What is a treasure for you? With this circle we started our gathering under the shade roof. Each participant explained what item he had brought and why it was precious to her/him. “My family, my school class” “my power feather”, “my bracelet”. “The fun we will have during looking for the big treasure, will be the real treasure”. Those were the answers in the beginning of the camp.
A different kind of treasure- a big treasure box, wanted to be moved and stolen by the different group of thieves. The problem: as soon as the thieves got spied while moving the noisy big box, they had to leave. Learning how to gather people of your team secretly – was the task in this game we were playing during the whole camp.
Ms. “Star fart” played pantomime theater with us, our Chinese Man “Mr. Ming Ming” channeled in a very dramatic way the map for the big treasure hunts. “Vagabundi Aventuro” constantly started to cry if he got wet or if he wouldn’t win a game and “Cherie” didn’t want to take off her princess outfit and make up. And Mr. David always was up for acrobatics. Through those characters for the “adult leaders” we had developed for the camp, we were able to mirror back to the children their behavior. Through us starting to complain about everything, they had to switch their role and behavior- as the position of complaining was already taken by us adults. So they started to give us orientation and told us to stop doing it or started to tell us what we could be thankful about instead of seeing everything black.
We also created treasures ourselves: the goddess eye out of wool, shaped soap stones, made bracelets and wrote love letters to our parents and family.
Every night we created a circle for their wishes where to sleep. Every day a new each of us was challenged to speak our wish, regarding of whether it was possible or not and whether the other person also wanted to sleep next to me or not. But speaking my wish, so it can be heard and fulfilled by the universe. And: in whatever language. English, Hebrew, Portuguese or German. There was always someone to translate or support. The children helped each other to find solutions that were fitting for everyone. Sleeping in a star shape for example. Where all of the heads touch and are together, so one can sleep close to more than only one person.
The big treasure hunt hike started at day number five. From our land we walked to the next lake and place. Always following the map, which showed pictures of where we have to go to next. Time for long talks on the way. After two days we arrived at “Solua” and finally found our treasure. Liquid gold in form of juice and paper rolls with three written qualities, each child carries. They found the treasure they carry within themselves, in the treasure box they were chasing for days.
“What was the treasure for you?”, we asked us at the end of the camp. And in a pantomime riddle game we revealed: “Seeing the eagles three times”, “the candle dance”, “the wild bores”, “the abundance of water”, “the games we played”, “discovering the treasure box”, “When I could hug my mother again” , “getting to know all of these new friends”.
With gifting back to the parents our treasures in form of a clown-acrobatics-dance performance, we closed this arc of nine days treasure hunt.
With gratitude for all the jewels and gold nuggets we discovered.
