So I guess I ought to recount what I do everyday now that the kids have arrived, and we are in a pretty set schedule. Basically I set my alarm for 7:15, but really only wake up at 7:30. Then I chill to 7:55 when we have to go to "flags" which is when they raise the USA flag and 6 other random flags, and then recite the pledge to the USA flag (I obviously maintain respectful silence during the pledge, since I am South African!). We then go into the dining hall for Breakfast at 8. At breakfast we are served by waiters (the kids rotate the duties every day) and they also lay the table. We get food via divisions, and there is both cereal, fruit and some cooked food (waffles, eggs, French Toast etc.). After breakfast we have "cabin cleanup" which is where the kids and counselors have to clean up the cabin. Those cabins that are the messiest have to do chores, which consists of either getting firewood, or cleaning the toilets. We then go to our period activities at 9:15, my morning activity is Archery, and we have 4 periods of Archery, with each period consisting of a 45 minutes session. At 12:15 the kids go back to their cabins and chill till lunch at 12:30 (waiters have to go 15 minutes earlier). After lunch is siesta, till 14:15. During this time, sometimes we are allowed to go off campus, so the local coffee shop, Java Madness, is quite popular. Then at 14:15 we go to our afternoon periods, which for me is Outdoor Survival Skills. Then at 17:15 we have more cabin time till Dinner at 18:00. After dinner there's free time till about 19:30 after which we either have cabinals our divisionals, which are basically fun activities with either our cabins or our divisin. Last night we played a game called smugglers, where teh kids are given bits of card, and they have a sock at their side, tucked into their pants, and they have to try get the card from one end of camp to the other, while the counselors have to try steal their sock and thus get their cards. Since half the staff had night off, it was very tiring, since there are hundreds of very active junior staff and only about 10 counselors! But it was also fun. After that its shower time for the kids, followed by devotions at about 21:30. Devotions consist of basically asking a general question of the campers, like "What do you want to achieve at camp?" or "What is your favourite superhero?". After that the kids are supposed to go to sleep, and you can leave your cabin, and just the "On Duty" (or OD) counselors have to stay. They normally have a fire going, and chill around it and its usually a good vibe, and a time to go socialise with other couselors, which you can't really do in the day. You still have to stay on the camp property, unless its your night off.
I had Monday off, we went to Applebees, and then a place called "The Rocks" which is basically just a bunch of rocks by the sea. I have my day off on Fri/Sat (it begins and ends at 17:30), so I'm busy planning what I'm going to do.
That's it for now. I think 2 days in a row is pretty good ;)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Rap, Basketball and rollerskate rinks
So its been a while since I last posted, the computer I had access to died, so that's my excuse. Oh, and the fact that we've been bombarded by kids. Anyhow, towards the end of last week we were finishing up our training. Did a bunch of child protection/abuse seminars, and on Thursday night we had a trip to a local rollerskate rink. The whole vibe is that everyone dresses up, so since I don't really have anything to dress up in, I was planning to go as a bergie, but then one of the British guys decided it would be fun to go as smurfs, so we got a bunch of white shorts from a local 2nd hand shop, and painted ourselves blue! It was pretty cool, we got to skate topless which is always a bonus!
It seems that everyone in this part of the States seems to be heavily into Basketball and rap, which does not bode well, fortunately we do have a rugby program at the camp and I have my Ipod!
On Saturday we were given the day off, so we went off to Providence (capital city of Rhode Island) for the day. Basically we spent most of it in the major mall there. It was pretty big, but not that much bigger than the malls back in SA. Architecturally there was more space, and some of the stores might have been larger, and there was 3.5 stories, but the selection wasn't nearly as good as say the V&A or Canal Walk.
We also moved into our divisions (I am in the Junior Boys Division) which meant moving to an outdoor cabin. The kids arrived on Sunday, and it was chaos! I have 7 kids in my cabin, 5 Americans, one Spaniard and an Italian. They're pretty decent kids, a couple are a bit naughty, but they're basically good.
I have been teaching archery in the mornings (I have the blisters to prove I'm not just teaching ;P) and Outdoor Survival skills in the afternoon. Its pretty cool.
I will post more soon, but since siesta is over, I have to get going...
It seems that everyone in this part of the States seems to be heavily into Basketball and rap, which does not bode well, fortunately we do have a rugby program at the camp and I have my Ipod!
On Saturday we were given the day off, so we went off to Providence (capital city of Rhode Island) for the day. Basically we spent most of it in the major mall there. It was pretty big, but not that much bigger than the malls back in SA. Architecturally there was more space, and some of the stores might have been larger, and there was 3.5 stories, but the selection wasn't nearly as good as say the V&A or Canal Walk.
