Last full day...

Je peux faire de la voile sans vent
Je peux ramer sans rames
Mais ne peux quitter un ami
Sans verser une larme
-Camp Ectus goodbye song

Tonight's the last night... i'm not ready to leave yet.

The end nears...

Hey everyone,

I apologize for the lack of updates in the past week, camp staff internet has been down since last Saturday. Things are still going well, there are definitely personality-related challenges with the CREW kids, but overall, it's a very positive experience. Plus my old roomie Steph's on board on the leadership team, which is awesome. I'm gonna miss our late-night chats after this week!

I now have a rather good knowledge of camp dining hall/wash house/bathroom/gym/(fill in the blank) cleaning, and we've had really good chats with the kids about identity, hardships, character, modesty, relationships... i hope that if telling bits and pieces of my story can help at least one girl feel better/more confident/enpowered, then i'll have succeeded.

Okay, have to run! Time to make the most of my two full days left here in wonderful Iawah.
Cheers,
G

Thank you!!!

At the summer nears its end, i have to take a minute and thank everyone who made it possible. So please, see this as my "award acceptance speech":

First, i want to thank God... without Him, there'd be no Iawah. Or there might be, but it wouldn't be called Iawah, and it certainly wouldn't be the same place.

Thanks to Peter for supporting me way back in November last year, when i said i wanted to come back and work here. And to Jim W. for answering my questions at the time and encouraging me to go for it.

Thanks to Walter for the time off. I will definitely come back refreshed (and with a much better tan than i could ever get in the print shop).

Thanks to Steve and Laura for being great interviewers and taking me on!!

Thanks to the waterski crew (Lindsay, Skip, Matt, Holly, Marc-Andre, Nick, Connor...) for being so patient with me as i wiped out multiple times... and learned the ropes.

Thanks to Rose and all the kitchen staff for feeding me. I have yet to eat something from that kitchen that i don't like. They are truly amazing.

Thanks to my "roomies" - Steph, Erica, Michelle, Jaclyn, Natasha, Grace, Katie for the good times and the late night laughs.

Thanks to everyone along the way who was there for me to lean on. In no particular order, and on top of those named previously - Chazz, Rubix, Bowser (you're so much cooler than your brother, no matter what anyone else says!), Mitch, Aidan, Kesh, Nicky, Matt, Calgary, iWin...

Thanks to everyone from the "outside world" who took time to write and send me snail mail. It is such a "pick-me-up" to receive, and i can't thank you enough for your kind words - James, Mike B., Brigitte & Kyle, Martin.

Thanks to James for coming to visit; to Peter, Heather, Matt, Ruthann for the Iawah/Ottawa shuttle runs.

This has been an amazing summer so far, and i plan on making the best out of my 10 days left.
See you in September!
G

Dishes, dishes, dishes...

This morning, i had a dish shift with crew A - meaning 2 hours of washing dishes and generally putting the dining hall back in order. It went by so fast! We had an absolute blast, singing silly songs about cutlery...

Yup, hanging with the CREW kids was definitely the right choice. Loving it.

Off to staff meeting!
Flick

CREW life...

Yes, i'm now officially a CREW leader, despite all the comments from Staff that i'd crossed over to the dark side (the CREW t-shirt is forest green, the Staff one is kelly green). It's quite good so far. And what do i have to do? Supervise a group while they are cleaning, hang out with the CREW kids (17 kids, aged 14 and 15), join in the fun evening activites, and of course, ensure that no one sneaks out at night.

The best part? I have a lot of "own time". I've been using it so far to rest, catch up on Bible study, read, write, doodle... it's good for my soul. The summer is nearing its end, and i'm a bit tired overall. Right now, i'm focusing on finishing strong.

Last night, we had team-building challenges. Two highlights: The first, setting off mousetraps with our hands (if you hold your hand flat, and stick your palm flat on the mousetrap and hold it there, it won't hurt you. Then lift your hand quickly and back to release the mechanism). We then took it up a notch, releasing mousetraps others where holding. Crazy. The second highlight: we've all done that "trust" exercise, when one person leans backwards and the other catches them, right? We took that up a notch as well - with the leaning person standing on a platform about 5 feet high. Meaning they were getting caught as they were pretty much parallel to the ground. It was quite a rush; i think my heart skipped a beat to be honest.

So yeah... so far so good. The CREW kids are a really upbeat, dedicated bunch, and hard-working. I'm sure we'll be seeing great things from them over this week and the next.

If only the heat can break soon...

Sweatily yours,
Flick (who can now go by G, as CREW doesn't use camp names!)

The best way to spend a Saturday night!

Saturday evenings at camp are usually a very low-key affair, since most staff is on Sabbath and chooses to go home. The few left at Iawah usually do something fun, and tonight was definitely the best. What did we do?

We held our version of a drive-in theatre.
At the beach.
With the screen facing the water.
We "drove in" with canoes and kayaks.
And watched Pixar shorts and Looney Toons clips.
Did i mention that there were about a gazillion stars in the sky?

God is good :)

Wish you'd been here to enjoy it too!
Paddlingly yours,
Flick

Happy birthday ACADIE!!!

Ah yes, made it to the weekend! It's Saturday, the kids have all been picked up, Fireside has left the building... and camp is quiet once again. Quite tired... and need a shower. It's been really hot and sticky outside all week, and today's no exception. Looking forward to being back in one of the main lodges, and being able to use my little fan once again.

Some highlights of the past week:

• For one game we played, my cabin campers had to dress me up as a space robot/alien using a roll of aluminum foil, a roll of toilet paper, one styrofoam ball, and some sticks. Then, all the adorned cabin leaders walked the runway for judges. Sadly, i don't believe there is any photographic evidence of my outfit... but picture this: over my bathing suit, i had an aluminum "corset" (dull side out), a tight aluminum skirt (shiny side out) with a flipped out bottom "hem", a toilet paper belt and slippers, an aluminum crown with long toilet paper veil. My hair was up in buns on top of my head, with a stick in each bun. Very fashionable, really :)
• Everytime we jumped into the water, because the week was sooooo hot.
• Primetime - because with the 8-11 age group, all the songs are so much more fun. And include actions. And who wouldn't want to be a sheep, baa baa baa baa?
• Another game we played involved my campers covering me in shaving cream, head to toe (over bathing suit/shorts). We then had to run through an obstacle course which involved building a pyramid, pool noodle fighting, hula-hooping, putting on/taking off a wet t-shirt and finally sliding down a water slide. Oh, and while we were running through the course, being hosed with waterguns, pelted with wet sponges and water ballons - and the best part? Being pelted with chocolate pudding, leftover oatmeal, and two large bins of "combo leftovers", basically a stew of a week's worth of leftovers that the kitchen needed to throw out. The goal of the entire thing? Having the most shaving cream left on my body once out of the course. And yes, this time there are pictures!
• Getting to share cabin duties with co-cabin leader Stride, who completely rocked it out. It was awesome.

There weren't that many lows this week, but the girls definitely tried my patience at times. Actually pretty happy that i'm not in cabin next week, as i don't think i could do two weeks with this age group.

Okie dokie... time to go move into my new room in Bush Lodge, take a shower, and track down a lot of people i need to meet with this weekend to go over my new duties. I'm starting tomorrow... eeek!

Last but not least - the summer's coming to an end here, and with every week ending, some staff members are done for the summer. Which is really, really sad. Goodbyes really suck! In particular, big shoutouts to Michelle (Sparks), Jaclyn (Dragon Slayer), Ben (Rubix), Matt (Spike) and Isaac (Urlacher) for all their hard work this summer! We'll miss you :(

Stinkily yours,

Flick

...almost out of cabin!

"If you want to knit a sweater but don't feel like all that work, just dread someone's hair..." - Bongo (random quote heard in the staff lounge as i was typing this entry)

Friday afternoon. The girls are leaving tomorrow after breakfast. I'm really tired, and this past week felt like it dragged on f...o...r...e...v...e...r. Sigh. Definitely looking forward to my Sabbath tomorrow.

Then Sunday... starting something completely new! I'll be part of the leadership team of CREW. CREW's the unsung heroes of camp - 15 and 16 years old who come to camp for three weeks, and do the dishes and clean the bathrooms as part of their "service to others" commitment. Of course, they also get some Bible study time and time off to enjoy the best of camp. Still, it's a big change from what i've been doing so far this summer. So yeah, i'm a bit nervous!

Okie, time to use what little break time i have left to shower...

Flick

Big Fish?!

It's confession time! As most of you know, i grew up in a small fishing village of 2,800 souls in northeastern New Brunswick. Somehow, i had actually never gone fishing before... but that's all changed now! Due to a scheduling mix-up, my cabin was sent fishing instead of canoeing. I did feel bad for the perch, sunfish and bass we caught, as they did seem in slight distress as we pulled the hooks out of their mouths, but we did throw all fish back in the lake. My final tally: 6 fishes - 5 perch and one larger bass.

So it's Wednesday, middle of the week. This week had definitely been harder than the previous ones i've spent in cabin - the girls are 9 and 10 years old, but at least this time i've got a co-cabin leader to help out. Still, those girls are ridiculously energetic. The daily schedule's also quite different, instead of teaching waterskiing all day, i'm following the cabin around as they hit up various camp activities. The cool side is i get to do those activities as well - the rock wall is awesome!

I have to keep this entry short, as there are people waiting for our only staff computer - so i'll end on a prayer request: one girl in my cabin is ridiculously homesick. Please pray for her to find the strenght to last the week!! (and for me to have patience the next time she bursts into tears....)

Okay, gotta go clean up. I smell like fish. Sigh.

Tiredly yours,
Flick

...zzz...

Yes, it's Sabbath once again. And i'm taking it easy... actually, i slept in for the very first time this morning. It was awesome :) Have been looking for time alone this weekend, have a lot of thinking to do, and Bible study to catch up on. Maybe i'll go canoeing this afternoon, if the rain stays away. Or maybe i should stay put, and give my "limp noodle arms" (from 2.5 straight hours of waterski/kneeboard yesterday afternoon) a rest?

It's Saturday, but camp's taking longer than usual to quiet down. Families have moved out of their cabins, but are allowed to use the beach during the afternoon, and there's also more staff sticking around.

Gearing up for Squeeze I next week. Meaning 102 boys and girls, ages 8 to 11 are invading camp tomorrow afternoon, and i'm back in cabin. This time, i'll be living it up in Fireside, with Becca as co-cabin leader. Cool!

Oh, it appears that the sun's coming out and people are getting reading for canoeing. I'll log off now and go join them!

Paddlingly yours,
Flick

Day 45!

"So, i was uploading pictures, and fell asleep at Laura Lee's desk... when i woke up, i realized that i'd drooled all over her paperwork..." -Kaiser
(random funny quote heard in the staff lounge while typing out this blog post)

Here we are, still at wonderful Camp IAWAH, on day 45. I can't believe the summer's going by so fast, it seems every week goes by faster than the next, and this one surely isn't an exception. Maybe it's because i have so much free time, as we currently are in the middle of Splash (family camp)?

So a quick update of events since my last post:

• Spent an "extended weekend" in Ottawa, meaning i came back to camp on Monday mid-day instead on Sunday. It was very good - especially the sleeping three nights (THREE!!!!) in a big comfy bed!
• My schedule this week is very, very relaxed, compared to the last two weeks in cabin. It goes a bit like this: meals three times a day; and add a staff meeting, one Bible study (i'm sitting in on the adult prime time), and 3.5 hours of waterski instruction. Oh, and an evening game or two. That's it. I've been napping lots :)
• I crossed another "to-do" off my camp list yesterday when i slalom skiied for the first time! The lake has been so nice lately that i could put it off no longer. I started off on two skis, then dropped my right one. This was my very first attempt at it, so was quite excited! Managed to slalom a few times behind the boat, side to side of the wake, before wiping out as we were pulling out of the turn. Since i felt like things were going quite well, i decided to attempt the water start off one ski - and succeeded on my second try! (returned to the dock to hear the news that Matt had landed a kneeboard backflip for the first time, crazy!)
• More fun yesterday evening was the evening event: square dancing! A professional "caller" came to Iawah to teach everyone some ever-increasing-in-difficulty moves. It was a ridiculous amount of fun, i don't think i stopped smiling for the hour and a half that we danced. Ask me for some moves!
• Last but not least - today, we held some water games, which included a water slide. Take the inner lining of an above-ground pool, lay it on the ground, add a firehose to the top and a pool to the bottom and weeeee!!!!!!

Bible study's still going well. I'm keeping up to date in my "read the Bible in a year" challenge, and this week's adult prime time is very informative... for when i'll have a family. I think i'll put my notes away until i hit that time ;)

Aaah, now off to create some Seussical characters for next week!

Dancingly yours,

Flick

IAWAH dudes rock!

"you'll stand by them... and we'll stand by you
just know that we'll stand, stand by you
Ladies, thank you
Please know that whatever you go through
We are here
We care for you
We will stand by you"
-part of female staff appreciation song, "Stand by You"

Thursday was female staff appreciation day here at IAWAH! This oh-so-exciting day started when i woke up to some unusual noise outside my cabin. Propped myself up on my bunk, looked outside - and whoa! A fully set-up breakfast table for my entire cabin! Cool! We got to eat breakfast outside, and Rubix was our waiter. Given that he had been the butler during all the Clue evening events, the girls were a little worried about his presence ("did he come to kill us?") ;)

The breakfast was delicious, everyone loved the french toast, fresh fruit salad and best of all, Rubix even offered his personal box of Lucky Charms to the girls. Oh, so so so good! And so so so appreciated by everyone.

At lunch, we were told to dress up for dinner. This was a bit of a challenge, as i didn't exactly bring anything dressy to camp! Many thanks to Kesh for lending me a dress, to one of my campers for lending me her hair straighteners, and to another for telling me I looked "really pretty, but you can't wear those shoes! Here, wear mine!" How sweet! I totally felt like Cinderella :) 

At dinner, the male staff took over our cabin leader duties, eating with our girls so female staff could have a quiet dinner together on the other side of the dining hall. Then, we were whisked off to the gym. There, the guys pretended to have a video for us to watch, then Aiden and Scott serenaded us with their own version of "Stand by Me" (rewritten lyrics and called "Stand by You") and last but not least - they revealed a mini-buffet of girly comfort food!!! EEEEEK!!!! There were shrimps with garlic butter, brownies, nanaimo bars, chocolate sauce with an assortment of fresh fruit, pop... and best of all, a giant bowl of COOKIE DOUGH!!!! We all pigged out, then enjoyed a 45-minute dance party. It was so great to dance around like mad(wo)men, hang out with my old Room 1 roomies and really just have the best time! 

Eventually, we had to rejoin our cabins in time for the evening swim... and some girls jumped in the lake, dresses and all! What a great day!

Thanks guys. You really rock. And we'll stand by you too.