the Anglo teens were getting their flights. I had finished my night shift at around 4am. I stayed up an extra half hour to see off the first two leavers. Matiss and I were then awoken by a knock on the door at around 6:30am. It was the four Irish girls. They woke us up just to say one final goodbye, even though we said goodbye the night before. An hour later, another knock on the door. This time the UK boys. Another heart felt goodbye. Another hour past, and a third knock, this time two of the girls. I will always remember that morning because there was no reason for them to knock on our door. They could have just awoken, had breakfast and then get on the bus. Both me and Matiss thought that was very special.

All the teens had left but my time in Spain was not over yet, not quite. Nathan had invited us all to his flat for a party on the Sunday in the centre of Madrid. My flight was not until late on the Monday, so it was perfect for me to have a tour around the great city and share one last moment with Nathan, Lindsey, Kate, Nuria and of course, Matiss. I learnt so much from all of them and thank them for making my time on camp a special and beneficial one. Lindsey was a great role model, especially since she has taught in Asia before. She gave me useful insights and tips and she played the role as PD very well. We had a lot of fun together too, for instance Matiss and I had a war with Nathan and Kate by trashing each other’s rooms. I should say that the latter came out on top, even though I caught both Nathan and Kate in the act. Nuria also got involved on the penultimate night. I hit the sack slightly earlier than the rest but left the door unlocked for Matiss. Nuria capitalised on this, and I was awoken to the sight of her attempting to put a cake in my face. Another funny moment to look back on.

I stayed at a hostel that night and toured around the centre of Madrid the following day before my evening flight. It was about 2pm and I was making my way back to the hostel to collect my bags and go to the airport. I was near Sol metro, one of the busiest parts of Madrid. It was like it was meant to be. I happened to bump into Matiss, who was also making his way back. We shared one last moment together, reflecting on our amazing camp experience. One last photo and one last goodbye. But it was a goodbye for now, as I am sure I will meet up with him again in the future. Perhaps at another Diverbo camp, or maybe in Cambodia!!