We also moved into our divisions (I am in the Junior Boys Division) which meant moving to an outdoor cabin. The kids arrived on Sunday, and it was chaos! I have 7 kids in my cabin, 5 Americans, one Spaniard and an Italian. They're pretty decent kids, a couple are a bit naughty, but they're basically good.
I have been teaching archery in the mornings (I have the blisters to prove I'm not just teaching ;P) and Outdoor Survival skills in the afternoon. Its pretty cool.
I will post more soon, but since siesta is over, I have to get going...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
First World vs Third World
So here I am writing another post. Sorry its been so slow, but the US isn't as advanced as I thought it might be. I thought there would be a whole bank of super computers for international staff to use to contact home, but there's only 1 really crap computer in the basement that is very finicity, and the internet is SUPER slow, so don't go expecting loads of updates. I always heard about the super fast internet you get in the States, but I don't see it. Also the archaic computer I have access to won't allow me to upload photo's, so you'll have to wait to see my pics...
The people in the States seem to all be pretty decent, I have made an effort to learn names, and now I think I know most of the leaders' names, maybe one or two I'm not so sure on. I've been spending a lot of time with the British/Irish staff, as they are really cool. A girl from Durban arrived the other day, she's the marine biology specialist, and aside from supporting the Sharks, she seems pretty cool, kinda nice to have another South African here, although she has been refuting all the lies I've been telling the gullable American/British people. I'm doing Archery with two younger guys, I think one's 18/19 and the other's 21ish, but they like decent guys, a bit shy at first, but after chatting, found we have a bit in common, even though I am sporty, and they're more nerdy. Yay for playing computer games and watching nerdy movies! All in all there's about 95 staff, so its pretty cool. Tonight we're all dressing up, and going to a place called rollarama, which is an indoor rollerblading rink. It should be fun.
Oh, and I've been to 2 Walmarts, I don't get what the big deal about them is. They are just slightly bigger versions of Game. And they don't seem to have mint imperials. I had to buy pep-o-mint lifesavers to sate that craving.
So we have been having more training, pretty boring stuff, child protection and that sort of thing. Abuse education, how to run stuff etc. We were given our assignments, I'm doing archery in the morning (even thoough I've only done it like 4 times), and then "outdoor skills" in the afternoon. I have been setting up a compass trail, and will be teaching the kids how to use camaflage and might make gillie suits. I got put in the junior division, which at first I was a bit bummed about, but it seems that the senior section is all about being cool, and is the in thing, so I'm actually glad I'm not there! I just hope I get the older juniors and not the younger ones!
The weather here is a bit odd, its been great for the past few days (I have been sleeping outside, since the cabin I've been assigned to stinks, and both times I've slept in it I have been bitten to shreds) but now its raining buckets! Fortunately its still quite warm.
Last night we went out with our divisions, and we went off to play laser tag. It was alright, but the whole of the States that I've seen so far seems to have been built in the 50's. It's all super old! I kinda expected the camp to be rustic, after all it is a camp, but it seems that the rest of the States follows suit. I can't wait to go to a real city like Boston, so I can see what the US's modern cities look like.
The first batch of children arrive on Sunday, so things will start getting more hectic then.
The people in the States seem to all be pretty decent, I have made an effort to learn names, and now I think I know most of the leaders' names, maybe one or two I'm not so sure on. I've been spending a lot of time with the British/Irish staff, as they are really cool. A girl from Durban arrived the other day, she's the marine biology specialist, and aside from supporting the Sharks, she seems pretty cool, kinda nice to have another South African here, although she has been refuting all the lies I've been telling the gullable American/British people. I'm doing Archery with two younger guys, I think one's 18/19 and the other's 21ish, but they like decent guys, a bit shy at first, but after chatting, found we have a bit in common, even though I am sporty, and they're more nerdy. Yay for playing computer games and watching nerdy movies! All in all there's about 95 staff, so its pretty cool. Tonight we're all dressing up, and going to a place called rollarama, which is an indoor rollerblading rink. It should be fun.
Oh, and I've been to 2 Walmarts, I don't get what the big deal about them is. They are just slightly bigger versions of Game. And they don't seem to have mint imperials. I had to buy pep-o-mint lifesavers to sate that craving.
So we have been having more training, pretty boring stuff, child protection and that sort of thing. Abuse education, how to run stuff etc. We were given our assignments, I'm doing archery in the morning (even thoough I've only done it like 4 times), and then "outdoor skills" in the afternoon. I have been setting up a compass trail, and will be teaching the kids how to use camaflage and might make gillie suits. I got put in the junior division, which at first I was a bit bummed about, but it seems that the senior section is all about being cool, and is the in thing, so I'm actually glad I'm not there! I just hope I get the older juniors and not the younger ones!
