I have approximately one and a half hours away from the kids today, but there are a couple of awesome updates that I really wanted to post. First and foremost, I have now been in charge of a cabin of ten girls all by myself for approximately 6 hours now and everything is going great! I got them and their luggage back to the cabin, spent half an hour helping them create their “community commitment” (basically the set expectations that they want to set for themselves for the their time here. Things like have fun, learn, be safe, make new friends, etc.), got them and everything they needed to lunch on time (and it is truly impressive when they actually remember all they need), got them to the high ropes activity early and helped all but one complete the entire course (my last cabin only had about half complete it, and the one that didn’t this time gave it a great effort but is just really scared of heights), and then got them all bundled up sent out for some sledding and archery. I think its going to be a great couple of days- they seem like really good kids. So whew, and wow, and yikes how much longer til I get to sleep?
Ok, now for the other quite exciting news. Yesterday we found out what our next project will be. I didn’t know this was even an option, but our team will be having a “split project” and will actually be doing two separate projects during round three. For the first month or so, we will be in Gary, Indiana. I can’t remember the name of the organization, but we will be working on rehabilitating damaged houses. Yay, more construction!!! On any other blog that would more than likely be a sarcastic statement, but nope, I’m am genuinely excited about reuniting with tools and getting some dirt back under these all too clean fingernails. Also very exciting is the close proximity to Chicago and all the wonderful opportunities that opens up. After that we will head straight to Iowa City, Iowa and spend the next couple of weeks working with some other organization whose name I have also forgotten doing environmental work. It sounds like there will be some invasive species mitigation and…drum roll please…if the weather conditions are good we should be doing some prescribed burns!!!!!!! Woohoo! I for one am super excited about both projects, but I was a bit surprised by the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of my team. Perhaps they will warm up to them once we finally get a decent night’s sleep and are able to stop obsessively counting our small but constantly moving wards. Speaking of which, it’s about time I head back, get them fed, play some dodge ball, wear them out in the pool, and then hopefully read them to sleep before any homesickness disasters arise. I’ve come a long way, but the tears still totally freak me out.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Unexpected Peace
I only have 15 minutes until breakfast so I’ll have to type fast, but after that I probably won’t have a real break until Friday afternoon so I wanted to make sure and squeeze in an update. You may be as shocked as I am to hear that the kids will be here in less than two hours and I’m not even freaking out. Weird. Last week was surprisingly easy. That school system provided their own counselors (high schoolers, now who thought that was a good idea?) so our job was mostly just to help run the activities. We didn’t have to eat with them or sleep with the cabins and we were really only supposed to interfere if there was a safety concern. I spent most of the time belaying at the climbing wall. It was great. 
At the same time though, it proved to be a rather unsatisfying week. We didn't really see any growth in the kids, and sure they had a good time, but it could have made so much more of an impact on them if they had let the Sherman Lake staff run it.
This week will be more like the first week we had with kids except that there will be one group of six graders here from this morning thru Wednesday at lunch and then another batch will come and be here thru Friday. I’ll be in a cabin with another counselor for the first half of the week but here’s some shocking news- I’ll be by myself for the second half…and I think I’m okay that!! Crazy, I know, but I've learned so much here and I really think it will be fine.
In other news, this was a pretty great weekend. Thursday was my birthday so we went out for Thai food and then came home, ate ice cream, and watched a movie. We had most of the day off on Friday, and I was able to have them drop me off in Kalamazoo for the afternoon. I went to the art museum, had a lovely lunch, went to a bunch of neat stores and antique shops, and basically just relished the chance to be alone and going wherever I wanted. It was delightful. That evening the YMCA was having a member climb night so we went to help out with belaying. There ended up being a bunch of really tiny kids, like 4 or 5 year olds. I still don’t think I’m very good with them, but I wasn’t really scared of them either. Huge progress. They were actually quite cute. I’m usually too preoccupied with planning my escape to actually appreciate the cute factor. Saturday we ran some errands and went out for dinner. Yesterday, I make heart shaped scones for breakfast, went to church, and then had about an hour and a half free so I opted to go for a hike. I was trying a new trail, which happened to not be marked very clearly and for the first time in forever I actually got sort of lost.
Normally no big deal, but we were supposed to be helping move gym equipment into the brand new rec center addition and it was not looking like I was going to make it back in time. With about 25 minutes left, I finally made it back to the trailhead, but then I still had about two miles left to run, in combat boots, in about 7 inches of fresh snow. Not fun. I think I went about 6 miles in an hour and a half, and let me tell you, that snow is brutal. I made it back on time, but I was exhausted and ended up with some pretty obnoxious blisters. 
Well, I guess that’s about all I have time for. Have a great week!
At the same time though, it proved to be a rather unsatisfying week. We didn't really see any growth in the kids, and sure they had a good time, but it could have made so much more of an impact on them if they had let the Sherman Lake staff run it.This week will be more like the first week we had with kids except that there will be one group of six graders here from this morning thru Wednesday at lunch and then another batch will come and be here thru Friday. I’ll be in a cabin with another counselor for the first half of the week but here’s some shocking news- I’ll be by myself for the second half…and I think I’m okay that!! Crazy, I know, but I've learned so much here and I really think it will be fine.
