Week 5

Week four began on Monday the twelfth of July with a 6:30 am swim in the lake with a good friend…to start the day witnessing the mist rolling away from the water as the sun rises is awesome. We lost a camper to hockey camp at the end of last week, but two new boys have joined us for two weeks, and they seem to be really nice. One was in my cabin last year, and is a sweet kid, and the other was from France but spoke perfect English…at the age of nine. Nothing has made me doubt the quality of the British language education system more! All the new and old boys seem to be interacting very well together, and I am excited for the weeks to come to see how their relationship progress

My schedule for the week was as follows:

1. Guitar - This week was a really good lesson, with some great campers!

2. Photos - I really enjoy taking photographs, tending to take lots on the waterfront and the pool to speak to my friends while taking photos at the same time. A lot of the parents complimented my photographs when they came to pick up their children at the end of last week, which is always nice to hear. The other photographers pictures are incredible, so I feel like I have a lot to live up to.

3. Tiger songs - Singing with the youngest campers on camp is such a treat. They are all so enthusiastic that they sing along with just about every song, and they also are too little to realise they can complain about what I choose to do with them. So they are, essentially, the perfect audience. After they toddle off to their lunch half way through the period, I went down to the waterfront every day to finish up the period, helping out in any way that I could. The people down there are awesome, so any chance to get down there was taken with a smile!

4. Guitar - Again, a great lesson with some of my favourite students!

5. Digital photography - Teaching campers between the ages of six and sixteen how to take a good photograph was no easy task. The camp provided decent digital cameras with little modifiable features or modes, so there was not much to explore there. We learnt about standard things like the rule of thirds, how to use the flash properly, and how to compose portraits and landscapes properly. Other activities that were maybe a bit easier were things like scavenger hunts, where the campers were given a list of items and people around camp to photograph in interesting ways, or creating a fairytale story out of their photographs. For the first week of teaching it, I think it went well!

6. Guitar Freeswim - Chilling out in the sun with some amazing senior campers who came to sing, play guitar, write letters and read. A lovely way to finish the end of the teaching sessions, like a cool shower after a hot hot day.

On Monday evening, for cabin night, myself and three other cabins congregated at camp fire to build a fire and subsequently make my first ever s'mores. Melted marshmallows sandwiched between graham crackers and chocolate was definitely a nice result…even if every single camper's hands became sticky webs of mallow and crumbs. Showers were thorough that night!

On Tuesday night, an entertainer came to camp to play Simon Says with the campers. I know that sounds about as lame as twenty year olds doing crochet for kicks, but for a forty year old man to get over 150 campers involved in the most upbeat game of Simon Says I have ever seen, with smiles on their faces [even the seniors], was so impressive. I was terrible at following the instructions, but everyone agreed that it was awesome.

On Wednesday there was a whole camp trip to a theme park called Lake Compounce. Since my co-counsellor had been moved to day camp, I accompanied my cabin on the trip. We rode in big yellow schoolhouses [joy] to the theme park and spent the whole day following the campers on to ride after ride after ride. We went on the biggest wooden roller coaster in New England [or some other fancy statistic] and enjoyed the smaller rides too. It was perfect for nine year olds. After lunch we spent the afternoon in the lovely sunshine in the water park, floating down the lazy river, careering down slides and soaring down the river rapids. Our dinner was catered for at the park, and we got a little bit of shopping in as well. And to top it off, the park was sponsored by pepsi, so all fountain drinks were free. Which meant I must have drank about three litres of mountain dew…hi cavities! And my arteries were treated to some clogging through deep fried Oreos. Delight. We lost most of our weeknight off in town, but I was able to get a quick lift into town to check emails and have an ice cream sundae with the others who were on the trip, so I wasn't fussed. Spending all day at a theme park with nine year olds doesn't exactly count as work, does it?!

On Thursday we started something very retro…letters in bottles. One of my friends who also lives with another counsellor, going to university with another two of us, works at the camp across the lake from us. And to our surprise, a letter from her arrived for all of us on a sailboat, given to them by the other camps boat drivers. It lit up my morning! In the evening we had campfire, which went well!

On Friday I sailed over to the other camp to return the favour with some letters from ourselves. I love sailing, and feel that I am almost competent enough to take one of our little boats out by myself. Definitely by the end of the summer! In the afternoon, we had a massive set of games on camp for Cherokee Mahaiwe, kind of like circuits. We stayed in one place and organised a game at that place, and groups of campers rotated around all of the areas, one by one, in their tribes, to gain scores from participation, cheering, sportsmanship and so forth. I enjoyed being given a bit of responsibility to run the game I was supervising! On Friday evening, a company came to put down thirty dance mats in the indoor rec centre, and we played Dance Dance Revolution. I don't know if I have ever had a more fun Friday night on camp. Really tiring but super awesome! I may have won one of the counsellor rounds…=]

On Saturday we took the camp to a lake at a nearby beach. It was a scorching day, and I don't know if I could have thought of anything better to do with it than to spend the whole time playing in the water with the counsellors and campers, throwing people around and enjoying a bit of peace and relaxation. I am sure the other people at the beach didn't see it that way, but never mind! No campers were lost, everyone had sunscreen on, more Mountain Dew was had…life was good. When we got back to camp, I was off duty, so we went out for dinner at an amazing restaurant down town, and then out for a night in the local bowling alley. What an awesome day.

On Sunday, after a bit of revival courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts and fruit, we had such an epic day. Pretty much all of the staff that were off that day clubbed together over two hundred dollars, and went to a nearby waterfall with a pool and rope swing, and spent the whole day chilling in the sun with music, swimming, swining, sunbathing…all with amazing snacks and barbecue food. I don't know how to put into words how relaxed it made me feel, but by the time I was back on camp I was ready for anything. It was an amazing idea, and I hope we do it again this summer. We had a camper from weeks 1 and 2 come back on Sunday night, which was awesome, meaning we now have five in the cabin…a full house! After a game of Omnikin ball [google it…awesomeness in a ball] we had a staff meeting where I was awarded "counsellor of the week". Fantastic end to a fantastic week. Bring it on for the rest of the summer!

I miss you all, and thank those who have got in touch with your own updates. I would love to hear from more of you in any way you can!

<3

Andrew

Camp Half Moon
PO Box 188
Great Barrington
MA 01230
USA