Page 25: Eagles Fly! Goodbye!

In the end I decided not to blog about after-camp travels. I've bored my facebook news feed, family and friends with the stories about that "that one time we got 6 of us in a 4 man taxi at 3am" and there's selfie photos in 6 different US states, but I won't subject you to that. This blog was about summer and camp, right?

But I wanted to announce...
This summer I completed 10 things off my bucket list (!)
Which is ridiculously exciting, because some of these dreams I first wrote down in that notebook when I was thirteen!

$ Go to an american summer camp

$ Go to Walmart

$ Go couchsurfing (we used air'b'n'b, same idea!)

$ Visit an American college



Ta-da!

$ Go paintballing

$ Go up a skyscraper (empire state!)

$ Watch an American baseball game

 

$ Sleep in a hammock

$ Go white water rafting

$ Find and eat something grape flavoured

$ Spend the evening in candlelight and then blow out all the candles at bedtime


And, man, travel stories! The time my suitcase was declared obese by the check-in guy and I had to get the weight down. So after taking out the conditioner and jeans and seeing the weight not move I took out my journal and the numbers flew off.

Check In Bloke: That's some journal there, 8 pounds?

Me (embarrassed and defensive): I just have a lot of memories...

The Nerd Herd have actually just had a post camp reunion this week, Sean and I visited Ryan, Dominique and Ryan in Edinburgh! Here's us having milk'n'cookies at 9.15.



Camp friends, stay friends :)

This is the last ever 'I Like To Be In America' post. Thanks to anyone reading this, I'm happy you decided to follow my journey and I hope that if any young people stumble upon it they'll consider working at a camp. It's work, hard work and don't let anyone tell you different, but that doesn't mean I didn't have one of the best summers I've ever had (and I got paid for it!).

Bye!

 

Page 24: The Last "Letter From America"

Writing in the staff lounge, straight back from the Dining Hall where, after eating we got up on the benches and danced to Living On A Prayer. If you've ever danced on a bench with four nine year olds flanked either side of you, you'll know it is a tricky thing to accomplish. As well as shouting lyrics and dancing manically you also have to keep your banace and try not to hit them, challenging, as they are exactly at prime arm-hit-height. I think one of my favourite memories of camp happened ten minutes ago. 

You know how awkward the dance sections are in music? When the singer stops and leaves you hanging post-verse, trying to think of a really cool dance move to last the next 12+ counts until they come in with the chorus again, saving you from something you hope never goes on facebook? Right. It's crucifying. 

So. When we were coming up to the reallllllly long guitar solo I turned to Sophia and Sophia and shouted "Air guitars! Now!" and instead of leaving me hanging there like some over-excited institutionalised student, we all picked up our air guitars and jumped up and down on the wooden bench :)

Camp Echo Alma Mater

Can it be that summers ending?

Where did time go? Where was I?

We've been together, only a short while,

Oh how I wish the time had not flown by

Meeting new friends, sharing secrets

Under trees that touch the sky

Growing to be part of one family

Oh how I wish the time had not flown by

Children's laughter, sounds of summer

Looking back on treasured days

Memories will linger, echo bonds forever

Oh, how I wish the time had not flown by

Blue and White we stand tonight

Fighting tears of sad goodbyes

Though far apart, we'll be close in our hearts

Oh how I wish the time had not flown by

About a fortnight ago, walking back to camp from Outback I noticed a branch of red in the otherwise entirely green forest. That's how autumn starts. Summer's ending. 

Which means goodbye camp, hello (again) University. It feels weird that by the time I leave, I would have spent over 10 weeks and a whole season on this continent. I genuinely don't want to eat another Oreo for a long LONG time.

But first, before we head back to our homes in different countries and lives without sunshine everyday and children everywhere; ROADTRIP USA!

Because we didn't work nine weeks fo' nothing.

With "my peoples" one lunchtime a few weeks back :)

All the tents have been packed up, fires put out, trapeze taken down, animals sent back to a farm. Now all that's left is for the kids to leave back on the buses they arrived in, then us.

Everyone's heading to different places: Disneyland, West Coast, Bahamas Cruise, Canada are just some of the plans I've seen being made in the staff room. The usual suspects (Louise, Ryan, Sean, Russel and I) have planned some 'Eastcoasting'. I won't tell you where we're going because I want to surprise my family with postcards along the way, but let me tell you, it's pretty awesome and we're heading out of New York!

 ...Time to get "turned up"...


*This is gonna be my last post at Camp, I'll probably post about roadtrippin' when I get back home :)

Page 22: Oh Hi, NY

If you want to know what a city is like, look at the road signs. NYC's signs are bright red and bright yellow, demanding attenton and they shout "No standing anytime" "Amazing things are happening here" "No stopping" and "Drive thru".

Arriving in Times Square is a dizzying feeling

Despite this, we found the city to be strangely quiet and very clean.

Welcome to the city where the street signs are as bright as the moon...

Arriving at around 10pm we headed for Starbucks. Now, I don't actually go to Starbucks (tax avoidance!) Team Costa, all the way. But, being a team player I went with the group and got the obligatory mis-spelt drink "Giorgia"...

The Nerd Herd/ Culture Vultures

We went up the Empire State Building at midnight. What the films never show you is that you have to walk up a load of stairs. Like, a load. If my legs don't look like Cara Delevigne's before I leave, I want a refund.

But once you get up there, woah. Looking across the skyline everything around and under you glitters. I felt very much like a fairy on top of a Christmas tree. It's not a bad feeling at all. This view, along with all of the 1920's art deco on the way up reminded me of this quote from the Great Gatsby-

"The city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise all of the mystery and beauty in the world"

Louise's Photo :)

We headed to the subway and waited for the B-Train. And waited. And then- a train! Oh, it's the D-train. Never mind. TRAIN! Oh, a D-Train again...Wait, was that-yes it was! A traaain! D-Train? Where are all the B-Trains? This happened for an hour (2am-3am). I couldn't help but think of Waiting For Godot, we sat and waited for an hour for a train that never came...

