Friday Afternoon

Reception at the Girl Scout Council Service Center We were bused over from the hotel to the Council Service Center, where we did some fast shopping in the Council shop ("Ooh! You have these! My Council shop won't carry them!"), participated in a tour of the facility, watched a dance presentation by a local Native American Junior troop, and had refreshments. First time in my life I'd ever had chocolate brownies lightly dusted with chili powder (although we had been warned to "Watch out for the brownies"). The facility was great -- I'm jealous -- although the shop needs a little more space, particularly when invaded by busloads of tourists (us)! Some SWAPS were exchanged on the bus, but the SWAPping started in earnest back at the hotel!

Friday night

• housekeeping
• a welcoming address ("It NEVER rains in October in Albuquerque!")
• an address by Pam Graff(?), complete with the "snake stick" she carved as a girl in CIT
• line dancing (which didn't slow down the swappers or those conducting impromptu reunions of their own...)

Saturday Morning

After a really great breakfast (buffet style, and a lot more filling than the "continental breakfast" I was expecting!), the serious part of the weekend began. The trainings consisted of four sessions, which had to be signed up for in advance. Most people seemed to get their first choice.

The titles listed below are not necessarily the titles given in the program, but are my best guess as to what the topic of the presentation actually was. Those which have links are links to what I remember of my notes!

First session:

• Don't Worry, Be Happy (Surviving the Stress of Training and Life)
• Games: Liven Up Your Training
• Solar Cooking: How to Do It & How to Train It!
• Explore and Discover: Using Math and Science Resources
• Moving Down the Highway: Teaching Leaders to Take Troops Traveling
• Making A Constellation: Pluralism Icebreakers
• C.A.T.s (Computer Aided Trainings)
• I Can Leave No Trace (I don't have any notes from the LNT session yet, but excellent teaching materials are available at the LNT Web Site. This one was two sessions long, and went into the second session.

Second Session

• Kitchen Table Training
• Keeping It Light! Public Speaking
• Outdoor Skills for Group Application
• Swinging Across the Generation Gap
• Around the World the WAGGGS Way
• Ethics in Girl Scout Training
• Hip Pocket Training
• I Can Leave No Trace (Part 2)

Lunch Break!

My group gobbled down box lunches (wa-a-a-ay too much food!), and ran off in the rain (see above) to Old Town. Made it back in time for the afternoon classes...

Third Session

• "Strut" Miss Daisy
• Peer Evaluation
• Under the Night Sky
• Issues for Older Girls...Creating Exciting Older Girl Trainings
• Friends and Neighbors Far O'er the Sea
• The Multicultural Cinderella
• Team Building
• Variety is the Spice of Life (first part of a two-part session)

Fourth Session

• Out of Context - Creativity in Training Design
• Experiential Training: Let's Do It!
• Earth Whispers...Nature Awareness Activities for Leaders
• Baby, Think It Over!
• Power in Questions: Asking Questions to Achieve Richer Discussions
• Focus On Ability
• Everything You Always Wanted to Try...
• Variety is the Spice of Life (second part of a two-part session)

Saturday Night

We had a great dinner, with door prizes (I didn't win!), and a performance by the Ballet Folklórico from Del Norte High School in Albuquerque. These high school performers were fabulous! It was followed by a singalong, where the new song Dare to Dream was taught, along with a lot of old and new favorites.

Sunday:

• At 7 am (the crack of dawn, or "oh-dark-thirty" as they say in the military), a hot air balloon was set up in the parking lot east of the hotel.
• Breakfast
• Things to think About -- Training Issues That Affect Us All- a set of discussions at different tables on topics submitted by trainers during the weekend. We were free to pick our favorite and stay there, or migrate around. One person at each table was designated the "recording secretary" and wsa to outline the discussions. (This material is to be e-mailed or snail-mailed to the participants, and we hope, GSUSA.)
• Closing Ceremony -- Juliette's Pearls, and a rendition of Dare to Dream.