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Since I've Been Gone...
August 8, 2009


So,

Wow, how fast has this summer flown by? Like watching sap drain from sugar pine? No... Like watching lichen grow on a rock face? No... Well, then how fast?! Super FAST, that's how fast...


Now that we've cleared that up, what have I been up to all this time? In case you're interested, I am about to tell you...

This Spring (2009), I instructed a 50-day Outdoor Leadership Course, and the duckies are flying high. 10 students... and many of them are now proud members of the Outdoor Education community after attaining their first major outdoor jobs since the OLC.

This late Spring was filled with time off after the OLC, our NCOBS All Staff get together, a trip to Vermont, and before all of that stuff, a trip to Seattle to visit my brother before his big move to Zurich, Switzerland. I even managed to recert my WFR (Wilderness First Responder) somewhere in there.

The summertime? Simple enough: 2 21-day courses back to back with 4 days off in between... These courses included backpacking, whitewater canoeing, and rock climbing (see paddling photos below). So literally, my summer was spent in the woods. I love this and also am experiencing a little "re-entry" to the rest of the world, a little bit. 6 weeks in the wilderness can make me feel like I missed a whole lot of worldy news, while at the same time living in the present moment so intensly while on course, that the students in front of me at the time, and their development is my world, making all of our global occurences less immediate. Intense.

Since my time off, I am currently in Manassas visiting my family for a few days... only to venture to West Virginia then ultimately back to NC for more NCOBS work! I was bouldering at Sportrock the other day and met some really nice people, one of which I will climb at Seneca Rocks with very soon, the other? I am going to try and put him in touch with my people at WVU- this young guy works at the Sportrock climbing gym, so i thought he'd naturally fit in at the WVU wall! And I digress....

I have actually started a whole other BLOG as well... it is titled: ...Gradus ad Conscientia... a blog that focuses only on education, community building topics and self-growth concepts. I will leave Summits Beyond for more personal updates and such... so if you are interested in the new blog (Gradus...), let me know and I can put you on an access list!

My Fall looks pretty fun. I plan to do lots of climbing, traveling, and some Course Directing for NCOBS. This basically means I supervise course quality through serving as a resource for unstructors and plan for behind the scenes logistical support, etc. to make 5-day Group Education courses happen.

For September, I will be in Florida as a phase instructor for our International Leadrship Semester which spells out 20 days in the everglades of south Florida...and after they are done in Florida, learning about Lake Okeechobee, the Shark River Slough, Tide Charts and maritime navigation, will escort the crew south, flying with them to Argentina!

I am so very excited at this privilege an opportunity to spend the month of mid-October/mid-November in Bariloche, Argentina as a volunteer at our base camp down there... more details on that story soon... until then? I will be updating Summits Beyond when I can. I look forward to hearing from you all soon, keep me updated on your lives too! I have many friends that I have been missing, and I look forward to your contact...

Beunas,

Kshon