GROP I mean GORP!

So to wrap up our first week in GOT, Greenpeace sent us all on a retreat in Lexington, Virginia. a.k.a. the middle of nowhere in Virginia. We all crammed into a very nice modern cabin in a forestry area. The purpose of this retreat called GORP or Greenpeace Orientation Retreat in Pennsylvania (this year it was in Virginia but the name stuck), was to build team cohesion and basically make sure we're all friends.

The weekend was filled with some expected team building exercises like untying a "human not". That's where we all grab hands in the middle of a circle and try to straight out everyones arms. That night we made our way to a campfire and all had a merry time. (Maybe a little to good of a time!)

The next evening everyone was in a very good mood and really enjoying the trip. Then we all had to make "life maps", we had to draw and map out key events in our lives on a big sheet of paper, basically events that lead us to Greenpeace and on that very trip we were on. Everyone sat quietly for about 30 minutes and made their maps. Then came the evil part. We had to present them to the group. Doing so brought back some unpleasant experiences and events for a few, including myself. The mood went from giddy and happy to unpleasant and depressing. People didn't share as much as they wanted to, myself included, but it was enough to kill the mood.

Other than the life maps the weekend was very cool. It did bring us all closer together, so the mind tricks do work. By weeks end it had felt like we all knew each other for months. Very very odd.