Sunday 31 August 2014

Coming Home

So I made it back to merry old England in one piece, after what felt like the longest journey ever. I left America at 4pm, and made it back to England at 7:40am the next morning - obviously I lost hours due to the time zones, but it felt like I'd been travelling for about thirty years when I finally touched down at Heathrow. It was made easier by the fact that I had Smiley in the row behind me on the flight from JFK to Frankfurt - what also made it easier was that I watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Devil Wears Prada.

Luckily, I also had Smiley with me to scuttle across Frankfurt airport in order to get our connecting flights. My feet were killing me and it didn't help that Frankfurt airport is basically the size of England; after half an hour of walking and a trip on the air train, we finally found security and our gates. This is where I said goodbye to Smiley, as she was flying to Manchester and I was going back to Heathrow. I hobbled along to my gate, and sat there like a lemon until boarding was supposedly happening, but no one was there. I then found out that the gate had been changed (cheers for letting me know, right?) so I kind of hobble-galloped over to the new gate, which was mercifully not too far away. After berating a dickhead business man for being rude to one of the airport staff just for doing her job, I limped onto the plane and sat down, resting my awfully aching feet.

Border control at Heathrow was a breeze, even though I was now re-equipped with the heaviest suitcase and holdall in the world. What also annoyed me was the 'nothing to declare' section, when I went through the one coming from the EU instead of coming from the USA. There was literally no difference in these two places, but I was told off and made to walk out of the EU one and through the USA one, something my feet were not happy about. I finally got out to where Mutti and Ryan were waiting, and it was so great to see them! I was dead on my feet and in so much pain, but just getting to see some family was a huge boost. I also got a Greggs sausage roll on the drive home - you have no idea how much I've missed those.

I was pretty out of it with jetlag for the next couple of days, but I got to see my family at home, including my fat furry pal, Jackson:


I also saw Caz for the first time in like four months, so that was a bloody blast. And I got to see Liam, who is currently on break from his tour in Afghanistan; him and Ashleigh came over for a chinwag and it was so good to see all of them ♥

I am now over my jetlag and ridiculously excited because the Kate Bush gig is in 2 days, and Arron & Kim's wedding is in 6 days!

Monday 25 August 2014

NYC: Museums

I started today at the American Museum of Natural History. I was in my element, as I walked straight into the space section, and space is one of my favourite things ever. I went to a show in the planetarium; a great big dome-shaped screen was on the ceiling and the show was about dark matter in the universe. It was so interesting and caused a massive existential crisis for everyone in the room. The 3D effect of the screen above us like the sky was amazing, it felt like we were actually cast into the cosmos. Also, they had a meteorite hall, which is exactly how it sounds - I promptly lost my mind.

Another highlight for me was the main hall, where they had two massive dinosaur skeletons. As a child, I was obsessed with Jurassic Park and wanted to be a palaeontologist, and I still get excited over old bones, dinosaur or otherwise. This museum had an abundance of bones, so I was very happy about this. Unfortunately I didn't get to see all of the museum because it's bloody huge, and I wanted to visit the Metropolitan (and have a walk through Central Park), so I couldn't spend too much time there.






Central Park was next, as I had to walk through it to get over to the Metropolitan. I didn't really stop, but I got to stroll through the Shakespeare Garden and see Belvedere Castle! It was a genuinely chilled out walk in the sunshine, and I really enjoyed just taking my time and looking at the scenery.




After that pleasant interlude, I was back in the bustle of upper 5th and outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art!


I was immediately enamoured with this museum because they had a huge section on ancient Egyptian art! I spent about 80% of my time at the museum in that section, because it was all so interesting and so beautiful! There was also apparently some ancient Sumerian art somewhere, but I couldn't find it - this was crap because if there's anything I love more than ancient Egypt (if possible), it's the Sumerians. But I got to see plenty of Egyptian art, including a few cheeky statues of Anubis, my favourite person ever. So I was happy.


So, this entire tomb was donated to the museum from Egypt.
This has been a bit of a lazy blog, but how much can you really write about walking around museums and parks? They're so much better to go and experience yourself, being told about them doesn't come close to describing it. I've had a really nice day, and I'm feeling sad that my time in New York is close to ending. I don't really have any plans for tomorrow, as I need to sort all of my things out to go home (I'm meeting Starry and Smiley at their hostel in Queens early on Wednesday, so we can all go to JFK together). I will wander down to 5th one last time, and get some souvenirs for my family. It's been a blast, and I'm sad to go, but I am looking forward to being back home after two months away!

Sunday 24 August 2014

Camp Quotes!

