Guide School Day 1: Team-building, goal-setting, and schedule

Last night we had our first 3-hour classroom session of guide school.

We started by playing multiple team-building games to familiarize ourselves with each other.  These exercises included introductions, games to remember names, a rope game where we had to remove knots without moving our hands (this resulted in most of the group having to move their bodies through one of two rope holes), and a rope game where the group had to come to a consensus on which of six rope circles connected all rope circles.

Next we discussed the four core character traits that are important for guides.  The first is Initiative, which is the defined as identifying and completing tasks before being asked to do so.  The second is Humility, which is defined as understanding that my success is the result of investment of others in my life.  The third is Creativity, which is defined as identifying new solutions to old problems.  The fourth is Loyalty, which is defined as using difficult times to demonstrate your commitment to others.

Then we discussed the schedule of guide school.  We have two more 3-hour classroom sessions - one on 11/20 that will cover Leave No Trace and trip planning and one on 12/4 that will cover group equipment, personal equipment, and how to lead a pre-trip meeting.  Then on 12/17 we will meet from 6pm-10pm to conduct a small food-buy, learn about the vehicles, and do final trip preparation for the San Marcos River Trip.  On 12/18 and 12/19 we will be doing field training on the San Marcos river.  We will learn canoeing basics and go through swift water rescue training, as well as learn about how to set-up camp and cook in the back-country.  On 1/3 we will meet from 1pm-7pm to conduct a massive food-buy, pack and load all our personal and group gear, and assign leaders for the different days of our Big Bend Trip.  We leave early on 1/4 for Big Bend National Park, where we will go on a five day canoeing trip, explore Joel's Canyon (including repelling!), complete a service project, and potentially go on a day hike to Emory Peak.  On 1/11 we arrive back in Austin.

Next, we completed a few more team building exercises.  We split into two groups and first competed to build an implement using tubing to move a small object from the starting point to a target without any of the team members moving outside of a marked area.  Next we competed to build the highest tower that could hold a text book.  My team won both competitions. :)  After each task, we were asked to consider how communication played a role in how our team functioned.

Then we all discussed what we hope to get out of guide school.  For me, it is multifaceted.  I want to gain confidence and self-sufficiency in outdoor environments.  I want to challenge myself.  I also want to push myself outside of my comfort zone socially, as I'm having to work with, trust, and spend a lot of time with people that I've just met.  I had the opportunity to do this on the surfing trip, and felt like I really grew in just one weekend.  I look forward to seeing how much I grow over the course of guide school.  And of course, I'm looking forward to gaining the experience I need to lead trips for UT - it would be great to be able to share nature with others and get paid to go on awesome trips.

Regarding what the group as a whole wants to get out of guide school, we eventually agreed upon "Experience, Fun, Respect, Confidence, Skills".  There seems to be a reasonably large portion of the group that is focused on fun and relaxation, which I'm all for.  But I'm also hoping to get a deeper impact from guide school, and I hope most of the group is aiming for as well.

Finally, these group goals were written on a wrapped package (it seems to be a massive book) and we did one final team building exercise.  We made a massive tower to support the package.  The tower ended up being taller than any of us.

For next class we have to complete Leave No Trace online training, read a few chapters of our textbook (Outdoor Leadership), and prepare a 3-min presentation on our favorite leader or mentor.

Overall, I think we have a pretty solid group for guide school.  About half of the group seems to already work for RecSports in some capacity, so they already know each other.  However, we'll all know each other rather well pretty soon, so we should become one big, cohesive group.  The people in guide school are from pretty broad areas study-wise, from a research scientist (Manuel) to a freshman studying engineering (Zach, I think) to a master's student in advertising who wants to work on advertising for non-profits (Hannah).  I'm pretty uncertain what everyone's outdoor experience is, but I'm assuming many are about like me.  We did take a survey, and everyone has canoed before but only about half of us have actually ran rapids before.

I'm excited to see where guide school takes me!