Day 2 of retreat

After the first day of the retreat, I was pretty annoyed to be going back again at 9 o'clock Saturday morning. But everything turned out to be good, actually. 

We had 2 guest facilitators from the campus group called IGR - Inter Group Relations and they met with us for about 3 hours working on social identity awareness, conflict resolution and teamwork. I felt like I was a few steps ahead of the group because I had just completed the same activities at my Intercultural Leadership Seminar over spring break. We spent the first part of the morning filling out and discussing our social and personal identities with one another. Then we did an activity called, "Who Owns the Zebra, Who Drinks the Water?" - another activity I did at ILS. The large group was divided into 3 teams and given about 40 minutes to try and figure out the puzzle. I was in charge of watching how people interacted, conflicts, teamwork, etc. The puzzle is so fun if you haven't done it before! You can check it out at this website:

http://www.themathlab.com/gym/brainbuilders/logic/whozebra.htm

I made a list of all kinds of observations and after one of the teams solved the puzzle, we spent another 40 minutes discussing the teams' work. Other student fellows and site leaders who were present also made observations and shared their thoughts. It was funny to hear everyones interpretations of how their groups worked through the problem because most were very different than how we, as observers, interpreted their actions/facial expressions/body language.

During and after lunch, we were shown a painting and in teams of about 8, asked to discuss what the painting was about and perform our interpretations in front of the entire group. There were some really creative ideas and a couple of the skits were hilarious. It was a good team bonding activity and also tested our creativity. Definitely wasn't something we ever considered doing in art history class. 

After the skits we were told it was time for another movie. Afraid of what this one could possibly be about, we all reluctantly walked into the auditorium. The movie was called Baraka and I am happy to say, it is now in my list of top 3 favorite movies. It was absolutely incredible. There is no dialogue - instead it is a series of photographs, some time-lapse video, of all different places on Earth, people, religious practices, museums. It was breathtaking. The video opened with shots of the Himalayas to Japanese flute/meditation music. It showed various religious practices from all over the world, waterfalls in Africa, temples in Thailand, the lush vegetation of Indonesia, Buddhist monks, Indigenous tribal dancing, people crowding in subways in Japan, Ayers rock, the Australian Outback, Auschwitz, Times Square, burning oil fields in Kuwait, everything. It was mesmerizing. I highly recommend it - for the photography, the music, the meaning.... at one point, my friend Stephen turned to me and said, "I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be feeling right now." It is one of those films that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. Because there are no words, no explanations of what is happening, why those sites are being filmed, the interpretation is left to the viewer. It was, by far, my favorite experience of the entire weekend. 

If you're interested, you can read more about the movie here:

http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/baraka.aspx

Post-movie, we learned about our Relgious Immersion Project for Sunday. More info in the next blog entry (Day 3 of Retreat).

Saturday night, I went to a Chinese film about love and relationships in China in the 21st Century. As part of our team requirements for China (separate from the GIEU retreat), we have to go to at least 3 Chinese films held every Saturday evening and write a 2 page reflection on one of them. This was the first one I attended. Next week, is one about the Bird's Nest - the Olympic Stadium. Should be interesting. After the movie, I met with my co-facilitator for the dance module for our trip and we planned what we're teaching the kids in China. Details on that to come as things are not finalized yet. But I can't wait!!! 

Watch Baraka!