A year ago, 11-year-old Kevin Chaves of Los Altos had never thought of going to Jordan. In fact, he’d hardly thought about Jordan at all. Now he looks forward to going back.
Kevin spent four weeks in Jordan, a country near Isreal in the Near East, this summer with 35 other 11-year-olds from nine countries. The trip was sponsored by Children’s International Summer Villages, Inc. (CISV), a worldwide, independent, volunteer organization founded in 1951 to promote peace and cross-cultural friendship through programs for young people. CISV offers a variety of camps and exchange programs for teenagers.
Kevin attended a CISV Village, a four-week camp for 11-year-olds, where delegates from various countries participated in a mix of educational and cultural activities including music, drama, arts and crafts and sports. Participants prepared booklets about their native country to share, and each country’s delegation presented their native dance and costume.
“Americans don’t really have a national dance or costume,” Kevin said.
“I wasn’t really sure about (Jordan) at first,” Kevin said. “I wanted Denmark or Norway. But I was still really excited about going (to CISV). My leader said it’s the people, not the area that makes the difference.”
In the end, it was both the area and the people that made a difference for Kevin.
“I really liked Jordan,” he said. “I want to go back.”
“The architecture is so amazing,” Kevin said. “The buildings are just blocks of stone, no wood. The temperature is a lot like here; it’s not a desert like you’d maybe expect.”
Activities included field trips to a local town where kids could purchase traditional clothing and crafts, and dress in local costume, and to the Dead Sea.
“We swam in the Dead Sea,” Kevin said. “You could float in it. There are no waves. The water tastes really different – not like the ocean even though it’s salt water.”
Kevin plans to keep in touch with everyone he met. His goal is to write them all three times over the next year.
English is the official language at a Village. Kevin was impressed to learn that people in other countries learn English and often one other language, too, in addition to their native tongue.
The Chaves family are no strangers to CISV and international travel. Kevin’s older brother Eric attended a CISV Village in Costa Rica, and last summer was in France on a CISV Exchange.
“You really learn how wrong stereotypes are,” said Eric of his experiences. “You relate to the country (you visit). When you see something (about it) on TV it means something to you.”
This summer the Chaves’ oldest son, Danny, was in Santiago, Chili through St. Francis High School. Mother, Sally, and Eric were in Norway visiting families they met through CISV. Daughter Julia visited family and friends in Fremont, and dad, Mario, who is director of international development for Intuit and a native of Costa Rica, traveled to Japan.
Sally Chaves said participation in CISV is a big commitment that involves parents as well as kids. There are preparatory meetings beginning a year before a trip, and follow-up events afterwards. Families often host exchange guests from other countries.
Both Kevin and Eric hope to attend other CISV programs and are starting to save their money to help contribute to the costs.
“It’s an experience everybody should get to enjoy,” Kevin said. “It opens your mind and changes your perspective on the world.”
CISV’s U.S. national office is located in Troy, Ohio. For information on CISV, call (937) 335-4640.
