Goose poo!

Herro! We are now in August! Where has the time gone? I have about 9 more days of camp left. I have finally posted some pictures on this blog so check them out! I didn't label them yet but most are from the various events that I held such as World Cup, dance parties, Amazing Race around camp, and day off trips to Woodstock, Bish Bash Falls, nights off at Sidelines and my Frozen birfday party. I have my flight in order for the 13th, appointment for my ankle, and starting work at the Westin soon after. I've also been applying for various internships. To be frank, as camp comes down to the last week, it has been a good experience but I'm not sure its for me. I've gained some different skills and met some great people that I hope to one day visit again in Australia or UK. I suppose you learn from any experience. Recently we had 50's night, a talent show, and tmrw is Halloween night. At night I wake up to the lovely sound of the geese hooting and howling. I also seem to always step in their poo. Last night I had the great pleasure (sarcasm) of sitting on Head OD which means I basically stay up till 12:30am guarding the bunks to make sure kids dont sneak out. It was freezing! I didn't think New York would get so chilly at night. Today I had some free time so I explored the art barn where I made some leather bracelets, halloween decorations, and hopefully make a ceramic pot soon. Thanks for reading and check out the pics! :)

Driving through NY!

I had a great day off with a few of the head staff the other day. We went to a nice lake then to the town of Woodstock for lunch and window shopping. Woodstock is a neat little area that is pretty hippy! It was very artsy and made for a nice walk. The head staff and I then saw the movie Tammy which was alright. Days off are so refreshing! Real food and no screaming kids! I booked my flight home to Orlando for august 13. Camp life has been going well as usual just busy. My showers have become warm now and I'm adjusting to buying drinking water and food outside of camp when I have the opportunity. Yesterday I drove 3 hours to JFK to drop of kiddies and about 3.5 hours back to the camp. What a long day. I've lost a few pounds since I dont eat as much at camp anymore so thats good! My ankle still isnt looking too well but hopefully when I get home I'll get it checked out further. Last week we had Las vegas day and Carnival day. It made for such a long day but I think the kids had fun! About 2 weeks of camp left now! Thank you for the cards, postcards, and treats! :)

Half Way to 46!

So much has been happening I havent had too much time to update the blog! Everything is going well. We have had Sadie Hawkins events, DJ Parties, Tribals, Campfires, MTV night, and tonight is the musical. I had my birfday celebration a few days ago! I had all the supplies in the theme of Frozen from Tim and Lori to complete the party! A group of head staff went out that night for some drinks and real food too! The water system has been out lately so showers have been slim and I've gotten used to always buying water wherever I can since the water here doesnt mix well with my tummy. I've taken French campers and Israeli campers around the mall and driven so many different vehicles. I finally swam in the lake! It wasn't as bad as I had thought but it does leave you smelly afterwards. This morning I ran from the geese and their droppings! We have a few more weeks left. I'm now planning for Las Vegas night which will be Tuesday. My ankle is doing alright but still not fully healed. Thank you to those who sent postcards and birthday cards!

Unclog the toilet!

Welp its another day at Camp Eagle Hill. When I find the time I write a bit on the blog here. Generally its been pretty busy. The days and nights are long and always on the move which I like to a certain extent. You're never really bored here and there always seems to be things on the "to do" list if you will. Last night we had the Miss Eagle Hill competition with Marie and I as MC for the evening. In short, each girls bunk is given a male counselor in which they dress up for the competition. The 13 males each competed in an evening wear, swim suit, and talent portion. It was hilarious! And I must say some of the boys made pretty females! haha! The kids loved it! I think I do pretty well on stage. I dont have any nerves anymore so its pretty easy to get up in front of 200 people. Unfortunately I was on OD (on duty) last night and didnt get to go out with the rest of head staff so Sals (pizza/beer place). Tonight I will hopefully get out though! OD is basically where one of the adult staff must stay up till 12:30am looking after the bunks and making sure everything goes well, nobody sneaks out, give out snacks, and check people in and out. For the 4th of July we had the staff/kids from each country come up to sing their Anthem. This was pretty neat! We have staff/kids from about a dozen different countries. Tonight the evening activity is Sadie Hawkins where the girls chase the boys and pull a sock out of their back pocket. When you pull a sock that means you "marry" that person. The kids love this activity apparently and afterwards we have a "newlywed game show" type of thing where they each have to answer silly questions about each other. On another note, the water here isn't that great or perhaps its just different than what I'm used to. I ended up buying a case of water so that works out. The past two days were very rainy so we had to change the plan for the kids. I did bingo and some other games inside with the younger kids (ages 4-6). They are a much easier group to work with than the boys ages 10-13! While it was rainy the kids piled in the office to use the restroom...what a disaster! The toilets dont flush very well here sooooo having a plunger is gold. Also making sure you stock up on the TP is essential. The important things in life! I'm enjoying this experience so far! Its hard work but nonetheless another learning experience in life. Working with the international staff has been great as well. Hopefully I'll chat with them more about various opportunities in their countries. I'm still looking to pursue a masters abroad but keeping an open mind for different opportunities I hear about. I was talking to Liane from Wales about her experience using campleaders (3rd party) to obtain her position at CEH. What better way to see a different place and meet people why doing something you enjoy. Anyways, time for lunch! :)

So much room for activities!

