Page 6: Good Morning America!

I'm here! I've been here a week now actually, but the staff computers only got here today. Which means I can stop bugging the office staff to lend me their work laptops so I can quickly send home one sentence "I'm alive" emails to my Nan and actually blog.

So much to tell y'all!

The sitch: I'm living with 9 others in a cabin. It's communal living so think Uni meets sleepover club meets army camp rolled into one.

And the food is all-american (obviously). Waffle sticks for breakfast! Grilled cheese for lunch! All good now, until I go home super-sized :O And the assorted neon kool-aid which I've avoided with commintment. Ew.

Day to day there's not much to write about. We're getting camp ready for campers, so it's been raking leaves, putting up teepees, clearing the forest, making footpaths and oh, raking! ALL THE RAKING.
It's a 9-5 job. My arms and core. Ache.
I can't tell you how stupid it feels to pick weeds in a forest...it's a forest!

I've mentioned previously I'm teaching adventure. Basically there's a big clearing in the forest where we've set up an army camp and will have sleep-outs with the older kids. It's about half a mile into the woods away from camp. Dense and buggy. The trees are tall...about 8-10 Georgia's high. There's salamanders and chipmunks!


In Walmart

Tucker: Have you had kettle corn?
Me: What?
Aretha: She's never had kettle corn!
Me: It looks like popcorn?
Tucker: No! No! No!
*Tucker ushers a bag towards me , I try a piece and they look on expectantly*
Me: Er, that is popcorn?
Tucker: But popcorn is salty, this stuff is sweet
Me: Back home we get sweet popcorn...
Aretha: It's called kettle corn!
Me: Oh, not in England!
Aretha: Wierd!


Word: "HYPHY": Cool-Crazy but in a good way
         ie: "That jumper is hyphy!"

Page 5: The Eagle Flies Soon

I woke up this morning and realised I can count the number of days before I fly to America on the fingers of both hands. And for a reason I can’t entirely articulate, that's a big deal.
Since having my Visa processed and sending across my medical records and staff T-Shirt size (the final required documents, considering initial applications, references, CRBs, insurances, personal statements, flights, research, phone interviews, follow up queries, Skype interviews, embassy appointments and legal paperwork things like UCAS seem like a very short application process) I'm technically all set to go.

 

Meanwhile, on the official staff group I like to stick around to ask all the important questions

Anyone who knows me well will know that although I’m easily amused I get bored ridiculously quickly. So, I’ve found this ACTIVITY BOOK (ACTIVITY BOOK!!!) which is AMERICAN THEMED and although I guess it will only keep me occupied for about an hour, I’m honestly thrilled with it. Hey, I even bought me a pack of colours to take on the plane! (DON’T JUDGE ME! I’ll just tell any curious passengers I’m a Geography student ;) ).



Don't get jealous, but there's a 'colour in the Whitehouse' page and everything!
Wait- WHAT COLOUR SHOULD I COLOUR THE WHITEHOUSE?

In preparation for living with 12 teenage girls (the campers are 7-15 but I haven’t been assigned my bunk group yet) I’ve also taken notes from books about child development and adolescent behaviour these past few days (my Dad’s an actual counsellor, in the British definition of the word, so I found these on the bookshelf).

$ Theories of Childhood: Redleaf Press
$ Life Strategies for Teens: Jay McGraw
$ The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls: Rachel Simmons

^ I argued that having been a teenage girl through middle and high school I could already write a book about the various passive aggressive strategies girls use to abuse and exclude each other. I’m also word-perfect on Mean Girls’ screenplay so I thought I had this subject area ticked.

While reading those books I realised I’ve forgotten quite a lot of what it’s like to be a tween so I’m re-reading my old journals.

 

       Oh yeah, I also decorated a new journal for the next ten weeks!

I'm not sure what the blogging situation will be like at camp. It's an 'unplugged' camp which means no electronics for campers or counsellors but in our free time we can use the staff computers. If I don't manage to write much, I'll update y'all when I get back.

7 days! I'll like to be in America!

 

Page 4: I'm Going To London...(and I'm not going to buy 'Heat' magazine...)

As part of the J1 Visa application process (translation for any Visa newbs, 'J1' means it's a cultural exchange and non-immigration) I had to go to the US Embassy in London.

The day started well. I came back from my sunny seaside Uni for the day optimistically only packing a cardigan and sunglasses. Crossing over the English border I was greeted with a helluvalota rain, which meant I had to steal a jumper from my sisters wardrobe (SORRY NIKKI!).

I walk/crawl down the stairs still half asleep, questioning why important things are always early morning things.

Mum: Are you Marilyn Monroe
Me:    Nah?
Mum: What's with the red lipstick?
Me:    Lipstain. Oh. I can't wear pink or I look like Barbie
Mum: You look like a hooker. They won't grant you a visa if they think you're a hooker! Hahaha!

She was joking (I think).

