June 19-20, 2008

June 19, 2008

After we packed in the morning, we had breakfast and camper departures. We then had one final volunteer meeting and a good reflection. They had me down for an 8:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport even though my flight wasn’t until 4:30 but luckily I was able to get on an 11:30 shuttle which worked out nicely. Another volunteer counselor rented a van and took myself and another volunteer to In and Out which is a well known burger joint in the area. He was such a great guy and even bought us lunch. In and Out was a neat establishment with great food and is privately owned by Christians. They discretely put bible verses on things such as on the rims underneath the cups. I flew from LAX to San Francisco where I met my brother who flew out earlier in the day. We hung out and picked up Amanda (my lovely girlfriend) later that evening who is doing a summer program at Berkeley.

June 20, 2008

Scott and I went and checked out Pier 39 this morning and ate some fresh seafood at Hook and Cook. The highlights of the pier were the views and the entertaining Sea Lions some of which were playing King of the Platform (knocking each other off) which was very amusing. We got a little lost getting there but it was great to pay a little extra in the rental car to have a GPS system which helped out quite a bit. We went over one bridge to get to the pier and were perplexed how we were going to get back since all lanes ran the same way. It was only later that we realized directly below the way we came was a bottom portion of the bridge which allowed traffic in that direction. Later in the evening, Scott, Amanda, and I went to an Oakland A’s baseball game who were actually playing the Florida Marlin’s. It turned out to be a good game which went into extra innings with the Marlins eventually losing in the 11th inning.

June 18, 2008

The morning sunrise activity was fishing and boating which was really exciting for the campers. However, we didn’t have any luck catching any fish which was a bummer. Only 3 fish were actually caught all week. It’d be great if they could stock the pond with a few more fish.
After breakfast and cabin cleanup we went to woodshop and worked on various projects. We then had our rotation with the horses. I sat around and hung out with the campers that weren’t riding.
An afternoon free choice that I took a camper to was called AMP. Basically the campers were driven in golf carts to a bunch of different areas at camp while we all yelled “there’s not enough time!!!” They did things like push the canoes out in the water, switched golf carts, and pet a donkey. I had the pleasure of riding a bike that you could rent out from the administration office since the carts were all full. My choices of bikes consisted of one with a flat tire and the other with the handle bars up side down. I chose the latter. It made for quite an interesting experience since we were flying up and down hills all over camp and the brakes were above my hands while I was holding the handle bar grips. One classic moment was when I braked a little too hard after a down hill ride and sent the back wheel completely vertical. Luckily, I was able to get my feet down in time before I flew over the handle bars.
When we were making our way back to the cabin the facilities guy was dropping off cleaning supplies which signaled to one of the veteran campers that camp was coming to a close. His reply was “NOT ALREADY” knowing that another magical week of camp was soon ending. I had a nice reflection with another counselor discussing the life expectancy of the campers and how it’s sad to think about how many of them won’t live to fulfill the incredible and awe inspiring aspirations that they have. We also talked about how amazing the spirit is of the campers and just how much we all take for granted in life.
Prior to dinner we had a volunteer appreciation meeting where we had pop corn and DIET COKE! I don’t usually drink coke but I had been craving one all week so that was a very nice addition to the meeting. After dinner, for the oldest camper activity we had a marshmallow fight which was so much fun. One camper brought plenty of laughs when instead of picking up the already thrown marshmallows and throwing them he was collecting a handful of them and eating them! We then played a few games of Capture the Flag which was a lot of fun to get out and just run around for me personally and the campers.
At the camp closing we had a great reflection where the campers were allowed to state their most memorable moment (s) of the week and a really nice slide show. After the reflection was an emotional time. Lots of our campers were crying uncontrollably. I had the chance to facilitate the cabin chat for the evening with only about 10 minutes of notice. I asked two questions in the cabin chat which made for a good discussion. Earlier in the evening the campers wrote down a wish they had and so I put together a “wish list” to close the cabin chat which described how I wish I could be like one attribute from each camper.
After we completed the camper evaluation forms the entire cabin of counselors got slap happy. We couldn’t stop laughing and knew that this signaled that we had done our job for the week to give the campers the highlight of their summer (and for most their entire year).