During my time at camp, I was collecting memorable quotes that I overheard. Most of them are from my fellow counsellors, a lot of them are from me (because I find myself hilarious), and some are from the campers. I thought I'd make a list of them here, to keep them safe.

"We've got a tree fallen down, there's a fire in the unit shelter, and we've lost our socks."
~ Sunny, on the radio to the office during the disastrous staff overnight

"What are they gonna make us do?"
~ London, in a panicked way, after seeing our supervisors putting bits of paper on a table

"I was in Team Moose. I have dyslexia and so for the longest time I thought I was in team MOSES."
~ Starry

Tim-Tam: Knock knock-
Tink: I'm taller than you!

"All my weight is on this back wheel, baby, this truck's not goin' anywhere!"
~ Pugs, sitting calmly in the back of a pick up truck at night, in the pouring rain, on an almost vertical road

"We worked well together, but we also played well together."
~ Sunny

"We should be in a fucking Hilton!"
~ Smiley, disgruntled during staff overnight

(playing Apples to Apples)
Tink: So, for boring..?
Smiley: I put William Shakespeare-
London: Ugh, he's long.

"You're beautiful on the... Everything!"
~ Burnzy tries to compliment me

"I can shout at your kids if you want me to - no one'll fuck with this accent."
~ Jen, when Smiley was complaining that her kids never listen

"Is it weird if I put my bra in my cubby?"
~ Nibbles

"Abraham Lincoln cause he's boring."
~ Tink playing Apples to Apples

"My Stussy is better than your pussy!"
~ Dappy when Nibbles (who was wearing leggings with cats on) laughed at her Stussy hat

Nemo: Brownie's just in her own world-
Brownie: I was thinking about Crocs.

(while playing Mafia)
Camper #1: You were the Mafia last time-
Camper #2: Yes I was, and I killed many innocent people.

(out of nowhere)
Luna: I had a green neck!
Me: ... That's not even the weirdest thing I've heard at camp.

"Luna, do clouds rub together? And do they make a sound when they do?"
~ Ducky, asking important science questions

"Yeah, I just want to laugh myself into a coma."
~ Me

"Stupid ankles! What's the point in having them if they never work!?"
~ Me, after twisting my ankle

"I'm not scared of bears or anything, I'm scared of ghosts."
~ Indi, explaining why she didn't want to walk up to Sky Meadow alone in the dark

"All I know about Stephen King is that he's scary and that he watched his best friend die."
~ Squirrel

(during a human knot exercise)
Camper: There's an odd number of people!
Squirrel: There's an even number of hands!

"Remember when Luna's hair was a volcano."
~ Me

"Whose taco did Hailey put her arm in?"
~ Me to a camper

(at lunch)
Camper #1: What's that smell?
Camper #2: Probably me.

Camper #1: Someone should wake Pepper up - it's time for lunch.
Camper #2: No, that's not a good idea! Let her sleep!

"Why are you stroking a packet of biscuits?"
~ Starry

"My dad is the cutest little fucker going around."
~ Jen, after getting a nice text from her dad

(at lunch)
Camper: Are you vegetarian?
Me: You just saw me eat a pepperoni pizza!

"The headlines will be: Old Woman Kills Herself on Portable Climbing Wall."
~ Pugs, climbing on the wall the National Guard lent us

"Don't poke me with a hard taco shell!"
~ Me to a camper (who was in fact poking me with a hard taco shell)

"I'm a wise little Buddha, sitting here on my pretzel legs."
~ Me, for no reason

"She thinks she's the best thing since sliced lesbian."
~ Tink

"I'm all hot flushes from saying goodbye to Kiwi, I feel like I'm going through the menopause."
~ Starry

"It better not be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, because tHAT'S GOT AN I IN IT."
~ Pugs, trying to guess a word in Wheel of Fortune

"It better not be a vegetable, 'cause I won't know it."
~ Pugs, still trying to guess the word

"Is Piranha using her bra as a pillow?"
(She was)

NYC: Ground Zero, Bars & Broadway

Yesterday morning, I wandered down to Grand Central Station, just to see it. It's one of those things that you have to go and look at if you're in New York City for the first time, and it is ridiculously stunning. I was going to go to a breakfast place across the road that Starry had recommended to me, but the line was out of the door and down the street, so I didn't go in. I had a lot of things planned, including travelling down to Lower Manhattan and back, so I had to get started.

I went down to the financial district to find a specific street sign. It's become a family tradition to find this street sign, ever since my Gramps visited New York when he was younger. Since he was a boy, he'd always gone to a working man's club near his home on a street called Morris Street; even now, in his 70's, he still frequents the same working man's club, with his group of equally insane old friends. So, when he visited New York all those years ago, and found a street named Morris Street, he had his photo taken beneath the sign. Since then, my Vati and stepmum, my brother Liam, and now I have all had our photos taken with the same street sign, at the intersection of Morris Street and Broadway, and everyone who will visit NYC in the future will continue this little family joke.


