Falling Coconuts: English Camp

This July we have been hosting our first round of English Camps! We planned 3 weekend events throughout the month.

Each event runs from Friday evening until Sunday evening. We pretty much have one rule: Once you arrive at our front gate, you leave Portuguese outside and speak only English inside!

We have been so fortunate to have two awesome volunteers helping us for the month. Jeanette and Arlene both hail from southern Manitoba area and have been invaluable when it comes to planning activities, food prep and interacting with our 'campers'.

We always make it very clear to people that we are NOT a language school. There are plenty of those around, and we do not want to be seen as competition. We want to be a SUPPORT to these language schools. We let them teach things like grammar and vocabulary. We are native English speakers who they can use to practice what they have already learned in class. We do this through organized games (like Taboo, Scattergories and Funglish), activities (like putting on a mini Amazing Race and baking cookies), and of course, leaving lots of time to just hang out and chat while we laze in the pool, kick a soccer ball around, or make pies in the kitchen.

All the meals we serve are foods typical to North America. People get the opportunity to try things like quiche, cinnamon buns, pancakes (of COURSE they are topped with maple syrup!), tacos, and lasagna. Although I have to admit that the most popular meal is definitely roasting hot dogs around a campfire and s'mores for dessert.

Aside from language and food, we strive to give people a distinctly Canadian cultural experience as well. People can attend workshops on Canadian idioms ('Keep your stick on the ice') and linguistic quirks, eh?! We also try to talk about what day to day life is like in Canada (like how many layers of clothing you have to wear in winter, or the fact that Canadians tend to be punctual). Above all else, we are teaching people that no matter what we Canadians are, we are NOT Americans! (Sorry if I offended you, my American friends. - Did you catch the ever present Canadian Sorry there??)

We have finished our first two events, and our third is coming up this weekend. The first two went SO WELL! If you happen to be in the Northeast of Brazil this weekend and would like to sign up, we still have a few spots available! Give us a call, or message us on Facebook and sign up!

Here's what people are saying about the events:

"One of the best experiences I have ever had! Thank you!" -Lia
"By Sunday morning, I noticed myself thinking in English. It was awesome!" -Victor
"How the people in the organization were so dedicated and kind and the activities push us to a better level." -Emanuel

Here are some pics for you to enjoy!