Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Welcome to Camp

Korrin B.

June 18, 2009 - 7:00 PM

I have officially spent two days and soon to be three nights at the Fresh Air Fund's Camp ABC in Fishkill, New York! For those of you not up to date on my blog, the Fresh Air Fund is a nonprofit organization that gives New York's inner-city youth from low-income families the opportunity to get out of the city and experience nature in a supportive and nourishing environment. It has already been quite the experience.

When I landed in New York City, I was so excited! People were so helpful with directions and carrying luggage and just about anything I needed. It was definitely contrary to the belief that New Yorkers couldn't be bothered.

I quickly got on my bus that would take me to the Port Authority where I would be meeting up with my fellow camp staff to take a bus out to the campsite. Driving through Manhattan for the first time was incredible! I was blown away! The buildings were all so tall, there were so many people and taxis, bright signs were everywhere, and the cars started honking even before the light had turned green. Like with any travel experience, I feel as though I'll never be able to quite capture the beautiful essence of the day into words. I was exhausted, but everything was so alive.

I met up with the rest of the staff around 3:00pm and we headed off to the camp reservation. I slept the entire way. When I awoke, we had just arrived to a large, beautiful piece of land. It has a lake and is surrounded by natural beauty.

It was fun having our first barbeque together that night. The staff is so rich and diverse. There are staff members from all over the United States and several different countries as well, including Ireland, the Netherlands, England, Turkey, and Australia.

After the first relaxing night of just getting to know each other, the next two days have been filled with training and planning. The staff that is here now is the program staff. We are each specialists in varying fields, such as nature, ceramics, African dance, and even circus arts! I am the art specialist. We are expected to create professional lesson plans to teach to the kids when they arrive on June 29th. The general counselors who help supervise the kids with us and are responsible for taking them around different parts of the camp arrive on the 20th and we do even more extensive training with them. So far, I have created about four lesson plans and have decorated and cleaned my art classroom to get ready for the arrival! It looks so cute! I love it!

It has been great bonding with different staff members during the cleaning of classrooms and lesson planning. I randomly made plans today with one of them to go to Niagara Falls on one of our days off! She is from that area and said that we will also have to get Rochester's best hot wings while up there.

Overall, it has been a great experience so far. It is definitely out of my comfort zone and can be a bit challenging at times, but I know the rewards will outweigh anything else in the end. I will just have to get used to showering with sow bugs and battling the spiders away from my art supplies! Plus, I am using this experience to get my internship credits for my Planning, Public Policy, and Management major at the University of Oregon. It's two great things in one - life-changing experience and credits!

My final thought, however, is that there is something about the West Coast. I am loving it here and soaking in the experience, but I keep thinking about that special place in the northwest - my home, the most amazing place on earth. I really should spend a summer in Eugene one of these years! We live in a truly special place over there.

Well, I should get going. It is time for bed because tomorrow I have to wake up for behavior management workshops and more work time on my lesson plans. I can't wait until the kids arrive! I get warm fuzzies just thinking about the opportunity I have to truly make a difference in their lives.