Hi everyone!

So Middle School are back from Chiba and their adventures in the muggy depths of Minami Boso, Chiba.

It appeared to have been a challenge for some of the boys, both physically and emotionally.

The weather was quite variable and whilst we were fortunate to not have any rain in the daytime, it was heavy cloud for the first few days whilst also hot and muggy. This didn’t prevent us from getting outside though and it was a welcome sight to see the boys outdoors more.

The insect populations of South Chiba proved too much for a few of the boys and it definitely appeared something to which they were unused. However, they seemed to get over their initial fears of cockroaches and spiders on the first night and I was impressed by their fortitude for the remainder of our stay.

The planned activities seemed to inspire in different ways, and I was surprised afterwards by which were enjoyed more by each boy. Nonetheless, everyone partook and contributed and I hope the skills gained will stay with them (though this will only come from practice of course!).

Food seemed to be something all of the boys were enthusiastic about on reflection. Each having contributed with either the preparation or the cleaning up. It was fun both sampling their wares and seeing their enthusiasm in preparing their dishes.

I sincerely hope that everyone gained something positive from this experience. Whilst it may have been a culture shock for some of the participants, I hope that they will have deepened their friendships with their classmates and perhaps learned a little more about themselves and their comfort zones.

And now that we are returned to school, we will begin to implement some of the ecological systems that we observed and learned about.

Have a nice week.

Ciao!