Day 3- The senses

One day here feels like three days. Our schedules are very busy with most hours in the day filled up with activities and workshops. It's exhausting, but it's also incredible. I've never been in such a creative space before and I am going to try and cherish every moment of it, hence the blog.
I may even come home barefoot with dreadlocks...

This morning was the group performances we had prepared the night before. What was exciting was that each group produced something entirely different from one other.One group directed us to go outside, and place stones into a plastic bag:

Another group created their own cartoon and used projections:

Some of us made films and all of us explored how our judgements and our reality can conflict:

Space Touch Taste Sound Smell    

The 5 senses were our focus for the series of workshops we did today. They were all different from any workshop I had done before,very experimental and fun!

• We began with the Space Workshop where we did a lot of dance and freestyle. Anyone who knows me knows that dancing is my ultimate fear, especially freestyle. Today for some reason I found it easy to let go and it was great to see everyone dance around the room energetically. You could also tell a lot about people's personalities from the way they moved! 
• My favourite of the workshops was the Touch Workshop. The space we were working in felt safe so it was easy to be spontaneous and act on impulse. The main part of the workshop was getting in a group of three and taking turns at being the traveller who goes on a "trip" through music and movement. It was a great opportunity to just let go and be in the moment. As well as that, we did massage and cradling another person.
• I have come to the conclusion that tasting something while blindfolded is a completely different experience to tasting with your eyes open. In our Taste Workshop we had an indoor picnic in pairs, where each of us fed food to the other person while they were blindfolded. Some foods taste delicious while blindfolded: Sprinkles, Apple, Cheese, Peanuts. Some taste disgusting while blindfolded: Ham, Garlic, Marmalade. Some just take disgusting full stop: Toothpaste.
• In our Sound Workshop we tried to make a sound dome while some people observed the vibrations with balloons in the middle of the circle. We also sang.
• When I was a child I squashed flowers, mixed them with water and called them perfume. Today in our Smell Workshop, we made our own real perfume by mixing oil and different fragrances like jasmine, rosemary, tea tree etc. Our perfume was supposed to represent our personality. Mine smelled sweet so I guess I failed.

Dinner is a pretty mundane event... Not in Olde Vechte it's not! Even our meal tonight was a surprise. Initially I couldn't understand why there was no cutlery on the table when we went to eat.
"Tonight" we were told, "you shall eat like Medieval's."
In simple language: "You have to eat with your hands." 

With the theme of judgement vs reality in mind, I would like to point out that although you may judge the appearance of this meal, the reality is that is was absolutely delicious.






Games and the craic are essential. Yes, we are here to learn, to create, to make art, but we are also here to have fun. Tonight, we had a surprise Tribal Party, organised by the mysterious leaders who usually have serious, solemn faces. It was nice to see them dressed in costume and dancing around the room.

Although my tribe lost the challenge, I discovered something great: I can do a slick schizophrenic chicken. 
There is no photographic evidence of this I'm afraid, which is a real shame because it really was something special.

Tomorrow is a new day. I don't know what to expect, I never know what to expect. Everything we do here is a complete surprise which makes every hour exciting.

And on that cheesy line, I shall bid the world goodnight (Because obviously the whole world is reading this blog...)


Fin x