Red Sox!

We started the day off nice and early and caught a bus/subway into Boston. Once we arrived we were greeted with the beautiful sight of civilisation. We took a tour around Boston called ‘The Upper Deck’ which was simply fantastic. We were able to learn a lot about the history of Boston and really explore Boston. As part of the tour cost, we went on the duck tour which is a boat that can drive on land and in the water and it was so cool! We drove around the harbor and then straight back onto land where our tour bus was waiting for us. After that we visited Harvard Square/ Harvard University where I had my first really decent meal since I have been in America… Then it was finally time for the game!

 We had the perfect seats. It had the perfect view, we were surrounded by hotties, nice and close to the bathrooms and the food and I even got on the screen! The game was simply fantastic! It was The Red Sox verses The White Sox and The Red Sox were losing by one right up until the 9^th inning when Cody Ross hit three home runs and won the game.

Red Sox Win!

Luxury

Today marks the beginning of my 48 hour break and Amy and I are seeing a Red Sox game. At the moment we are in a very luxurious hotel in Bedford Boston and it is B-E-A-UTIFUL! It has two double beds, a massive shower, free wifi, a pool and free breakfast.

 Red Sox here we come!

Hybernation

Today the American Camp Association (ACA) visited Camp Bernadette in order to re-accredit us and it was stressful! My boss accidentally mixed the schedule up meaning that we set up the equipment thinking we had a group of girls when we didn’t. Due to that, we got into trouble for having the equipment set up while no one was in the woods and my boss was really upset with herself.

Not long after they left, it started to storm and we went into what is called hibernation. I have never seen anything like it. The water started to look like our beaches even though it was a lake, the whole cabin was shaking, water was leaking in and the sky was completely lit up by the lighting. All my girls were so scared so I got them all to come over and sit with me, and Susanna (our awesome CIT) played the guitar while we tried to out sing the storm. It’s crazy how quickly the weather changes here because 15 minutes later it was sunny again. They have a saying here, “Welcome to New England, don’t like the weather? Wait a minute.”

The Snowball Buisness

Today was another Bernie Fatima dance and sometimes I could swear that snow balling (getting the girls to dance with the boys) is like a business. One second your customers are loving your service because, “The boy was so cute” and the next you’re getting a thousand complaints because “His breath smelt!” In the end however they are all satisfied customers as they met, “The love of their life.” The awkward moment when I almost snowballed one of my girls with a counselor though. Hey it’s not my fault he was the same size as his campers and looked like one too. : /

Christmas in July

Christmas Eve: 14/7/12

Today was overall a pretty fantastic day. We have secret Santa’s and as part of my gift, I sent my old CIT Maria into EJ's room (the girl I have for secret Santa) singing isn’t she lovely and she loved it. We also had a staff banquet and as gifts all staff was given mugs and back packs that have our names on them. Then to tie the finishing ribbon on a fantastic day, we had hot chocolate and donunts. Doesn't get any better than that!

Christmas!: 15/7/12

Today is Christmas at Camp Bernadette and what a great Christmas it has been. I woke up early to put presents on the girls beds (koala teddy bears) and then we had cabin decorating and again our cabin won.

We then had a camp wide relay for which I was asked to belay for and grey team won!

After that we had a Christmas banquet and my secret Santa revealed herself to me and gave me my present which was a key ring, some Kit-Kats and a T-shirt. And finally we watched the CIT (counselor in training) play which was The Lion King and it was so good!

In short.. A fantastic Christmas day!

Free!

So tonight was my night off and a much needed one at that. Laura and I walked into town where we did laundry and then met up with Adam (the guy I met at Nikey) and Jess. It was such a fantastic night. We went mini golfing in Wolfeboro, had pizza and just talked on the docs for the rest of the night.

It's so beautiful here in New Hampshire. The weather is always amazing and it's always light up until around 7pm. I really am having the time of my life.

Drama

I can't believe how much has gone wrong this session already. Some of the counselors were almost fired due to an incident that took place over the weekend. Two campers forgot to flip their buddy tags after swimming causing a search and rescue that almost hospitalised two of the life guards. Over $500 has been stolen from the counselors and finally during the night a camper thought it would be funny to run around to the cabins while the counselors weren't there and threaten to kill the younger campers. Well it wasn't funny and half of the camp was crying hysterically with fear. To make things worse, I am currently alone because both of my co-counselors are on their day off.

Feeling like a single mother of 12 girls, waiting nervously for her partner to arrive.

Tongue Twisted Central

Today the new campers arrived and again, it was chaos! One by one the parents arrived with their huge trunks, each demanding something different. It feels so weird having new campers. They were so much quieter at first and more independent than our last group of girls……Buttt! As the day went on it was clear we were going to get along. They are crazy! They called me the “Wizard of AUS” because I’m Australian and they laugh at everything. It’s going to be really confusing with their names though. We have two Lauren’s, two Emma’s, two Jillian’s, a Katy and Caitlyn, a Carissa and Alyssa and a Macy and Jaymee. Welcome to tongue twisted central!

I am excited to get to know these girls and hopefully sew into their lives.

Farewell

Today was the last day with my first lot of girls. We had a banquet which I had to set up and I was so lost. I didn’t realise I was supposed to set up my own table only, so I helped everyone set up theirs. Well lucky for me 1 minute before my campers arrived everyone returned the favour and helped me set up my table.

After the banquet, we had cabin awards and guess what! Our cabin won honour cabin! Annnndd grey team won!

I am going to miss my girls so much. They always managed to cheer me up when I felt down. They all wrote me letters and one of my campers said that I was like the sister she never had and she would never forget me. I feel so blessed to have met them all and shared that experience with them.

Close Call

Today was my first day belaying girls on high ropes and just my luck, they were all twice the size of me! It was going really well until one of the girls fell off the wall and I went flying. Lucky for me, Cam grabbed me just before I hit the wall. I also had a huge stack that left me with a grazed side, leg and elbow. Luckily I had a night out which really cheered me up. Me and some of the girls drove to North Conway where I met a cute guy who works at Nikey and I gave him my number.

You're only in America once right?

BF Day

Today was a Bernie Fatima day and it was. .Let’s just say interesting. I sat by and watched as my girls freaked out about what to wear and how to do their hair and they all seemed to look to me for advice. I tied bows, plaited hair, the works!

When it came time for the dance, the girls and boys were on opposite sides of the dance floor and after tireless efforts of trying to integrate them we finally had what they call a “snowball.” You grab one of your girls and take them over to a boy and they have to dance together. The first time this happened the girls ran off and hid from me. By the third time this, they were all lining up. I have to admit, it was really cute watching my girls dance with the boys. One of the boys made sure he had a full conversation with my girl and knew her name before he danced with her.

After the dance we had fireworks to celebrate the 4^th of July even though it was the 1^st of July. It was so peaceful just to sit there and watch the majestic colours appear in the sky.