Having fulfilled the family tradition (with kudos to the pleasant French tourist who took the photo for me), I ambled over to Ground Zero. Walking into the area is the strangest feeling: It's still right in the city, but all the sounds become almost muffled as you approach the memorial site. People aren't rushing around, but walking slowly, stopping, looking around them. The memorial pools where the towers stood are so unbelievably huge, it's impossible to imagine the sheer size of the devastation that occurred there. It was incredibly eerie, strange and sad.


Yesterday was also the first time I got a bit lost in the city. I say 'lost', it was very easy to reorient myself, but I suddenly found myself over in the rough end of Chinatown with no idea how I'd managed to get there. It's not too far from the 9/11 memorial, but I was heading somewhere completely different, so I was slightly bamboozled. I found a cute pair of velvet shoes in H&M, which was handy because my Converse had absolutely shredded my feet by this point (and I needed slightly dressier shoes for the theatre that night). 

I headed on over to Times Square, as I wanted to visit the Hard Rock Cafe before I had to go to the theatre. Times Square was utterly packed, and there was so much to look at while being buffeted along by the crowds. I didn't hang around for long as there was an Iron Man and a couple of Minions accosting people, trying to con them into getting photos with them (which you then find out you have to pay for). 



I was really surprised when I went down in to the cafe part of Hard Rock, and was immediately seated. More impressively, I was sitting next to the very guitar that Kurt Cobain smashed up in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video:


Hard Rock also wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be (though still a bit pricey). I had a massive burger with chips, and a huge slice of Oreo cheesecake, and it was heaven. I tried their signature cocktail, the Hurricane (orange, mango and pineapple juice; Barcadi superior and select rum; Amaretto and Grenadine - gorgeous!), and had a cheeky Jack Daniels and coke to round it all off. I spent a while in there, and took my time with my dinner. They played things like Avenged Sevenfold, which made me happy, and there was plenty to look at while I hung out there. I had a little wander about the place when I was done eating, and was glad that it wasn't ridiculously packed (still hugely surprising, considering it was a Hard Rock Cafe, in Times Square, on a Saturday night).

I found myself heading towards the Majestic waaay too early, and was just wondering what I was going to do when I spotted a bar that looked perfect for me. It's called Jekyll & Hyde and it was a sort of bar/restaurant/haunted house attraction combo, which is basically everything I love. The whole place was decorated in Victorian-era style, there were oddities and skeletons hanging around everywhere, and a sign outside said 'eccentric explorers and mad scientists welcome'. It was the coolest bar ever! 



The bartender who served me, Rich, was fab, chatting away to me about my adventures in the USA and how I was enjoying New York. I mentioned that I was going to be seeing Phantom soon and he was excited for me. I had three cocktails from this fine establishment - Sweet Poison, Kiss of Death and the Transformation Cocktail, before I realised that it was time I got down to the theatre. I said to Rich, "What time do you finish work? Yes, I am hitting on you." and he gave me his number! S-c-o-r-e. I left the bar feeling incredibly pleased with myself, and moseyed down the street, where I couldn't exactly miss the theatre I was heading to:

The gigantic Phantom mask kind of gave it away.
I went in and was handed a Playbill, another classic New York Moment. I bought a beautiful program, then scuttled in to the main room. I knew I was in the front row, but I was still overwhelmed at how close I was to the stage. I could lean forward slightly and see over the low wall in front of me, into the orchestra pit. It was utterly magical. Here's a cheeky snap of the stage before the show started, not zoomed in at all!


The show itself was utterly amazing - I will be writing a proper review at some point, so I won't go into masses of detail. I was crying by the end of it, and I was one of the first people on their feet at the curtain call. Everyone gave such an amazing performance, and I was so honoured to be right at the front where I could see every little detail. Also, Norm Lewis was bloody incredible as the Phantom - he absolutely owned the stage and gave such a believable performance. He was mostly the reason I started blubbing in the first place! I also thought I was going to see Sierra Boggess as Christine again, but she didn't do Saturdays. Instead, I got Mary Michael Patterson - she was ridiculously good though, and it was interesting to see a different Christine. I'm so glad I decided to go see Phantom on Broadway, it was so worth it.

