June 11-12, 2008

We helped the campers get packed up this morning and went to the theater for the morning rotation. We played a bunch of get to you know you type games and got dressed up in costumes. We then went to archery and the campers made a bet with me that if they could get close to the bulls eye they could pie me in the face. Needless to say come lunch time I got pied in the face. Following downtime we went to the banquet/dinner then to Award’s night. Each camper got an award from a particular program area that they most enjoyed/excelled at which brought many smiles from this individual recognition of each camper. I and the rest of the volunteers also received a special thanks and a pin. The cabin closing was pretty emotional with many campers crying. As we were saying our good nights one camper said “I love you Brian” which gave me the warm and fuzzies and helped me realized I accomplished my goals for the week of giving the campers a week to remember.

June 12, 2008

The camper departure was even more emotional than I had anticipated. Two of the campers who have been in the same cabin for three years embraced when the first had to leave and just sobbed uncontrollably. I broke down and decided to get a hotel for tonight after my flight to California rather then just sleeping in the airport. After my flight from Connecticut to California I arrived around 8 p.m. and got a shuttle to the Motel 6. It was nice to get a good night sleep but considering it was one of the cheapest I could find it made for some interesting experiences. The first was all the prostitutes walking around the lobby. I got in the elevator and pushed the floor and the door closed but the elevator never went anywhere but luckily I was able to get out of it. In the other elevator the floor dial changed to two before we even left floor one but it at least got me to the right floor. Only the bathroom and hall light worked in the room but none the less I got a good night sleep so that was all that mattered.

June 10, 2008

We had sleep in this morning until about 7:30 which was so nice to catch up on some sleep. After breakfast we went to horses where I led the horse “Magic” who was carrying a camper on a trail ride. When we got back from the trail ride a few of the campers wanted to help clean up the stables and they turned out to be some good pooper scoopers. After they got bored with that they brushed out one of the other horses.

After horses, we had meal out (for lunch) which was a time to have a meal away from the dining hall for our entire unit. I was on the meal out committee so we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and ate in the back of the theater. I even tried my first ever Vegetarian burger just because they looked so interesting while we were grilling them. Admittedly, it wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating.

We then went to sports and rec and I had to take one camper to the infirmary about mid-way through to get his ankle wrapped and also get factor. After dinner was the infamous talent show. Notable performances were 2 amazing piano performances, a soccer handling demonstration from one of the international campers, and hip hop dancing. One of the most impressive things about the show was the two of the oldest campers emceed the show and translated it for four different languages the entire evening.

June 9, 2008

This morning they let the volunteers climb a 30 foot tower and zip line down. The climb felt like it took only a minute to do but the zip line down was a pretty awesome experience. I had to take a camper to the infirmary during breakfast so we played some rummy to pass the time. After breakfast we went to boating and fishing where the campers were able to catch some pretty nice size bass. I was starving after boating and fishing but ended up having to take another camper to the infirmary.

This experience is teaching me that while I do need to ensure I keep myself healthy through trying to get enough sleep (which has been about 5 hours on average), eating healthy, and working out that you also have to make sacrifices at times. After we left there I was able to get a quick bite of food then we went over to the theater where 4 of the stars from the Broadway show Legally Blonde performed a few songs. I was curious to see how this would go over with the kids but they all quickly took to the performance and had a great time.

I got a major headache that started during rest hour and carried into the afternoon rotation at the pool. I’m pretty sure it was due to caffeine withdraw and not being able to drink any of my much loved sweet tea. After dinner we headed back to the cabins and got ready for the big party around the pool. Two kids were battling in dancing which was a crowd pleaser around the pool and there was surprisingly good music. We ended the night with a game of silent ball and mafia.

June 8, 2008

At breakfast this morning one of the campers told me how he spends the whole year waiting on this one week. I’m continually amazed at the place this camp has in the children’s heart. After cabin clean up, we went to woodshop where the campers made picture frames and then wood burned and painted them. One of the campers with a developmental delay is the cutest little guy ever and his opening line to every girl he meets is “do you have a boyfriend?” I was joking around with one of the other campers about how long he has been dating his girlfriend because he got her name painted on his arm. He was trying to tell me when they started dating and said “What’s before April,” I immediately replied “January.” He said and what’s before January and I said “October.” He said “EXACTLY that’s when we started dating, October.” We all got a good chuckle about that afterwards.
Okay, okay, okay, I know I shouldn’t be messing with the campers like that but you got to have a little fun with them every now and then. After a rowdy “rest hour” we went to the pool but after a short time we were told a thunderstorm was approaching and had to evacuate it. We went to sports and rec until dinner and then for cabin night went back to the gym where we played basketball and others games.

For cabin chat that night the question was what would you bring with you if you were on a deserted island. One campers comment really hit home when he said he would bring a church so he could sleep with Jesus. Another camper made my day when we were giving them all hugs and saying good night when he told me “you know you’re the best right.”

