The show must go on!

Okay, so quite early after arriving at the school, I found myself in an interesting and quite unexpected situation. In an attempt to turn a meeting of chaos into order I had gotten myself elected to organize the first year show, a tradition among the students here. My job was quite simple and pretty complex; get 100 young people, all from different nations and cultures, to work together and create a performance art show. The first feeling that struck me was woups, the second was wau. Because I have never in my life seen as much collective talent as I discovered that week! So my goal was clear from the very beginning; everyone should be able to participate with their talents, opinions and energy to making this show great from everyone involved.

It was hard work! Just like Cathy, who organized the second year show, had warned me, I barely got any sleep for the days leading up to the show. But the process was amazing. It was great to see all the people I just met working together and having fun. Everyone was dedicated and eager to participate in a way that is hard to describe if you have never been here. I saw a lot of new friendships form, and I think the week strengthened the union of our year. And in the end, we had a great show!

In that week I learned a great deal about organizing. Conducting people who are all so very different was not an easy task. Some things I did right, some things I did wrong, and a lot of things I learned along the way. But I think the most important lesson I learned was not at all about me, it was about this school. This school holds an enormous power. It has 200 students from almost half as many countries, who are all willing to do devote themselves to doing great things for each other and for everyone else. The forecast for the next two years does not look bad at all!


Here is a video of the opening of the show: