Philla, Connecticut, a great 2 nights, and two weeks to go

All signs leading to Philadelphia say Philla, it confused me.

Anyway... On my last day off, I went to Philly with a friend from camp. We had big plans of all the things we were going to see and do while we were there ranging from hitting an art gallery, some historic sites and of course the Liberty Bell (who could miss a big broken bell?) So, we got lost once on the way there. The problem with getting lost on roads in Pennsylvania is that the distance between exits is so large that by missing one exit, it sets you back almost an hour - which meant that instead of getting there at noon, we didn't get there until 1pm. We had directions to a parking lot that would put us right across the road from the liberty bell and figured we would make it our first stop. However, I guess the bell is the place to be at 1:30 and the line was so long tthatwe decided to try to come back later. We did a bit of walking about, Amy shopped, we ate Thai, and then headed back to the bell at 5:30. walking over we were so excited that there was no line but we quickly realized that there was no line because it was closed. We managed to get close enough to kind of see the bell through a window, so I have a picture of the window that I saw the bell through, and if I really want to see it (although as a Canadian I don't have much draw to see it) I will just have to look at pictures in history books. Other than that Philly was pretty uneventful, good company, lots of laughs, a very pretty place, and that was about it.

We also had our second out of camp trip with our girls this week. Our trip took us to Mystic, Connecticut. Our first day we went on a tour of Yale. I thought it was interesting and it was a beautiful place, but there wasn't much of a draw for the 12 year olds who haven't entered high school yet to tour a university. They did enjoy shopping at the bookstore though and bought just about everything that they could find that said Yale on it. I think on average they spent over $100 on Yale stuff each. I spent $15 on a T-Shirt. I like it, it is bright green with pink letters. That night we went to see "Bad News Bears." That movie was altogether bad news. The girls hated it and every other word in it was shit. Probably not the best movie selection. First night at the hotel was a bit of an ordeal. So much screaming and so many complaints from the other hotel guests. I got to sit on hallway duty making sure the girls weren't running up and down the halls and slamming doors. That was a fun night. The next day was great. Mystic Aquarium (they have sea lions) and an afternoon on a huge sailboat. Perfect weather, lots of sun. Then on to a mall where the girls were happy because they got to shop again. I was happy because we got to eat dinner in a real restaurant. The last day of the trip was interesting. Checking out of hotels is always fun because after the girls "remember to take everything from their rooms" I get to go through and pick up everything that is forgotten. One girl managed to leave behind a juicy sweatshirt, a pair of bBirkenstocks and an envelope containing $120. Lucky for her I am honest :) Then we went to the Pallasades mall to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on IMAX. A very exciting day! Only problem with the PPalisadesmall is that half of our campers live within 30 minutes and somehow the word got out to parents that we would be there. We had 4 parents show up to the mall (against camp policy) and ended up with a bunch of upset campers because their parents didn't show up. Overall, it was a great trip. Most of the girls enjoyed themselves and everyone came back healthy (a much better end than our last trip.)

We get back to camp and post trip things seem to be pretty good. People seem to be happy. Campers are happy. And with 2 weeks left, the feeling among the staff is that it is time to have some serious fun before there is no time left. So fun is what we have been having. A great night a couple of nights ago at the "Wayne Hotel" - it's the local dive bar that we go to for dancing and cheap drinks. A huge group of people came out and we took over the place. I love not having a curfew at camp this year. I felt really bad for the few general staff that had to leave early while all us "senior" staff took full advantage of staying until last call. And now as I write this I just got back from an intercamp staff volleyball game (we kicked ass!)

So overall, life is good! I am looking forward to seeing you all soon. Look for details for the upcoming "Jodi is back in Toronto party" which will probably be in the form of a BBQ at my place.

Visiting day, boys, and bad management

It feels like it has been so long since I have written cause so much has happened...

Let's start with visiting day. I love visiting day. It is a great chance to get some insight into these kids lives. You can tell so much about a child by meeting their parents and even if they are completely different than the parents, you can at least get a feel for where they are coming from when they do crazy things. Visiting day at Bryn Mawr is a lot of fun. The day starts with an early wake up for the girls and the parents start arriving 2-3 hours before we will even let them in. While they are waiting, they get to hang out behind ropes in what we call "holding pens." They come with gifts and candy and all sorts of things and when we finally open the ropes, they come running across camp with their arms full to get to their children. It is quite humorous to watch and you really can't do it justice without the pictures (I will post them when I have a chance). Then the day becomes super easy for us. The kids hang out all day with the parents, and we don't have to worry about anything other than being around to answer the odd question here and there. Visiting day ends mid afternoon at which point the campers start working on male beauty - an event where all of the male staff get dressed up by different cabins as women and compete in a beauty pageant. The kids love it and it somewhat helps to take away the homesickness that tends to accompany visiting day.

Anyway, visiting day over, we try to return to "normal" camp life. Of course, it is camp life on a permanent sugar high since all the kids are eating junk and junk and more junk. Then the boys came. There is a camp that we went to go visit last week that also comes to visit us every year. The girls spend all day making sure that they look gorgeous (which they do) so that they can impress the boys at their social and make out with their choice of the 85 that they came with. To give you a bit of perspective on it... we have 41 girls in the 8th grade, so they had a pretty good ratio going on. Having the boys around is always entertaining. they have a social, watch a movie together and then today we went to a fantastic waterpark.

Last night I had a very inappropriately times conversation with my "manager." Put me into a pretty bad mood which unfortunately killed the fun of having the boys around camp. But that story can be saved for another time.

3 weeks until I get back to Toronto. I am really looking forward to it at this point. I miss everyone lots and can't wait to see you all!

That's all I have for now.

The Berkshires

When I was at camp, trips were canoe trips. You would go for 5 or 10 days, sleep on the ground in tents, eat whatever we brought along with us - normally cheese or peanut butter and bread or pasta. There were no showers (it was a canoe trip), no washrooms (see previous explanation) and we definitely did not bring our straightening irons (granted, back then we didn't know what they were).

So I just got back from my first Bryn Mawr trip. We went to the Berkshires in Massachusetts for 3 days. The first day of our trip, we stopped for pizza lunch, then checked into our hotel (the Days Inn) and had a chance to go shopping. Then the girls rushed back to the hotel to make themselves gorgeous for their social that night with the boys camp and we headed out for a steak dinner before the social. Day two, we have a play date with the boys, and then get to go to a mall for dinner and a movie. Day three, white water rafting, then back to camp. Pretty incredible sounding trip I would say.

I love our girls, but sometimes they make me laugh. The Days Inn - which was perfectly fine - was "gross," "dirty," and "had too many bugs". The store in town where they went shopping "didn't have a big enough selection of Juicy". They blew fuses when they were all trying to straighten and blow dry their hair at once. When they went to the social, the boys were "not their type," "too short," and "all looked the same". The next day, breakfast was gross, the boys were still no good, and they didn't have enough time to shop at the mall. White water rafting - they got wet, they didn't want to paddle, and it was too cold. I had a great time on the trip though, and I am sure that even with all the complaining, that the girls did too. These are definitely not the trips that we went on when I was a camper, but it is a different world down here. Overall a great trip, but I am happy to be back at camp where things are a little bit more normal.

Next story to look forward to... Visiting day is in on Saturday, I get to meet the parents.

Who says that?????

If you haven't been to camp, I will give you a bit of a background on working at camp. At the beginning of every season, we spend a week training our staff on how to work with children, what the camp culture is all about and things NOT to say to children. It sounds harsh, but we do work at camp for the children, and they don't really want to know about our personal lives, our personal views on the world, or our political views. They want to feel safe and secure with their counselors, and comfortable talking to them, without having to worry about their counselors oversharing personal information. Are you following me so far?

Yesterday morning, jumping out of bed, I hurt my foot and had to go see the doctor to make sure I hadn't broken toes (don't worry mom, I am okay) I thought that would be the only bad thing that was going to happen all day, I try to keep bad things to a minimum in a day, there is only so much that I can handle...