When Rich finished work (past 2am), he came to meet me at my hotel. We soon sought out a bar and he ended up footing a $60 tab! I could not believe his generosity. We chatted for ages, and he cracked me up by saying if he was a flavour he'd be beef jerky, and saying that his dog looked like Bryan Cranston. I also laughed when he likened some crazy woman at the bar to Nicki Minaj. It was a really nice time, and we may have kissed each other. And he may have come back to mine for the night. May have.

Today, I planned to go to Central Park for the day, but I've had to cancel. The terrible blisters on my feet have gotten worse, and when I got up today I could barely walk. I managed to hobble down to the nearest CVS and grab some drinks, painkillers and blister plasters, then I hobbled back in agony and I've been resting my feet all day. I think I'll be able to carry on with stuff tomorrow, and if I shift a few of my plans around, I can get a short time in Central Park into my schedule.

Friday 22 August 2014

NYC: Tall Buildings

I had a slow start today. I chastised myself a little, which is annoying - I've had to keep reminding myself that I'm on holiday now. The first thing I did was wander down to the Rockefeller Centre, where I bought a CityPass (I would honestly recommend getting one if you're in NYC, it saves so much money and hassle!) and got a ticket for the next available trip to the Top of the Rock. On my way up, I had a photo taken on the girder:


The view from the top was stunning. I stood up there for a long while, looking out at Central Park and the Empire State Building. It wasn't ridiculously packed either, so I got  a good look from all angles. It was also interesting because I'd never been on such a tall building before; you really don't get an idea of the height until you're there.



When I came down, I explored a little bit. I went to the Lego store, which was ridiculously cool because (obviously) there was Lego everywhere. There was this ridiculously tall thing with bubbles, and each bubble contained a type of Lego brick; you could fill a bag with them like pick'n'mix sweets, and it was so cool. I also went down to Nintendo World, which was just as cool as it sounds. Upstairs, they had a mini exhibition on all of the consoles that Nintendo have developed; it was so great to look at all of it, and I was quietly laughing to myself when a kid was pointing out the original Game Boy and talking about how strange and old it was. I told him that I still own mine, and he looked astounded that anyone could be so ancient.

Next, I went up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building for another breathtaking view of New York. While I was queuing inside, waiting to get to the elevators, someone said to me, "Just so you know, it's a thirty minute wait!" I was like, "Mate, I'm English. I know how to queue." When I got up there, it was a lot more crowded than Top of the Rock was, so I didn't get as much of a chance to look around. I did, however, get an amazing panorama photo.


So I had a really fab day taking in the sights, and standing on some really bloody tall buildings. Tomorrow evening, I am going to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and I am dead excited.

Thursday 21 August 2014

I Want To Be A Part Of It - New York, New York!

So continuing on from my last post ... After London and I had seen Tink off at security, we decided we needed a stiff drink. This was for a few reasons:
  • Saying goodbye is always shit
  • We were soon going to be travelling on our own
  • A congratulatory tipple for getting through camp, even when it was difficult
  • We were finally off contract so we were allowed to buy our first drink in the USA!
It was then that we found ourselves in a bar at Boston airport, drinking cocktails at 8:30am. London had a Cosmopolitan, and - in honour of my imminent bus ride - I got one called a 'Greyhound' (vodka and grapefruit juice). It was delicious! We sat at the bar, socialising with the staff and other people there, trying to postpone the moment when I'd have to leave.


Eventually, alas, I had to go; I had a shuttle to take to the bus terminal, and then I had to puzzle out where my bus would be leaving from, so I needed to leave in good time. It was crap saying goodbye to London, because she's fab and I was really nervous about travelling on my own. I was also insanely excited by this point, as I was on my way to New York!


After arriving at the bus terminal, I had to walk for like twenty thousand miles to get to the place where my bus would leave from. I picked up a cheeky McDonald's on my way and managed to get a seat at the front; this benefited me, as it had a bit more legroom and a little tray thing to put food/drink on. It was made even better by the fact that I didn't have anyone sitting next to me for the whole ride, allowing me to sprawl out across two seats and be a little comfier. The ride wasn't too bad; it went by pretty quickly, and suddenly we were in the Bronx, then Harlem, then Manhattan. I was looking out of the window and giving myself whiplash trying to see the tops of the buildings. At this point I was utterly terrified, but so exhilarated.

I was fully unprepared for stepping out of the bus terminal and literally being in the middle of Times Square - it was a shock to the system. I didn't really stop to admire it because I'll be seeing it this week anyway, and because I had a massive heavy suitcase and a massive heavy holdall. I got myself a 7-day subway pass and bluffed my way through the underground. Luckily, I got it right and managed to get to 23rd Street; from there, it was a fairly short walk (I'm staying on East 25th), but it felt like longer because of the aforementioned heavy-as-shit bags.

