life of andyman

I’’m back, like I said I would be, and only one week later!

So, we just completed week 4 here at camp (but I’ve been here 11 glorious weeks) and this one was another fantastic week.

I’m in Extreme Teen center this week, and it was “Terrain Week” which means, “busy week.” Normally here at camp, counselors have two opportunities per day for time off. The first is “FOB” which is like a nap time and stands for “Feet on Bed”. The other time off is after lights out, when the kids go to bed, and you’re exhausted and should go to bed, too, but instead you spend an hour in the dining hall eating leftover brownies. Since each cabin has two counselors, you should get at least one FOB or one night off every day.

Last week for me, however, saw 2 times off in 6 days of work. But strangely I don’t feel bitter about it this week. Here’s why. We had a fantastic group of kids. All of them were pretty much in shape, none of them really complained, they were all excited, mature, helpful, fun, and funny. It was great. There was 2 or 3 kids that were totally cool, and I consider time with them as hanging out—not supervising.

Plus, we got to do really cool stuff this week. That’s why I didn’t get any time off. On Tuesday, we left camp straight after breakfast to go on a half day white-water rafting trip. We got back after dinner. Next day, we left camp again, drove a half an hour to a campsite called the Slab that has 5 real-mountain rock-climbing routes, two of which were at least 75 feet high (higher than I’ve ever rock-climbed!).

Plus, I got to “Lead-Climb” because the rocks didn’t have their own ropes, just a bolt in the rock every 10 or so feet. That means when we climbed there, I had to bring a rope up with me while I climbed and clip in every ten feet for safety, until I got to the top. Then I pull the rope back down, and everyone else gets to use it. Lead climbing was great because it’s been a long time since I felt a thrill or a sense of risk in rock-climbing. Truth is, rock-climbing on rope, with harnesses and tools and all that is ridiculously safe. With lead-climbing, it’s still safe, but there’s a possibility of falling maybe 15 feet before the rope catches you. (You don’t hit the ground if/when you fall, you just fall 15 feet down the rock, then the rope catches you and you hang again.) Anyway, I didn’t fall, but it was still exciting.

We were away from camp on trips for 2 full days, plus before each trip we were getting ready and after each trip we were cleaning up. That’s why I didn’t get any time off, but it’s also why I didn’t mind—those trips were fun.

Another thing we did was the crate challenge again. You stack up milk crates as high as you. Me and one of my favorite campers, Ken, broke the record for 2 people, 2 stacks, at 13 1/2 crates. Ken then went on to smash the 1 person, 1 stack record. It was previously 11, he broke it up to 19–which is 7 crates higher than anyone had ever been on the crates in the past. None of the younger camp cabins get to do the high ropes course. All the counselors are jealous of the teen staff. I’m trying to get certified to teach the high ropes, but they won’t let me—they say they want the number of certies to be limited so they can be sure it’s safe and under control. Lame. If I coulld get certied, I’d totally take all the other counselors out. As it is, they still haven’t gotten to go all summer. I don’t think it’s really fair.

That’s pretty much it. I’m spending the weekends enjoying time with Morgan, time that is like heaven, and today we’re going to try to get into town and go to Goodwill so I can but a raincoat.

They told me yesterday that next week I would be doing something different. I won’t technically be in a cabin next week, which is very strange. I don’t fully know what to expect, but I sincerely hope this is a movement towards higher responsibility at camp, but it could just be they were short-staffed and needed me, so we’ll see. They said I’d be jumping around all over camp, helping where it’s needed. That could go either way—technically that’s exactly what the Assistant Director does, but it’s also what they could give to a sucker and make him do all the dirty work. So, I’ll let you know how that goes—hopefully it’s the former!

Only 3 weeks left of this incredible summer. I haven’t slept in a real bed, seen a TV show, had a car, received an incoming cell-phone call, dreaded having to go to work any day, spent more than maybe 70 bucks total, or many other things now for 2.5 months. I don’t miss anything outside of camp except family and friends, and fresh vegetables. And maybe Nintendo. I’ll be sad when it’s over, and will immediately be thinking of ways to come back next year, or to do something else just like it. (I heard about “International Summer Camps”—apparently they’re all over—where 3 or 4 counselors take 20 kids to places like Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Alaska, France—all over. I also heard they tend to exclusively hire adults who are graduated from college and have strong camp experience—who knows, maybe that’s a possibility?)

See you next time! RSVP