Things I've learnt in the US, and gripes I have.

So I've been in the US now for 8 weeks, so by now I have seen a bit of what life is like in the US, or at least on Camp in the US. One thing that I was told about was that the portions in the US are massive, but I haven't really seen this. Maybe Rhode Island is the exception to that rule. What I have seen is that kids will happily dish up a portion of seconds, and then just not eat it. The amount of wasted food really appalls me, coming from SA where there is a lot more knowledge about poverty, and not wasting food. Even my most dumb and wasteful scouts wouldn't even approach what is considered to be the norm here. Also kids seem to think that if its biodegradable, it will disappear within seconds of them discarding it. I have had to make several announcements about this. Kids will even go and get an apple, bite into it, but not actually take a bite, just leave their teeth marks on it and then leave it by the path, or even in the middle of the field!

I have however learnt how to inject maple syrup into flapjacks, which is quite cool, and into waffles, as well as French Toast sticks (which is like regular French Toast, cut up into three or four sticks, and deep fried I think???).  They also have smiley fries, which are potato chips in the shape of smiley faces. However sweet potatoes are just potatoes with loads of syrup.

Also the showers are perpetually dripping. It seems that the kids here don't know how to turn them off properly. And the taps are really weird! There's a single mixer, and you have to turn it all the way round to get to hot...

Coke vs Pepsi

So when I arrived in the USA  I realised that Coke tasted very different to what it does in SA, so I tried a Pepsi, and it tasted better, much to my surprise, but subsequent to that I have had some of each, and was still undecided, so today I decided to put it to the test, after going to the bank, to cash a cheque that I was given for staff training weekend, even though I specifically gave them my direct deposit details gnnnn!!! I went to the local Shaws (probably the US equivalent of Pick 'n Pay) and bought a 20 OZ bottle of both beverages. I then went to Java madness (where I purchased an ice coffee for Vaughn, who lent me his car for the morning) and sat on the bench outside to perform the scientific experiment. The Pepsi had clearly been less in the shade, so was less cold, and therefore after the first tasting, was definitely the loser, but since I wanted this to be a fair competition, I went back to Java, and asked for a cup with ice, and cooled the Pepsi down. However, even after being cooled, the Pepsi was still of inferior taste to the Coke, so even though they have weird preservatives in the Coke, and even though they use corn syrup rather than real sugar, I still enjoy Coke better than Pepsi.

Session 4 begins...

So its been a while since I last posted, nothing really new has happened, I did get a notebook, so updates may be more regular.

Every time a session ends, the kids go home, and the counselors all get a day off, but since there are still kids who don't go home, some counselors need to stay on in camp to look after them, and do some fun stuff, so I decided to work this last weekend. We did tie dye with bleach, and then went bowling. It was fun, but now I've got a free day that I dont' know what to do with...

I have been placed in another outdoor cabin, I requested the hotel, but then at last minute the Korean ambassador to camp demanded that the boys that were supposed to be in cabin 6 had to be indoors, so they had to change us around last minute. That really sucked, as I was going to be in the same cabin as before, so I didn't pack, so I had to pack at last minute.

I am going to be hosting the next council fire, which should be fun, I'm going to be teaching the kids some Afrikaans phrases, should be epic!!!

Session 3 - The Halfway Point...

So its been a few weeks since my last post, so I thought I'd better update this blog, I am going to try borrow a camera (my charger has died, so I am cameraless) so I can upload a few pics...

I am re-evaluating my stance on the Hotel, there were a few horrible cabins first session but I think that's all done for now. I really enjoyed my campers in session 2, they were great, and the privacy afforded by the counselors room was also a great thing, we didn't have to clean up our stuff during cabin clean up! Last week was bit of a night mare, we had to let some staff go due to various situations, and the Junior staff got a bit crapped on. Also due to the lack of staff, I had to do mountain biking for two days in the morning, which was less than ideal, and I was put there, since I related a story to the program head about having an accident on my motor bike, which he thought I had said mountain bike. I really did not enjoy that, so I'm so glad I was able to go back to archery this morning!

It was really good to get away for the weekend. We went to a friends house in Lexington, which is near Boston. We didn't do all that much, just chilled there, and had an AWESOME meal, but it was just what the doctor order! Then we came back, and got our new kids.