Now, I have to talk about my hotel. It's called the Carlton Arms and, if you look at the photos on the website, you may understand why I love it. Literally every wall, every floor, every windowsill is covered with paint and artwork. It is seriously the coolest hotel I've ever seen, the staff are really chilled out and friendly, and the general atmosphere is so laid-back and welcoming. Another majorly good thing about the hotel is that they have two cats! They're really friendly too, and let you pick them up and cuddle them. It's nice to have some furry friends roaming around. Here's a couple of photos of my hotel room because look how ridiculously cool it is!



Last night, I wasn't really going to do anything but then one of the counsellors I worked with this summer, Indi, messaged me asking if I wanted to go out for drinks with her (she lives in Brooklyn). I decided to go out, and I'm glad I did. First we went to a rooftop bar that had cute tiki torches and a view of the Chrysler building. We walked onto the roof and 30 seconds later some Wall Street-looking bloke had bought us a cosmopolitan. A few guys tried to chat us up and it was hilarious; when the rooftop closed, we went into another bar and Indi has so much hustle that she conned another pair of random blokes into buying us shots. So we drank very well without spending tonnes of cash, and it was generally nice to hang out with Indi and have some company on my first night in the city.


Long story short, I didn't sleep until like 5am, and was in bed until noon. On my way out of the hotel, I saw one of the kitties having a nap on the reception desk, and she looked so comfy and cute.


I got an orange Coolatta from Dunkin' Donuts to revive me a bit; I'd never had the orange flavour before and it is now my new favourite thing in the whole world. It was so delicious - so delicious, in fact, that I had two today. I spent this afternoon wandering around 5th, Madison and Park; there was so much to look at and I walked right past the Empire State Building. It was so bizarre seeing it in real life. I learned how to avoid being killed crossing the roads, tried (and failed) to count the yellow taxis, made a mental note to visit the Lego store later in my trip, and stood in the Lindt shop for about five minutes, staring at all the chocolate.

Walking down 5th Avenue - I spy an Empire State Building!
A hilarious moment occurred when I was navigating yet another treacherous crosswalk. An older bloke walked across, narrowly avoiding being hit by what appeared to be every yellow cab in the world; as I walked by him all I heard was him say in a really strong New York accent, "Fuckin' cabs, man!" and I felt like I'd had an Authentic New York Moment. Everyone drives like a mentalist in the city, it's pretty hilarious when crossing the road.

I got back to my hotel at around 5pm, and I've been here since, chilling out. I've had such a nice day wandering around and getting to grips with being in the city. After the first hour or so, I felt confident and safe walking around, so I now feel more prepared to roam around the city properly during the rest of my trip. I can't believe I've been in New York for over 24 hours already; it's been a whirlwind and I am having a blast!

A Trip To Boston, Ben & Jerry's Part 3 & Leaving Camp


On Sunday, we (Cookie, Pugs, Tink, London, Osprey, Smiley, Starry, J Crew, Piranha, Nibbles, and myself) took a trip down to Boston; the primary reason was that we were dropping off J Crew, Piranha, and Nibbles at the airport *sob sob* We got the whole afternoon before they left though, and it was really nice. We wandered around and Cookie was telling us all sorts of things about the city (she's from there) and it was all so interesting. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was in a nice mood.


When we went to eat, Cookie took us to a place called Faneuil Hall, and I'm not kidding when I say it's a half-mile of different food stands. You could literally buy anything there; as well as the vast array of different cultural cuisines there were also loads of sweet stalls where you could buy gorgeous cakes and pastries and ice cream and candy. I had a home made lasagne from an Italian-American stall and a strawberry and cream cake from one of the sweet stands; I spent the rest of the day in a satisfied food coma.

Saying goodbye to J Crew, Piranha and Nibbles was awful :( But they've gone off to Miami so they're going to have a really good time!


On Monday, I had my third outing to the Ben & Jerry's factory. I am so spoiled! It was really fun this time, though, because I wasn't working; before, I had a group of girls that I was responsible for. The tour was still good (made even better by some hilarious French guys who - when the tour girl talked about how we can't get all of their flavours in Europe - shouted "Discrimination!" in their really French accents, cracking all of us up), and this time the sample was Strawberry Cheesecake. I got a leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup to take home for my family to taste, and a Ben & Jerry's t-shirt. What really stood out about this visit, though, was the Vermonster. "What's a Vermonster?" I hear you all ask (probably). Well.. This is a Vermonster:


I'll break it down - that bucket is filled with 20 scoops of Ben & Jerry's (you can pick a few flavours - we had Vanilla Caramel Fudge, Cookie Dough, Milk & Cookies and Strawberry Cheesecake), walnuts, M&Ms, hot fudge, cookies, a huge brownie, sprinkles and a massive mound of whipped cream on top. Between the seven of us, we managed to eat the whole lot and it was bloody glorious. I mean, we all immediately got diabetes afterwards, but it was still amazing. We also looked at the flavour graveyard and I laughed for about 10 minutes over the fact that Ben & Jerry's used to have a flavour called 'Vermonty Python'. No, seriously.