In other news, this was a pretty great weekend. Thursday was my birthday so we went out for Thai food and then came home, ate ice cream, and watched a movie. We had most of the day off on Friday, and I was able to have them drop me off in Kalamazoo for the afternoon. I went to the art museum, had a lovely lunch, went to a bunch of neat stores and antique shops, and basically just relished the chance to be alone and going wherever I wanted. It was delightful. That evening the YMCA was having a member climb night so we went to help out with belaying. There ended up being a bunch of really tiny kids, like 4 or 5 year olds. I still don’t think I’m very good with them, but I wasn’t really scared of them either. Huge progress. They were actually quite cute. I’m usually too preoccupied with planning my escape to actually appreciate the cute factor. Saturday we ran some errands and went out for dinner. Yesterday, I make heart shaped scones for breakfast, went to church, and then had about an hour and a half free so I opted to go for a hike. I was trying a new trail, which happened to not be marked very clearly and for the first time in forever I actually got sort of lost.
Normally no big deal, but we were supposed to be helping move gym equipment into the brand new rec center addition and it was not looking like I was going to make it back in time. With about 25 minutes left, I finally made it back to the trailhead, but then I still had about two miles left to run, in combat boots, in about 7 inches of fresh snow. Not fun. I think I went about 6 miles in an hour and a half, and let me tell you, that snow is brutal. I made it back on time, but I was exhausted and ended up with some pretty obnoxious blisters. 
Well, I guess that’s about all I have time for. Have a great week!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Many Deep Breaths Later...
Open mouth insert foot.
I stand corrected.
My bad.
Hmmm, well what do you know?
These are a few of the phrases that come mind regarding my attitude toward children for the last couple of decades. I'm not saying I'm a total convert or anything- I mean, given the choice between a week of manual labor or week with kids, or a root canal versus a day with kids, kids are probably still gonna lose- but turns out they are reasonably tolerable after all. The first day I had three goals: don't puke, don't pass out, and don't cry. I was all dizzy and sweaty and could barley get anything down during breakfast but it only took a couple of hours after the kids showed up to backup out of my panic zone and start functioning like a somewhat normal individual. I mostly accomplished my goals- I did cry, but it wasn't in front of the kids, so I don't really think it counts. After completing day one with unexpected ease and lack of disaster, day two came with a massive knot in my stomach that hung around all day. I think I was just so certain that I would fail in some spectacular manner that the anticipation was too much to handle. By day three I was beginning to realize that I may not end up cowering in a corner after all and that since none of them had fallen off a cliff or openly expressed their distain for me, there was a reasonable chance that it wouldn’t happen at all. In fact, they kept hugging me and wanting me to sit by them and teach them more yoga and all kinds of weird stuff like that. The day started fairly well but by the afternoon my patience reserve was running on empty and by this afternoon I was quite content watching those busses drive away with all their noisy, smelly, clingy, adorable contents. Overall, I think I really did a remarkably good job considering what I was up against. My co-counselor was wonderful (both with the kids and with me) and I think we did a pretty good job sharing the lead and making sure everything was covered. We got really lucky and had a great cabin of girls.
By the end, I was fairly comfortable interacting during activity times when there was something to actually do. Meal time and free time were still a little shaky. I'm just not a terribly social person and I would rather just be sitting in the background watching instead of trying to keep people entertained, but fortunately Erin was really good at getting them talking or excited about time filler games. So yeah, I'm alive, I'm convinced that I'll survive three more weeks of it, and as much as I hate to admit it I actually had a reasonable amount of fun this week. I'll be interested to see how I handle the first morning for this next go around. I'm curious how much of the receding terror had to do with getting to know these particular kids versus the degree to which I am "cured" of my phobia. I guess we'll just have to wait and see on Monday- seventh graders this time. Yikes.
I stand corrected.
My bad.
Hmmm, well what do you know?
These are a few of the phrases that come mind regarding my attitude toward children for the last couple of decades. I'm not saying I'm a total convert or anything- I mean, given the choice between a week of manual labor or week with kids, or a root canal versus a day with kids, kids are probably still gonna lose- but turns out they are reasonably tolerable after all. The first day I had three goals: don't puke, don't pass out, and don't cry. I was all dizzy and sweaty and could barley get anything down during breakfast but it only took a couple of hours after the kids showed up to backup out of my panic zone and start functioning like a somewhat normal individual. I mostly accomplished my goals- I did cry, but it wasn't in front of the kids, so I don't really think it counts. After completing day one with unexpected ease and lack of disaster, day two came with a massive knot in my stomach that hung around all day. I think I was just so certain that I would fail in some spectacular manner that the anticipation was too much to handle. By day three I was beginning to realize that I may not end up cowering in a corner after all and that since none of them had fallen off a cliff or openly expressed their distain for me, there was a reasonable chance that it wouldn’t happen at all. In fact, they kept hugging me and wanting me to sit by them and teach them more yoga and all kinds of weird stuff like that. The day started fairly well but by the afternoon my patience reserve was running on empty and by this afternoon I was quite content watching those busses drive away with all their noisy, smelly, clingy, adorable contents. Overall, I think I really did a remarkably good job considering what I was up against. My co-counselor was wonderful (both with the kids and with me) and I think we did a pretty good job sharing the lead and making sure everything was covered. We got really lucky and had a great cabin of girls.
By the end, I was fairly comfortable interacting during activity times when there was something to actually do. Meal time and free time were still a little shaky. I'm just not a terribly social person and I would rather just be sitting in the background watching instead of trying to keep people entertained, but fortunately Erin was really good at getting them talking or excited about time filler games. So yeah, I'm alive, I'm convinced that I'll survive three more weeks of it, and as much as I hate to admit it I actually had a reasonable amount of fun this week. I'll be interested to see how I handle the first morning for this next go around. I'm curious how much of the receding terror had to do with getting to know these particular kids versus the degree to which I am "cured" of my phobia. I guess we'll just have to wait and see on Monday- seventh graders this time. Yikes.
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