Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Back to Civilization!

Korrin B.

June 25, 2009 - 11:00 AM

Today is All Staff Day at the Fresh Air Fund camp reservation. This means that we get most of the day off! So, we are off in the little town of Fishkill doing laundry and stealing internet access from the café next door.

Before getting the day off, we had a big celebration to kick off the camp season. The four other Fresh Air Fund camps came over to our campsite (Camp ABC) because we have the largest space. We then all participated in a sing off that resembled the movie "You Got Served" in a way! It was pretty intense. The other four camps walked over to our camp and we could hear their chants from afar. Each camp had its own songs and sang them very loudly and with some funky dance moves. Each camp was trying to prove that it was the best through their songs. Of course, we won in my opinion! Go Camp ABC! "We are the girls of ABC, we're the best girls camp you'll ever see, we're motivated and educated, so come on down and appreciate it!!!"

After the outdoor sing off, we went inside and met the Fresh Air Fund Camp Director and other important staff members. They got us all riled up for the summer and emphasized the fact that we are changing lives this summer. We have the important job of making a difference in these kids' lives. It was great. We sang a song for our Camp Director, Alicia, when she got up to speak.

Next, there was a big outdoor barbeque and the food was amazing! There was chicken, hot dogs, ribs, veggie burgers, regular burgers, brownies, potato salad, watermelon, pasta salad, and more! It was delicious! A little better than the normal camp food. It was actually a really nice day too, so we sat under the tree for shade. It has been really rainy in New York ever since I got here, but it's finally sunny out! Although, it is also very humid.

Anyway, after lunch some of us hopped into another counselor's car and are now here in the laundry mat of Fishkill. We get to relax for the day and then the training continues tomorrow. We still have to go on an overnight hiking trip and then get assigned to the camp villages that we will be living and working with for the rest of the summer. I am hoping to get the little kids (9-10) for a couple of reasons. First, I'm teaching that age group art, so it would be nice to be able to interact with the same group of kids as much as possible. Second, I'd get to move back to the nice cabins!! I'll let you all know where I end up!

Ok, well, I should probably get going. The kids show up on the 29th, so you might not hear from me again for a while. I won't have the chance to write again until my day off. I'm so excited to work with the kids!! Yes!