So, one session is now complete - and wow how time has flown. I have now been in the states just over one month, and it still seems like just yesterday I flew out. But it is done, and two more sessions remain.
My biggest learning point for the next session will be how I work with my bunk of children. So far, that is where I believe I am weakest at.
We had another very challenging evening a few nights back. It started at dinner time. After 4 nights of pasta, we had (in my opinion) a very good meal - rice with pinto beans and mixed vegetables. But, this wasn't entirely popular with the bunk. I encouraged them to eat at least some of it - and set them the option of having some, then they can have bread also. As most of them only wanted to eat bread, it was a big challenge to get them to eat to avoid them being hungry. This did though lead to a lot of tantrums at dinner time though, even if it did lead to them trying new things.
After the meal, I sat them down and explained why their behaviour wasn't great, and had them remind themselves of the rules for dinner. Personally, I think this was well handled, despite the tantrums. In fairness, I can remember when I was their age, my parents had huge challenges getting me and my brother to eat new foods. Now it has come full circle, I would like to the this opportunity to apologise to my parents for all those mealtimes.
The evening got far worse though. Due to short staffing, we had a challenging evening. To cut a long story short, we had just myself most of the night dealing kids struggling to pay attention, running off and fighting with each other. I also had 4 full temper tantrums, including 1 that continued all the way to 11pm. I was also hit repeatedly by 1 boy who wanted to go home. Needless to say, whilst I tried, this wasn't my greatest day on camp.
There was one thing though that stood out from the evening. One of the boys said at dinner, when all the others were refusing to eat, "Be thankful for the food you have, as some people in the world don't have enough to eat". This was from an 8 year old, who because of his background, may often not have enough to eat himself. It really helped put a perspective on things, and I will definitely remember that quote throughout camp.
But, there are some areas where I am really pleased with personally - with my swim teaching being my biggest strength. This session, I feel my level of teaching is far higher than session one 2014, and my lessons are fun, encourage progress and are well taught. Many swimmers have surpassed my expectations of them, and made huge efforts to improve. I also had one swimmer say they wanted to become a lifeguard here one day because of my teaching. And that is exactly why I am here: I love swimming, and have done it for 11 years now. If I can inspire even just 1 person to take it up for fun or as a lifeguard, then I will be satisfied.
Someone call the lifeguards
The main way of judging though the first session is, have I enjoyed it? Simple answer: yes. It has been up and down, but mostly positive. There is a literary term called pathetic fallacy. This is where weather is used in literature to describe mood. On camp, it has been mostly hot and sunny, with intermittent cloud and cold, stormy weather every now and then. My mood too has been full of sunshine, with some cloudy moments and big storms from time to time. But, both with my enjoyment of camp, and with the weather, the sun is still shining.
I am now done for a couple of nights and am going to enjoy some well earned rest. Along with about 50 others from camp, I'm heading to Jersey Shore for the weekend. Should be a good one!
