adventures on the lake: June 2011

Campers are here, Camp has officially begun! The staff arrived over a week ago for training and are at this moment putting what they have learned into practice, some for the very first time, other's for a 5th or 6th time. It has been really weird to not be apart of the staff this year.

There's still definitely adjusting to be done but I feel like most of the new staff and even some past staff don't know what I'm even doing here or who I am. It will take much more effort and energy on my part to build relationships this summer and to find my 'place'.

I've been thanked several times for 'volunteering' and it just doesn't settle with me. I am not a volunteer. This is my home, my family and my life right now. I want to be apart of this staff family, to contribute and help create the camp magic for staff and campers alike. I wish there was an easy way to explain it and show others how I can be apart of this community. I wish I was better at initiating and including myself in things, withdrawing and feeling like an annoyance comes as a second nature and I really hate it. Maybe this will be a time to overcome it a bit better and I can look back 9-10 weeks from now and feel satisfied and filled with what has taken place.

Here's a few pics from a fun day with the staff, it was definitely a good start and I hope there are many more days like this. For those who do not know, each session at camp we have a guys day (outpost) and a girls day (uzemati) up at some property further up and in the mountains, we play epic games of capture the flag, explore, eat awesome food and just enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This was the first time I played with all staff, it was awesome!
(Chris took most of these, the water running over the weir is my contribution :-)