June 17,2008

Our sunrise activity was Fun and Games so the campers had the chance to go to the gym and shoot some hoops before breakfast which they all loved (those that woke up for it at least). I haven’t really mentioned it but after every meal we sing and dance at camp. This morning we danced to Cotton Eye Joe and the Cupid Shuffle. The campers practiced for stage day after breakfast. It was surprising to see such interest in stage day by the campers. Normally the oldest campers (and especially the guys) don’t typically get that involved in stage day.
During cabin cleanup the campers wanted to walk over in to Blue 2 (the girls cabin) because they knew they would have to get make up and painted nails if they did. I don’t think I mentioned it but if a girl walks into our cabin the campers draw mustaches and various other things on their face as a consequence. The morning rotation was music and the program staff tried to facilitate making up a song. That was a struggle considering all the campers wanted to do was play the instruments and practice for stage day.
The next rotation was Fun and Games. They also had planned activities but the campers just wanted to play basketball. The campers participated in the first activity, a three legged obstacle course through hula hoops. However, they started to boycott doing any more organized activities and eventually got their way and were able to play basketball.
After lunch was the infamous Silly Olympics (my first one of the summer)! I was looking forward to this time as it is a huge hit with the campers and is basically a time for the campers to trash their counselors. The picture should explain it all but chocolate was thrown in our faces, martian vomit (green oatmeal) and water poured on us, paint thrown all over us, and we were wrapped up like mummies in toilet paper. The finale was a fire truck came and sprayed water down on everyone to rinse us all off.
After an intense shower and getting somewhat clean we headed to dinner which was followed by stage night. It started off with a singing of the Star Spangled Banner by one of the youngest campers which was really cute. There were some Hannah Montana performances of course. One cabin of girls dressed up the camp director and gave him a nice make over on stage. I was involved in a performance with one of the campers who wouldn’t tell me what we were doing and that I just needed to repeat after him on stage. We did some drumming on plates while circling a table then sat in a chair. He stood up so I followed him and then he sat down which I also did. While I had stood up one of the other campers put a soaking wet rag in my chair which soaked the back of my shorts. It was definitely a crowd pleaser and brought a big smile to the camper who arranged it as he said it was his first time managing his own skit.

June 16, 2008

I had volunteer sleep in day this morning so I was off until 10 a.m. which was pretty nice. I was able to go to the staff gym and get a good workout in, work on this blog, emails, and rested a little. Our morning rotation was Creative Arts which was essentially this camps theater. We first did “channel surfing” where a few people would go to the front of the room and people could call out various shows and tv channels in which they had to act out. Next we did “press conference” where a facilitator would hold up a picture behind the persons head and everyone else would have to ask questions to the person related to person in the picture.
We then went to the Ropes course. Although only one of our campers was doing the ropes course for the first time they all seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. After lunch and chill time the campers had the option of spending an hour in the pool or gym (or a combination of both). I played with the campers inside the gym. One camper and I got out the ping pong table and managed to hit 150 consecutive volleys!
For the free choice activity I took two of the campers to “Myth Busters.” They did things such as floating paper clips and a neat soap, water, pepper experiment. Tonight’s dinner was dress your counselors up dinner. My campers graciously picked out a nice full length purple dress for myself which was accented by a pink boa and wig. I received quite a number of compliments throughout dinner I must admit (haha).
The late night activity was a night time swim for the oldest campers although it turned out to be quite chilly. Hand massages and facials were also being offered. After spending dinner in a dress I thought it only right to receive my first ever facial. What an experience that was let me tell you! Not only did it look hilarious but it made my face feel like it was tightening into a little ball. It was definitely one of the weirdest experiences my face has ever felt.