Tuesday was the day we (Tink, London, Osprey and I) left camp; technically our contract didn't end until Wednesday, but because we had to leave Boston in the morning, we went to stay at Cookie's house (she lives about an hour out of the city). She has the cutest house ever, and it was really nice to be in a Real Building. We played Uno and nearly died laughing, it was a lot of fun. We got up at 5am, which was gross, but we had to because Tink's flight was at 10am, and London and I wanted to be there to say goodbye.

It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone at camp - before we left on Tuesday we said goodbye to Alex & Ben (our barn director, Reins, brought them with her for the summer and they are the nicest, cutest, most well-behaved boys ever), Smiley and Starry (who I will be seeing at the end of my New York trip - we all fly home on the same day but at different times, so we're just going to get a cab to JFK together), and Pugs. Pugs was a really difficult one, because she was basically everyone's mum at camp, and she took care of me so much over the summer, as well as always cheering me up with her hilarity. She cried a bit, and Osprey, Tink and London were crying - I felt bad that I didn't. I only usually cry if I'm angry or stressed, not from sadness. I'm not a hollow shell I promise. It was crap saying goodbye, but I've made everyone promise to stay in touch.


And thus, my camp contract ended, and I was unleashed upon the real world.

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Post Camp

It is 8 days until I go to New York, and it's so surreal that it's come around so fast. This is my first solitary holiday, my first time in NYC, and it's all really exciting. I can't wait to explore!

Here at camp, we're cleaning, taking inventory, and doing general upkeep. There's not much to be done now, as we got the kids to clean on the last day of Week 6, and we did a lot of cleaning on Sunday. Yesterday, I finally got to ride Jet, my favourite of all our horses! He was great, and Judge was leading so that was great too. I had so much fun, here's a couple of photos:



I'm nice and chilled out now (even though I think I'm coming down with some kind of lurgy), and I cannot wait for next Wednesday!

