Round Square: Conquering Fears

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

Our conference in Denmark was entitled, “Exploring Heights” and on the fifth day of the conference we woke up at 6:30 am as usual, to catch the bus to “Kragerup Gods,” Denmark’s first and only high ropes adventure course. Once we arrived we were split into two groups. Those in the first group were the first to start the high ropes course while the second group had to wait one hour so that there wouldn’t be too big of a line. Since I was in the second group, we crossed the street to what looked like an old barn from the outside. But to my surprise once the big barn doors opened we were shocked to see a human sized foosball table and an archery station. Easy enough to say we were well amused for that hour playing several soccer games with our arms harnessed on a long pole. While I was busy playing human sized foosball with some of the German students Maxwell had got a bull’s-eye in archery.

Once the hour had passed and it was our time to take on the high ropes course we were all excited. After everyone had been harnessed we were taken though a quick demo of how to safely go about the high ropes course. I had already done something similar to this in Tremblant so I considered myself ready to take it on. There were four different adventure courses, all with different levels of intensity, green, blue, dark blue and red. Green being the easiest we all had to start there. A German boy and I were the first to give it a go. At first it was pretty easy but once we were all the way up to dark blue I started to get nervous. The German boy I was with, Moritz, didn’t seem to mind the height. Once it was lunch break, Moritz and I manned the BBQ’s and made everyone’s burgers and sausages. The lunch break was well needed but we still had the red course to do!

Half way through one of the sections in the red course I hit a wall. At over 40 feet above ground, I felt I could no longer push myself to beat this course. But then I remembered something my dad always says, “mind over matter.” If it were the same course but only 10 ft. off the ground it would be a piece of cake. So I overcame my fears and finished as much as I could with the time I had.

In all it was a great day. Not only did I become good friends with Moritz, but I had also challenged myself and found a way to conquer my fears. I had literally “explored the heights.”– Charles Laframboise ’13

Round Square: Denmark Reflection

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

This year’s Round Square trip to Denmark was one of the most interesting and enjoyable trips I have been able to partake in. For seven days, four other LCC students and myself took part in many activities and stimulating discussion, but the part of the trip, which I personally found to be the most exciting, was the group excursion to Copenhagen. The day trip took place during the third day of the conference. After an hour bus ride to Copenhagen, my group was let off near the free state of Christiania, an independent and self-governing microstate in the heart of Copenhagen, similar to that of the Vatican in Rome. Its political situation, however, is surely the only similarity that Christiania shares with the Vatican City. Christiania became a free state in 1971 after its abandoned army barracks were taken over by some Copenhagen residents. Today, it serves as a home to almost 800 residents and is known for its direct and inclusive form of democratic government as well as for its alternative lifestyle.

For the next part of the trip, we walked to the Danish Parliament in the pouring rain. There we got a tour of the building and a little lesson on more conventional Danish democracy. For the last part of the trip, we went to a street called Stroget. This street is in fact the longest commercial-only walking street in the world. After having explored some of the shops with other conference members, everyone met for dinner where we and all of the other conference delgates also celebrated Charlie Laframboise’s birthday! Following the meal, we returned to the host school, 80 kilometres away in Naestved for a very good night’s rest after such an extraordinary but tiring day of adventure.– Max Wiltzer ’13

Round Square: Exploring Heights in Denmark

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

Visiting Denmark for the first time was a wonderful experience. A regional Round Square conference took place at Herlufsholm School in Naestved, 80 kilometres outside of Copenhagen. The elite boarding school was founded in the 16^th century, 1565. Herlufsholm is rich in culture, offers internationally recognized academic degrees and provides superb athletics since it has top of the line facilities. Their assembly room reminded me of the Chateau de Versailles in France. The ceilings have stunning artworks and the walls are filled with outstanding paintings. Even the moldings on the walls are sensational.

The theme of the conference was Exploring Heights: physically and mentally. To physically explore heights, we participated in a high ropes course that enabled us to reach our full potential even though most of us began this journey full of anxiety. To mentally explore heights, a guest speaker came to Herlufsholm to share a few personal experiences. He works as an elite soldier in the military in a dangerous sector, where he could die during most expeditions. He taught us that people live their life focusing on mistakes they’ve made in the past, but no one has the power to change the past. The most we can do is do our best to create the best possible future. His message was that focusing on the positive in life is the key to happiness. — Emily Smith ’13

Round Square: Elephant Whispers

Posted on October 11, 2012 by admin

The very last day of our pre-conference tour took us to Elephant Whispers, a sanctuary for elephants. What an amazing and unique experience! How many times in your life will you be able to interact so intimately with the largest land animals on the planet? After listening to the handler’s explanation on all things elephant and some cheesy, overused jokes, we went to touch the elephants. Full of prickly sensor hairs, they were rough to the touch. Their trunks were cool too, albeit nearly impossible to keep still when they know there’s food around (they can smell tens of thousands of times better than we can). We actually got to ride them too, a bumpy but unforgettable experience.

The elephants are still wild animals and are free to roam across the 3000-hectare property as they wish. They have only been trained through positive reinforcement (perform a task=food reward), and their intelligence has allowed them to learn over 150 commands without much difficulty.

Elephants are such magnificent animals. So much raw power, but they can still pick up a twig on the ground with tremendous dexterity and precision. They have a very gentle nature to them, but don’t mistake them for wimps; they will attack when threatened. Family is incredibly important to them too. A pack will actually take care of its sick and even mourn the death of lost loved-ones. And it’s not just a myth; elephants do have incredible memories and are notorious for holding grudges for decades. Oh yeah, did you know that elephants are right or left-handed? Who knew? — Zachary Dionisopoulos ’13

Round Square: Service Day at Primary Schools

Posted on October 11, 2012 by admin

On the second day of the conference, we headed out in small groups to spend the morning at primary schools. Arriving at the schools, we were greeted with smiling faces and warm hugs. We spent an hour with individual groups of ten children cutting out pictures from magazines and creating personal artwork for them to bring home. The boys enjoyed gluing pictures of motorbikes, while the girls had a blast adding glitter to the cutouts of dresses and models they had stuck onto their bags. It was great seeing their smiles as they held up their own unique pieces of art.

Once the classes were clean, we celebrated our visit with games, dances, and songs. There was a feeling of nostalgia as we sang the words to songs like “London Bridge” and played “Simon Says.” The children were fascinated by our cameras and asked us for group pictures. They were so excited to see their faces on a screen.

The memorable events of the morning were sadly coming to an end as the students from the primary school sang a few of their favorite songs from their culture. Hugs and kisses were offered when we said our last goodbyes. We felt a sense of community and warmth from the children and their smiles and affection. Although we did not leave having given a large sum of money or supplies to the schools, we look back on our visit with hope that the feeling was mutual.

That night, the Jump! Foundation led two hours of icebreakers and personal development activities. Not only did this allow us to meet a range of new people but it also taught us respect for other cultures and opinions. Those who were courageous stood up and voiced their points of view; their confidence was praised with a loud cheer by the delegates screaming “ROCKSTAR!”

The impact of the days memorable activities were recognized at the end of the trip, as almost all of us marked this day as one of the trip’s high points. — Sabrina Aberman ’13