My American Dream - California (Camp Life Pre Kids)

After an awesome stay in Florida it was off to my next State…Cali-for-ni-A…San Diego to be exact!

First thing I noticed flying into San Diego is that it is completely different to the East Coast…it’s beautiful.  Florida is pretty in certain areas but it’s incredibly flat so everything looks the same…there’s no hills or mountains or anything that breaks the monotony of the scenery.  When I flew into San Diego I got that feeling you get every time you go over Sir Lowry’s pass on a clear day and the magnificent Table Mountain appears out of the fog to greet you…and you’re so in awe of the landscape with this vast ocean at your side you almost total your car off the cliff…well…that’s San Diego! This incredibly clear, blue ocean flanked by long stretches of white sand littered with palm trees and then the rolling hills that slowly build up to the Colorado mountains (or at least I think they’re the Colorado mountains).  I knew the second I landed that I was going to love this city…unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to experience it until two weeks later…as I was off to Summer Camp!

If there has ever been a time where I have felt completely out of my depth, it was at Camp.  I had no idea what to expect and after traveling over an hour into the mountains and climbing 4000ft to what was going to be my home for the next 2 months, I could not have ever imagined what I was in for.  Camp is like a whole other sub culture, a lifestyle…and you either love it or you hate…thank goodness I have always been open enough to new adventures and as it turns out…I loved it J 

The whole culture of American Summer Camps absolutely fascinates me! American children are very mature for their age and we may think their parents send them off to camp for Summer to get a break from them but it’s quite the opposite…these kids LIVE for camp…from the age of 6 years to 16 years.  I had a hard time being at camp at the age of 27…I have no idea how the kids of 7 years did it!  They attend every year and once they graduate the go on to become councillors and camp becomes their extended family.  Needless to say being a foreigner and never being exposed to a camp environment like this before, I felt incredibly out of place.  Not only are there all these little traditions and general behaviour that you’re just expected to know…but they also sing these songs…ALL THE TIME.  It made me think of my first few years in the Catholic church when I would stand and the congregation would kneel and then I would kneel and they would sit and then out of nowhere they would answer the Bishop back in unison and then pause during the Our Father…I was so lost then at that’s exactly how I felt my first few days at camp.  Depending on which seat you sat at meals you were expected to perform special roles like getting the food from the kitchen, and then when you sat down to start eating suddenly everybody would stand up and start singing…to be honest…the first 3 days I truly believed these people were mad at that maybe I had ended up on some crazy American cult farm of singers.  The thing is…and what I realized in hindsight, is that we were in training…and obviously all this behaviour made perfect sense once you were sitting with 80 kids and trying to keep them entertained…needless to say I caught onto that whole singing thing quick J

So yes…my first week and a bit were spent training at Summer Camp…and it was intense!  America is big on their health and safety so to be a councilor to kids you had to know what was going on at camp.  That first week and a bit were spent waking up at 6am and only getting to bed at 10pm with a full day of activities in between.  We had swim tests, hiking, archery tests, challenge course, teambuilding, first aid, CPR, horse riding and more.  I can positively say I did well at everything apart from horse riding.  I always thought I was pretty good on a horse but as with most things in this country (USA)…they are backwards!  Not only do cars ride on the wrong side of the road but their horses are ridden in the opposite way too!!! In South Africa, if you pull right on the reigns the horse goes right…like riding a car…but in America…if you pull right…the horse goes left…like riding a damn rubber duck!!  Needless to say Casanova was continually walking into the fence and the more stupid I thought the horse was, the more he was probably thinking the same thing about me!

The camp I stayed at was incredibly rustic with wooden cabins with bunk beds and NO ELECTRICITY. There are about 5 cabins situated at one site that will have a general porch area...fireplaces...toilets and showers.  Only problem is they are about 1km away from the main lodge where we have our meals etc.  There are lots of raccoons, squirrels, mice and wild turkeys scrabbling in the bushes which literally scare the sh*t out of you! And then there’s the tarantulas and rattle snakes…yes people…a kids summer camp is littered with tarantulas and rattle snakes…but don’t fear…as a councilor I’ll protect you…NOT!! I think a lot of people expected me to be used to the idea of such an environment because I was from Africa…what they didn’t realize and what many didn’t believe is that I actually lived in a house…made of bricks…on tar roads…with highways and skyscrapers…and I’ve never seen a turkey, tarantula or a damn rattlesnake in my life before!! 

So yes, after training and meeting other internationals from UK and plenty of friendly Americans…I knew that this was going to be one hell of summer…and a crazy one…and I couldn’t wait!

THINGS I LEARNT AT CAMP:

1. Camp councillors sing a lot
2. There’s something strange about running into wild turkeys during the day and then eating turkey in your burrito for supper
3. America is really hot in summer…more than SA
4. When you’re 4000ft in the mountains hiking is incredibly strenuous
5. Camp food is amazing but no matter how much exercise you do during the day…you will pick up weight…there is something in the food over there…no lies.
6. I know how to do Archery!
7. I know First Aid and CPR!
8. I don’t know how to ride a horse (only in America)…but I can groom them, clean their shoes and muck their stalls (which I would rather not…because it’s gross).
9. Never offer for the kids to do Archery because it is the longest hike to get there ;)
10. Never leave food in your cabins…there will be mice in your bag.
11. The rustling in the bush at night when you hiking back to your cabin is most probably a wild turkey…or a coyote…or a mountain lion…but probably a turkey!
12. Get used to the fact that you do NOT, in fact, have a sock tan…its just dirt!
13. Always wear closed shoes, always have water (and drink lots of it) and always wear sunscreen!