Bericht über unser Project Soca River mit OUTWARD BOUND ROMANIA

What does the river teach us?

A group of people sitting around the fire and sharing moments of gratitude and expressing appreciation for each other, for nearly two hours. The group cheering for a member who made his first ever kayak roll on the river. A student (already a certified instructor) pulling me and my boat to the shore after falling flat (or wavy, if you excuse me for the bad pun) on my face. 'It's alright' - he says - 'we all start like this'. 6 youngsters playing a card game during their free time, one they had invented themselves. Others around  us are playing Mölkky, doing pushups with boats on their backs, or making dinner for the rest of the group. Sparkling sun on the blue waves, feeling my advancement every day, supported by encouragement, challenge, fun and personal attention from our mentors.

These are among the first images popping to my mind as I'm recalling my experiences from the 9 days I got to spend in Bovec, where I had the honour to be invited to as part of the team of Outward Bound Romania. As an outdoor experiential trainer my aim is to develop opportunities for learning through experiences, so it's an occupational hazard that I tend to view acivities with an educator's  eye. What learning outcomes are desirable and possible, what skills are developed, how to reflect to make the learning transferable? What does the river teach us that we can apply in our lives?

In Outward Bound we believe in creating an inclusive, compassionate, supportive learning environment, where the students are empowered to accept and meet appropriate physical and mental challenges both on a personal level and in a group, and thus grow in self-reliance, responsibility, resilience, social skills, leadership, and self awareness through refecting on the process. This is easier said than done - creating an atmosphere to support both belonging and autonomy, generosity and self-responsibility is more of an art than merely a set of methods.

Soon after arriving to the camp and having our first experiences together, I remember whispering to my colleague, "Well, much of our work is already done here!" 

This idea was reinforced by listening to the reflections of the group one night after we invited the students to contemplate the teachings of the river. The importance of good and clear communication, perseverance, learning how to roll back up instead of avoiding falling, being proactive, having a plan but adapting to the unpredictable were among the many thoughts I heard that night. Then one of the participants looked at me, and asked why we limit the question to the river. 'Kayak AG is so much more than just being on the river. You know, for example, four people making dinner for twenty-four every night, taking care of each other'.

Dang, he was right. The rescue service for each other, the highly challenging activities followed by unstructured relaxing time, the minimalized restrictions yet shared responsibilities, the closeness to nature, the amazing attitude and values that the teacher's team was radiating from inside out (open, accepting, professional, attentive, to name a few, oh, and not underestimating the importance of FUN), all contributed to what I can say was an amazing experience from the viewpoint of a  trainer, a colleague, and a participant. The Soca project was an exquisite professional, cultural, and personal experience for all our team, and we were happy to enrich the week with our approach, our activities, with reflections and sharing that were inspiring to us all.

...And what did the river teach me? Answering feels just fair, and to be honest, I would probably never come up with a question that I am not asking myself.

I learned that all my attention can be worth more than all my effort, waiting for the right moment to make the right move takes me further than pushing too hard. I learned that the forces of water (or life, if I want to take this not far to seek metaphor) are stronger than I am, but I can use this force if I know how to make the river "work for me". I learned that there is always a next eddie if I miss my target, or that rewriting my reflexes takes time (hello, hugging rocks!), even if I know what I'm supposed to do. I learned that even if it is only me who can paddle my way through tough parts, I should always be aware of who and where exactly my people are. Also I learned to never underestimate the value of a mars bar, to choose to hold the paddle instead of your nose, and, of course, to KEEP ON PADDLING!

Eszter Dobák, Outward Bound Romania