The first kid to talk to me on the bus

[Dave]

Two years ago I started working at the JCC Camps in Medford, a day camp in Medford, New Jersey. They provide bus transportation to and from camp. They have 42 school busses (38 of them being full sized school busses). I was on one of the big ones. For the first couple of weeks, as I got used to camp, I was still alone on the bus. I'd sit and look out the window the entire time. Why? Well I'm a shy/quiet person.

It wasn't until the third week of that camp summer that ever said two words on the bus. One of the campers on the bus came up to me and asked me a question. I answered him and that was all I said on the bus that day. The next day that kid sat with me and for the rest of the summer we became best friends on the bus. On the last day of camp, he gave me a hug before he stepped off the bus. It was a sad moment. Last summer we were still friendly, although I was much more social so I made a lot more friends on the bus. Still to this day, it's because of him that I love camp as much as I do. When I fell into the dreaded post-camp depression ( :P ), he was the first kid I missed. The next summer he was the first camper from the bus I saw again after the long winter.

[speedx5xracer]

congrats you were able to bond w. a camper. I have had many campers bond with me over the dumbest things every where from i was the one who talked to them while they were kayaking or i was the one who helped them when they were home sick. Its a great feeling.

[Dave]

congrats you were able to bond w. a camper. I have had many campers bond with me over the dumbest things every where from i was the one who talked to them while they were kayaking or i was the one who helped them when they were home sick. Its a great feeling.
Same here. There was one kid in my bunk last summer who like to act out the musical Cats. I became his favorite counselor because I was the only one who agreed to sit down and watch him dance and sing.

[simdude]

That was a nice story Dave. hopefully i'll be able to bond with the kids when I start working at camp.

[camper]

awww dave what a cute story!!! I really don't remember the first conversations i had w/my campers...i don't even remember them all getting off the buses all i remember is them putting on a song and us all dancing when they all got there haha.

[Dave]

awww dave what a cute story!!! I really don't remember the first conversations i had w/my campers...i don't even remember them all getting off the buses all i remember is them putting on a song and us all dancing when they all got there haha.
Actually, I don't really remember the first conversations I had with my campers either, but since that was my first year working at camp, and because he was the one kid who got me more active and social on the bus, I guess it sticks out in my memory. That first summer, he was my favorite kid at camp (and he wasn't even in my bunk)!

[CAMPFRIEND]

You never know what you will mean to a camper. Try to talk to as many as you can. I can still rember the first counselor to talk to me. I was back when I was 6!! Oh I feel old:eek:
________
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[Dave]

One of his brothers wanted me to babysit them. Unfortunately that never happened. If I'm bus counselor next summer for our bus I'm definitely going to talk to their parents about babysitting. I know all three of them would love it.

[YUrocks!]

I once had a ten year old male camper who loved Cher and would walk around camp singing Cher songs.

[SWTexan]

I'll never forget the time that I was observing the last day of an activity class and the staff was doing a great job getting the kids to talk about positive stuff from their summer. The sr. counselor was asking each kid who their favorite counselor on staff was, and why. To my total surprise, one of the kids said that I was his favorite because I had helped him in his riflery class when he had a broken arm two summers before. I hadn't even thought of it being all that special...he was in class and my job was to make sure that the kids had fun and possibly learned something along the way. The kid next to him said "yeah, you always know that whatever Christian teaches will be fun." Being there for that conversation made my summer. I still think about that a lot, and it happened four years ago.

[Dave]

I'll never forget the time that I was observing the last day of an activity class and the staff was doing a great job getting the kids to talk about positive stuff from their summer. The sr. counselor was asking each kid who their favorite counselor on staff was, and why. To my total surprise, one of the kids said that I was his favorite because I had helped him in his riflery class when he had a broken arm two summers before. I hadn't even thought of it being all that special...he was in class and my job was to make sure that the kids had fun and possibly learned something along the way. The kid next to him said "yeah, you always know that whatever Christian teaches will be fun." Being there for that conversation made my summer. I still think about that a lot, and it happened four years ago.
I love moments like that, when a kid tells you that you're their favorite. :) Let's you know you've done a good job.

[Marzz]

I had a camper who decided we were twins because we are both allergic to pennecillian. LOL

The best feeling though was when I had a parent tell me that the day after her daughter returned from camp she found her bawling her eyes out because she missed me, her favorite counselor, so much.