Singin' In The Rain (In The Lake) - Weekly Roundup 6

The final week of resident camp arrived. I was still living with Nemo and Phelps in Tall Timbers, except this week our program was Saddle, Paddle & Arrows, which is exactly as it sounds. I also had my lowest number of girls ever - 12. It made a nice change. I was a bit of a slacker when it came to keeping a record of the highlights - week 6 was when everyone was tired and just getting through the last days, so I found myself being quite lazy with this. Regardless, here are the highlights I do have:
  • My kids were having their swimming time in the lake when it started to rain. Instead of getting grumpy or squealing and getting out of the lake (as I thought they would), they immediately and simultaneously started singing/shouting Singin' In The Rain.
  • The girls were obsessed with my accent, which I'm kind of used to now. What I wasn't expecting was for one of my girls to turn around and say, "Tell me stories so I can listen to your accent". They also started using British words for things, in extremely over-the-top accents.
  • I learned to make 'chevron' style friendship bracelets and felt very accomplished.
  • The kids were a lot more cheerful this week (as well as being super sassy, which was 50% frustrating and 50% hilarious).
  • I was writing a Bill of Rights with the girls when Judge walked over and told us to tell her some jokes. My girls immediately stepped up and told some, including gems like: Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill? To get to the bottom. They continued on this vein until Judge was sufficiently amused and left as randomly as she came.
  • The National Guard brought their climbing wall over for us to use, and Pugs had a go at climbing it. As usual, hilarity ensued when she said, "The headlines will be: Old Woman Kills Herself On Portable Climbing Wall."
  • Our staff skit was cool as it was completely improvised but people still loved it! We got loads of laughs and I heard one kid say that ours had been 'the best one yet'. A lot of staff also said they loved it, and seemed impressed when we told them it was improvised. We were very pleased with ourselves!
  • Phelps and I were walking up to Tall Timbers and she was telling me about a big rustling sound she'd heard while walking up there at night; she attempted to demonstrate the noise by crashing into the ferns but immediately fell over. It was hilarious and I laughed until I couldn't breathe. Here is a picture of the squashed ferns at the site of Phelps' crash landing:
  • I was sitting in the barn while my kids were having a riding lesson - Judge pointed a flashing light thing at me and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" at me. I immediately threw my phone.
  • One of my kids, CJ, was trying to bring her paddleboard back after boating. It was not cooperating, and kept floating away from her and towards the centre of the lake. CJ immediately lunged after it, shouting, "NO. BAD PADDLEBOARD." and it inexplicably cracked me up.
  • Judge was chasing Rica with a jug of ice. Rica retaliated by brandishing a broom.
  • I had another successful overnight (what is happening to the world?). We went to the old yurt site, where I thought the ancient portaloo was a fridge. I was soon corrected and warned never to open it. I didn't need to be told twice. We made another dessert pizza (which was a hit, of course) but had a small catastrophe when Phelps managed to drop her flashlight into it. That night, I also had to say to one of my girls, "Don't poke me with a hard taco shell." and that's not even the weirdest command I've given this summer.
  • The camp's 106th birthday was on the Wednesday of Week 6. Every month of the year got a birthday cake, and the April one was magnificent, thanks. We also sang Happy Birthday to all the months of the year, so we all got a bit of a birthday celebration!
  • I was in the Anakoosh (health centre cabin, where nurse Hiccup lives), and I opened up the freezer to grab an ice pack for Nemo's bad ankle. Inside, among the ice packs and Ben & Jerry's, was a rubber chicken. I'm not kidding. I asked Hiccup about it and she couldn't provide an answer.
  • I remembered something hilarious from session 2 - one of the girls was sick, so I took her and a buddy over to Hiccup. Only halfway there did I notice that Catie (the buddy) had one sneaker on and one riding boot on. I asked her about it through my tears of mirth, and she said, "Well, I couldn't find my other sneaker!" I refrained from asking why she didn't just put both of her riding boots on.
  • I also remembered from session 1, when Omega drove us to the beach; my kids were asking how long it would take to get there literally every five minutes, so Omega threatened to deliberately take a wrong turn for every time they asked that question.
  • Phelps had her birthday the day after camp birthday, so the girls and I decided to throw a little party for her with streamers and snacklets. I told the girls to go and distract her for five minutes so we could finish setting up; they promptly took Phelps to Hiccup, where she was forced to ice a minor bruise for five minutes. I laughed so hard when I found out. They also adorned her with many bead necklaces and like three crowns. Anton (our chef, who is Russian) also let me have a Boston cream pie to use as a birthday cake. Here's Phelps cutting her cake (my girls look so miserable in this photo):
  • One of my kids threw bright pink paint on me. Enough said.
  • A random girl (I think she was in London's unit) sat with me at dinner one evening and ate five corn on the cobs. I was amazed. Later, I tried to get her attention to make her clean up her plate, and said, "Excuse me? Excuse me? ... OY, SWEETCORN." and she actually responded. 
  • On Saturday, we had our staff party after all the kids had gone. The food was Mediterranean themed (and delicious!), and everyone dolled up. It was nice - we were all in a good mood and got to chat about everything without the fear of campers overhearing. It was a lovely evening, and the staff closing campfire was nice too; we all shared memories from our summers and thanked each other for support and friendship.




We're now in the post-camp part of the summer, and I'm really looking forward to my New York trip! I'm staying in the cutest hotel in Manhattan, and my rooms and flights are all ready and sorted - I am so excited to explore the city, and to remember what civilisation is.

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Road Trips & Astronaut Food - Weekly Roundup 5

Week 5 marked the beginning of the third, and final, session of summer camp; I was moved out to Tall Timbers, a set of adorable blue cabins just off of main camp.



I am working with Nemo and Phelps, both of whom I've already been in a unit with. We were joined by Trout, who is a live-in; I'm really happy with the staff I've been put with!

The reason that there are only three unit staff is because we had one program and sixteen girls. Compared to the horrors of Week 3 (31 girls, 3 programs, 4 staff, 2 interns and a live-in, and a partridge in a pear tree), these numbers were a piece of cake! I was also happy because my Week 5 program was Road Trip, which I did in Week 1 and really enjoyed.

