Jun 23, 2025
SOON
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SOON
Child: where are we going next?
Me: we're going to the museum.
Another child: are we going to see the stuffed animals?
Me: yeah! The taxidermy!
Child: oh yeah! The tabiderb!
Me: *I HAVE TO NOT LAUGH*
Cooking in the staff house, making ravioli, trying to remember where things are, what's in the utensils drawer, IT'S ALL KNIVES???
Shoutout once again to my camper who was crocheting octopi with friendship bracelet string and a stick she picked up off the ground.
We were sitting in the dining hall waiting to be called for hopping and I saw her ripping up a napkin so I asked what she was doing- and it was for stuffing for her crochet octopus- that she was making with string and a stick. Wild. Incredibly resourceful.
camp ramblings. shout-out to my coworker who's been having the rest of program staff do interpretive dance / skit to lesser known camp and folk songs. such as The Golden Vanity (which is about a cabin boy on a ship who, on promise of the skipper's daughter's hand in marriage, jumps overboard with a hand drill to sink an enemy ship). most of them aren't familiar with the song but it's got enough of a story to follow along and so everyone's assigned characters and they just goooo (aka she sings, and everything else does their best to act it out)
and so "overboard jumps he" and two staff (because they both wanted to be cabin boy and we can have two cabin boys) mime jumping from the ship (a bridge made by other staff) and "sank into the lowlands" by being ushered "down down!!!!" and they layed down flat on the ground "go go go!" and ROLLED TO THE CORNER OF THE STAGE where they were stifling laughter. one of their responses to laughing so hard but not wanting to disrupt was to hit the ground with their fist and kick their feet, to which the other cabin boy upon eye contact initiated rock, paper, scissors. So I'm following the story and people making up understanding on stage BUT ALSO this barely restrained mirthful game of rock, paper, scissors. and then we get to the turn in the story where "but upon the deck, he died" and you could hear very small and incredulous but gleeful from the floor "we died????"
Before the campers are released to get ready for bed and when they're in line to get on the bus we'll offer a hug handshake high-five line, which is what it's called, but the full list of options is hug, handshake, high-five, ET, fistbump, and firm nod of mutual understanding
hello! i love hearing your camp rambles every summer, and i’ve got a question. is it some sort of sleep away camp? you talk about packing like you’re gonna be there for a long time, but also it’s almost july. i guess i’m just curious what your camp job is?
Yeah! I'm a counselor at a summer sleep away camp!
I've been going (nearly) every summer since I was little. I love the location, and the activities, and the traditions, and I adore the people. And now I work there!
This summer I have a leadership position (I've stepped in in the past when needed but this is my first full summer in the role.) There's different themed sessions so I'll be in charge of managing the other staff in my session, making the schedule, as well as other counselor responsibilities.
We're with the campers from when they get off the bus to when they get back on! We lead games, present ice-breakers, help facilitate program (such as archery, arts and crafts, lake, ropes, etc), fulfill camp kapers (chores lol), are responsible for helping the campers traverse interpersonal conflicts, are there to apply band-aids on scrapes, lead cookouts and help the campers lead cookouts, facilitate the campers as they plan their campfire skit, sing and dance and be silly, help them brush their teeth, tell star stories, and sing them to sleep. I'm there for homesickness and hurt feelings and moments of achievement and self expression and sillyness and joy. All the camp stuff xD it's really special!
I'm there to make sure the campers are physically and emotionally safe and to help them succeed. Our program is camper focused. At the start of the week over the first lunch when they're off the bus we'll ask the campers what they want to do and then the session leaders will meet up to plan the schedules based on camper feedback and the session theme.
If the campers want to lead something, and it's an appropriate situation for it, we'll step back and give them the tools and nudges to lead and communicate with each other. Different age groups require different levels of involvement, so like, cookouts or camp fire planning with younger groups you're doing most of the work, but with older groups it's possible to let them coordinate it themselves.
For a lot of kids it's their first time sleeping away from home, or staying in close quarters with a lot of people, or going on hikes or canoeing and all of these demanding mental, social, and physical things. It's the counselors job to lead them through these challenges and encourage them to be safe and learn.
I have like four personality traits and they're video games, art, music, and CAMP. Camp and the counselors I looked up to as a kid had a huge impact on me as a person. It was really inspiring to see these cool adults be weird as silly and themselves! It was also a chance for me to get away from a not great household at times. I've learned so many skills and about myself as a person there. Visiting camp is like a yearly refresh for me. It's a safe place. I'm really glad to be able to go.
It's incredibly special to get to be that inspiring person for the campers. To like, get to be a part of their self discovery or learning a new dance, or finding the confidence to make a new friend, or swamp a canoe.
IT'S ALSO REALLY COOL TO BE COWORKERS WITH THE COUNSELORS I LOOKED UP TO AS A KID!!!!
That was a long answer but like!!! Camp!!!
(oh! packing! It is kind of a long time and I don't intend to leave the mountain so I pack accordingly. I live there during the season lol. I'm going to be pretty busy but I'll be around online on the weekends. The staff house has WiFi and all that. Otherwise staff get 2 hour breaks on weekdays and that includes the time it takes to walk yourself to the staff house lol. So I'll be around! Just busy!) (it is too bad it's at the same time as art fight and fan joy july!!! aaaa!!! I'm gonna try and draw one art fight thing at least!)
When making pita pizzas at camp I like to request garlic powder and oregano and like basil and have those spices available as options for the kids to add. I was just thinking it's amusing that sometimes kids who aren't sure if they'll like it ask for some to be put in their hand, and they'll like, very delicately pick up a lil bit to taste or end up mouthing it like a horse. But anyways when thinking about that I realized, wow my campers are trying new foods / reaffirming whether or not they like something. Wow they're so brave ;v; wow my camper look at them!!! Maybe I'm the amusing one, being proud of kids for trying basic spices on pizza xD