Today I will write about my Get Ahead option dance and my difficulties with it. Surely you ask will ask: ‘what difficulties?’

I just wanted to try hip hop and salsa because I used to dance ballet and now I wanted to try some different types of dance. It was a lot of fun for me, and within four days we had learned three dances with different dance types.

However, I had a shock on Thursday when I was reminded that we had a dance show on Friday. In the beginning, I was not bothered at all, but the closer the show came, the more restless I became. When it was almost time for the show I wanted to give up, but we were already on the way to the theatre so I realised that it was already too late. Suddenly it was all too much and I started to cry.

Quickly lots of people came around me and comforted me. But sometimes we have to find our own way through difficult times. The only think that could cheer me up in that moment was the thought that I would most likely never see anyone again. A short time after that the dance teacher approached me and allowed me to perform only one dance. I thought about it for a long time and finally I decided to dance! It was a good decision because after the show I was very proud of myself and I felt relieved. Furthermore, I had fun 🙂

So the lesson is, follow your  dreams, believe in yourself and don’t give up!

Amelie (13) from Hamburg, Germany

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Once upon a time, in a world far from home,  teenagers from Brazil, Mongolia, Lithuania, Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France, Lebanon, Romania and Italy went on a journey of discovery in the woods.

They were well prepared taking with them hot chocolate to drink and marshmallows to eat. Using their survival skills (and with a little help from a pirate who they met in the woods) they made a camp fire in next to no time. The children stuck the marshmallows onto long sticks and held them like fishing rods over the flames until they went crispy and brown.  The sweet smell of warm marshmallows filled the clearing like a cloud fills the sky.

As the fire burnt brighter, the group relaxed. The brighter the fire burnt, the darker the shadows became and the closer the children felt. Imogen, a girl with green, blue, blonde hair from  a strange country called England started to sing. All of the teenagers joined in and they sang songs for hours long after the sun had set. Our international gang felt very happy.

The owls twooted. The foxes yelped. And the bats flitted in and out of the trees.

Suddenly, from behind the thick bamboo bushes there was a rumbling and a thumping. Leaves of bamboo shook. Branches cracked. Children stared in horror. Then suddenly  a giant gorilla jumped into the clearing, thumping his chest and roared “Give me the marshmallows!”

The children froze. Their feet stuck to the ground like lead weights. The gorilla came so close and breathed so strongly that even though they were wearing a lot of hair gel, all of their hairstyles were messed up! Terrified, no one had the courage to speak. No one apart from two young boys called Somar and Thomas. Slowly, the two boys, holding their arms outstretched, offered the bag of marshmallows to the gorilla.

The gorilla looked surprised to be offered sweets. He put his giant hand in the bag and it split open. The ground was sprinkled with marshmallows and the gorilla ate them all. He looked very happy. He smiled. He grinned. The young boys started to laugh and the gorilla laughed too.

So now the gang was made of children from Brazil, Mongolia, Lithuania, Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France, Lebanon, Romania and Italy together with one pirate, an English girl with blue, green and blonde hair and one very happy gorilla.