I also like Tall Timbers because I'm getting really good at walking around camp at night without a flashlight, and there's a dark path through the woods to the unit which is good practice for my new night vision skills. As for the highlights of Week 5:
  • My second trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory! It was a hit, obviously, and we got plenty of ice cream. As well as a sample (sweet cream and cookies), I had a Milk & Cookies shake, and bought myself a tub of ice cream and a pin that says 'Body by Ben & Jerry's'. We had a lot of fun and an especially funny moment was when Phelps' ice cream scoops fell off of her cone and she epically caught it in her hand.
  • My kids made me laugh on a couple of occasions. At lunch one day, one of them asked me if I was a vegetarian after watching me eat a slice of pepperoni pizza. Another day I had just woken up from a nap and I heard one of the girls say, "We should wake Pepper up, it's nearly lunchtime." then another girl hurriedly said, "No no, that's not a good idea. Let her sleep!"
  • Our second trip was the Montshire Museum of Science (YEAH, SCIENCE!). It was such a cool place, it even had a T-Rex skeleton. There was also a scale model of a human skeleton and a moose. It was a really interactive museum with lots of stuff to do - I think we counsellors had even more fun than the kids. I especially enjoyed the fog room, the bubble place, and the area dedicated to weather systems in space! I was in my element at the museum, and bought some penguin stickers and a pack of astronaut food (freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream).
  •  A short stop at Hanover, which is a college town not too far from camp. I accidentally bought three books at Barnes & Noble - a book of Grimm's fairy tales, Dante's Inferno, and a cute book called The Book of Myself, which has prompts for parts of life spanning from early, middle and later years - it's like a DIY autobiography!
  • Rivir's coffee disaster - she went to pour a little sugar into her coffee and the top of the container fell off, spilling loads of sugar into her cup. Nemo and I couldn't stop laughing, but Rivir got a laugh herself when she told me to take a sip of the resulting beverage. I sipped, sat there in shock, and then informed Rivir that I now had diabetes.
  • Splash Week occurred during this week (and as of the end of Week 5, there are still some survivors, so it will continue into Week 6). Basically, a bunch of counsellors signed up to be part of it and each of them were given the name of one of the other participants to be their victim. They have to splash their victims with a cup of water, and the splashee's victim becomes the splasher's new target. This continues until the last counsellor standing. Victims can protect themselves by having their campers in a circle around them, and splashes can't occur indoors or at program areas like the waterfront or barn. It was funny to watch the dwindling number of counsellors get more jumpy and paranoid as the week went on. The funniest thing was Trout managing to splash Tim Tam four seconds after Splash Week officially began. Trout is now out of the running, but Phelps is still standing, so we're supporting her - it was funny to see her with a constant orbit of kids whenever we went anywhere.
  • Luna has a couple of hermit crabs and Phelps and I were playing with one while our kids were doing Ecology. She was so cute and kept retreating back into her shell if we moved too suddenly ♥
  • Our last trip was to Quechee Gorge. On the drive there, Pugs produced a huuuuuge bag of Starburst for me and the girls to snack on, which was a promising start. She lobbed a handful over her shoulder for the girls when they weren't expecting it, and they were baffled by the sudden Starburst missiles flying through the van. They went to the climbing centre, and had a lot of fun there - there was also a cute dog belonging to the owner that we all fawned over.
    After climbing, we went to the Gorge itself - it was a lovely walk down, and the view at the bottom was beautiful. The weather was really bright and warm, and we basked for a while before the long climb back up (that was knackering).
    We also popped to the village, where there was a Cabot store selling all sorts of Vermont-made goodness; I sampled a lot of cheese and some lovely fudge - I ended up buying some fudge (raspberry and chocolate swirl), real maple syrup, a postcard with a photo of Quechee Gorge on it, some jellybeans, Pepsi, and a glass bottle of grape soda. Nemo and I also took a turn around an adjacent antique store and cried over all the beautiful old things.
    Pugs made me laugh yet again when three of my girls were sitting on those rides where you put a quarter in and they move. They thought, because they were antique, the rides wouldn't work. Pugs came along and stuck a quarter in all three of them, and they did work, which scared my girls to death. It was hilarious!
  • We got tired of our girls asking constant questions about what we were doing next during the day, so I began to reply with "Stuff and things." - Phelps and Nemo quickly caught on to this habit and we are now stuck saying this whenever questions occur.
  • I tried my first sample of genuine Vermont-made maple syrup. Nemo had been nagging me for two weeks to try it, and all of my girls had egged me on, and I can say I'm glad I tried it. It is heaven.
  • finally had a successful overnight! We cooked dinner at Tall Timbers, and our dessert was a s'mores pizza after how well it was received the previous week. It was ridiculously melty and sugary and delicious, and the kids loved it. We then went over to the Lakeside site and put up tents in the dark, which was a palava. But it didn't rain, and we managed to stay out there all night! I was very pleased, even though I ached all over from lying on the rather rocky ground all night. I was also pleased with my campfire that I made back at Tall Timbers:
  • I finally made a successful tie-dyed shirt. It's pink and purple, in a spiral pattern, and I haven't yet managed to take a photo of it. But it's amazing, and I'm rather proud of myself.
  • At the weekend, we popped to Applebee's for dinner, and to Walmart to forage for snacks, and London and Tink were really impressed on the way back to camp, when I rapped the entirety of Party Up by DMX (a very un-camperrific song indeed).