The weather here is a bit odd, its been great for the past few days (I have been sleeping outside, since the cabin I've been assigned to stinks, and both times I've slept in it I have been bitten to shreds) but now its raining buckets! Fortunately its still quite warm.
Last night we went out with our divisions, and we went off to play laser tag. It was alright, but the whole of the States that I've seen so far seems to have been built in the 50's. It's all super old! I kinda expected the camp to be rustic, after all it is a camp, but it seems that the rest of the States follows suit. I can't wait to go to a real city like Boston, so I can see what the US's modern cities look like.
The first batch of children arrive on Sunday, so things will start getting more hectic then.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Arrival in the USA
Hey, so I'm in the US at last! 23 hours of flying, and I finally made it to Providence! I really think that babies shouldn't be allowed on Airpplanes, since I spent most of the SA to UK flight with a toddler trying to burst my eardrum by crying really really loudly! Then on the way from Chicago to Providence there was a baby behind me crying the whole way. And those were both of the flights where the in flight entertainment was below par, so some sleep would have been good. The United flight from Heathrow to Chicago was quite good, at least we had individual screens and could select the movies we watched. On the way from Cape Town, we had an archaic in flight entertainment syste, there was a TV that lowered itself from the roof, and looked like it came from the 80's. And at the distance from my seat, it would have been better off if I had watched on my Ipod. And they only showed 2 movies, so at 2am there was a baby crying, and no movie to watch, so I had to listen to the music channel, and read. I had really hoped to watch movies all night, but that wasn't going to happen obviously. Then on the UK to Chicago, as I mentioned we got individual screens, so that was cool, but after watching 2 movies, my screen and controls went on the blink. So I ended up reading for 2 hours, then I realised that whenever I moved my feet, the screen flipped back on. So it was obviously a loose connection underneath the chair in front of me. So for the rest of the flight I was able to watch movies, but it was a bit annoying, since every time I moved my feet, my screen would freak out!
Then on the way from Chicago to Providence they showed the Office, which I'm not too partial to, and then some kind of soap opera, which didn't tickle my fancy either, so needless to say I got more reading done there aswell.
I was a bit concerned, as the flight from Chicago was delayed due to rain, and then had some problem with the brakes. I only realised when I reached Chicago that I only had a land line number for the Camp, and not a mobile, so I tried phoning to let them know we'd been delayed, but just got an answering machine. I learnt later from the guy who picked me up, that he could have gotten messages off that machine, but I didn't leave a message, so I was just glad that when we got into Providence (at about 12:15) that he was still there!
The Airports on the way are all super huge, at both Heathrow and Chicago you had to walk like forever to get to where you needed to go. Heathrow was great, its pretty jacked up, everything looks like its been revamped in the last couple of years, their transit/departure lunge is pretty massive, and modern, it was quite cool to chill there for a bit, I just wish I'd had the forethought to get some pounds, since I had to sit on crusty airport chairs for 5 hours or so to wait for my flight to board. Would have far rather gone to sit in one of the coffee shops or restaurants. I did peruse the Whisky shop, and noticed a few familiar brands (thanks Will :P). Chicago also had a pretty hectic Departure mall, but that was just massive, but it looked like it came from the 80's, in fact the whole of O'Hare airport looked like its was last redone in that era. The same with Providence, although Providence pulls it off with a bit more class. I think Cape Town International does us proud in comparison, since its pretty decent and very up to date.
I was a bit concerned about going through immigration/customs, but that was such a breeze, you just had to hand in your passport and forma, have your finger prints taken (they use a cool scanner, so you don't need to get your fingers dirty with that lame ink stuff), then have a sullen officer ask why you're going to the US, and then you were through. The customs dudes just took your forms and waved you on. They didn't even ask "Do you have anything to declare?" I almost felt cheated!
So I got to Providence super late, fortunately the guy who'd been assigned to pick me up put two and two together and realised I was on the Chicago flight, so he waited. I was kinda stressing out that he'd have left and I'd have had to try and find a place to stay for the night, at 12am!!!
Camp Fuller is set on a lagoon called Judith Pond 15 minutes drive from Wakefield, it kind of reminds me of Hermanus/Klienmond, except there are more beach houses on the opposite shore. Its quite rustic here, with a whole lot of spread out cabins and what not. I've met a bunch of really great people, mostly from the UK, but one or two from New Zealand and Australia. I even met a US girl called Arielle (spelling???) who actually stayed in Cape Town for 4 months, she did a course at UCT, so she stayed in Rondebsch, which was a massive coincidence!!!
