Note to self: buy Warheads in mass quantities next year - camper & staff faces alike should be documented, whether through video or picture.

camp day 4 - outdoor adventure day

I know I skipped from pre-Day 1 with campers all the way to Day 4, but go with it. A very short, very quick sum-up of my junior forum Outdoor Adventure Day:

worked incredibly hard to get Brannan, one of our more emotional campers, all the way up the ladder on a high event, away from the pole to which he was clinging for dear life, off the platform on which he literally remained frozen for a good 2-3 minutes, onto the wires that he had planned to avoid at all costs, and safely to the ground. I need to take ownership for my dedication, fast thinking, and overall effectiveness with Brannan. I don't know how I did it, but I got him down, just as one of the personnel running the camp had begun to harness up to climb to Brannan and physically take him down.

In response to this, I didn't get an acknowledgment from my lead Kelly, but from Chicka, one of the most integral pieces to the SuperCamp puzzle. It was a short and indirect acknowledgment, but it isn't something that I'll forget. I felt incredibly proud and valued.

pre-camper moments II - barrier breaking

Barrier breaking was epic. Because every person on staff, excluding one of my TLPs, Sean, and Laura, the "Wellness Person" aka equivalent to an on-site nurse, are returners, they changed some things up about training. Typically, staff does barrier breaking together in the main room, with "Eye of the Tiger" blaring and more yelling, screaming, and energy than you can imagine.

Instead, the facs (facilitators) led us out to a patch of grass by the UW campus that overlooked what I believe to be Lake Union. It was such a different vibe, there was a fraction of as much yelling, it was beautiful out, and there was an element to just peace that streamed through the activity.

Once again, I did greater things that I could have imagined, and broke my fourth board. This time around, my goal was "Teacher of the Year", while my barrier was "fear of new + challenging experiences". Even if I am entirely sure that I'll strive in a certain activity or field, the fear of new things keeps me from fully putting in 120% effort sometimes. I'm excited that I broke through that barrier physically and am now working on breaking through it both mentally and emotionally.

I am surrounded by wonderful people.

pre-camper moments IV

from 7/17/09 journaling:

Wow. Today was a blast. This staff has so much fun together. Logs were tiring, but I'm proud of my affirmation posters (all 20 or so!). I guess you could say that you know it's been a good, productive day when you have Mr. Sketch markers all over your fingers from 7 hours ago. The games were too much. We're going to have a fun camp. I'm excited for cute nightly meetings. I am scared+excited=anxious about TLPs (TL Partners). I just feel like the 2/3 last summer could have been better. Choosing to be hopeful.

Update:
The affirmation posters look great, I only cringe when I see a certain few in the girls' hallways. As for TLPs, mine are amazing. I was paired with Sean and Julia, and we have a blast. They're both hilarious in their own ways and we mesh incredibly well. And, as usual, it's hilarious to watch male TLs get so irritated by the campers that they start whispering things in your ear like "Is it bad that I want to kill half of them?".

also...

pictures and more meaningful posts to come once campers arrive.

pre-camper moments III

so, it's nearly midnight on day 3 of staff training, and I should be in bed. but, the internet is finally working well, so here I am.

The scariness of staff training and camp has officially worn off and/or transformed into excitement (and unfortunately, exhaustion). Our staff has so much fun together. We laugh like crazy. Only one of the 13 TLs on staff this year is brand new, so it's really cool to be with a nearly entirely experienced staff. We fly through silly things like "ninja-ing" into the main room and the logistics of SA's, or "special assignments" (these are also known to TLs as "nap time", "laundry time", or "phone time", if not a combination of all three). I definitely think I need to make an effort to get to know some of my fellow TLs better, specifically probably Erica and Robert... although I could also chat with Julia and Scott more, too.

We did a crazy activity that was super similar to Catherine Zeta-Jones mastery of the laser maze in Entrapment tonight, except all 22 staff members had to make it through a string maze without touching the string and while holding hands. It took us probably over an hour, and things got pretty complicated, but I didn't feel like any of us were genuinely frustrated, which was such a positive feeling. Every time anyone bumped the string, we all just brushed it off and immediately tried again. It was a really cool experience because of our reactions, rather than the outcome.

Tomorrow will look like tons of logistics aka finishing touches on the main room, more staff bonding, and hopefully a trip to Target (and Starbucks if Kaiti - my roommate, and I are lucky).

