As You Like It in Wilderhope
On our second day at Wilderhope Manor, we had nothing to do so we did a whole lot of nothing. The weather was perfect: the sun peaked in between rolling clouds, the wind fluttered but didn’t bite. The grass was moist with dew and washed the mud off of our boots, and the fields of rapeseed (bright yellow crops that yield oil) continued for miles upon miles like golden patches on a giant green quilt.
Today the As You Like It group (Abbie, Mark, Savannah, and Dana) performed their play with a bunch of stations that each revealed themes of the play, but with fun twists. They really made you think about what the characters were going through and how they were feeling. Our first station was a dating profile and we got to draw and write about AYLI characters. Second was tug-of-war, in which the rope immediately snapped in half on poor Jessica who must be stronger than she thinks! Finally, we played a version of Ghosts in the Graveyard in which we had partners to protect. Lisa and I were partners, but as soon as we saw the “ghost” it was every woman for herself.
Afterwards, we all grouped together and played Barley Break, a version of tag where everyone has to hold hands with a partner. Megan and I were “it” and tagged everyone with ease until the last three pairs were left. Then we were so exhausted we basically had to beg the other couples to let us tag them all. Overall, the whole group bonded as we ran around like children, playing the rain away and laying in the cool grass without a care in the world.
The wind came and went and we had our second chance to go on a second hike. We ended up trekking through fields of sheep up and up a steep hill. It was just a small group of us, the rest of us napped or cleaned ourselves up. As we crossed through a sheep Côte, they all parted with fear except for one sheep and her two lambs: they silently followed us the whole way. It was very disturbing, playing a paranoid game of Red Light, Green Light with three farm animals, but we escaped before things got ugly.
The most important thing we learned at Wilderhope Manor is that we’re all here for each other. Demetria held a community building exercise in which we ended up telling our stories and our lives and most importantly, talking. It was like “The Breakfast Club” but with twenty main characters. It’s safe to say that we all bonded at Widlerhope. I feel so much closer to everyone in this group.
Homesickness especially set in for me today, but every single person in the group helped me combat that, whether they knew it or not. It’s the perfect example of, “You don’t know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes,” so we all ended up walking twenty-five miles in each other’s boots. Part of this feels like it was because we were so surrounded by nature, like in As You Like It. Wilderhope Manor was so beautiful and calming, we were able to connect to nature and each other in this solace and solitude.
-Hannah
Today the As You Like It group (Abbie, Mark, Savannah, and Dana) performed their play with a bunch of stations that each revealed themes of the play, but with fun twists. They really made you think about what the characters were going through and how they were feeling. Our first station was a dating profile and we got to draw and write about AYLI characters. Second was tug-of-war, in which the rope immediately snapped in half on poor Jessica who must be stronger than she thinks! Finally, we played a version of Ghosts in the Graveyard in which we had partners to protect. Lisa and I were partners, but as soon as we saw the “ghost” it was every woman for herself.
Afterwards, we all grouped together and played Barley Break, a version of tag where everyone has to hold hands with a partner. Megan and I were “it” and tagged everyone with ease until the last three pairs were left. Then we were so exhausted we basically had to beg the other couples to let us tag them all. Overall, the whole group bonded as we ran around like children, playing the rain away and laying in the cool grass without a care in the world.
The wind came and went and we had our second chance to go on a second hike. We ended up trekking through fields of sheep up and up a steep hill. It was just a small group of us, the rest of us napped or cleaned ourselves up. As we crossed through a sheep Côte, they all parted with fear except for one sheep and her two lambs: they silently followed us the whole way. It was very disturbing, playing a paranoid game of Red Light, Green Light with three farm animals, but we escaped before things got ugly.
The most important thing we learned at Wilderhope Manor is that we’re all here for each other. Demetria held a community building exercise in which we ended up telling our stories and our lives and most importantly, talking. It was like “The Breakfast Club” but with twenty main characters. It’s safe to say that we all bonded at Widlerhope. I feel so much closer to everyone in this group.
Homesickness especially set in for me today, but every single person in the group helped me combat that, whether they knew it or not. It’s the perfect example of, “You don’t know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes,” so we all ended up walking twenty-five miles in each other’s boots. Part of this feels like it was because we were so surrounded by nature, like in As You Like It. Wilderhope Manor was so beautiful and calming, we were able to connect to nature and each other in this solace and solitude.
-Hannah
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