Living in a Wardli

10 Highs

1: Making Friends

2: Digging in to the Ice-cream

3: Hackey Sack

4: Making Dinner

5: UNO

6: Getting Letters

7: Bean Bag Championship

8: Mucking Around

9: Cooking

10: Taking Photos

10 Challenges

1: Pressure to clean house

2: Arguments

3: Timed Showers

4: 6:30 Wake Up

5: Not Enough Sleep

6: Letters Take Too Long to Get Home

7: Random Blood Noses

8: Getting Sick

9: Jimmy Leaving

10: Not Enough Free Time

I am a member of Wardli #4 with Luke, Ian, Jimmy and Phil. We were the only group that didn't have to sleep in tents on Saturday night because we kept our Wardli up to the standard of cleanliness. My role within the group is mainly focused around the kitchen with wiping down the benches, cleaning the dishes and the fridge and putting things away. I also sometimes sweep and clean the bathroom. We all share the workload very well and I think this is one of the main reasons we are so successful. If anything, I want to get better at cooking and have a chance to see how I go at it.

We had a meeting on Sunday morning and only a few minor issues were raised. The main things we talked about were Ian getting all the credit even though the workload is shared very evenly and everyone contributes and the escalation of jokes against Phil that are bordering on teasing. We have all come to peaceful conclusions to these problems in the following ways; the leaders have acknowledged our work effort, not just Ian's and everyone has agreed to give Phil a bit of peace and leave him alone a bit.

I'm starting to realise how much work Mum and Dad do at home but I usually would help them at home anyway. Being a boarder I can't really do a lot of cleaning or cooking so my time in the Wardli won't really help me whilst I'm in the Boarding House. But I when I come hope, hopefully I'll have more appreciation for what my parents go through and help more.

There are many skills required of a person to be an effective member of a Wardli. A person must be able to listen to all members of the group, accept and give constructive criticism and make sure everyone knowns what is happening and what they need to do. They must also take initiative, meaning they do helpful things without having to be asked and will make sure everything is done before they have a break. Another thing a person must strive to do to be an effective member of the Wardli is they must be of good humour. Whilst living in a Wardli is \about learning skills of living, it is also about getting along with people. If a person has good manners and is generally good humoured, they will find getting along with people easier. Also, if a certain level of organisation is achieved, getting to things on time and fitting everything in during the busy schedule Wambana imposes will be a lot easier and it is a very helpful skill for a Wardli member to have. Another important skill is to simply have a positive attitude. The intense and busy schedule and physical drain of some activities can leave people feeling a bit down. If a person can stay positive they can stay in a state of effectiveness needed to maintain an effective Wardli.

Our Wardli has no obvious person who has all of these skills but rather we seem to have all of them in some way or rather as a group. Some people may lack initiative, but the people with good communication skills can tell them what to do . Also, when some people may be feeling a bit run down, other members of the Wardli understand and try to help as well as they can.

Our Wardli is running just about how I would like it to be for the rest of the camp. We have established a list of jobs for each person that make the cleaning a lot easier and we seem to be working well. We have arguments, but that in my point of view, is inevitable. That would be the only thing I would like to change because the arguments are starting to get a bit annoying, but i'll live.