Anyway, after arriving at the Embassy and going through identity and appointment checks, airport-style security and paperchecks I was led down into a great hall. Which is much less Hogwarts than I hoped. Basically you sit around on blue plastic chairs (patriotic!) until your ticket number flashes up inviting you to an interview kiosk. It's like Argos, for people!

In the process of checking criminal records they took scans of my fingerprints twice. I've literally spent the past week only touching things if I need to and being terrified of my own journal for fear of papercuts (if your fingerprints aren't solid they can refuse you a visa...).
I'm a nineteen year old incapable of driving a dodgem, let alone a car and I jump at loud noises. Believe me, I am not a threat to State or President!

I'm lucky enough that I was sorted in about half an hour. I've heard stories of people spending all day there! In my interview I was asked by a chirpy American "Ah! You're going to camp? And then you want to come back to University afterwards? Good job! Visa approved!". I walked away, kind of bemused as after all the security and authority and general scariness that the interview was so short. I was expecting CSI style, locked rooms and tape recorders! I walked down the wrong exit.

"It's the other way darling!"
Said the black-armbanded security guard holding a gun.
Someone holding a loaded gun just called me darling.
Life is strange.



 

Page 3: "Wait, You're A Babysitter For 'The Parent Trap' Kids?"

Phyllis Ford                                                                     The Camp Counselor

University of Oregon

 

 

Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood there occurs in human development an age which is physically and psychologically impossible. It is that unfathomable stage known as the camp counselor, a creature undefined by psychologists, misunderstood by camp directors, worshipped by campers, either admired or doubted by parents, and unheard of by the rest of society.

A camp counselor is a rare combination of doctor, lawyer, Indian and chief. He is a competent child psychologist with his sophomore textbook as proof. He is an underpaid baby sitter with neither television nor refrigerator. He is a strict disciplinarian with a twinkle in his eye, a minister to all faiths with questions about his own. He is a referee, coach, teacher and advisor. He is the example of manhood in wornout tennis shoes, a sweatshirt two sizes too large and a hat two sizes too small. He is a humorist in a crisis, a doctor in an emergency, and a song leader, entertainer and play director. He is an idol with his head in a cloud of wood smoke and his feet in the mud. He is a comforter in a leaky tent on a cold night and a pal who has just loaned someone his last pair of dry socks. He is a teacher of the out-of-doors, knee-deep in poison ivy.

A counselor is expected to repair 10 years of damage to Tommy in 10 days, make Jerry into a man, rehabilitate Paul, allow John to be an individual and help Peter adjust to the group.

...So, basically

Page 2: Say It Again And This Time Say It Slowly

So I've told a few people now about the upcoming summer.

The news has been met by a mixture of responses. Some people think I have the best job in the world because: you don't get views like this in an office window

Or a staff uniform that looks like this

End of the day doesn't finish with this

But then some people think I'm clinically insane to opt for an alcohol free summer for two months somewhere where I don't know anyone, looking after other peoples kids for a paycheck that almost pays what getting out there will cost me.

But I'm excited. Because I love America and Campfire and meeting new people :P
...I'm a drama student and yes, I do spend a lot of time sitting in circles and playing games and yes, we do really sing songs as part of our degree. And while you're laughing about how the only job drama graduates are call centre workers and weird advertising people

We're team players, good listeners, creative, extraverted, good at articulation, communication and expression. If you want someone who isn't too proud to look foolish while trying new things, we're your crew. And camp counselor-ing will involve a lot of circle-sitting, song-singing and game-playing...

I'm going to be a 'Adventure Camp Counselor'; this means staff at summer camps, nothing to do with counselling! We teach activities in the day (I'm in the outdoor 'adventure' section), supervise children at mealtimes and share bunks with them. It's a job which makes you a teacher, mom, best friend, babysitter, hairdresser, chaperone, supervisor and a mentor all in one hour.
This means my first 'real' job (paperounds don't count...) has 'adventure' in the title, that can only be a good omen!


 

Page 1: The Story Starts Here

I’ve had emails from my Nan for the past six months or so asking me what my plans for Summer 2014 are. And I've vaguely replied-
 

If you’ve opened up this blog page chances are, you're interested in my summer. And so you should be ;) It’s bound to be a good summer because… 

I’m going to America to work as a Camp Counselor!

 

 

I'm very excited to be teaching outdoor adventure at a co-ed sleepaway camp in New York!

 

This is July 2013's blog (http://openmyjournal.blogspot.co.uk/) which raked over 1500 views (so I can assume it wasn’t just my Dad who read it, and refreshed the page for a continuous month…). I’ve been writing journals 9 years now and they’ve always been stored in boxes and hidden under school desks, last year was the first time I shared the contents so it was great to get such a positive response (as always, I love it when people comment on my posts, so feel free to say what you think, I dare you!).

 

And this blog is going to become my somewhat edited journal of the experience. I think we can all expect ridiculous stories about hilarious adventures with amazing people. I’m so excited to have them and just as excited to share them here with you!

 

I'll end with a cool West Side Story gif seeing as the name of this blog ("I Like To Be in America!") is a reference to the West Side Story song 'America'.