G'day sun!

So the sun came out and what a fantastic last few days it has been. I came up with a new initiative for ropes and it works really well. We celebrated Halloween and my cabin won for cabin decorations. We carved watermelons and I finally got to speak to mum. I am also 100% better. I think I could run a marathon… I won’t, but I could.

Rain, rain, go away

So it hasn’t stopped raining and I have been throwing up for about 13 hours straight due to food poisoning. I’m feeling exhausted and miserable and I am missing home so much. I also missed out on the Pajama party and the first Bernie Fatima dance. But.... the sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun.

Looking forward to a brand new day.

Day 1

Today was my first day doing ropes with kids and I have to admit I didn’t feel ready. The first age group I had was 5 and 6 and I tried to play the animal name game with them which failed miserably. It was hard enough getting them to say their own name let alone everyone else’s names. I guess it’s all just trial and era. I had a really fantastic night with my cabin though. We got into a deep discussion about bullying and how it’s important to stick up for those who are being bullied. I think I really got through to them and it was amazing to see some of the things people got bullied for. One girl said that her friends make fun of her because she is blonde, saying that she is dumb even though she tops in all her tests. It’s ridiculous how many people bully because of jealousy and how little people witnessing it will do. We then had a little sing along with our counselor in training, Maria who brought her ukulele. She has the biggest personality and is so full of life. I love having her in our cabin. Finally we had a model walk down the cabin and I showed them how Australians model. I surfed down the aisle singing the batman theme song. All in all I’d say it was a pretty great day.

Campers

Today I met my campers and wow! The parents rocked up early with massive trunks that had everything a child could possibly need including cheetah patterned duck tape? It was absolute chaos! I stood back overwhelmed as more and more people seemed to poor into the tiny room.  I have 12 girls aged 11 and 10 and they are all so beautiful. I even got a $20 tip.

Once the parents FINALLY left, we started off with a few games and 1 hour into it I misplaced one of my thongs (they call them flip flops) and made the mistake of asking my kids, “Has anyone seen my thong?” The look of disgust they gave me was hilarious.

My girls love my accent and have been asking me questions such as, “What language do you speak in Australia?” and “Do you own a kangaroo?” They also keep asking me if they can have my email address so they can contact me after camp.

When it was time for lunch we sat down with our kids and us staff did a camp song that involved us running outside and jumping in the lake. The kids watched with laughter from inside as we all swam to the dock and finished the rest of the song. Apart from a bit of homesickness and a sore stomache, we had a really successful day. I feel so blessed to have 12 such beautiful young girls in my cabin.

Staff Graduation

Today was staff graduation. We sang songs around the camp fire and I had my first smore. We also got our staff shirts. I am no officially ready to take on my campers!

Social Security

Today the internationals or should I say “foreign aliens” went to social security to get our social security numbers. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Ropes

So life at camp has been pretty amazing. After climbing 60ft tree’s with lobster claws, learning how to tie different knots, rescue equipment, belay and being asked if I was dyslexic by the trainer…We finally graduated ropes!

I love our ropes group because we are all so different yet we get along so well. Everyone else has finally arrived too. I am in cabin 17 (one of the furthest away) with my co-counselor Colleen who is simply fantastic. We are in charge of the intermediates. I also met another Australian named Amy. She is awesome and it’s nice to have someone to relate to. She had to take 5 planes to get here. I can’t wait for my campers to arrive!