My cabin seems to be great, I've got a new co, called Jeff, and we get on well too. Oh, well that's about all I have time for now.

Session 2 Week 1 Cabin 3 in the Hotel(/jail)

Hey, so its week 3 for me, which means we get a new batch of campers, I've been put with the 3rd youngest cabin, in a section of cabins called "the hotel". Its infamous for getting really gross around week two, and is pretty hot, basically its 4 cabins combined into one building with the bathroom areas bein in the middle. The bonus is that the counselors get a room to theirselve with electricty, so I don't have to charge my Ipod and phone in the Division Leaders' Bunk (DLB).

Over the weekend we had a change over weekend, which basically means that the kids all went home (aside from the internationals) and most of the staff was off for Sat/Sun. Alec, the guy I do Archery with had his Birthday on Thursday, so he invited us to his house for a bit of a party. It was great, he has a pretty massive house with a psuedo guest lodge next to the lake. Myself and one of the British Counselors Harri took a 30 min swim in the lake at about 12, and it was devine, there was phophoresence in the water, so every second stroke we did had phosphoresence which was very cool!

As far as camp goes, every Sunday night we have this thing called a council fire. Basically the "council" is a group of people who uphold the spirit and traditions of Camp Fuller. At first they seemed a bit wierd, but now I realise that its just that they have certain traditions which are different from what I am used to.

To get on the council you have to do various task, in the categories mind, body and spirit, so something like swimming would be body, archery would be mind, and leading a devotion would be spirit. At first this also seemed a bit strange to me, but after chatting to Alec who is also on the council, it seems to be OK, its kinda like proving you really want to be on it. In this light, I have decided to try and get on the council. I attempted the swim, but was a minute too slow, but I have completed the Archery task. There are about 20 task you have to fulfill, andswimming is probably the hardest, although I am also going to have to practice pull ups, as part of the body requirements is to do 10 pull ups, and at the moment I can only manage 3! What really sold me on this was that as a final task you have to spend a night in the woods by yourself, which is super cool!!!

I don't know if I'll be able to do all of the tasks, but I'm going to try, at the very least, I can get into camp spirit in a big way, and make the most of my time here...

I have also sang the song "Froggie" at two council fires, and am planning to sing Shosholoza at the next one. Froggie is a great hit on camp, and I even sang it as a chant during dinner!

I am trying to think up more songs to sing, as council fire is generally more a talent show than anything else, with people singing on stage, rather than everyone participating.

Anyhow, I gotta get off the computer now, since the other South African (Kaylee) wants to have some time on...

Boston till now

Hey, so its gonna be another short one, since I only have 10 minutes. I think the last time I posted I was about to head off to Boston. Boston was great. Its a lot smaller than I imagined, but its pretty cool. We caught the train there, and got there at about 8pm. We then went through Quincy Market which is a bunch of outdoor restaurants, then went to an Italian restaraunt in the North End (or was it the South?). We then caught the underground (it was my first time on an undeground, and it was a tram like thing that made loads of wierd noises) to some other part of town, where we booked in at a hostel, Tom, Dan and myself then went to a few bars around the hostel meeting some fun people, and tasting some mediocre beer. On Saturday we walked back to the station stopping at Fenway park (The Redsocks' home stadium) and agoing through the centre of Boston. We were late by 15 minutes to camp, since we missed the bus which normally goes from Providence to Wakefield, since it only leaves once every 2 hours on a Saturday...

Also I managed to break the screen on my phone, before we even went out, so I had to purchase a $10 phone. But all in all it was a good trip, aside from being a bit on the expensive side.

More about who I work with

So these are not pictures of my co-workers, rather they are just of the camp. I finally got my camera to sinc with the computer, so I can upload photos, yay!

I am currently sharing the leadership of a cabin with a guy called Chris. He's very cool, although I was a bit concerned at first, due to the fact that he only arrived several hours after the campers got here.

I have a cabin with 7 kids, 5 from the US and 1 from Spain and 1 from Italy. They're probably the naughtiest cabin in the junior divion, but when I'm not pulling out my hair due to their misbehaviour, they're good kids...

I am going to Boston tonight for my day off, it should be AWESOME!!! Hopefully I can get my camera to charge, and then get some more pics up...