However while I was at the doctor.... at breakfast, one of my counselors decides that she is sick of hiding her personal stuff, and decides to share with a group of 12 and 13 year old girls that she is a lesbian. No girl that age would know what to do with that information. Then she starts talking about how she is still going to marry a man because that will make her parents happy. Then of course, she ventures into politics too.....

So... my entire day was then spend trying to calm down 21 campers, dealing with my 4 staff who were freaking out because the girls were freaking out, getting the counselor moved out of the bunk, getting a new one moved in, and cancelling my New York trip that I was supposed to be taking last night.

I have no problem with her being whatever she is, or having whatever political views she has, but that is why we spend that week at the beginning of camp making sure that these counselors don't say stuff like that to the kids. The poor girls were so freaked out. Oy.

So I didn't get my night off last night, but I did get my day today, a nice relaxing day, and tomorrow I am off to the Berkshires with my girls for three days... I am sure I will have more stories when I get back...

Thats all for now!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Letters Rock My World

I got the coolest letter today (yes, it is the fourth of July, mail runs on a weird schedule here) from the guy that works in the mail room at the MS Society (yeah Carl!). I have now received 3 letters in the 3.5 weeks that I have been here. My campers get at least that many letters every day - I have to admit I am a little jealous! I am looking forward to tomorrow, a whole day off while the kids get shipped off to Dorney Park. It will be a nice quiet day at camp, I will be able to sleep in and do anything I feel like. It will be fantastic! In other bad news... I think I have come to the conclusion that Lactose is not my friend. I don't know what I am going to do without my ice cream! Nothing is better on a hot summer day that a nice cold ice cream, but it doesn't make me feel so good after I eat it so I guess it is time to find another solution.
Since I am in the states, today was a pretty big deal at camp. They have a "Miss Firecracker" Pageant and an incredible fireworks show. My camper came in 3rd out of the 15 girls in the contest. I was so proud of her. She was amazing. The fireworks were pretty incredible too. I can't get over how crazy they go when they do the fireworks shows. It lasted about 15 minutes and was to music and everything. The music was a little cheesy.... but still added to the show.
My mind has become mush, so I am impressed if you have actually gotten this far in my rambling! I am off to bed now... and planning on sleeping for a very long time.

One week over, six to go

So things are finally getting into the swing of things here. Regular schedule is happening, the kids are getting over their homesickness, and they are actually starting to have a good time - Which in turn means I can also start to have a good time!

I have now managed to connect with almost all of my campers, and the few I haven't, I think I have resigned myself to the fact that it just might not happen. I am getting to enjoy myself playing sports with them, making things in arts and crafts, and on the hot days - in the pool.

I have managed to make great friends with the Israelis that work here as security and the three of them fly back to Israel through Toronto, so they are going to come visit which I am really looking forward to (by the way mom.... Is it okay if they stay with us?)

Its Sunday, which means late sleep, PJs to breakfast, and bagels, cream cheese and lox, matzah brie, and other assorted yummy food. I love Sundays.

Off to go wake up the kiddies...

Happy Canada Day (from PA)

Why doesn't anyone celebrate Canada Day in Pennsylvania?

There are actually about 10 Canadians here, and so we were planning on singing some O Canada at lunch and I have my Roots Canada hat on today. It is actually my day off, but me being a crazy Canadian, am going to stick around for lunch just to sing. I am going to use today to take advantage of camp, and just relax and take it easy. Played some tennis this morning, might play some more this afternoon.

I had my first real moment of home sickness yesterday. People telling me that they miss me made me kind of sad. My girls were being pretty good in general last night though which put me into a good mood, and I think I really realized yesterday how many friends I have made here that were around to cheer me up.

Time to run off and enjoy the day. Actually, more than anything I just want to get out of the computer room because for some reason, there are kids in the staff room practicing for their upcoming play. Number 1 on the list of things I feel like doing on my day off is not really hanging out with kids....

Ta ta for now!