biggest surprises

[CampLisa]

what was the biggest surprise that you had when you first started working at camp?

[Trees]

I grew up going to camp, so my surprises would be different from other people... when I first started as a staff member, I was surprised at how much more "outdoors" the camp was than I was used to (no buildings at all, really). Also, how many staff members didn't really know much about camp or the outdoors or Girl Scouts.

[annknee]

i would definately agree with that - ive grown up in th eutdoors and at Guide camps, but a lot of the people there had never been to GS or Guides and had no idea about any of the traditions (i would say about 80%).

As an international staff member I was also suprised by the number of people who were going to camp but viewed it as a holiday - one person i spoke to was going to a Jewish camp and expected sausage and bacon every morning, some one else who was at a camp in WA had only brought shorts because he thought the weather would be as hot as TX!

[camper]

i was just surprised at the general differences between being a camper and a counselor...and how tiring being a counselor can be!

[campnerd99]

I haven't been a 'full' counsellor yet, just a Jr.Counsellor/Volenteer Counsellor sort of thing. I grew up at camp & for me the biggest thing was seeing counsellors as normal people & friends not just counsellors.
I'm not sure that makes sense or not but I think you know what I mean?

[Smudge]

My first year at camp I was looking forward to being able to have a shower when I got to camp - it took 3 days of travel to get there so I really needed a shower. But when I got to camp the shower house hadn't been cleaned yet (they were waiting for the internationals to arrive to have us clean it - cos they didn't think about the fact that we might actually need a shower when we got to camp) and as we went into the shower house that first day we were dive boomed by the bats who had been living in the shower over the winter and didn't like it when we put the lights on. While I had been expecting the camp to be fairly basic as it was a GS camp which covered inner city Boston but I wasnt expecting not to be able to shower.

[these.city.lights]

we were dive boomed by the bats who had been living in the shower over the winter and didn't like it when we put the lights on.

Haha, how would the bats know the lights had been turned on?

Just kidding!

Great story, that must have been hell wanting to shower really bad and not being able to.

[Smudge]

Yes it was. I really could have cried but then we got to the cabin and found that all the cots sank in the middle and decided to name our beds after ships that had sank and that cheered me up.

It was kinda funny too cos it reminded me of when I went camping with some of my friends from church, on Arran and we went for a 2 am country walk in our PJs and there were bats (and 1 of the girls who was with us was scared of them)

[these.city.lights]

Haha, good times as Justin Lee Collins would say.

I hope we have the "little things" like calling the beds differnet names. Its things like that that cheer you up.

I had a 4am Run today. Well I say that, I was at a friends house and it was time to leave for bed and cos it was late it was quite sketchy so I ran all the way home. Took like 10 minutes!

[Smudge]

I didn't know 4 am existed.

I couldn't run home from any of my friends homes cos the nearest one is something like 7 miles away - in another town and the others at several hundred miles away in the midlands. I dont blame you for running home at time - why didn't you just stay over night and come home at a reasonable time.

Just for interest - the beds names were titanic, Mary Rose, lisatania (i dont know how to spell it) and the russian sub the Kirsche (or how that is spelt).

[laurathistle]

I would have called my bed the Bellgrano.

[KiwiCRB]

I was on a canoing trip and the girls started naming boats and one of them had a pirate flag sticker on it so they decided to call it Betsy (because obviously Betsy is a name associated with pirates?) Well that's my name but they didn't know it because we go by camp names so everytime they would say something about the boat I would turn around or look in that direction so they figure out pretty quickly that my name was also Betsy. Oh well, it was a fun trip.

[Smudge]

That sounds fun - i might have to do that this summer as I may be on canoe trips.

[campCardinal]

Biggest surprise of being a counselor? Well, every time I've taken a new position, I've been surprised.

When I was a first year JC -- I was surprised at how difficult being a counselor was. I was constantly running around to be at my activity areas on time (our JC's run the different activities). So, I would have to make it to my activtity, run it all day, and then clean up and run to the meals -- leave the meals early to prepare for my next group, etc. It was exhausting.

My first year as a cabin counselor-- I was shocked to realize how much more challenging it is to be with the campers every moment of the day rather than just running the activities. For instance, when I used to run an activity a cabin would only be there for 30-45 minutes... so if the kids were crazy, they left quickly. However, now, if the kids are crazy... I'm with them all day! It can be so exhausting!

My second year as a cabin counselor was exciting and fun. I learned how to have a lot of fun with my job and was surprised to find out how many new counselors were looking to me as an example for them. I didn't realize that they were modeling after me!

My last summer as a cabin counselor, I was a senior cabin counselor. So, they paired me with the youngest counselors. That was a challenge. I was surprised how little they knew... and then realized I was probably the same way... so I had to be paitient and just work with them so that they will eventually be leading the new counselors the following summers.

I'm excited that this year I'm going to be on the leadership staff. It should be fun and exciting... and I'm sure challenging.