Camp Log

Week two of camp down, and it was another great one. Some hilarious and/or moving stories and quotes that have put a smile on my face this week:

My "Aw's"
One of my campers said something to me, but she didn't speak loudly enough so I asked her to repeat her question. But apparently she didn't think volume was the issue. "I know, I can't pronounce my AW's (R's) right so you might not understand me."

Creation Fun
During a walk, a camper standing next to me looked around at the scenary, sighed, and said to me, "God must have had so much fun making this place. Everything is just so beautiful."

What I wanted to say to this moving, spontaneous comment was, "I think you're absolutely right" but obviously we can't talk religion at camp so I just smiled. But you would be shocked at how often the subject comes up among the campers themselves.

How Many Years?

On Thursday during our walk to the tidal flats, I expressed that I was sad that we were on our second to last day of the camp week. To which one of my campers replied, "I know, I might just stay here for 1,097 years." Wait, we don't even get 1,098 out of you?!

British/American Accents: A Lesson
Another camper moved here from England when she was around two. Her older sister, who I had last year, was a year or so older at the time of the move. This created a fascinating difference in the two of them. The older one still has a British accent that is as strong as if she still lived there, while the younger one's accent only comes out in certain moments. She does, however, say words like "lovely" quite often, and speaks in an adorably proper way.

At the pond on Tuesday, I got a lesson from the younger sister in speaking when I asked her about her background in England. To demonstrate that her and her sister are a little different, she used a certain hilarious example. "So for example, my sister says 'pasta' (in a British accent) and I say "PAAAAHHHHSSSSTTTAAA" (in a long, drawn-out Boston accent). I almost peed myself on the trail. Not sure that anyone in the United States says the word quite like that, but the exaggeration was aboslutely priceless.

Later, when we were still on the topic, the younger sister laughed, shrugged her shoulders, and delcared, "I didn't choose to be American, it just happened to me." HA.

Four Dads 
I think some of most special moments at camp come when kids who may not fit in elsewhere are able to find commonalities with others. The following story is not from my group, but a fellow counselor told it yesterday and I had to share.

In this particular group of nine to eleven-year-olds, there is a set of twin boys with two dads. (Note: this is not terribly uncommon at this camp. At least a handful of kids every week have this type of family). I guess the boys are teased and tormented for this in their home state. In their camp group this week was another little boy. Guess what? He had two dads too.

"We've never met ANYONE else with dads like us!" the pair exclaimed. They all became best friends over the course of the week, and now four dads and three sons are hanging out at the beach this weekend. (Most of this story came from one of these thankful dads).

Ten points for day camp.