June 7, 2008

I had this morning off (from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.). I was reluctant to take the time off but decided after the staff explained the importance that everyone takes advantage of their morning or afternoon off that I would. It was soooooooooo amazing. With working at least 16 hours a day since May 31st with no time off and coming straight to this camp with no intersession like the full time staff have it was needed.

I was productive with working on medical school application stuff, emails, and this blog yet it was very relaxing. I even got to watch about an hour of college baseball and catch up on some much needed sleep. For the afternoon session, I went with two campers to clown training. We did shaving cream pies in each others face, I learned how to juggle 4 balls at once (sort of), learned some magic tricks, and the campers got their faces painted like clowns.

After dinner was a safari carnival which ended up having the outside portion of it rained out after a short time. We played silent ball tonight and one camper chewed threw his yellow bracelet which was pretty comical listening to him explain how it just fell off. For cabin chat the question was if you could have a super power what would you do? One camper said he would cure everyone and bring them all to camp. I thought it described just how meaningful this camp experience is to the campers and made me feel good about the part I play in it.

June 6, 2008

I had a chance to speak with a volunteer doctor this morning who is currently working at Yale and he was pretty amazed at this summer experience. He mentioned I should definitely apply to Dartmouth, Yale, and Cornell for medical school and expressed how they really value applicants with experiences like I have had.

After breakfast we had a few meetings and the camp director was a great speaker/motivator and got everyone super excited that the campers were coming today. The theme for the week is Jungle Junction and the camp seems very dedicated to the theme. This week I am in the Yellow unit with mostly 12-14 year olds.

Y- E- Double L- O – W- you know you wanna be Yellow (figured I’d throw a little cheer in there).

The campers are AWESOME! We have campers from the Bronx, Philly, NYC, Connecticut, Canada, and Russia (it’s international week). This week other campers will be coming from Ireland, Italy, and Germany so it should be interesting with everything having to be translated into all of these languages. It is a general illness session so our campers have a wide variety of illnesses such as Leukemia, Brain tumor, Hemophilia, liver transplant, and cancer.

Its like night and day compared to last week in that the campers seem so independent. After playing some board games we went to Adventure with our cabin this afternoon. The campers were blind folded and led through a trail in the woods and had lots of bonding games. It was amazing how well the kids worked together.
After dinner and a fire drill we had a “camp fire” in the Theater where there were lots of non-verbal skits/magic and camp info to accommodate everyone. We played a game of silent ball once the campers got ready for bed and had a deep cabin chat. A few campers expressed how they lost a parent within the last year and are looking forward to putting it behind them through this camp. Despite the various backgrounds of these campers they all seem so well mannered.

June 4-5, 2008

This morning came early when we had a 5:00 a.m. camper accident to clean up but after breakfast we all went to the new “Superdome” which is basically an indoors baseball field. It was neat to see their competitiveness in a game of baseball and field hockey in the superdome. For Turn 2 our cabin went to the Arts and Crafts where the campers made Dreamcatchers and I got a popsicle stick hot glued to my shirt and a feather hot glued to my arm (nice little blister from that one but the laughter certainly made it worth it). We had one camper finally open up and sing after lunch today which was great to see.

Today was Stage Day which gave all the campers a chance to show off their talents. The adjacent cabin with girls who I talked with all week (who apparently had an hour long conversation about me one night) included me in their stage day skit. The five campers all pied me in the face with massive whip cream pies which they thought was hilarious. The first bite was good but after that it was caked on so much that I was just trying to make sure I could breathe through the massive amounts of whip cream. Other acts that moved me were a wheel chair bound girl who signed to Who Am I, a paraplegic who did breakdancing, and 3 girls who sung Jesus Take the Wheel. After stage day we went and played some Putt Putt golf then went to the closing campfire. There were some pretty crazy fireworks at the end of the fire.

June 3, 2008

This morning for Turn 1 our cabin went to boating and fishing. We all started fishing first and caught lots of fish which brought many smiles to the campers. It is also called the Catch, Kiss, and Release Marina so there were lots of pictures taken with both campers and counselors puckered up kissing the fish. After they all caught their share of fish I took three of the campers out on the lake in a paddle boat. The campers all sat Indian Style and helped move the boat by turning the foot petals with their hands! There were two huge fountains that I steered us under and made for a few good laughs and excitement as well as a small water fall that we went and checked out.

For Turn 2 our cabin went to Adventure which consisted of a 55 foot tower they could climb and a 30 foot swing. It was so inspiring to see two of the campers climb all the way to the top pulling themselves up with only their arms. They all loved the swing where they were pulled up and able to release the cord and swing from 30 feet in the air. One camper got a pretty nice size splinter in his thumb so I had to take him to the Body Shop during lunch. After many failed attempts to get it out they decided to use Ethyl Chloride to numb it locally and cut it out which was pretty neat to watch and play with the Ethyl Chloride myself.

