Wow. It's been a while since I wrote and a lot has happened in terms of my personal life and with camp. For starters,last Thursday was the last day of camp from the first session which means some volunteers have already left while others are settling in. It's quite the contrast in terms of group dynamics and size--there were 11 of us, 4 left and now there are 16! It's sad that our friends have left but it also means a whole new set of adventures with the new volunteers. It's a little crazy to think the first group of volunteers have already been here for a month and that I leave in less than a month!
Camp has trucked along quite smoothly, some days obviously tougher than others. For Kristin and myself, it has been a challenge thinking of new ideas but we try our best to mix it up. We've been doing different variations of dodgeball, playing some capture the flag and SPUD among other classics like octopus, what time is it mr. wolf and the like. It's definitely harder with the younger kids when they don't really understand the concept of some of the games or are just not too enthused. Sometimes the hardest thing is getting people to want to play out in the sun because apparently Dominicans don't like getting darker. It's funny because all the counsellors are expected to be out in the sun even though we get super dark and-or burn yet the kids just don't want to be in the sun because it is hot... Dominicans rarely burn.
In terms of the number of kids at camp, numbers have dropped and are now at a steady consistent few. Groups are manageable and games are relatively fun with the people who are at camp because they want to be. Fiona was away in Canada for a week a little while back but Anthony did a great job keeping camp running despite a few unforeseen obstacles that took us all by surprise. In fact, I am still sometimes worried about it but there is only so much we can do.
There is lice at camp. It's not super bad such that almost ever kid has it but a few kids have been found to have lice. It means that the wigs and props at drama are not being used anymore and no more touching kids' heads to tell them they're doing a good job. The problem posed a bit of a challenge for us because lice seems to be moreso of a North American problem. If I'm being honest, it doesnt seem to be a concern for Dominicans. First off, many of them have thick hair such that they are not susceptible to having lice. Otherwise, families simply do not have a good understanding of what lice really is. They don't think they can get it themselves or they don't think you can get lice again. Other than that, many Dominican families simply do not care--they don't necessarily have the resources to purchase expensive shampoos to wash their heads and whatnot. So when we found out about lice, we simply told everyone to get their heads checked at home and to not come back yet if they have it and get it treated. The reality is, a lot of the kids probably did not tell their parents and if they did, their parents may not have done anything about it. Shortly after, we found lice in a few more kids but I think the problem has stablizied since then. I really don't know if there will be an end to it but it definitely was interesting to see the concern for lice coming solely from a North American perspective. It's funny how something that bothers and affects us has little impact in a completely different context.
Second unfortunate event that occurred had to deal with some bad luck during a kid's time out. Apparently, they were sat on an ant hill and got bitten many times and had an allergic reaction. Obviously none of the counsellors wanted that to happen nor would we have allowed it if we knew they were sitting on an ant hill. Parents were involved and it really seemed to leave a dark cloud over camp as we were concerned about the impact it would have in terms of kids showing up. Would we have been seen as unusually mean counsellors for a kids camp? Fortunately the issue was resolved and camp has been running regularly since. We did modify our child discipline plan, if you will, to bring all matters to Anthony and Fiona so there is a central area where bad behavior is dealt with.
Aside from those two incidents, camp was super smooth and the song I did was super well received in morning circle. I did baby shark, some of you may know it. In fact, I've had this in the back of my mind for a while so I guess it really has been a while since I've blogged. But the day after I did my song, the kids requested baby shark the next day to the point where they were chanting --El Chino, El Chino...-- it was kind of funny and also very touching. There is always tons of enthusiasm for all the songs and we definitely saw that at olympic day last Thursday to mark the end of the first session of camp. We had a full day of events where the kids were divided into three houses. The oldest with the youngest, the 2nd oldest with 2nd youngest and the two middle groups together. Games were fun and super competitive because everyone wanted to win. It was SUPER close where the teams had 216, 217 and 218 points going into the final event. In the end, the Green & Red team, my team won! It is definitely a day to remember and I am really looking forward to the next Olympic day at the end of the 2nd session.
On a note away from camp, we as counsellors had a baseball day, we have been hitting the beaches still and had a games night at Anthony and Fiona's while Fiona was gone. Again, somehow my team got owned in baseball... maybe it's me? but we had fun nonetheless. Games night at Anthony and Fiona's was excellent as we played the name game again, we should definitely play when I come back to Canada to whoever is reading this. Apparently when I guess names or give clues I sound really mean and kind of like Hitler. I guess we'll see.
The new volunteers arrived this past weekend and we partied pretty hard. There was a party in the park and it was definitely the busiest I have EVER seen it. Presidente, the beer company, was hosting a party with a stage and everything and at first we just went close to the stage and danced together while everyone else kind of watched. It was kind of awkward but at the same time not because we were just doing our own thing and having fun. The next thing we know, they started asking for people to go on stage for who knows what. We ended up getting Mike and Kristin up on stage together and our host mom, Yaniris! It was awesome. Little did we know it ended up being a dance competition in pairs so we all cheered super loud for those we knew but to be honest it was well deserved. Mike & Kristin ended up winning the whole thing and won a flat of beer which we all shared in the park. Dancing ensued at the disco and it was probably the most fun I've had in the Dominican thus far in a single night. It was fantastic.
Going back to camp, today was the first day of the second session, I think I already mentioned. It was odd to start because there were ALMOST more counsellors than kids. Maybe it was the day off on Friday where we didn't have camp, or it seemed like some of the kids thought camp was over because we had olympics on Thursday but it started out pretty slow. Soon enough, fortunately, more kids trickled in and we got into our groups. Taylor, the new volunteer working at Individual Sports with me, jumped right in and we worked super well together. It is nice too that now there are enough counsellors that we have some floaters that come around to both play and help out running things back and forth for relay races and whatnot. We played some pulpo, limbo, cricket and relay races today and had a blast. The week is planned and I'm definitely looking forward to a great 4 weeks working with Taylor.
Until next time... I miss all of you in Canada :)
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