|
UMLY camp counselors Ania Semerenk, Ukraine (left), Ethel Ader, Estonia (right) and UMLY Executive Director, Charlie Weidanz.
INTERNATIONAL CAMP
COUNSELOR PROGRAM AT UMLY
Berwyn, PA — Summer camp has an international flavor this
year as the YMCA in Berwyn welcomed two counselors from Eastern
Europe. Ethel Ader, a 20-year-old resident of the Republic of
Estonia, and Ania Semerenko, 20, from the Ukraine joined the
day camp staff this summer at the Upper Main Line YMCA.
Ader is an Education Major at Tallinn University located in
Estonia’s capitol city, a coastal town on the Gulf of Finland.
She is the first member of her family to visit the United States
and she contacts family regularly back home to share her experiences
here in the Delaware Valley. “America is like a dream destination
to us” says Ader. She particularly enjoys how Americans
take care of their houses and yards so that they are always perfect.
Semerenko attends the Kharkiv State National Teacher Training
University in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s 2 nd largest city located
less than fifty miles west of the Russian border. She plans to
teach English when she graduates in 2009. Semerenko is amazed
at the selection of foods and American eating habits. “There
are all kinds of food here that I have never even heard of,” she
said. “Most meals in Ukraine are homemade. Going out to
eat is not common for us.”
The YMCA has brought the International Camp Counselor Program
to Berwyn as part of their initiative to promote global awareness
by increasing opportunities for cross-cultural experiences. The
program annually brings thousands of young adults from 122 nations
to serve as camp staff throughout the United States.
The counselors live with host families and have the opportunity
to experience our local culture. In addition to taking in Chester
County, the young ladies have toured New York and Philadelphia
with stops at the Art Museum, Chinatown and a Phillies game.
“The International Camp Counselors Program has been a
wonderful addition to our camp programming. We thank community
members who opened up their homes and lives to make this program
possible,” said Charlie Wiedanz, Executive Director of
the Upper Main Line YMCA.
The YMCA in Berwyn has hosted summer camp for nearly 45 years.
On any given day, up to 500 children enjoy summer camp at the
YMCA’s 54-acre campus in Berwyn.
As summer camp winds down, the YMCA is gearing up for the opening
of its expansion and renovation project on September 4. The new
facility brings an all-new state-of-the-art YMCA to the community
that includes a new wellness center with more than 100 pieces
of the latest Precor equipment, exercise studios for aerobics,
dance and cycling; expanded babysitting facilities and hours;
a café with wireless internet access and much more. The
community is invited to an Open House, Saturday, September 8
th from 10am to 2pm.
###
|