June 15, 2008

Our campers decided to get up early this morning and do a random act of kindness. We walked to the dining hall before all the other campers were set to be there and set the tables for everyone. After breakfast we had our camp photo as a whole and then went back to the cabin for cabin cleanup. The first rotation of the morning was Arts and Crafts where the campers got to spray paint hats to keep and make constellations with spray paint. The campers seemed to have a better time there then I anticipated seeing as we have the oldest boys. One comical moment was when an Arts and Crafts program staff member came up to me and said “Honey, what’s wrong?..... You don’t want to make anything?” I hesitatively replied “ummm….. I’m a counselor not a camper.”
She seemed to be quite embarrassed by the mistake but with the frequency that I get comments related to this one I simply replied “hey, when I get older and look much younger it will certainly be a good thing.”
Our next rotation was Discovery. We did tin can creations by nailing holes in Fogger coffee type cans. We then took the cans into the “star room” which was an inflatable room that you could crawl into and then used a light to project the designed images from the cans. We had lunch and then chill time where I was able to spend a few minutes reading this fascinating book about World War II. We then went to NASA Boot camp (the week’s theme is Constellation Celebration) where there were various activities for the campers within our cabin to do together.
We then had “Turtle Time” which is time to spend in the cabin prior to the start of dinner. It was Wacky Hair dinner this evening so the campers dressed up the counselors with new hair-dos. I received a nice gelled hair do with the tips painted blue and a little silly string to top it all off. Quite stylish I must admit.
After dinner, going with the weeks themed certain counselors were “possessed” and in places throughout camp. The campers were told they had to figure out what the counselors were scared of and bring them back to the dining hall to be cured. The first counselor our cabin found was scared of people waking forward so we had to bring him back to the dining hall walking backwards and ensuring everyone that came near us was doing the same.
The late night oldest camper activity was a game played in the gym called “night watchman.” I helped facilitate the evening and game dressed up as a special agent. It was similar to capture the flag with obstacles set up throughout the gym and “tools” placed in the middle. There were two teams and the object was to get to the center, grab a tool, and return it to your side without a night watchman flashing the light on you. It turned out to be quite a big hit.

June 14, 2008

Prior to breakfast we had a volunteer meeting to run over some last minute details. Following breakfast we had an all camp meeting, cabin, and committee meetings. After the lunch the campers started arriving, YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! I am in a Blue cabin again this week, have the oldest campers (15-17 year olds), and the session is Liver Transplants and Arthritis.
The first camper to arrive was in my cabin and has been to camp since it first opened five years ago. One notable comment that stood out to me in our conversation was he mentioned when he is at home and wishing he was at camp he goes online and looks at the website. I’ve said it before but comments such as this really helps me appreciate how I am devoting my summer to continuing the impact that these camps have on these children’s lives.
There was a “block party” going on down cabin row so we all hung out in and around the cabin while the remaining campers arrived (although only 4 of the 6 of them did). After a fire drill and dinner, we started off with the camp fire which featured skits related to the weeks theme and camp policies.
The oldest campers get a late night activity each night here so tonight we had smores around the camp fire when the younger campers left then went to the dining hall to do "get to know you" type activities with everyone. We ended up combining the blue cabins 3 and 4 tonight since there were only 7 campers between the two and over 8 counselors (I guess enough coverage won’t be an issue this week).
There were a lot of laughs before and during the cabin chat. We have what looks like a pretty great bunch of campers this week. After we got them to bed (between 11-12) we had a cabin meeting and a meeting for the oldest camper activities.

June 13, 2008

So the motel shuttle stopped running at 9 a.m. but I wasn’t set to get picked up until 10 a.m. this morning. I figured I would take advantage of the free shuttle and got to the airport a little after 8 this morning. I intended on getting some breakfast (since the last time I ate was during my layover in Chicago around 3 p.m. yesterday). However, for some odd reason LAX doesn’t have any places to eat outside of security.
Needless to say I was starving at that point. It was a bit of a process getting picked up because we were taken by a 15 passenger van so we had to wait on others to arrive. We finally got on the road a little after noon. Of course, to my stomach’s dissatisfaction we ran into the LA mid-day/all day heavy traffic. We got to the camp between 2 and 3 and after checking in at the “Well Shell” (this camp’s name is The Painted Turtle) I was able to find some cereal which I devoured a few bowls in a matter of seconds.
My first impression of this camp was it had a rustic/desert kind of feel to it. I guess this made sense seeing as it was tucked between two mountains and was in somewhat of a desert. Of course we started with volunteer orientation (which I’m confident I can facilitate by now) and played some get to know you games as well as a mini scavenger hunt around the camp to get acquainted with our surroundings.
This is kind of random but this camp has some really awesome sinks in the gym and dining hall bathrooms. The counselor side of the cabins are also very nice and the bed is extremely comfortable (it’s a Serta!) so I’m looking forward to some good sleep this week. The remainder of the evening consisted of more volunteer orientation meetings and various other meetings.
POP QUIZ: Instead of the group of similar color cabins being called a “unit” at the Painted Turtle it is called this word which represents a group of turtles. What is this word? Many kudos if anyone knows the right answer (let me know your answer/guess).