8 Reasons to be Excited for Placements
It seems that often our students get a bit nervous as placement time approaches…this week lovely TI Emily shares 8 reasons why you should be excited for this part of the TI course!

- Evening shenanigans
Summer is here! Not necessarily 26 degrees and sunshine, but no need for thermals! Most importantly we now have longer evenings. The extra hours of sunlight mean that after work is finished there is plenty of time for a spot of white water kayaking, climbing as the sun sets, and maybe even a few Level 2 progressive sessions.
I remember a fantastic evening while at Ardeonaig. Four of us piled ourselves, kayaks and various other pieces of equipment into the back of a van and headed for a river. Despite the lack of rain on previous days there was plenty of water to play on. This particular river trip completely opened my eyes to how much more you can do in a kayak than just pointing down a rapid while frantically trying to stay upright. The staff were in play boats and saw every wave, eddy or flat water section as adventure heaven. I had no idea that a kayak could perform so many fancy tricks. Definitely had the most fun white water kayaking I had had up to that point. (However, I have to say, the only trick I pulled off, was managing to swim in the first five minutes. Not my finest moment.)
2. Different People
You get to work with other Instructors, see how they interact with a group and maybe steal some of their ideas. The staff are super friendly so it’s very hard not to make great new friends. Also you might finally start to put faces with names and know who people are actually talking about. (I mean who is Phil Simpson anyway?*) Working with different groups is an adventure in itself as every single one is different. Every group brings a different vibe and you have to figure out how to adapt to best suit their needs.
*For those who might not know — Phil Simpson is our CEO!
3. Better Wi-Fi
This may not be the case for future TI’s but, living out in the middle of nowhere definitely affects access to Wi-Fi. Ardgour occasionally tentatively suggest that they are hard at work improving the Wi-Fi. We TI’s believe them, and continue to hope and pray. It seems Scotland isn’t best suited to swift technological improvements. As a result, we rave over the speed of internet connection found at the other three centres. Load a page in under fifteen minutes!? Pure magic.
4. Sample alternative kitchen menus
Different types of amazing, yummy food.
Need I say more?
5. Comedy central
Working with kids is guaranteed to bring a smile, pretty much every few minutes. Someone realised they couldn’t see their forehead just by looking up. Watching the faces of everyone else trying, then realising the same thing, was class. It’s not just small moments like this that make you laugh. I’m starting to think some of the activities we do were designed purely to provide amusement for the instructors. (It’s even better watching these activities as a TI due to things being new and twice as exciting.) A prime example of one such activity is a challenge I witnessed recently at Nethy Bridge. The aim is to get a group of blindfolded ‘sheep’ (meaning group members) into a ‘pen’. The ‘shepherd’ (nominated leader) is given a whistle and told he is only allowed to use this to guide the sheep. Despite careful planning by groups beforehand things often tend to go slightly array. Imagine people wandering in all directions, whilst the child with the whistle frenziedly tries every way of whistling known to man. The facial expressions of those involved are worth beholding.
6. Spiritual growth
If I were doing the TI course again I would be getting excited for some more conversations similar to those which have occurred around me in the past few months. I remember someone reminding me of the verse which talks about always having an answer ready for questions you may be asked. They made me think about it in a completely new way. I’ll definitely be continuing to think about what they said in the weeks to come.
7. Instructing!!!
I’ve loved, loved, loved working with everyone coming through the centres. Getting to actually use what we have been learning all year is fantastic. You get to see people overcome fears, push themselves to levels they didn’t think were possible, and have loads of fun. I can’t word how amazing instructing is just in one paragraph. If you want to hear a bit more about the instructing side of things you can check out a previous blog post ‘Life on placement’. Instructing is possibly the most exciting part of placements.

8. Appreciating how good you’ve got it
I’ve realised how much Ardgour has become a home to me, and how the people there are like a second family. Getting to see everyone between placements is akin to coming home. We’ve all got to know each other so well through the good days and the bad days. The TI course has taught me so much and we have memories to last us a lifetime.

