So - I am actually at ... band camp. "This one time, at band camp.." is gunna get said a lot this summer!
The camp I'm at is performing arts, basically everything theatre, art, band, acting, singing, musical, performance, dance, is here. It's like a miniature musical. I'm living in a musical. Currently right now I'm sat listening to Frozen and in the building next to me is a band playing up town funk. It's pretty cool!!
I feel, in a weird way, connected to my child hood cause I loved drama and stuff as a kiddy wink. It's such a nice environment to be living in. Okay so I'll keep this quick because I am currently skiving and my day off commences in a few hours so I'm looking forward to go venturing around PA soon but for anyone interested, this is just a bit about what's happened the last week here at Camp and how I'm getting on and stuff.
I know, I had a lot of concerned warnings from friends that know me a bit too well before I left, telling me to basically try and not kill myself or get myself kidnapped or something. so far, I'm all good. A few mishaps but I'm alive.
I keep getting messages asking if I'm alive. I can confirm, I am. It's just impossible to stay in touch with people from over here. The worst thing that has happened is some crazy guy in New York shouting at me randomly to go have sex and the guy I was with being offered crack but yeah, that's newyork for ya ...
So I've joined a band.
Yeah, a band ................ as the tambourine player.
There's lots of cats here. A lot. They're so cute.
The kids aren't here yet but they're coming next week. I'm the ONLY camp life guard, the ONLY.
I'm also teaching Radio. I've been slightly freaking out about that. Me? Teaching? This could be fun. Especially Radio. It's all good though, I feel like Fearne Cotton in the making (not quite yet.)
Yesterday I found an actual bug the size of my hand in my hair, like raveled in it, I ended up actually picking it out, not realising what it was and then just dropping it in complete silence and staring at it crawl along the floor ... I think that's what they call shock.
Oh, I also have lots of bites. One massive one on my hand, I went to bed with no bite and woke up with half my hand missing so I don't care to think what crawled on me during the night but it makes me want to cry.
Saying that, our cabins are so nice. Ours has the best shower on the whole camp and I was really impressed at the beds. Our room looks all cute now everything is unpacked and I've been having the best sleeps ever ... although I must admit I stole two mattresses.
I can't say my co-councellor's name yet (the person I share a cabin with and the kids will be sleeping in with us) but she's lovely. She's from Iceland and one of the nicest people ever so that's good. We're going to be bunking with the 12-13 year olds, scary I know. I rekon I can handle them though, we've planned a cute little pamper night and a scary story telling night with torches and made cute little posters everywhere.
Like i said, I've joined a band playing the tambourine hahahahaha I must admit this is getting me way too excited than it should. I've also created an alter-ego M-Dawg, the rapper ... and teamed up with a boy on my camp Snoop-Dale. We are a duo rapper band and going to take the camp and the world by storm. Move over Eminem and Jay-z.
The camp is amazing. I must admit, it has been a shock to the system. It's beautiful. The camp itself is absolutely gorgeous. Lots and lots of green land, huge, big hand built wooden buildings, we live in cute little cabins, which are actually surprisingly homely, lots of animals, very fresh and pure as it's in the middle of the mountains somewhere, very high up.
Today I even saw a deer. How cool is that? There's cats, horses, rabbits, skunks (that actually get the name skunk because they small like skunk apparently, I never knew that.) I actually never knew a lot of things - I've been here a week and learned so much. Lots of little facts you know? Fire flies for example, there's tons of them ... The females fly close to the ground and the males higher up and they flash to attract eachother to mate! Everyone here knows so much ...
Starting to sound a bit hippyish but the other night on our night off we all went to a hill on camp and lay down and looked at the stars. I even saw a shooting star, I've never seen one before so that was pretty cool. Infact I've never even looked at the stars in newcastle - You can't even see them. Here the sky is like filled with them. It's amazing and so so pretty! Again - Learned some stuff from people at camp about stars, so now I consider my self an astrologist. So erm yeah. *joke*
It's really dark here at night. Like, dark dark. As in you can't actually see when there's no light. So different to living in the city. We have a 1am curfew and the boys and girls cabins are separate ... I have always been a one for staying out late as possible and on my second night assumed I'd be able to walk home through the forest and not get lost, in the dark, alone, with no torch........
The hill/forest I have to walk up to get to my cabin is a 30 second walk. Guess how long it took me? ... 45 minutes. It took me 45 minutes because I was temporarily blind. After relaying this story to everyone on camp I have now been donated about 50 torches. And gained the camp title of Camp Simpleton. Again. No surprise there then haha.
There's lots of rules here, very busy schedules, it's pretty intense. Up at 7am, then full jam packed days, and that's without the kids being here. When the kids get here I'll be up at 6, doing the morning radio show at 7:30, breakfast, lessons, lifeguarding, dinner, lessons, lifeguarding, tea, scheduling broadcasts, lesson planning, co-op duties, then looking after the kids all night and evening activities.
I wasn't expecting to teach. I am a journalism student and when I got here I was faced with the bomb shell of actually TEACHING radio ... I do know radio stuff, I know how to present it and do interviews but engineering? That's not my forte. Help!!!! so I sat with lots of wires, a board, a computer ... pretty scary, knowing I'd actually have to teach these kids what to do, especially when I was expecting to be mainly focussing on pool things. But, I like a challenge and I think, I have it sussed. I've worked hard - stressed hard - and I'm pretty creative so I have some good ideas for radio shows. I'm actually really excited. I've never taught before, I'm not an expert (actually far from it by like 100000 miles) but I am determined to do this well and do good in both my programme areas. I'm currently sat listening to the Chicago playlist, in my own radio studio, planning talk shows ... it feels cool. Also terrifying. The fact that in a days time I'll be sat faced with kids, telling them about radio, putting them on the radio, as well as everything else. I think I'll manage. Out of my comfort zone, by like, ALOT but the feel of this place is already changing me and I kinda like it.
Really tired, surrounded by weird things, lots of rules, lots of pressures, lots of, well, everything is different but y'know. I've always adapted well and I'm having fun.
I have my place as the silly geordie at camp, the americans are some of the cutest, loveliest people I've met, everyone is talented, we've been told that everyone can put their stamp on Ballibay (the name of our camp) and I believe even a silly Geordie like me can.
Yes I swear too much, don't have a filter, can be a bit (a lot too loud) and get myself in trouble a bit (a lot), who gets stopped at embassys, loses her suitcase, gets lost in forests, spends stupid amounts of dollars on stupid things like Dora the explorer hats for the giggles, signs up not entirely knowing so to teach something I'm not entirely sure on. Yes I think even me, who does all them things and more, can do this!! Even though multiple times I have been very close to packing up and quitting.
This is getting a bit much with Chicago "isn't it grand?" playing in the back ground but I'm ready for the hard work to start.
Oh my god this playlist is so good. I just wanna jazz dance and jazz hand myself around the room but I can't!
I might take up acting again, I might even join another band, who knows? I get to be a DJ for the camp DJ nights ... Hello really childish disco songs with silly dances I learnt at Butlins and what not. Just saying.
This summer is going to be amazing and I can't wait...
To conclude. Walmart is amazing, $5 and under is amazing, Inside out WAS AMAZING (I cried) but I have to go because I have a nose bleed. (The altertude of the mountains I think), so excuse me!
Don't forget to message me if you're a pal of mine, hard for me to stay in touch here as we're not allowed phones majority of the time but I haven't forgot about you and I'll be in touch soon :)