Herro! We started the daily schedules with the kids. There are 6 different periods and the kids basically get to pick from different "major" and "minor" activities. Theres all sorts of activities from swim, archery, zipline, climbing tower, volleyball, guitar, ceramics, woodworking, basketball, martial arts, cooking, dance, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, and theatre. Last night was the campfire and Luke and I ended up staying up till 12:30am working on the matrix, majors, and minors for today. It took forever! But it got done. We both got awarded the "Ya Gotta Love It" camp badges for our hard work! This morning I was in charge of volleyball! It went...haha I had 23 boys at about 10 years old. I got to deal with a kid crying for the first time too. After volleyball I got to take a rental car back and forth and then worked in the office. Tonight the event is "battle of the sexes" where the girls and boys compete against each other at various activities. Food has been great but its getting a bit old since I eat the same things over and over. The salad bar is the best! I always get the beets, fresh hummus, tomatoes, cottage cheese, oranges, pears, and usually whatever the main course is.

Battle of the Sexes went well but the boys won so the girls had to clean their dinner plates the next day. Last night the neon DJ Party went pretty well. I struggle a bit with using the AV and PA equipment or whatever you'd like to call it but I suppose I'm learning and trying to be a good DJ. haha at least the kids had fun! Things are starting to run more smoothly and we even got AC in the office! Volleyball is going alright but with the younger ones we usually play a game called newcomb. Newcomb is basically volleyball but you throw and catch the ball so its easier for the little ones. I never realized how hard it was to get 20 little boys quiet to explain instructions! Tonight is the kids talent show and tmrw is Miss Eagle Hill. The girls will dress the boys for a pageant show!

All is well! Thank you Tim and Lori for the cute postcard! Thanks for reading everyone! I'll try to post more often when I can!

The kids are here!

Yesterday the kids finally came! Friday night I hosted my first event, the World Cup Staff Party! We had great music, costume contest, and a trivia contest. It went well and I was up till 1:30am! I woke up at 6am to take a bus with Luke to pick up 15 kids from Yonkers. It was a long bus ride! I came equipped with barf bags, snacks, waters, med kit, and other stuff. Luckily, Bruce the driver stopped by so we could get coffee and breakfast! We took a pit stop because of course I had to pee after drinking coffee and Luke (from London) snuck over for some Mcdonalds which apparently was yummy. (ew) We got to our destination where the fun began. Parents, bags, kids, medicine, paperwork, money, questions, and more. There were 13 boys and 2 girls. Luke was in the front with Bruce and I was in charge of the kids. We had graham crackers snacks and waters. I got to show my tough face and make sure every kid was buckled in. Oh, the best part was taking 11 boys through a supermarket to use the restroom. Counting heads about every 2 seconds. We made it back to camp in time for lunch and carried on through the busy day. Last night I hosted the Staff Talent Show for the kids! Wes (theatre director) worked with me on stage and we had a great time! I think the stage is calling my name! Anyways, things are going well, helping where I can, planning events, and doing office things! I'm also the volleyball specialist so I'll be doing a bit of coaching as well. My ankle is doing much better just sore and bruised. Thank you Tomi and Ron for my favorite chocolates and card! So sweet! I must get going to lunch. I rarely have much free time! Thanks for reading!

Life at Camp!

Herro Herro! Once again sorry I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blog as much as I'd like to. I've been rather busy! I have moved into a private room at camp with a full size bed and my own bathroom area. All of the staff is now here and we are preparing for the kids to come on Saturday. There are a little over 200 campers including overnight and day campers. It's been interesting and I still have lots to learn about the camp, rules, procedures, and even things that I'm working on! A theme at camp for the staff is "flexibility and adaptability" so I suppose I fit into that. The food has been great! A salad bar has been open and there is a great variety of food. I saw my first groundhog yesterday and a few chipmunks! The days are long from 7am-10:30pm. Showers are now warm. I mostly work in the office on the evening activities and special events that will be taking place. I've been gathering materials needed, decorations, dj music, ordering parts, making lists and forms, phones, typing, printing, and just about anything that is needed. We have been doing some orientation games to get to know each other as well as rules. Unfortunately, as some have heard I did end up in the local medical center about 45min away from camp. Safety first but accidents do happen. Others have told me that I stepped on a ball but hell if I remember it was so painful! My ankle is very swollen and black/blue colored. Luckily though, its just a severe sprain so I should be good in a few days. The people here are great! People from all over from California, Alabama, England, Australia, Japan, New England, Spain, and a few other places. Overall I'm doing well! Today I even shared my lesson plan for teaching volleyball! (Of course I was unable to play with my ankle) Thanks for reading! :)