Working at camp

Wow, it is mid-summer, as how we call it here at camp. Actually, the end of summer is already in sight!
I almost can't believe it! Tomorrow will be the last day of session 4, and then we only have 2 sessions left! It feels so weird, like my summer is almost over. Luckily I still have a little more than 1,5 month because of my traveling after camp.
But before that is going to happen, let's make it trough session 5 and 6. And believe me, it is still a heck of a job. A lot of outside of camp people ask me how it is going and a lot of people inside of camp ask me if I want to come back next year. I don't know about that, a lot can happen in a year. Here they say, that the people who aren't sure if they want to come back are usually the first ones in the early winter to call our camp director and apply for the job again. We'll see about that....it is really hard to describe camp and my camp experience in one word. Camp life & counselor life have too many sides to it to come up with just one definition. The last couple of weeks I felt a bit stressed and overwhelmed again but there wasn't just one occasion or one element I could blame that on. It is just everything all togheter. It is working from 8 in the morning untill 10 or 12 at night, it is always consider other people, it is a lack of privacy, it is community living, it is always keep your eyes open for the safety and well being of 130 children, it is supervising your staff, it is making schedules that work out, it is dealing with problems, it is being there for the kids even tough you're having a rough day, it is acting in a way that is expected of you, it is following camp rules, it is missing your friends. Men, it is a job! So sometimes things don't work out the way I want it and the way I planned it.
But then again, this place has become an absolute part of me, this is a place I am not ready to say goodbye to, this is a place where I can learn even more about being a good leader and improve and test out all the skills I learned during my social work study, this is a place where I made over 40 international friends, this is a place where I can watch the stars and it makes me wonder if there are actually more stars here then in the Netherlands, this is a place where kids compliment you, make you smile, make you act crazy and make you improvise everyday, there has never been a place where I have sung more songs than here, this is a place where we teach kids and each other about respect, empowering and diversity.
Overall I am pretty much balancing between the good and the bad, the hard and the fun, the laughs and the cries. That may sound corny, but it doesn't make it less true.
In session 3 I had a hard time balancing between being a strong supervisor but also enjoying the things I did and really be in to the moment. I felt that I was too much in my head, too much in the schedule and that I couldn't really let go and experience the moment.
I told my supervisor and she complemented me with the fact that I am balancing those things out so well. She couldn't see that I had trouble with that. She said that off all the UC's I was the one that knew exactly when it was time to be serious, and that I am really professional at those times but that I also knew when to let go off that and that I can be silly and funny. That made me feel better. This session I had my midsummer evaluation. On there it said that my staff indeed wanted to see me more relaxed but that I had already made improvements on that and that they already had seen results. Also it said that I am really good in making schedules and that I do anything to make the wishes of the campers come trough when it comes to activities. That I am a good communicator, that I am there for my staff and the campers and keep the communication open and that I am approachable. It feels good to know that I am doing a good job :)
This week I felt more relaxt and I guess that is a good thing because we had one of the hardest groups ever. The other sessions, we had a couple of kids with behavior problems. That is a hard job and you have to be right on top of it. We have all kinds of procedures to follow and a whole behavior management plan. But usually it didn't effect the whole group. But this week it seems like our whole group is tough. The kids are all a bit more older and they are really sensitive. Real teenage girls. And if one starts crying everyone starts crying. They talk about their friends doing drugs, their family having cancer and we even have a girl that damages herself and she needs one on one conversations every day. Pretty intense! Also we can really feel that we miss a counsellor, did I already mentioned that one of my counsellors has been fired? So now I only have 2 counsellors left and we have 19 girls. And they also had a couple off disagreements this week to make it all a bit more out of control :D But I am still hanging in there and still got everything under control and I think we did a good job this week.

I had a very very nice break before this session with Chris.
We went to Pacific city to climb on a huge sand dune and chill and relax in the sun.
We got a cute hotel in Neskowin (were I also celebrated my birthday and the 4th of july) and we had a beautiful view on the beach and a lovely dinner. It was a very nice and relaxed break and we really have a good time togheter.
This break I will hang out on and around camp. It will be so nice to be in camp without having to work! Just sit on our beautiful beach, sleep in, post some pictures and do some shopping.
I think I will spend some time with Bear and Power Sphere from the kitchen.
Also some other good news is that I booked my hotel for New York today and 2 of my best friends Daphne & Sarah are going to join me! I am soooo looking foward to that! I already made plans with Daphne, but I wasn't sure about Sarah's plans so it was a sweet surprise to find out that she is going to make it!
The rest of my travelling is also very exciting, I will spend about a week in and around San Fransisco. Just doing some California lifestyle and descover some cool places.
The 31st of september I will go to Grass Valley to meet my dad and my brother. That is very very unique.
The 6th of september I will be with my grandparents, and my sweet grandma already came up with a couple of nice things for us to do so thats going to be a lot of fun! (and a lot of hot weather)
And then my girliegirlies in New York! Sooo coool!

Kiss!