junior program summer site : conversations : first session



	rebecca from new jersey (7/26) Rebecca is entering 7th grade and is here for her first Explo summer. This session, she hopes to make new friends and create art projects, while learning hip hop dance and painting in her two courses. How do you like Explo so far? I like it a lot. What have been some of the highlights of the first week? I’ve enjoyed making friends and trying new activities and stuff. Also, my courses. What have been some of your favorite activities? I really like art activities, like making lanyard decorations, drawing, and making posters and stuff. Today I did the “marble painting” activity, which was a lot of fun. I also did the “Ooblek relay races”, which was a lot of fun because we got to make the slimy stuff, and when you put pressure on it, it would harden. How did you make it? We just mixed water and corn starch. Then we did relay races with it with cups. We had to run with it and try to get as much as we could into the cup. It was hard because it would slide out of your hand. What other activities did you like? I liked “muggle improv” for Harry Potter day. We did an alien thing where each person in a group of five gets to say one word. It was cool. The activities are really fun here, and there are always a lot of different choices. Which courses are you taking? I’m taking “Move Over Rembrandt” [painting] and “Bend, Flex, Move. . .Dance!” [hip-hop dance], and “Summer Spa” is one of my mini-courses. What have you been doing in painting? So far we did the color wheel, and we’ve been making cool and warm color paintings. What did you paint? For my cool color painting, I just made hearts and swirleys and stuff -- only with cool colors. For my warm color painting, I made flowers. We could only use warm or cool colors so we had to use our imaginations. I used pink and red and orange in my flower painting, but I didn’t use any yellow. How’s your hip-hop dance class? We actually have the whole dance down, except for one that another teacher is going to show us. It’s really fun and I love the song, too. You learned the whole dance in just one week? Yeah. For the other two weeks we’ll be practicing it a lot. At the end, we’re going to perform in “Off-Broadway Night”. We have two teams and we got to choose colors and names for the teams. What are you doing in teams? Well, it’s like a competition because it’s hip-hop dance. Each team takes turns because the song repeats itself a few times. Do you do a lot of hip-hop dance on your own? It’s just something I wanted to try. I’ve never taken classes but I like that type of music. What are Explo courses like? I like the courses in general because there are a lot of different choices, so if people like sports, they could do sports, and if they like art, they could do art. The teachers are really nice and fun at the same time, and they teach a lot of good stuff. Like, if you need help, they’ll always help you, and they’re really energetic. What’s “Summer Spa”? We get to mix fragrances for creams and glitter gel and lip balm and soap and stuff like that. How do you make all of that? For the lip balm, we mixed beeswax and shea butter. We put it in the microwave and added scents, and then it hardened. Which scents did you add? I put in “tropical” and bubblegum. Which trips did you like the best last session? I liked Canobie Lake Park, Water Country, and I also liked “Pottery at Your Place”. They brought pottery for us and we got to paint them, and they showed us some new styles of painting. I made a plate and a cup. What is life like on your residence hall? I like the hall; it’s a lot of fun. We do a lot of hall activities and it’s fun having a roommate and stuff. As a hall, we like to play card games, board games, and tell jokes. What’s it like living with a roommate? Well, you have to be fair and make agreements with your roommate, but it’s also fun having a roommate. We’re friends. What are your RA’s like? My RA’s are really fun and cool and I like them a lot. They’re both different -- they have very different personalities. They help us out with anything that we ask for, and if we feel homesick, they help us. How would you describe Explo to a friend at home? You do a lot of different and fun things, and you do it in a fun way. You don’t even realize it but you’re learning how to do all sorts of new things, like painting. It’s really fun but you’re also learning how to be a better painter. What are you hoping to accomplish during the rest of this summer? I’m hoping to make a lot of paintings and meet new friends and become a better dancer and bring home projects and stuff. How is Explo different from what you were expecting before you came? I thought it was going to be like school, but it’s much more fun than we expected. We get to do activities and dance and stuff, and you don’t only have to do your two courses. There are activities and things going on throughout the day. If Explo were a type of food, what would it be? I think it would be an apple. Apples are healthy but they’re still really good. At Explo, you’re learning, but you’re still having a lot of fun. more conversations > first session \| second session