If that isn't enough of a clue for you, I'll make it completely clear: I am not in Haiti. I am beginning week 5 of 10 weeks at summer camp in Maine. Normally, I look forward to my summer "vacation" as an idyllic time of sunshine, green trees, lots of river swimming, and beautiful sunsets. And thus far, I have enjoyed exactly...hmmmm...3 days of said idyllic weather. The rest of the time, it has been raining or misting or pouring or drizzling or dripping or fogging or drenching or RAINING!
The day the docks flooded:
But here's the thing: we don't let the weather ruin our summer here at Chop Point! My average day consists of staff meeting at 6:30am where we pray for it to get sunny. At breakfast, I give out morning meds and try to convince campers that their sweatshirts don't smell like mildew (a blatant lie). At 9:00, I lead French Bible study with the French campers in the boathouse because it's too wet to sit in the gazebo where we normally sit. At 10:00, I climb the hill to the field where I play a vicious game of muddy soccer with an incredible group of 15 muddy campers with muddy cleats and muddy clothes that they wore in the last 3 muddy games of soccer. Did I mention that we're all rather muddy? At 11:00, I go down to the docks, try unsuccessfully to wash the mud off my arms and legs, and then stand in the rain wearing 2 fleeces and a rain jacket lifeguarding the 10 brave kayakers and 3 very brave waterskiers who have the courage to face the elements. At 12:00, I take off my 2 fleeces and my rain jacket and I put on a shorty wetsuit so I can teach Swim for Fitness, a class consisting of 7 girls who turn progressively blue over the next hour of swimming but do everything I tell them to do. At 1:00, I take a steaming hot shower and shiver my way to the dining hall for lunch.
Waterfront activities: sailing, kayaking, blobbing, and canurfing
In the afternoon, it's pretty much the same picture. Add in a delightful sail in the rain, perhaps a trip to the blob where I sit in the rain and watch campers hurl each other into the water with gusto, a ride in a motor boat to rescue a windsurfer who got caught in the current and is on his way to the next town downriver, and an epic game of ultimate frisbee from which we emerge coated head to toe in mud and completely and utterly happy.
Mud fight with my frisbee co-leader
All in all, we are wet and cold but we are having lots of fun! And rumor has it that in 8 days, the sun is going to come out. So we are hanging in there. I miss Haiti, but I love seeing my American kids again, catching up with them, and partaking in all the fun and mud that is Chop Point Camp.
Staff week: Painting cabins, relaxing in my room after hauling my bed and armchair across camp, lifeguard training on a slightly less rainy day.
Teaching Ella to play piano
Sports night: the incredible Red Team
Campfire with cabin Cranberry
All dressed up for Horse Races
Welcome to Chop Point!
2 comments:
aw, these pictures are awesome! And I am definitely going to have to ask your co-leader about a mud fight, 'cause she didn't say anything about that to me... ;)
Great post, Kez. Thanks for keeping us up to speed.
Post a Comment