Adeena Gerding
(Association of Happiness), Portugal
Hi, I’m Adeena. In more than a decade of unprecedented adventures, I have accidentally sailed around the world and cycled across continents. I am living proof that hitchhiking does not always kill you.
I have taken breaks from adventures to manage bands and companies. I have written for newspapers and created some TV shows, amongst many other things that sound far less exciting. I have taught everything from Sunday school to rock climbing, kids camps, swimming, kayaking, English and survival skills (to name a few). I love to learn as much as I enjoy teaching. I am passionate about helping communities and individuals in need.
My biggest accomplishments to date are once fixing an engine with a clove of garlic and making death blink.
SPECIALITIES:
Writer
Adventurer
Teacher
Enjoyer of Life
Chaos eradicator
Psychologist
Believer in the Impossible
Play School
In short: Sending grownups back to kindergarten.
Adults have become mundane, ritualistic, boring and far too serious. Most would rather sit on the couch watching other people live and have adventures rather than going out and doing it for themselves. We have stopped taking chances and have instead downloaded an app that will minimize every risk in our lives. We numb discomforts and fear with busyness, technology and substances. We over-analyse. We think so much that we seldom break the turbulent cycle our life is spinning through. Or we turn our brains off and simply coast through life on the path society has sent us down. We need to go right back to the basics in order to change. Back to Kindergarten.
In line with my new project of combining Adventure and Play Therapy, I would like to run a workshop at GATE, taking the participants through a sector of “Play School”. Using nature as the classroom, there will be an emphasis on how the mind can be rewired through fun, sociable and creative activities and adventures. My work emphasises the value of tackling challenges as games, the benefits of play, and breaking down barriers through fun.
“Play School” is an asset to prove that we are never too old to learn, change, have fun or try new things.