It was 10:30 at night, high up in the Carpathian mountains in Romania, when suddenly someone shouted “Bear! Bear!” Immediately, 25 Blue Heron students, along with various administrators and teachers who had gathered together for the annual Summer Camp, looked outside and there it was—a large black bear, pawing through the garbage.
When Blue Heron rented a modest chalet near Brasov, we were warned about bears. Seeing one only added to the excitement of the seven days spent there. The real excitement, however, was to be in a camp where Blue Heron students from all over Romania and Moldova came together. The camp gave them a chance to interact with each other as well as with the Blue Heron team.
Each day started with a combination of warm-up exercises and laughter. The rest of the hours were spent learning how to dance (everything from ballroom to hip hop) and to take artistic photographs (everyone had a chance to show their work) and hiking. The students also attended a variety of workshops, including “role playing for job interviews”.
Stefania Magidson screened her INK Talks speech, and spoke about the path that lead her to start Blue Heron. Mihaela Stanciu shared her knowledge about taking a spiritual path in life. A number of other administrators shared their stories as well. The message from each was clear: work hard, never give up and be resourceful.
Daniela Serban Tordoi and Adrian Paduraru did all the heavy lifting on the organizational front without which none of this would even be possible. Their energy and big hearts were an inspiration to all and made the camp into the stirring success that it was.
