After a weekend of not-so roughing it ( see picture), we have emerged more confident then ever in our strength as a team.
We spent the majority of the weekend working on our presentations.
We took a break at 3 o'clock on Saturday to begin preparations for our evening meal. Everyone chipped in and a heavy load was shared by all.
Russ had arranged for Jaulita Sullivan to treat us to a traditional Brazilian meal. She showed us how to make magic out of 8 pounds of shrimp, some celantro and assorted fruits and vegetables. I decided that their is a good chance that I will have to be returned home on some sort of barge or military transport plane if this was a reflection of what our meals would be like during our stay.
After the wonderful dinner, it was time to take our presentations out for a spin in front of a live audience. Aside from Chris, who was batting clean-up for us, we all learned that simplification was required in order to improve their effectiveness. As uncomfortable as it was ( most of us had not even practiced our full presentations in private, much less in front of people) this was an important part of our training. Jaulita assisted each one of us individually, helping us fine-tune our presentations while the rest of the team chipped in to help clean up from the meal.
The weekend impressed upon us that although we are a team, we all bring individual talents to the group.
As we all prepared the meal, we each had our own task to accomplish. Each was important in its own way, and was vital for the success of the finished product, which we all enjoyed together. Perhaps this was the purpose of the weekend.
On the way home Ashley, Katie and I had the privileged of stopping and meeting the incoming Thai and Brazil Teams while they were receiving orientation in Roanoke. The Thai team presented us with pins from their native district. We look forward to visiting with them again in the future. Our next meeting will be hosted by Katie in Amherst, Va, in April...Can't wait! Thank you to our visitors Jim Bangle, Susan Austin for having lunch with us, El Saunders for sharing her experiences with us, Jim and Linda Kelly for allowing us to use his cabin, Jim and Jaulita Sullivan, and Alice Hauver.
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