Dear Friends, Family, & Readers,
Since Kara has already written about Eco camp and our summer jobs I thought I would reflect somewhat poetically on our experience, since today is our last day at camp.
What is Eco Camp to me? It is the chance to make friends for a life time. It is a chance to explore the wilderness, be a kid, hit each other with towels, and say, “Hey, watch this!” Eco camp is a great experience for kids who need to be taken away from video games to learn what it means to truly play and interact socially with other kids. Throughout the camp I have been reminded of the kid inside of me that still wishes he could run as fast or play as hard as they do. It is a camp that has an immense diversity, like the island itself, ranging from Japanese, Korean, Palauan, Chamorro, Carolinian, Russian, etc. I know of very few places in the world where kids get the chance to interact with one another on a basic level and feel comfortable about it.
Eco Camp is run by Marianas Trekking, an outdoor tour company on the island, located at Marianas Resort. It was started by two guys Chris Nelson and a guy named Joe who used to work at one of the hotels on Saipan. Marianas Trekking has been doing Eco Camp for many years. This year has had somewhat smaller numbers than previous years, but that is o.k. From what some campers have told us the larger numbers of previous years left food out of the equation sometimes and there wasn’t enough to go around. Campers get the luxury of eating out of the all you can eat buffet at the Marianas Resort restaurant much to the chagrin of many tourists, but within an hour the campers are gone and all is peaceful and quiet. I say luxury because they serve a great assortment of food, which includes a nacho cheese fountain and chocolate fountain which are a big hit with the kids. Teaching portion sizes to young children, however, is difficult and kids have thrown up from eating too much food. They get all of this for the low price of about $5 per kid!
During the day campers play outdoor games such as clothespin tag, Uncle Dooger (a game Kara and I learned at Okoboji), kickball, etc. My favorite activity has been snorkeling/kayaking at the beach, and going on hikes/bike rides. We have been on trails like the Banadero Trail, the trail at Kalabera cave, & the Laderan Tangke Self-Guiding trail off of Radar Rd. in Marpi. I really enjoy such times with the kids and seeing their eyes open to the possibility of the outdoors. The pictures I have attached are of my time with the kids (but there were too many favorites for me to show all of them). I hope you enjoy! Sincerely, Grant
Picture Explanation:
1. Jake and I with campers on the Banadero Trail.
2. Me with one of my campers who was there for most of the camp's duration.
3. Jake a fellow teacher at school and co-worker at camp over the summer with a flower in his hair.
4. One of the Korean campers holding up a starfish.
5. Kara comforting a young Japanese girl having a rough first day (it got better after I gave her a piece of gum).
6. One of my crazy soccer playing campers.
7. A kid having fun in Saipan's 50 meter pool across the road from Marianas Trekking.
Saipan Time:
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