Lights out.

pre-camper moments II

So, Day 2 of Staff Training has ended and I am sore. Today was a particularly rough day – I have never been someone with which rope courses and trust falls sit well. Today was jam-packed with team-leading activities, which normally I’d be okay with- except the ones requiring me to put up with great levels of discomfort. The worst of which being the trust fall- rather than falling backwards into a bed of outstretched arms, we fell backwards into what was initially an empty space, only to be filled with flat arms after we had reached a 15% angle of falling. But, the falling isn’t even the worst part- it’s the group hug, being cradled by 15 people, and just close quarters for a good 35-40 minutes altogether that really ruins me. Which is why, although I could “choose not to do this event”, and avoid the falling, it’s the lesser of two evils, so I go with it and try not to make a fuss.


More from my journal:

(In relation to an activity entitled “On the Line”, in which one end of the room is a sign stating “Strongly Agree” and on the opposite side, a sign stating “Strong Disagree”, while a line in the middle of the room represents “Neutral”. Participants are asked to gage their opinion towards specific statements ranging from “I believe Barack Obama will do a good job as president” to “I believe in waiting to have sex until marriage” to “I think people in student government are snobs”.)

That was one of the best camp activities I’ve ever done. It truly did make you question your beliefs and what lies beneath them. I found myself wanting to ask staff members about specific opinions they had, like nutrition major Cami’s disagreement with the statement “Organic foods are better for you than non-organic foods” or assistant to the Barack Obama’s election campaign Jake Smith’s neutrality on the Obama statement mentioned above. And, I felt blessed when I could truthfully and triumphantly march to “Strongly Agree” in accordance to the statement “I have a best friend”. Although I debated making the distinction between “a best friend” and “at least one best friend”, I was fully aware that some of the staff members that remained neutral or disagreed were not struggling with the same thoughts.
And, I was again reminded that everyone judges- it’s human/American nature. What you do with those judgments is what makes the difference.

This staff is a blast. We’re already partying and it’s only Day 2.
Lights out.

PS: Quick question- wondering why I am hearing a baby cry in a college dorm building in July…?

pre-camper moments I

Alright so it isn't really Day 1 of staff training. But, my internet has been wonky and this is what happened on Day 1, according to my makeshift blog in Word:

So, this is scary again. It’s so good to be back here and on my main room floor again, and in my dorms, and on my campus. But, I am being abruptly and clearly reminded of how scary this is for me. I can’t figure out why, but it is. These activities make me weak in the knees, teary-eyed, and nauseous. They require you to be big, but humbly big. Who knew that the anticipation of a 3-minute time span to be utilized only to ask you questions about yourself could instill such feelings of nervousness, insecurity, and in some cases inadequacy. Sigh. I appreciate the time we have together as a staff, but staff training is so scary. Glad to be done with Day One, but fully aware that only tougher, scarier things are to come.

pre-camp moments III - just for now

Had a stressful and quasi-rough day, leaving home - especially for camp, has proved to be quite a feat. Every time, without fail. I wasn't sad to be leaving everyone until just a minute ago. Some of the girls aren't coming home for Thanksgiving (Libby!), which makes me very sad. I'm going to miss all of them. Well, actually, I may be a little too busy/tired/non-stop at camp to miss them, but if not, I will. A lot.

But, I'm finding the reality of my 8 hour drive to San Francisco some time tomorrow growing, as my time in both of my homes dwindles.

Another pre-camp summer in San Diego comes to a close. Hopefully just one of many more. Camp countdown: 4 days.

pre-camp moments II

Mally came over and just finished helping me pack. It looks like I'm bringing more than last summer, but I'm actually bringing less clothes, just more linens! It was a tough choice between having my bed made for me every day and sleeping in my own cute sheets. The cute sheets won. Just realized that I should probably bring an extra pillow...

Anyway, I drive up to the apartment in San Francisco in 4 days, and Cami and I leave for Seattle in 5. I'm getting really excited. Leah's Day 1 at Cornell is tomorrow! I am so excited to hear about everything. She's doing barrier breaking today, and I am eager to hear how much she loved it.

Off to load the car for my last crazy days in southern California until maybe October or November!

pre-camp moments

This will be my camp blog this summer.
I don't remember anything from staff training last year, because I didn't document ANYTHING about camp last year, for the most part.
So, this year, it's a goal.
I know that camp can definitely get crazy, but I'm going to try to keep this up. It'd be fun to have every summer.