Did we stay awake all night in keeping with the Lithuanian last-day-of-camp tradition? Mostly!
We started our final day of camp with a hearty breakfast, a birthday celebration with traditional Lithuanian cake for two of the delegates, and presentations of our appreciation to the gracious kitchen staff and owners.
The US Embassy’s cultural attache Mojib Ghaznawi and Embassy staff from Lithuania, beloved Inga Sidrys and Vytas Neviera, who are especially integral to the ongoing camp program, journeyed from Vilnius through a rainstorm to join us for our closing ceremony. This included the presentation of certificates, photos of each delegation, and as the skies cleared and sun emerged, an outdoor group photo with flags, and another photo on the lakeside dock. As we returned to the camp lodge, a white stork flew overhead, a sign of good luck in Lithuania. We hope this means we all have safe travels home to our towns, cities, and countries. We also hope it means the Embassy and LAKMA will continue sponsoring and managing the camp because we definitely learned more about democracy, values, and we made close friends from people who, last week, were strangers. Mojib asked us to reflect on the camp, the memories and friends we made, and the lessons we learned before we re-enter our usual life. He reminded us, too, that we can take what we learned, implement it in our lives and even in our schools and holidays.
Today was the much anticipated reveal of our secret friend and the giving of parting gifts to them. Through a game, we tried to guess who our secret friends were and then we gave them a thank you gift. It was fun!
Students surprised tutors with kind words and a poster; students also crowned Kristina as the Queen of Camp!
We thank the US Embassy for sponsoring this amazing camp and LAKMA for putting it all together and managing everything, for all of the prizes we received, and especially for the opportunity to make new friends and learn about international cultures and democracies. We will take what we have learned at this camp and work to make the world a better – and more peaceful – place for all.
Goodbye! Iki! Cześć! Do pobachennya!
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