Claire Rose

2009-08-04T13:35:00.001-07:00

I'm finding it hard to believe I only have another 16 days at camp. It's amazing how quickly it's gone, I can't exactly wrap my head around it. I figured it was probably time for me to update this thing because I've been here for about 7 weeks and I haven't let anyone that isn't in an email to my mother know what's going on. I guess that's because there isn't really anything new going on.

Since the last time I updated I got eaten alive by mosquitoes (it was actually the night that I was waiting for the taxi that it happened and I scratched myself up because I had had heat rash all day and didn't realise they were bites until I woke up in the morning) and I've gone to Poughkeepsie mall (and been kicked out for not being able to prove I was over 18 after 4pm) been sunburnt and gone to see Orphan at the cinema... that's seriously all that's happened.

I'm getting really excited about going to the city and seeing it because I decided I didn't want to do that while I was here because I'm going to have 5 days to be a tourist when I'm actually there and it's not gonna cost me $100 to get in and back every day. I also can't wait to actually be home. I was saying to mum that I don't actually want to go home right this second but I'm craving not being surrounded by bugs and being able to have a proper shower and a bath and sleeping in my own bed and not having to walk around in flipflops everywhere because the floors are gross. My feet are horrible right now, I want a pedicure when I get back!

Anyway, that's all I'm gonna update and honestly that's probably all I'm going to update until I get to the hostel (I seem to remember they have internet there so I can update about all the awesome things I do there) I hope everyone is well :)

2009-07-21T08:02:00.001-07:00

Last night I went out with two of the girls here, Amy and Megan, and we went to the cinema to see The Proposal. It was so good and so cute and it made me really, really want to go to Alaska when I have never ever in my life had any thoughts about going there... that's how easily I'm swayed, I guess. The taxi driver that we had to take us to the cinema was the worst ever, she was 40 minutes late and she was looking at directions on her phone, and she changed direction about five times, it was ridiculous. There was nobody in the movie theatre at all. The guy at the concession stand was completely on his own and there were only two other people in the actual theatre. Crazy! It was only 9:30!

Right now I'm stalking my old best friends on Facebook and doing the same old same old of pining for Paris and wanting to travel and plan trips. Whatev, nothing new.

bucket brigade

2009-07-19T05:59:00.001-07:00

2009-07-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

I had an entertaining evening on Thursday. We were in the middle of our fourth activity, which was clubs and clinics for me, and at 3:15 they blew the bugle and told all the kids to go get prepared for dinner and we were like uh.... had a quick dinner and all piled into ten yellow school busses (!!! although cooler in theory than execution because they were BOILING) and got driven to a baseball game! Not a professional one though, just like local teams. We were there to support a particular team but I can't remember which one at the moment because I am SO TIRED.

I didn't actually... watch any of it though. Unfortunately. Because I spent the entire time getting yelled at by the kids to take pictures. We weren't all in the same place as well so I had to go to the other end of the stadium to get pictures of the older kids. I was just gonna say screw it and not go at first but I suddenly found myself just walking on over, despite the huge crowds so Irene's happy.

The reason for all of this is the start of the Maccabean games. Which are apparently a big deal here because we had a random flagpole the other day where I had to take pictures but nobody would tell me what was going on. Even as I was taking pictures I didn't actually know what I was taking pictures of. Turns out it was the announcing of group leaders for the games which was a really, really big deal.

Yesterday was the first official day and things were crazy. I took over 500 pictures in the whole day, everyone jumping around screaming and cheering. The teams are Gompers and Brandeis named after Samuel Gompers and Louis Brandeis. Today isn't going so well because for some reason the kids aren't as excited and the older boys were giving me attitude this morning because they didn't want a picture.

I'm so tired right now and I'm probably not gonna stop again until about 10:30 tonight. Fun! I can't wait until this is all over already haha. Day off on Monday!

