Camp Tales

I've been home for the summer.  Whoop-de-doo.  What have I been doing??

Working.

Work is literally my life in the summer.  I'm glad I get the hours I do - almost full time during the week.  I'm even happier that I get paid for those hours (aww yeah!!).  What am I??

I am a summer camp counselor.

I'm an activity counselor, not a group counselor, so I see every single kid that steps onto the camp grounds.  My areas of camp expertise (that being a relative term) include things like

NATURE

LESSONS

HIKING

SCIENCE

What my camp kids see.........

NATURE

LESSONS

HIKING

SCIENCE

Thus is camp life.  Excitements include the daily snacks (Cheez-its on Friday!!!), going crayfishing, and all the four year olds (who are beyond cute).

The camp story of today is from my first year working at the camp.  I was new.  I new practically no one.  And I was expected to teach small children??

Wait, expected to teach small children between the ages of 4 and 13?!!

Oh geez.

So I start my sessions off with the rules of my nature/science station.  Things like listen when I'm talking, don't pick the grass, and DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TOUCH MY TENT IT'S SO UNSTEADY MMKAY THANKS BYE.  For my four year olds, I guide them to "don't pick the grass" by asking them what they can see that's green, and they come up with the idea to leave it alone.

Well, it's the start of a session.  I ask my littlest ones where they can see green.  All my four year olds raise their hands and say the grass is green, the leaves are green, my storage hut is green.

And this one little boy raises his hand and says "You can find green up your nose!!"

Ummmmm well.........yes......I suppose you can find it there

Ewwww.  But what can I say??  Yes, you can find green up your nose.  Please please don't try.  And for heaven's sake, don't show me proof!!

I move on to say if we pick the green it'll turn to brown and dirt and dust, so what should we do??  My whole group shouts to leave all the green alone.

And that one kid calls out "Yeah, leave it up your nose!!"

Thanks snot boy.  Thanks for the help.

Being Home

Well, I haven't posted in a while.  And truth be told, I didn't think I would ever post again.  I repurposed this blog to chronicle my study abroad adventures in Russia.


But now I'm home.


I've been here for two months.


........can I go back??

I forgot what being home was like.  Sure, I missed my family, my boyfriend, and my friends (yes I have those).  Actually, I missed them a whole hell of a lot.  It's hard to be abroad and away from everyone for months on end.


And on top of it all, I miss my host family.


Anyway, I'm home now.  Home is America.  Home is, while I'm still a poor broke college student, at my parents' house.  And with my little brother.  For all that apartments are small in Russia, I had a bit more space there.  At least, it feels like I did.  Could just be that the freedom granted by a nearby metro station made it feel like there was a lot more space.


Speaking of space, America has a ton of it.  And we pile it full of a lot of crap.  On the ride back from the airport, I was quite a bit dazed and confused - time differences and all - and I couldn't stop staring at the side of the road.  It was an old highway strip, and there was so much stuff crammed into every slot there was.  Restaurants, gas stations, bars, more restaurants, pool stores, liquor stores, music stores, fast food restaurants.  There was just so much.

It was unnerving...


Now after a few months in the States, life has returned to what I once would call normal.  I wake up every morning.  I go to work at my summer job.  I come home.  And I crash on the couch.


Two weeks to go though.  Then I'm off for the last year of college life.


Then I have to enter the real world.........wait.....do I have to??


Must I??


Not sure if I'm ready for that.......