So we hailed a yellow cab.
Around six cabs into this cruel game of 'it's 3am and we're 100 blocks away from our hostel' we realised six-man taxis don't exist in NYC. Uh-Oh.


*Realising there was no way home*

Dominique: Seriously, what do we do now?
Me: Well, our first move is to act like polite and confused British tourists and use that to get us uptown and our last resort is probably pimping Ryan out
Ryan: Hey!

We did fortunatley find a way to the hostel, which may or may not have involved illegal means ;)

The ferry trip to Stanton Island was FREE
Louise's Photo (what a babe :)

The next day: Central Park, Wall Street, Stanton Island Ferry, 9/11 Memorial, Times Square

Central Park walk.
Get used to these faces, we're travelling together after :)

Page 20: Day Off, Off To Jersey Shore

Back home if I was to say 'Luke Bryan' 'Keith Urban' and 'Jake Owen' people would assume I was talking about my mates. Here everyone knows exactly who they are. They are on the radio and in speakers at diners. In the USA country is a genre, not a joke.

We're playing 93.7 on the radio, the country station (a change from our usual dedication to 104.7, or 'the tunes channel' as Louise says).
While I've been here the road trip journeys have been just as good as our destination. Probably because I road trip on 'The Banter Bus' or 'Papa Pickles Road Train' (in joke, soz). Generally it's Sean, Ryan, Russel, Dominique, Louise and I and we spend hours getting lost on the interstate trying to get somewhere cool on our day off.

Ryan today is our radio DJ and he knows to turn up 'Best Day Of My Life' (American Authors), it's a camp anthem and it sums up the feeling of all of us on the road, at least in my mind anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y66j_BUCBMY

Yesterday was decidedly a beach day...at JERSEY SHORE!

I made a friendship bracelet :)

The waves at this beach, oh the waves. See, in the photo they look calm. Oh, the camera lies! It was a monster water tropical washing machine!

Dominique's photo :)

Man they were high.
And strong.
And bold.

Now, I'm not a bikini person. In fact, I haven't worn a bikini on a beach in years. I'd rather wear a dress and just get wet, or if it's a you-have-to-be-in-swimwear event (I generally avoid those events quite masterfully) I wear a one piece.
Not yesterday.
Yesterday I was Sara Bareilles Brave.
And stupid.

Let me tell you I am not a stupid girl. I double knotted my bikini before hitting the beach. That didn't stop the waves, oh no. They contorted that damn tie-dyed fabric into various states of half nakedness. And, just as soon as your sort yourself out another monster-of-a-wave comes along, hits you, drags you, twists you and drifts you five metres in three seconds to the shore. You quickly breathe, stand up and find yourself half naked.    Uh Oh. The same thing happened to Louise too!
You have to laugh, it was hilarious and body-boarding is a great way to spend a day but seriously, Neptune's a bitch!

With Ryan and Dominique :P

Thought of the day

Friendship is when everyone turns up their purses/wallets for quarters and dimes, puts it in a cup and- there's no way of telling who has put how much in but somehow it always gets you through all of the tolls across the state border and back. And if you come up short one day, next road trip you rain silver at the shotgun passenger. No worries.

Page 16: "Job Perks"

It's an 18 hour day for 8 weeks with 5 days off. But I'm sure it's actually the best job for me, right now, anywhere in the world.

I'm reminded of this on a regular basis. For example, I'm writing this after being in the Outback, building a metre high fire to burn rubbish on and having a cheeky s'more. Does rubbish disposal and office snacks get any better? (No.)
I'm lucky to be here, and it's the people that make it so great!

Our night off plans were modest- go to the mall and watch a movie. But the minivans were all booked out when we turned up. Damn. Which meant we were spending our night off in camp. Damn.
Then, we actually thought about the sitch- being 'stuck' at a summer camp with your friends and a free night really isn't a bad thing...

Especially not when one of your friends is a qualified lifeguard who offers to take the group water boarding on the empty lake :)

Thanks RyRy!

Or when you get permission from your supervisor to take your friends on a camp out ("Go for it. The Outback is your crib Georgia").

So I made a glow stick trail through the forest and lit all the tekes (forest lanterns) bfore going back for the group and walking them across in the darkness.

S'mores. Hammocks. Starry sky. No curfew and NOT A CHILD IN SIGHT.

Perfection.

Left to Right: Ryan, Sean, Me, Louise, Dominique (Momma D)

These are the hilarious and sensitive people I've had the luck to find in NY who also happen to be supremely gorgeous, intelligent, creative and athletic individuals <3

I'm so LUCKED OUT!

Page 9: "I Can See The Stars, In America"

Listen to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw8Q91S43y0

Sean says I look like Natalie Portman in Black Swan. I've got black paint arched up to my eyebrows. So's he. So's Ryan. So's Louise. We're lying planking marine-style on the hill in total darkness (here, 10pm). This is flashlight tag. And despite our playful banter at the start point I've sprinted 100 metres, crawled under a building and hid in the woods. This is no game. We are serious!

"We're Not Competitive"

Catching my breath, I look up. New York, woah. You've got me. The sky is COVERED in stars. More than any I've seen anywhere else in the world. The sky is more star than not.

And I'm stomach first in the mud thinking existentially about how moments like this make you remember how small you are in the world, and how much beauty we just don't notice if we're always looking up and never around, down, up or behind and then WHAM Ryan thinks he saw a flashlight nearing, gotta move, guys RUNRUNRUN.