Life at Tour (de Buis)

I will write in more detail later, but this is just a quick note to assure that I am still alive and well. Three weeks of spring session were fun, and summer session starts today. We have been preparing for the last three days, so the days have been long and stretched out, but productive. I have been coloring a lot, which I love. I am teaching again this session, and looking forward to it. I like all the counselors here at the new site, so it should be a fun couple of weeks. It is a bit strange adjusting to camp names again, since at BAFA we were going by our real names, mostly. I am starting to feel like I have multiple personalities; CK and Amy are not the same person, and since camp hasn't started yet I have been both all week.

BAFA training was an interesting experience last week. It was an excericise both in being a camper and a counselor. More on this later.

I got to my new site on Tuesday after spending a relaxing three days in Bordeaux. The new site, Tour de Buis, is known as the best camp food in Amvil (American Village). Regardless, I am sick of camp food already. It isn't bad, but it's repetitious and mostly prepackaged or canned, which I hate. I would stop eating entirely, but we have to try everything just like the kids, so it will be two months of bad food. Small portions is key here. On the upside, there is a wonderful automatic coffee maker which we have access to at all time of the day. What a perk!

I have some pictures I will post when I have some extra time too. A child stole my memory card on the last night of last session, which was disappointing, but I think I had most of the good pictures off of it already, and others have taken many pictures as well.

Well, that's all for now. Hope this finds everyone well; email when you have time. Signing off - CK

My first week...

I have finished my first week here at the American Village camp in Mt. D'Olmes. High in the Pyrenees mountains, the weather has been unpredictable at best. It snowed on Monday, we have fog daily and at any given time of day, though a little sunshine has made it's way through as well. An english immersion camp, it's hard to tell how much the kids understand. We have two hours of English class in the morning, and the rest of the day is left to entertainment and activities. As counselors, we spend a lot of time dressing up and jumping around, singing songs, and attempting to keep the kids' attention, which isn't always easy. The group (of 52 kids) that we had last week is apparently the worst group that any of the veteran counselors have ever seen. It was definitely difficult to keep them from going wild and being loud, but if that is as bad as it gets, then I have hope for the summer. I was just getting to know and like the kids when we had to send them away. A few of the kids cried, they all wanted us to take their pictures, or take ours, and we finally got them all onto the bus. Doing one last cheer for them to watch through the windows, we waved cheerfully (knowing wine was waiting for us indoors to toast their departure) when suddenly a very big noise sounded from the other side of the bus...a tire had blown. All the kids filed back inside. We weren't sure what to do because technically we weren't working anymore, nor did we have to entertain or help the teachers, but in order to keep our own sanity we jumped in and attempted to keep them entertained and organized. We played some loud music a while for dancing, and let them play games in the snack area. Five hours later, we again put them on the bus and held our breaths until they made it onto the road. A cheer sounded throughout camp as we waved after them, no longer feeling sad at their departure.

Yesterday, a French guy (our director, but he didn't take us as our director, just as a French guy) took us to a castle on top of a mountain. It was beautiful and we got a history lesson on the last battle of the Cathars and saw the field where the almost 300 Cathars were burned at the stake after refusing to renounce their beliefs.

Today the new counselors arrived, and they are all veterans, which makes both Spritz and I feel a little better, since we are still new. I am not sure I can do this again this week, but once everything starts, things begin moving so fast there is really no time to think about how idiotic we are acting. It is so out of my nature to be gregarious that I am struggling with the bulk of the work for this job, but I am really enjoying the ESL teaching. The rest of it just kind of happens, and again, I hope the summer goes fast. I think ultimately it will be a good experience to have had, though not one I will want to repeat.

The camp is beautiful though, and while working, the kids are fun. Remember to email me with any news, or any non-news. I get the chance to check my email often and would love to hear all or anything that is happening with everyone outside of this camp. It is good to have news of the real world, especially since it is so surreal being here. It really is one big act, nothing real at all, so hearing about the real lives of real people would be a nice change from time to time.