| Product: |
Camp America |
| Date: |
12/06/06 (613 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Crazy, fun, new experiences, sunshine, activities, lifelong friendships!
Disadvantages: If you don't like rules, don't bother
I recommend Camp America 100%
I honestly think that every teen/twenty something should do this once in their lifetime. It completely changes you as a person.
The Camp America program itself is a good one. The money isn't amazing, but you get your board and food - what else do you need? I would honestly pay to work at camp! (shhh don't tell them that!)
The staff in the UK office are super friendly - especially Leah, Lyndsey and Libby. The interviewers are just an email away to answer questions and Camp America runs a crazy orientation day for all it's new staff to answer questions and worries they may have.
The first week of camp is amazing - camp for counsellors! I met people from America, Canada, Israel, Australia and New Zealand as well as some fellow Brits. You bond SO quickly - you live together, eat together, sleep in the same cabin....I always say it's like the Big Brother house! There is an amazing sense of community and comradeship. In the first week we did team building - high ropes courses, human pyramids and team games. We swam in the lake, had cookouts, went on a trip to a waterpark, and scrubbed the camp until it sparkled.
The kids can be crazy - American kids ask "Why?" a lot! I grew to love my bunk SOOO much - even now, a few years on, I wonder how they are doing.
A typical day as a general counsellor involves getting them up, down to breakfast. First activity might be volleyball, followed by arts and crafts. The activities are led by specialists, so you join in and have fun with the campers- of course, you have to put them first - if a camper is upset you have to abandon your own fun to talk to them and try and coax them to join in too. Lunch is next, followed by rest period. In the afternoon you usually take the campers down to the lake for a swim, which is great - water toys, way hey! (Water trampoline, iceberg and the BLOB!). Then perhaps you are off to Multimedia, or maybe tennis or rollerskating. Then it's dinner and the kids get to schmooze afterwards and hang out with their friends. The evening there is usually something else planned - usually a dance, themed evening, cookout, fashion show the kids have done, Pop idol contest, etc etc.
The days fly by, yet you fit so much in that just one day feels like a week. You will never be bored! You don't get a minute to yourself either! Just as you think you have ten mins to write a letter home, you get called to help make posters for the next night's themed dinner or something!
We had our waterski show disrupted by a tornado (all was cool an hour later!), we got lost in the middle of nowhere on our 4 day canoe and hike trip, I got canoed into a tree by an ADHD camper, went searching for a camper who had "run away" (was actually hiding) and sat in the lodge many a night with movies and snacks after the campers had gone to bed.
Our camp was good enough to put on a mini bus (oh yes, one of the typical school buses!) twice a week so that staff could have evenings out of camp! They took us to a roller rink, to Big Boys for a midnight breakfast, to the cinema and to local stores so we could shop.
If you are the sort of person who likes to be busy and always have fun things planned, you will love camp. You need to throw yourself into it and you will get 100 times more back.
I feel like I have left half of myself at camp - I miss it everyday. It's honestly the happiest times I have ever had, no contest. I have made friends for life, from all over the world and we stay in touch via email.
Time has passed and I've been focussing on my career, but this year the dates fitted so i am back off to a different camp, to work with ADHD kids. i am sooooo excited!
You are used to having people around you 24/7 - you know the goss, the in-jokes. You're used to always having somebody ask "are you ok? You look a little bit down". You're used to team spirit, bunk cheers, standing on chairs at dinner and screaming these cheers! You don't have to worry about bills, whether your car will start, office politics, what to wear (shorts and a vest top are good!), money, the rain....
It's a million miles away and you can re-live your childhood, as long as you are sensible with it and look after the campers. Our camp director made the point that these kids are the greatest gifts to their parents, and you have been trusted with these most special things in their life. Cheesy yes! Scary, yes! But so worthwhile.
You will be tired, worn out, been running round all day. The food can be hit and miss! You'll be covered in mosquito bites! You will have homesick campers and campers who play up. But somehow it's all worth it. When you see the look on their face when they climb to the top of the climbing wall, or waterski for the first time. It's so worth it.
The one downside is that when you come back from camp, you feel lost. But, it's only meant to last a summer. And the highs outweigh the lows a hundred times over!
Even now, I meet people who have done camp and there's a bond straight away. A shared smile, an understanding. I'd recommend camp to anyone - just remember - go into it with an open mind and a smile and be prepared to work SOOO hard. The more you put in, the more you get out!
Summary: Trying new activities, laughing, shared memories, sunshine!
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