I got here a few days early, I thought I'd try have a few days to get over the jet lag and whatnot, but I seem to be doing OK, maybe my Cycadian (spelling???) rythm's or whatever it was that were out of kilter in SA and meant that I couldn't get to sleep there, are all right for the US, or maybe its just that travelling West its not so bad, but when I come back, it'll hit me hard? Anyhow, I got up this morning at 6, and went for a run, so I'm pretty proud of myself, don't think it'll last when the kids arrive though! At the moment I don't have any duties, so I'm mainly voluntarily helping with the washing up guys, who are all British, but never the less are pretty cool. I was beginning to think that the US steriotype was not true in Rhode Island, since a bunch of the people I've met have been reasonably sized, but then I remebered that they're also mostly foreigners. And then I met the kitchen staff who definitely fit the standard steriotype!!!
As for the camp iotself, it's pretty cool, its spread out, with a couple of fields in between, It's pretty massive, I went for a walk around it, and it probably took me something like an hour to walk around most of the site. Its set about 5km from the main road, But the vegitation is pretty thick, you can get through it if you want, but there's lots of small trees and bushes, so it does feel like I'm in the middle of the wild, even if it only takes about 20mins to get to the nearest town. It's set on the lagoon, so there's a couple of jetty's, however you're only ollowed to swim if there's a life guard on duty, which is a bit of a lus! Also you're not allowed to walk with bare feet in the food hall, apparently that's against regulations, and if the health inspector saw, they'd be in deep trouble. I have seen a bunch of rabbits, and everywhere you look there are chipmunks, which is pretty cool, I'll upload some pictures when I get the chance, but that's it for now, I'll write some more when I think of stuff to write about...
Then on the way from Chicago to Providence they showed the Office, which I'm not too partial to, and then some kind of soap opera, which didn't tickle my fancy either, so needless to say I got more reading done there aswell.
I was a bit concerned, as the flight from Chicago was delayed due to rain, and then had some problem with the brakes. I only realised when I reached Chicago that I only had a land line number for the Camp, and not a mobile, so I tried phoning to let them know we'd been delayed, but just got an answering machine. I learnt later from the guy who picked me up, that he could have gotten messages off that machine, but I didn't leave a message, so I was just glad that when we got into Providence (at about 12:15) that he was still there!
The Airports on the way are all super huge, at both Heathrow and Chicago you had to walk like forever to get to where you needed to go. Heathrow was great, its pretty jacked up, everything looks like its been revamped in the last couple of years, their transit/departure lunge is pretty massive, and modern, it was quite cool to chill there for a bit, I just wish I'd had the forethought to get some pounds, since I had to sit on crusty airport chairs for 5 hours or so to wait for my flight to board. Would have far rather gone to sit in one of the coffee shops or restaurants. I did peruse the Whisky shop, and noticed a few familiar brands (thanks Will :P). Chicago also had a pretty hectic Departure mall, but that was just massive, but it looked like it came from the 80's, in fact the whole of O'Hare airport looked like its was last redone in that era. The same with Providence, although Providence pulls it off with a bit more class. I think Cape Town International does us proud in comparison, since its pretty decent and very up to date.
I was a bit concerned about going through immigration/customs, but that was such a breeze, you just had to hand in your passport and forma, have your finger prints taken (they use a cool scanner, so you don't need to get your fingers dirty with that lame ink stuff), then have a sullen officer ask why you're going to the US, and then you were through. The customs dudes just took your forms and waved you on. They didn't even ask "Do you have anything to declare?" I almost felt cheated!
So I got to Providence super late, fortunately the guy who'd been assigned to pick me up put two and two together and realised I was on the Chicago flight, so he waited. I was kinda stressing out that he'd have left and I'd have had to try and find a place to stay for the night, at 12am!!!
Camp Fuller is set on a lagoon called Judith Pond 15 minutes drive from Wakefield, it kind of reminds me of Hermanus/Klienmond, except there are more beach houses on the opposite shore. Its quite rustic here, with a whole lot of spread out cabins and what not. I've met a bunch of really great people, mostly from the UK, but one or two from New Zealand and Australia. I even met a US girl called Arielle (spelling???) who actually stayed in Cape Town for 4 months, she did a course at UCT, so she stayed in Rondebsch, which was a massive coincidence!!!
