Today was a pretty fun day. We covered Sexually Transmitted Infections, which aren't necessarily very fun, but we got through it pretty fast. We talked about having an STI makes you up to ten times more likely to contrat HIV.
After this we split up the kids again by gender, except taking all of the kids under twelve out. So first we had girls twelve and up while the boys and young'uns went outside. Then it was time for me and Jessy to do the... CONDOM DEMONSTRATION!
I don't know how we two were roped into doing that, but we were. For this purpose AYO had purchased and given us five dildos. They were the glow in the dark kind! The reason for it being so explicit is that another group a while back had tried to do the condom demonstration on their thumbs and the kids didn't really get that thumb = penis, so... anyway, there's really nothing lost in translation when you whip out five glow-in-the-dark dildos.
The girls were shy to start, but seemed to have a little fun. There was definitely a lot of giggling, but they all seemed to understand. We discussed how if you start putting a condom on backwards you have to throw it away, since some potentially infectious fluids would be on the outside once you flip it around. Considering my high school didn't offer a condom demonstration even in my senior health class, I think these kids are getting a great opportunity.
So every girl got the opportunity to try and then we went through some sex negotiation where Jessy and I acted out some things they may hear people say about sex (“everyone is doing it!”) and things they can say in response (“no, everyone is not doing it. Some people even pretend to be sexually active to impress their friends.”)
Next we got the guys in. They were similarly shy to start out with, but opened up pretty quickly as well. I think it helped how matter-of-fact me and Jessy were, not flinching when doing the demonstration or showing any shame. Mostly these kids need to understand that condoms are normal and safe and healthy and that they shouldn't be ashamed of using them.
After the negotiations and stuff we made power dolls with the kids, which they really enjoyed and I was glad for it. If you don't know what that is, it's where they write a message to themselves on a half sheet of paper and then crumple it into a ball. This will become the head. They wrap it in a 12' x 12' square of fabric. Using just some yarn, it becomes a little doll. I'll have some pictures of them later, after I return.
I spent the time organizing the stuff for the giveaway at the end. By the time the power dolls were done we were ready to eat. Each kid came in and got a sparkly pencil and some stickers and a TY beanie baby. Some of them were kind of puzzled at them, since I'm sure they aren't used to a lot of the North American wildlife that they take some inspiration from. For instance, nobody was listening to us tell them that the beaver wasn't some kind of dog. Heh.
After camp we headed home to bust out the wine. Or, rather, we ate some dinner, waited for Eugene and Vusi (two of our translators) to show up, and then we busted out the wine. We had a bottle of red and white and although I can't remember the exact brand, I know they were both from South Africa. They were pretty delicious. We played cards. We learned a South African card game, Casino, and we taught Eugene and Vusi Circle of Death. By this point it was just the two of them and Jessy and I and we figured that they should learn some authentic American college student past times. They seemed to like the game, and it helped us finish out our wine (not that we needed the help!)
After that it was definitely time for a little dancing, but mostly time for bed. I was only too happy to crash.
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