Sono Kean dalla Danimarca e quest'anno sono staff nel campo dei laghi del Lions Club. Ho 21 anni e ho studiato italiano per 3 anni nel liceo danese, ma oggi dovrò parlare in inglese purtroppo.

Last year I was so fortunate to be a camper myself at lakes camp and this year ivo gave me the opportunity to return as a staff member.

As a camper you get to experience and get to know different cultures from around the world. I got knowledge that I could not receive anywhere else than lakes camp of italy.

This year I got the opportunity to be a part of giving these beautiful young people the same experiences and emotions that are still stuck in my mind and my heart from last year.

Now as a staff member it is very clear to see, what it does to a camper to be in this amazing environment with other people from all over the world. Everyone is seeing, hearing and realizing something new everyday and from an outside perspective, it is an amazing feeling to see how personalities start to grow and how people come out of their shell and start to blossom.

This year, I am experiencing the group of people in the lakes camp 2018. The group is full of energy of energy and everyone has a will to obtain new knowledge. They are very eager to share what they have brought with them in their backpack from their own places in the world, and they strive to include everyone in the group.

Even as a staff member, I am gaining new knowledge and understanding other cultures. Shubham taught me that it is not the religion that makes them worship cows in india, but it is instead because they see their cow as a part of the family. Bogi convinced me that I'm probably never going to be able to speak Hungarian properly and Anna told me that in her home in Texas, they keep a scoreboard of how many scorpions they've killed.
This is all knowledge that I would've never been able to obtain if I didn't get to place like the lakes camp.

Last year i was taught an italian phrase from my host-dad, Danielle, which has stuck to me since then. The phrase is "riempitevi gli occhi" and it means to "fill your eyes". He used this phrase when we saw the sundown by the lake of mantova. He told me the intention is to empty your eyes and fill them with the sight you are currently seeing. This became very special to me, because every time I think back to last year, I see the same sunset by the lake and I feel the emotions come rolling in from my whole stay in italy last year. This is why I would like to to pass the phrase onto you here today. I want you to empty your eyes and your mind and fill it with the experiences and emotions you are receiving right now here in italy.

Before I round this up, I would like to give a special thanks to my great friend Ivo for giving me everything that the camp has given me and thank you for letting me come back and experience it all once again. I am grateful for the work that you do and you are truly an inspiration to me, when I see how you put your heart and soul into making this camp what it is today. Thank you.

My final words will go to the campers sitting here today. Keep your backpacks open so you can both share what is inside, but also fill it with whatever you are experiencing, so you can bring it with you back home. I would to also like to give a big thanks all of you. You are all amazing and beautiful young people and without you, there would be no lakes camp. I wish you all the best of luck from here and on!

E infine, grazie mille per la vostra attenzione.