YEP 9 Selection Camp – Day 3

Blog written by Mikalya and Valentin

Our second morning started early with morning exercises in a beautiful nature park just outside the village. We all partook in chin ups, push-ups, agility and strength exercises where the motivation and positivity among the Young Explorers was so clear and inspiring.

After breakfast, we were joined by two representatives from the Mercedes Benz Event Driving, the main sponsor of the Mike Horn Pangaea Program. Here we learnt about the exciting new Mercedes Benz Eco-friendly models and how to be an eco-friendly driver. This was very interesting and we got the opportunity to build small car models that use hydrogen to power their engines therefore having no emission, this is an exciting prospect for the future of car technology.

Three of our licensed drivers got the chance to drive the Mercedes-Benz cars around the village. They did two laps, one normally and one adhering to the eco-friendly rules of driving. We then observed the difference in their emissions and speeds and it was interesting to see that they did increase their speed while decreasing their emissions and fuel consumption. It is an exhilarating idea to have learnt how we can make a big difference simply by making small changes while driving.

We started the first of the Mayo Fitness testing which was very challenging. We each had to run on the treadmill and push ourselves to our absolute limit. Later, a few carried on with more tests while the others sat enthralled by a movie of Mike Horn’s expeditions.

All of us are ready for a good night’s sleep and to see what adventures, excitements, laughs, lessons and memories tomorrow hold for us! 🙂

Blog written by Xue

It is the third day of the selection camp. I am still so excited about that I can be chosen to come here. Beautiful environment,passionate people and delicious food. Fantastic!

The scenery is really amazing. We have mountains back in China,but not such green. We have sky ,but not so blue. We have air of course,but not so fresh the first time in my whole life ! The country-style buildings,the friendly locals and their cozy life,are really reminding me of what the world is really about. People here respect the nature. No trashes along the road and no bottles in the forest.I can see people cycling from 6 to 60 years old. Cannot imagine that in my own country. Sports is their life and outdoors is their playground.

I gain a lot from the activities organized. I have a SLR camera but this is the first time that I got some professional training on how to take pictures. The Mercedes-Benz part is really cool because my major is automobile and I love the Mercedes-Benz's strategy to invest so much to get our world greener even though the automobile industry contributes a lot to the environmental problems. My favorite is the Mayo Clinic Test because I am really interested in how the scientific staff invovles with the training. I hope I can get a really effective plan for myself to train back in China to get my limits. They are really exsperts in the sports field.

I can't wait to see what is next in the next few days! Must be fun!