Chapter 8: Halftime

Being halfway there puts you in the tunnel with light at both ends. I have just completed week four at camp leaving me with four more weeks until I head back to Texas. I was sent to Camp Eden Wood for the week, we only had 40 campers on the entire camp (Friendship generally has around/over 100). The camp itself was really cute; small and woodsy – felt very camp like. The food was amazing, I ate way too much during the week and for the most part, the people were pretty awesome too.

My campers this past week – wonderful! Week four has been my favorite week of campers so far. The week was exactly what I needed after feeling a bit defeated with Friendship, the change of pace was perfect and came at the perfect time. I still had a large cabin (9 campers) but I had an amazing staff group to work with and things ran smoother than I’ve experienced so far. I’ve come back to Friendship with a new outlook, a new attitude and new expectations for myself. I now feel that I know how to handle my own perceptions about things that I don’t agree with (regarding fellow counselors). I feel revived.

When I got back to camp last night I checked the cabin list for the upcoming week to see where I would be living and who I would be working with. I am so excited for Sunday! I’m working with one other counselor, whom I love, and my favorite program staff. The three of us have worked together before and we have a great relationship – the skies are clearing and the sun is shining light at both ends.

Until next time,

Courtney Chivon

Chapter 7: And the Award Goes To...

Any person that can change briefs for a living and never sweat it even when they’re filled with poop!

Week three of camp was outrageous! By Wednesday I was exhausted and ready to fall over, my legs feel like rubber chicken legs (I should have nicer calves by the end of the summer) and my brain has officially shut down until Sunday afternoon. All because we had so many personal cares to attend to this week and a huge cabin (10 campers) that it really feels like I was never off duty.

I’ve spent some time questioning things recently and I’ve found it extremely difficult to keep cool when frustrated lately. Typically if someone says something stupid or gets an attitude I can blow it off but lately I’ve been dishing it right back. I finally decided that the reason for this is simply that I can’t escape the behaviors like I could before; I’m living with the people that I work with every single day from Sunday – Friday. There is no going home and getting away, no venting to your spouse/friend/parent/etc, there is nothing to make it temporarily better and to allow a person time to cool off and forget about it. Instead, we all sleep in the same room and literally spend 24 hours a day together for 6 days (minus 6 hours for time off). It’s a bit much but now that I’ve decided that that’s the problem, I’m going to spend some time devising a way to fix it because I can’t go through the next five weeks getting so easily frustrated and not having a way to release the frustration.

Despite the incredible number of personal cares, I really enjoyed my campers – all 10 of them. We had several non-verbal campers which pose a slight challenge but you learn quickly how to communicate with them and it always helps that they understood what was said to them. Still, it was a little difficult adjusting to caring for a person who can’t tell you with words how she feels and/or what she likes/dislikes etc; it makes you appreciate simple conversations more than you ever did before.

Week three wore me out and left my body slightly deformed but I’m still eager to see what’s in store for week four. I am going to Camp Eden Wood this Sunday, a sister camp about an hour and a half from here. I am really excited to see it and to work there for a week; maybe the change of scenery and pace will make me feel better when I come back to Camp Friendship (Eden Wood is smaller and has less cabins). I’m just excited to get out and see what other parts of Minnesota are like and meet some new campers.

Until next time,
Courtney Chivon

Chapter 6: Bent But Not Broken...Yet

After making it through my first official week as a counselor, I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the next six.

Aside from feeling as though the truth was slightly manipulated when it was presented to me, I also don’t feel as though I’m fully or properly trained for some of the things we are expected to do. This and breaking from a regular routine has made me feel quite defeated. I said originally that I wanted to get away from what I was doing everyday because it felt like time was passing too slowly and I was sure that this would help time pass a little quicker. As it turns out, not being able to do the little things I was doing in El Paso have made me crazy because those little things almost undoubtedly were for Caleb (care packages). AND time is NOT passing any quicker except for the weekends which are too short to begin with.

Anyway, back to week one: it was crazy, chaotic, tiresome, frustrating, and funny; all around a true learning experience. We created a “family” out of our cabin aptly named the Wasie Family (after our cabin name). It started with the counselors and then the campers joined in on the fun, making themselves characters which just made it that much more hilarious. We had a quote wall which aided in sanity and helped us laugh when things were tough and we (counselors) had vent sessions nightly in order to keep from breaking down. Subsequently, the best way to prevent breaking down is by cracking up – laughter truly is the best medicine.

In the end, I was relieved to have a break, I honestly did not think I would feel so glad to have a little peace; hence the reason I’m not sure how I’ll last the next six weeks. While I was sad to see campers go, because you do create an attachment, I was far too close to my wit’s end to deal with much more this week and needed desperately to have a little “me” time. I did get to enjoy a tasty dinner last night and meet some more new people and get a few things from Wal-Mart (never thought I would miss the Wal-Mart)! Today I’m hoping to head out to Minneapolis to partake in some 4th of July festivities and start a new week tomorrow. I choose to remain optimistic about week three, I can only hope for the best. Luckily I don’t have to switch cabins this week and I’m with two counselors from week one and a counselor from week two that I know, hopefully that will make things easier.

I’ve updated the Picasa album a bit and will be doing so as much as possible.

Until next time,
Courtney Chivon