2009-07-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Things are still going great here except it's starting to get stressful, and it's only the second week! There are a lot of parents for me to try to please every day, considering the fact that there are 300 campers here and obviously all of their parents want to see pictures of their children every day. Apparently people keep calling the office to say that they haven't seen their child on the website for two days and so they're worried about her, or that 160 pictures were posted and 132 of them were of girls (sadly, both really happened, I mean seriously :|) so I'm trying to fill everyone's requests and I'm finding it a little bit difficult to find time to myself when I can actually relax.

The girls in my bunk are actually okay, all things considered. They kind of keep to themselves but that's to be expected when they're 8 really close friends who've known each other for minimum three years. At first I thought they were kind of clique-y because they didn't talk to me or Vicky who's the other English girl in my bunk, but I guess it was just because we'd all just moved in and we were kind of awkward around each other.

Yesterday was laundry day so we all put out our mesh bags to be collected and some of them got returned today... mine was one of the ones who didn't. I kind of knew that would happen because I didn't have a way to clearly write my name on it, so I just got a sharpie and wrote my initials and bunk number on the little bit of plastic on it and hoped for the best. Mine wasn't the only one not returned though so we'll have to go sort it out at some point tomorrow.

Every night I have to go to evening activities and take pictures there, too. I have a list, which would be helpful if the groups were actually where they were supposed to be but they weren't tonight so I only got pictures of the waterpolo and a game where the kids had to get into groups and think of songs that had a certain word either in the title or in the lyrics. Now I'm here, updating, and I'm gonna go to the canteen in a minute to see what's happening tonight.

Hope everyone is well wherever they are :)

photos

2009-07-03T12:37:00.001-07:00

It's so pretty here.

2009-06-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Things are still steadily uneventful. American staff started getting here yesterday and it's kind of awkward because we're all segregated. The girls seem kind of bitchy, which isn't fun but whatever. Yesterday evening we had a big staff meeting with everyone and then we had to play games and they were all super lame and cheesy and I have a feeling that's what most of this camp is gonna be like.

Yesterday I moved into the bunk that I'm actually going to be in for the whole summer whereas before I was with all the international girls and it was awesome and we had a group going but now it's all split. I'm with a girl called Vicky who's nice but kind of a wimp when it comes to bugs. And I know I am too but I've been better. I even killed a spider! Which was gross for reasons I won't go into. We're in a bunk with the SIT's which is staff in training and it's gonna be 16/17 year old girls that are too old to be campers but too young to be actual counsellors. And I'm going to have no seniority over them, awesome!

After the games yesterday a couple of the girls and I played cards with some of the guys and we played the most awesomely complicated game called Israeli war? I think? Because three of them are from Israel. And we were all laughing so much in the explanation process because none of us got it for like ten minutes.

That's pretty much all I have for now.

2009-06-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have been told I have to update! So here I am, updating.

I got to camp yesterday afternoon. I actually arrived at Newark Sunday evening and we were taken to the Ramada hotel for the night. I shared a room with two girls named Shauna and Laura and another Russian girl who's name I can't remember. They were all going to the same camp. We went out for Taco Bell food at 9:30 because we were all hungry.

Travelling to camp yesterday was difficult. Tom and I were the only ones going to this camp and we got driven to Grand Central Station where we had to wait around for 45 minutes to get a train to New Hamburg. We got picked up there by Rick who drove us to camp and then we hung out until 6 for dinner. I helped in the infirmary with filing because I had nothing to do and I hadn't met anyone yet. It made me feel like being back home.

I'm not exactly sure what dinner was but it didn't kill me so I guess it wasn't all bad.

We had a meeting with Irene, the camp director, and she told us what was going on more or less and welcomed us newbies. We played some games and tried (and failed, mostly) to remember each other's names.

It was basically more of the same today and the American staff (who are pretty much all ex-campers that are now counsellors) are coming tomorrow. I think the kids come on Sunday.

The End. For now.

d-day

2009-06-21T02:46:00.001-07:00

Aaaaaaaaahhhhh.

That's all I have to say for now.

2009-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Adventures starting tomorrow. Tales coming soon.