Written by Valts Rozentāls
This is my second year coming to Bögöz in Székelyföld (Székely Land). Some say you cannot visit the same place twice. It is true, the very idea changed my perspective about the place even before leaving. This year we got the same Orga team as last year – everybody knows what to do and how to get it done. Fifteen kids will be traveling with us to Bögöz, three of them visited Bögöz in previous years – twelve are coming for the first time.
Bögöz must wait – we missed our take-off slot as the plane personnel had to re-seat 1/3 of the plane, almost everybody from our group. It seems that they tried to fix trim and mixed the youth and adults. This event put us on the next available slot 45min after original take-off time. If that wasn’t enough – landing slot was also on hold because of bad weather over Romania. This even set us off for about two hours. The flight itself and also the landing were calm. We arrived at Sibiu Airport around 14:50 local time, it was hot – rainy summer day type of hot. Some puddles on the ground implied that there was rain not so long ago, but now the heat was back. Rain turned out to be our companion for that evening and the following day also. The bus ride was as swift as it goes on these roads and in no time, we arrived in Bögöz.
First – some information about ground rules and water shortage here. Even if we were a little bit upset about the rainy weather, the locals were waiting for it since spring. Rain was not a common occurrence here this year and it depleted the ground water reserves. This would also mean to keep our showering times at the minimum.
The kids of Bögöz were also here so we wanted to jump right into having some fun as the clouds got darker and darker with each passing minute. Shootout was a good choice; the kids could be mixed throughout the line and start to get to know each other. We could manage but a few games and it started to pour down on us. The long-awaited relief. But it was okay – it was dinner time anyway. Irenke had cooked and it was delicious and nutritious as always. Amazingly she can accommodate all our needs – be it vegetarian or some intolerances.
Meanwhile the rain had stopped, and we could go outside again to play some more. The ground was wet, so we decided to play 5on5 with passes only. Four teams, everybody plays with everybody, teams mixed – kids from Munich together with kids from Bögöz. Basketball does bring them together, both had to use every bit of imagination they had to communicate and play together.
Only thing left was the feedback round to reflect what we have already seen, experienced and define personal expectations for the week ahead. Just like last year, the first one was slow, and the youth didn’t trust to fully commit themselves to express themselves. No worries, though, it would get better every day.
