The people. The uniforms. The fun.

So I'm trying to figure out how to update this blog by phone in case I don't take my computer, so bear with me.

These are all the amazing camp adventure counselors from WSU. They're going to do great things!

So I'm sure you are super jealous of our uniforms, I'll admit they are pretty stellar. I might let you borrow it if you're extra nice to me, maybe. Contain your excitement, please.

Preparation

So.. You're preparing to travel halfway across the world. 


For 3 months.
You will be working on a military base.
You will be responsible for the emotional/mental/physical well being and growth of an unspecified number of middle school aged children. 
Your plane ticket and departure airport info is TBA but, apparently you're supposed to leave in a week to two weeks.
You haven't packed.
You don't know what base you're living on.
You don't know your living conditions (as in hotel/apartment/barracks/box on the street corner).
You've planned a trip afterwards to go to a country that currently is under Martial Law. 

You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, but you're about to pee your pants of excitement. 
Oh, you're a Camp Adventure counselor too?  


As most of you may already know, I am going to Okinawa Japan to be a summer camp counselor on a military base for two and a half months, then off to Thailand with Taylor to be good old fashioned tourists. As opposed to battling time changes and busy schedules to update ya'll on my adventures, I'll be posting (hopefully) often on this blog. I'll still try to make phone calls happen, but this may be a little more consistent than the phone. Plus, this comes with photo documentation.


As stated above, I have very little information on what to expect. Don't worry, this is a very credible program and I know many who've participated and had the most amazing experiences of their lives. The program is amazing. The people are amazing. The places are amazing. But they're a little more fluid than I'm used to. And if you ever even met me, even if only briefly, you are aware that I have a bit of a type A personality. I like plans. I like schedules. I like having my departure and return date, oh I don't know, more than a week in advance. Needless to say, this is causing a little bit of anxiety in my life. But hey- the best experiences come from when you went out of your comfort zone, right? 


Let's hope so. 


But I've been practicing my camp songs pretty much constantly (not everyone else thinks it is as fun as I do) and singing the Purple Stew skit song at work as I stir the powerade mix into 10 gal coolers (CA counselors will know exactly what I mean). I'm armed with index cards of games/songs/creative arts/behavior management, books on the program and youth development, and my god given gifts of curiosity and enthusiasm. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.


I've never been more excited.