Spain... I am so worried about today's youth!

For the past 5 years I have been involved with an association that provides "Jugendweihe". Jugendweihe is a ceremony for 14 year old non-religious teenagers to celebrate their "passage into adulthood". Since a lot of families in Germany (I'd even dare to say most families in Germany) are not affiliated with churches, not baptized and mostly atheists this ceremony is extremely important to them. The first Jugendweihen in Germany were even held in Nordhausen (where I live) about 190 years ago. Interestingly enough, the first person to perform a Jugendweihe-ceremony was a priest. Due to Germany's history (extreme seperation of churches and states which ultimately led to the rise of a large group of non-believers:the attempt to eliminate certain religious groups during World War II as well as the seperation of Germany- Western Germany was influenced by the States whereas Estern Germany was influenced by the Soviet Union and so forth) there has always been great demand for Jugendweihe ceremonies. It used to be the government's responsibility to provide this ceremony but after the fall of the Brlin Wall and the reunification of Germany the government neglected this. This is why a lot of´Jugendweihe associations in (Eastern) Germany have been established to fill in for the government.

Jugendweihe is not for free. You have to pay a small fee to attend the ceremony which basically consists of a couple of speeches, a presentation of the teenagers attending and a certificate. Later the teenagers have huge parties with their families. Usually Jugendweihlinge (attendees) receive financial gifts from their families. (My family paid for my first language class in Torbay, England!)

Being part of the Jugendweihe is a huge deal for everyone. That is why a lot of families decide to be involved in a couple of other activities that the association offers. We offer a couple of intercultural trips to different countries, one of them being Spain (others include Italy, Hungary, France and for "rich" people: a trip to NYC).

I have been one of the volunteers to look after the kids in Spain for the past 5 years. (When I had my Jugendweihe 10 years ago I went on the same trip and told myself that I would go back one day and look after teenagers...well, here I am!) Going on this trip is ALWAYS stressful. I mean, you're on as bus for 22 hours to get there and then you have to constantly make sure that everyone follows the rules and stuff like that. NO SLEEP and NO FREE TIME for you for a whole week. But nevertheless, I think it is a wonderful thing and a great chance for mostly underprivileged teenagers to see a different country, to learn about a different culture and so forth.

This year we left on April 3rd, a Friday.

The moment the bus started moving I realiozed that this year's trip was going to be a living hell! After so many years of having nice, educated and interested kids on this trip we now reached the level of "it doesn't get any worse than that"! These kids (not all of them, of course, but most of the boys- go figure!)were HORRIBLE! They were disrespectful, obnoxious and they couldn't care less about the things they got to see in Spain. We have something for them every day of the week while being in Spain (e.g. we go to Barcelona on a sightseeing tour, visit the most famous monastery in the world, we offer a Spanish class ... )but they were not able to appreciate the privileges of being in a different country. Nor did they realize the importance of the things they got to see. They were complaining that they didn't have enough time for themselves! (They are allowed to be out and about till 10 pm every night!!) Of course, they are not allowed to drink and smoke since they are only 14 years old and since this trip is not a (party) vacation. But they, of course, couldn't follow the rules. We found cigarrettes, alcohol, sex toys (!!!!) AND weapons of all sorts! NEVER have I experienced a group of hellions like this before. NOT ONE NIGHT passed without me yelling, taking forbidden stuff away and threatening to send them home early. NOTHING HELPED!

When we came back to Germany a couple of days ago I had to talk to A LOT of parents to tell them about their kid's behavior. And, it's not even my JOB to discipline them because I am not a teacher, nor am I a parent.

I am so worried about today's youth. Whatever happened to this generation? What can I do to make a difference in their minds, heart and soul? Am I even capable of doing this? I have never been as exhausted before. I am so sick and tired of 14 year olds right now. I know it's not fair because there are great kids out there. Kids that have a vision, kids that wanna do something with their lives, kids with manners and kids with brains. These boys that went to Spain with me, and even some of the girls, lack all of the above. They are just plain dumb. They can't even write a sentence without using words like SHIT. (which they can't even spell correctly)

It is so sad.

What can I do to change this????