Life has highs and lows, with camp life being no exception...
Wednesday
I found Wednesday a particularly tough day. We had a lot of heavy and difficult topics to cover in training, it was very humid and I hadn't had a lot to eat for lunch. This resulted in me being very exhausted, particularly in the early afternoon. My mood was really low, and I really struggled through the day. I did well not to let it show, and stayed positive, but it was tough.
But with every low, there is a high...
The evenings entertainment was a team game called "Minute To Win It". We were split into 4 mixed teams of councillors, program staff and waterfront staff from all units. The game involved a series of smaller games, involving varying number of team members, but all lasting 1 minute. At the end of each game, points were awarded based on who finished first, or got closest in the time. The challenges varied from blowing bubbles through a hula hoop, picking up M&Ms with a straw, and passing a playing card using only lips.
Out team was 'Unity' and won the majority of the challenges. It came to the final round - the music quiz. We were ahead, but needed to maintain the lead. When 2 of my favourite artists came on (Kings Of Leon and Coldplay. Everyone knows how much I love Coldplay, and camp picked that up quickly), my hand shot up for both winning us the points needed to win the game. In the words of Heather Small (or indeed Miranda Hart), what have you done today to make you feel proud?
That evening was amazing, and was enough to turn what was a really rubbish day, into one of the best (if not the best) days on camp so far. Every time I'm low on camp, I will remember this day, and use it to keep going.
Thursday
Thursday was another tough day. It involved very serious training on health and safety topics. Part of this involved the procedure if a camper goes missing. Waterfront's role in this is hard. To demonstrate how hard the role of the lifeguard is, we had to perform (while camp watched in awe) a very hard procedure called the lost swimmer drill (or deep water line search). This is basically a deep water search, in case the victim entered the water. If you have ever seen police searching through rivers/open water on the news, it essentially that.
The drill involves us free diving about 4m to the bottom of the lake, and searching/swimming a few stokes along the bottom, before resurfacing. This is repeated until collectively, the whole of the swimming area is covered. I would consider myself a very strong swimmer, in very good health and with a high degree of fitness, but when it was complete, I climbed onto the dock and pretty much collapsed with exhaustion. 4/5 of the other lifeguards were the same. That is how tough the drill is.
But, as it was just a practice, I kept in mind that my first proper night off was tonight, and we were heading to the nearby shopping centre. It helped me realise, that no matter how tough it would be, I had a real high to look forward to.
The shopping centre was The Palisades, and is actually the 2nd largest in the US (which is really something, because everything in America is huge. It was essentially a glorified temple to capitalism. Literally every store you could imagine (except Primark. Boooo) was there - and we only made it into the vast minority of them.
It was great to finally have a night off. Staff training and lifeguard training hasn't always been easy, but it has been mostly fun. One final day to go tomorrow, before the kids arrive on Saturday.
I decided to write this post to show, like anything in life, camp life isn't always easy. There are low points on camp, but there will be several highs round the corner. Stay positive, and your summer on camp will be the best you will ever have. I've been sticking to that mentality, and can honestly say I'm having a truly amazing time.
PS: Photos are now on Facebook of the time so far... https://www.facebook.com/cutleree/albums/4472571428343/?refid=17&_ft_&__tn__=C
PSS: Thanks for all the positive feedback about the blog. It's been a great way for me to get some downtime, and reflect on my time so far. Really glad you're enjoying it!