can i get a KILO!!!

Four days ago my parents dropped me off at Pierce's Inn in Hanover, NH for my orientation. I was terrified - but not because I was leaving for Africa for a year. No, I was terrified that while saying goodbye I would burst into tears in front of the 24 other interns who were milling about. Just imagine - I would go from being "the soccer chick on crutches who exploded a lasagna" (thanks Katie) to "the chick who showed up in her parents' BMW and bawled for hours." Wow. Great way to meet people. So in light of the circumstances, I gave my parents quick good-byes and literally pushed them into the car (sorry Mom and Dad). But alas, I was victorious - I had survived the first 5 minutes of orientation without crying. Only 5755 more minutes to go...

I joined the crowd of interns milling about and although I didn't let it show, I was definitely wondering what on earth I had just gotten myself into. But my doubts and nervousness were quickly alleviated. Team Awesome, the three fantastic GRS staff members who were in charge of the intern orientation led us to a cabin in the woods. The other interns and I spent the first two days of orientation chilling, hiking, sharing stories and team-building. We also got to meet GRS coaches from Malawi and play some of the games that kids going through GRS programs play. The last two days of orientation were spent in discussions/ sessions where I learned all about HIV prevention and treatment, the GRS mission and best of all, what I will actually be doing next year! Sort of... All of the other interns are fantastic. Their hearts are in the right place and after meeting them I feel even better about the upcoming year.

The 2011-2012 GRS Interns and our Orientation Leaders, "Team Awesome".

Now, prepare yourself. I am going to tell you about one of the best parts of training and let you in on one of GRS's coolest traditions. The "kilo!" A kilo is an entity unique to GRS, so if you are visiting South Africa and you want to appear like a local, do not go around giving out kilos because unless someone is a part of GRS they will have no idea what you are doing. But that doesn't matter. Kilos are awesome; they are an innovative and energetic way to give someone props for doing something. So for example, let's say that I, as is common, do something awesome. Someone who witnessed my feat of greatness might shout out, "Can I get a kilo!" In this situation, kilo will be pronounced keeee-lo. The first syllable is dragged out so that the kilo caller can catch everyone's attention. After the kilo call is made, everyone will clap three times in quick succession, clap three more times in quick succession, and then shout woooo and point in the direction of the person being kilo'd. 

So let's say that I scored the winning goal in a pick-up soccer game. One of my teammates would say:

"Can I get a keeee-lo!"

Then the whole group:

clap clap clap

clap clap clap

(points at me) WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Us, in the middle of a kilo.

Okay so this still might be a hard concept to grasp, but try to imagine an entire group of your closest friends giving you a kilo when you win a game of beer pong. It would be pretty cool with all that positive energy flying your way, right? Now imagine a group of 14-year-old kids in the middle of a soccer pitch giving each other kilos when they answer a question about HIV correctly. Or when a coach gets a group to give a kilo to a young kid for having the courage to speak up during a discussion about HIV prevention and treatment. Motivational? I sure think so. 

And that is what GRS does. GRS has developed a curriculum that motivates and empowers youth. Our programs teach them about HIV prevention and treatment and also help these kids develop basic life skills. How do we do this? We enlist the help of local people who have the ability to be role models to young kids in their communities to act as coaches and teach them our curriculum. These coaches then go in to schools and run interventions for children. During these interventions, GRS uses soccer as the "hook" to get kids excited about learning. We use soccer games and activities to interest the kids and then draw analogies between soccer and real life situations. And GRS has developed some pretty awesome games (my favorite is Breakaway - I promise to write about it later)! So where do I fit in? I do anything and everything I can to help GRS coaches develop strong relationships with the kids they are working with so that the kids will get the most out of our programs. This means that I might get to head to the fields and monitor and evaluate interventions in order to give coaches feedback. This means that I might be in an office keeping attendance records. This means I may get to visit schools and ask if we can run our programs for their kids. This means I will get to participate in brainstorming sessions that seek to improve our programs. This means that I will be busy. And ultimately this means that I am in for a wild ride this upcoming year. But I sure do feel ready!

This video (above) gives you a glimpse of some our programs in action. It is also incredibly inspirational and will hopefully let you see why GRS and I are doing what we're doing.