NASCARanival was tonight which consisted of a lot of different activity areas such as a dunking booth and games. Kevin Harvick’s pit crew brought a real NASCAR in and did demonstrations of replacing four whole tires which was a big hit with all the campers. They also had two hot air balloons but due to the weather the campers weren’t able to go for a ride in them. They compromised by setting one up in the gym horizontally and partially inflated (filled the entire gym) and allowed everyone to walk inside of the balloon.

The kids really started to let their guard down today and had a blast. I joked with one of the campers that tomorrow was the last day (although it wasn’t) and his reply was “no way man I have another whole day of fun with you tomorrow.” Another camper stirred my emotions simply by describing how this was the best part of his summer because he’s doing more than just sitting at home watching TV.

June 2, 2008

We helped shower the campers in the morning then had Pole Position which was a free choice activity for the campers. I went with a camper to Adam’s Race Shop where we played NASCAR games as a team, I held down the gas and he steered the car. There were also a few old cars in the shop and a place for the kids to take off a tire like a pit crew member. I found some racing gear and got dressed up which was a big hit with the kids (some who I think thought I was an actual driver) and took lots of photos.

After breakfast we went to Turn 1 which was the woodshop for our cabin. The boys made some wood cars and painted them. Turn 2 was archery which was neat because it was the first time for many of the campers. Following lunch was the much needed “Recharge”/ nap time for the campers. When we woke them up one camper got into his wheelchair and whacked his foot pretty hard on one of the dressers and said “good thing I can’t feel my feet – man that would have hurt.” It gave everybody a good laugh. We then went to the water park on site where two of the campers passed the deep end swim test. This was pretty impressive considering they had to do a lap in the pool and tread water and did it all with only their arms.

After dinner, a camper had an accident which we had to take him to clean up in the bathroom. I was doing better this time with everything until as I stepped out of the stall another camper came in the bathroom barfing. Between the two, I nearly started to blow chunks myself but was luckily able to hold it in. We ended up having to shower the camper and then went to the late night activity which was bowling. They had ramps set up for the campers to be able to push the ball down it from their chairs which made for a memorable night for them all. My long legs also came in handy when I played a racing game with a camper in the bowling alley this time using my left leg to hold down his gas petal and my right leg stretched to mine so we could race each other.

May 31-June 1

Where do I even begin to describe this amazing experience? I just finished my first Hole in the Wall camp which was Victory Junction in North Carolina. Let’s start from the beginning with the twenty minute plane ride from Charlotte to Greensboro. I sat next to the cutest 92 year old lady on the smallest plane ever where the propeller was literally less than 4 feet away from my head. I literally couldn’t even hear myself think. The lady told me when we landed “I didn’t even know they made these anymore... I felt like I was in World War II.”

Okay, now to the camp. My first impression of camp was it looked like a giant toy store or amusement park. I felt like I got the Golden Ticket and was one of the few who got to go to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. After a few hours of volunteer orientation, I went off camp to an awesome ice cream shop with a few of the full time staff. I had an amazing peanut butter Carmel cookie dough waffle ice cream cone (my new fav ice cream).

THE CAMPERS ARE COMING!!! Before the campers arrived the next day a few of the full time staff put together a worship service (it was Sunday). This was an awesome experience with over 35 people in attendance just to see how many other Christians were led to the same place to serve. My cabin (Talladega- BLUE Unit) had five of the oldest campers (13-15). Speaking of Talladega, Victory Junction is completely NASCAR themed and was founded by the Petty’s (just FYI). It was Spinal Bifida week and from even the first camper I met I was amazed. This camper who was wheel chair bound and paralyzed from the waist down could hop out of his chair and do push ups with his body completely vertical in the middle of the room. The same camper could also pull himself up to the sink and balance on the edge of the sink on his torso with his legs dangling and wash his hands.

Later that day during the session opening we had our first camper bathroom accident (#2). Although I was certainly more than willing to clean the camper up they definitely didn’t cover that in orientation. To make the story even better about mid-way through the clean up all the lights went out. We waited there in the dark for a few minutes thinking the power must be out then finally realized the lights were on a timer and went and reactivated them. You quickly learn that humor is the best thing to use to help lighten up the experience and pass time. Admittedly, I gagged twice and now have a new appreciation for all parents (at least those that change diapers). Thanks Mom and Dad for all those dirty diapers you cleaned many years ago!

Quote and Cheer

Okay.. so I decided I need to preface all of the upcoming post with this quote.

From the inside looking out, you can't explain it
From the outside looking in, you can't understand it

I think this describes the magical experience that happens at these camps. I will try my best to explain as much of the camps as possible but you really need to experience it yourself to know just how amazing they are.

Now since songs, chants, and cheers are so common at camp will start off with on:

B- We are the Blue crew
L- a little bit Louder
U- We are United
E- So get Excited
What…What…..What