I got here a few days early, I thought I'd try have a few days to get over the jet lag and whatnot, but I seem to be doing OK, maybe my Cycadian (spelling???) rythm's or whatever it was that were out of kilter in SA and meant that I couldn't get to sleep there, are all right for the US, or maybe its just that travelling West its not so bad, but when I come back, it'll hit me hard? Anyhow, I got up this morning at 6, and went for a run, so I'm pretty proud of myself, don't think it'll last when the kids arrive though! At the moment I don't have any duties, so I'm mainly voluntarily helping with the washing up guys, who are all British, but never the less are pretty cool. I was beginning to think that the US steriotype was not true in Rhode Island, since a bunch of the people I've met have been reasonably sized, but then I remebered that they're also mostly foreigners. And then I met the kitchen staff who definitely fit the standard steriotype!!!
As for the camp iotself, it's pretty cool, its spread out, with a couple of fields in between, It's pretty massive, I went for a walk around it, and it probably took me something like an hour to walk around most of the site. Its set about 5km from the main road, But the vegitation is pretty thick, you can get through it if you want, but there's lots of small trees and bushes, so it does feel like I'm in the middle of the wild, even if it only takes about 20mins to get to the nearest town. It's set on the lagoon, so there's a couple of jetty's, however you're only ollowed to swim if there's a life guard on duty, which is a bit of a lus! Also you're not allowed to walk with bare feet in the food hall, apparently that's against regulations, and if the health inspector saw, they'd be in deep trouble. I have seen a bunch of rabbits, and everywhere you look there are chipmunks, which is pretty cool, I'll upload some pictures when I get the chance, but that's it for now, I'll write some more when I think of stuff to write about...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Departure Day
So today's the day. I am going to the airport in an hour or two, and my adventure will begin. I'm packed and ready, now just the wait till I leave, and all the goodbyes. Although it shouldn't be too bad, I'm only going for 3.5 months. I'm currently having my last SA fix, Biltong snapstix. I'll have to see how beef jerky compares...
Let the adventure begin!!!
Let the adventure begin!!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Packing
 |
| My Duffel bag |
 |
| Some of the first items I've put aside... |
 |
| New Backpack |
Essential packing items ;)
Visa's and stuff
So before my adventure begins, I have had to do a bit of prep work. Its all new to me, since this will be my first overseas trip. Since I am doing Camp America through a agency, most of the complications have been sorted out, but there were a few minor set backs. I arranged my flight through a friend at Flight Centre, going from Cape Town to Providence via Heathrow and Washington respectively, and then coming back from New York via Heathrow and Joburg. I was then chatting to a friend who mentioned I might need a transit visa for the UK, so I chatted to my travel agent friend and she said that this was not the case. She also chatted to her supervisor, who confirmed this. So I was happy that I didn't need a transit visa for the UK. However, when I forwarded my literary to the agency that was organising my travel insurance, they checked with the travel agency they are associated with, who then came back to me and said I DID need a transit visa. With having had 2 different opinions on this matter, I was beginning to panic!
So I decided to take matters into my own hand so to speak, and do a bit of research of my own. So I looked up UK transit visa, UK visa, South Africa to USA travel via Heathrow and a bunch of other subjects, and came up with a bunch of information, but nothing that said I had to/didn't have to get a visa, so I thought "why don't I just phone BAA, as Britain's main airline, surely they will know" but they didn't, and the British embassy also seemed clueless. I got given the number for visa applications, which has a whole bunch of info in the various prompts, but basically they all point back to the web site, and you don't get to speak to an operator.
In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution, and decided to apply for one, only to find that the division that deals with transit visas does actually have an option to speak to an operator, and he said that if I am going to be staying in the airport, and provided I have a ticket out of the UK within 24 hours, I didn't need a transit visa. Needless to say I was suitably relieved, since I'd have been cutting it close, trying to get a UK visa in 8 working days...
So I decided to take matters into my own hand so to speak, and do a bit of research of my own. So I looked up UK transit visa, UK visa, South Africa to USA travel via Heathrow and a bunch of other subjects, and came up with a bunch of information, but nothing that said I had to/didn't have to get a visa, so I thought "why don't I just phone BAA, as Britain's main airline, surely they will know" but they didn't, and the British embassy also seemed clueless. I got given the number for visa applications, which has a whole bunch of info in the various prompts, but basically they all point back to the web site, and you don't get to speak to an operator.
In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution, and decided to apply for one, only to find that the division that deals with transit visas does actually have an option to speak to an operator, and he said that if I am going to be staying in the airport, and provided I have a ticket out of the UK within 24 hours, I didn't need a transit visa. Needless to say I was suitably relieved, since I'd have been cutting it close, trying to get a UK visa in 8 working days...
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