WOW....ok, so first of all a very big SORRY to all of you! i know i'm a very bad person for not writing anything on this for 2 (!) months...i can't believe that it really has been two months since my last entry...time is just flying by...i don't know if any of you, after this long time is still checking this site for new stories, but i thought i might as well give it a go and write on here again, because i really didn't plan on letting this site die..
ok so here we go. how have i spend the past two months? i surely was a very unique experience working with about 70 children 24/7 for 2 months straight. we were a team of about 25 councelors for all these children and a team of 2-3 councellors had one cabin with about 8 children in it. the cabins were divided by the age of the children and we had five girls cabins: Labwai (youngest girls), Papago (a little bit older), Chakwat(middle), Kiva (even older) and Nibuna (oldest girls). the youngest girls were 8 and the oldest 14. we also had four boys cabins: Ellacaya (youngest), Eagle (older), Abnaki (middle) and Kona (oldest)
since i was hired as a horse specialist, that means that i'm in charge of the horses, i lead the activity and look after the horses, i didn't have a cabin at first. but second session was so big, that we were short on staff, so i decided to step into the role of a councellor and worked in Lapwai together with Eli (she's from England). Let me tell you that sure was a challenge...looking after 9 girls aged 8 &9 23 hours a day really isn't as easy as it might appear to be. i learned a whole lot in that cabin and i have great stories to tell, but i better not get started, otherwise i'll never get to sleep tonight. third session i had chakwat together with Laura (from michigan) and that was by far my favourite cabin! i just love the middle old girls 12&13! i had tons of fun with that cabin, we even went on a field trip to the ben&jerry's factory in vermont! just go aheard and be jealous now :-)! fourth session, which is the last one, i had the oldest girls in Nibuna together with April (she's from Concord)probably by far the easiest cabin to handle but lots of drama going on...but i loved all of those girls, i had some awesome conversations with them in which i learned that i should be so greatful for everthing that i have in my life.
every day we got a schedule for the day, with all the activities listed on it. a typical day looked like this:
6.30am Polar Bear Swim (yes that's right it really does say 6.30 in the morning. this is a voluntary pool swim at the crack of dawn for all those crazy campers who find that pleasurable. but of course, if campers from your cabin sign up for it, which they always will, it means you have to get them out of bed at 5.45 and walk down to the pool with them)
7.00am Mocking out stalls & feeding the horses (this is the lovely task that comes with my job, i have to leave the cabin to my co-councellor and go down to the horses to feed them, water them and clean out there stalls, before i have even seen a bathroom a toothbrush or had breakfast. that really is nothing for a weak stomach)
7.45 am Breakfast (finally some food!)
8.30-9.30am Camp Jobs (every cabin has a different chore to do every day, this may be cleaning the bathroom, or collecting trash..of course the campers hate it and so it's not too enjoyable for us councellors to make them clean -> i think i hated camp jobs more than most of the campers..)
9.30-10.30am Activity A (frst activity of the day, this is a different thing every day, can be ropes course, horses, arts&crafts, a game, pool..the list is endless. here comes the tricky part: while your cabin is scheduled at a specific activity, you are sometimes scheduled at a different one, so you have to organize someone who goes with you cabin to their activities while you go to yours. the number one rule is that the councellor has to know at all times where their cabin is and whom they are with. it really is like having nine children, you are not only responsible for yourself but for nine other humans)
10.45-11.45 Activity B (the second activity of the day)
12.20 Lunch (more food!!)
1.30-2.30 Quiet hour (this has to be my very favourite hour of the day. everyone goes back to their cabin and just chills for an whole hour! trust me there's nothing better!
2.40-3.45 Activity C (third activity)
4.00-5.10 Activity D (fourth avtivity)
5.40 Dinner (FOOD!)
7.00-9.00 Activity D (this is an all camp activity which means that it is for example a huge game in which all the campers participate or a bonfire or a talent show or a dance..again, the list is endless)
after that back to the cabin and trying to get the campers to sleep. i usually got to bed around 11pm, doing this for 2 months you can imagine how the lack of sleep builds up :-)
we usually got an hour off every day and in one session (which lasts 2 weeks) we had one day off one night (from 6pm tp 12am) and one morning (from 6am to 12pm)off
ok, that was the big picture, in my next entry (that will be sooner than 2 months from now, promise!) i'll give you som emore detail :-)!
good night!
<3 bekky
