Eco Camp Summer 2011

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to blog about my experience at Eco Camp since it ended last Friday. It was definitely one of the most fun jobs I've ever had. This summer I was with the Sea Turtles(4-6) and Coconut Crabs (7-9). I worked with 2 other girls named Joy and Risa. So we tag teamed all summer with leading games and working with the kids. I think the best part about camp was that the kids got the opportunity to experience new things. For example not every kid had been on a horse before and it was so neat to watch their eyes when they got on for the first time. It was also a lot of fun to teach them new things as well. I enjoyed teaching kickball, baseball, soccer, jump rope, and other fun camp games. I ended up playing games that I had played in the past and it is amazing how camp games spread like wildfire all over the globe. My favorite game to teach was Uncle Dooger, from our good old days at Ingham Okoboji Bible Camp. The kids loved this game and wanted to play more than once a week. I loved to get to know the kids on a personal level and each kids personality was so unique. One kid that was there all summer named, Sooa, was the cutest little Korean girl. She could speak perfect English and was a little spit fire. It was fun bonding with her over the summer. Most of the kids would be there for 1-2 weeks but some would come for just a day. It was one of those jobs that you just had to be ready for any amount or kind of kid. There were local kids, Russians, Koreans, and Japanese kids who attended the camp. It was hard at times to get the message across if the camper did not speak English but it was amazing how easy it is to play or explain games to kids who do not speak English. One of the random things that I will always remember is when one kid jumped in the pool with his clothes and backpack on and I remember yelling at him in English why that was wrong and him totally just smiling at me. Kids never cease to surprise me. It was nice getting to travel with Grant to and from work. At times we would combine with the older kids for a game and it was nice to work with him then.
Normally our group of kids was 10-20 kids and then the last week was 30 kids and the entire camp had 90 kids. The last week kids who had a parent in the army could go to camp for free(it was paid for by the Army Reserve Kids Enrichment Program) and so that meant a lot more kids to watch. I had 30 (4-6 year olds in my group) and so all of us counselors split as leaders of each group. It was a hard week and I missed the other people who I had previously worked with. So needless to say it was very crazy and not my favorite week of camp. I was sentimental with leaving camp on the last day just because I thought back to all the kids I had met and gotten to know and it made me realize how fulfilling my job really was. I also got a big hug from Sooa who understood what I meant when I said I would not be there next week.
Overall it was a great experience, I got a farmers tan, and I got to play with kids all summer which is the best part.
As with Saipan, we are busy now with getting ready for school and school starts next Monday... crazy! More blogs will come about our anniversary in Tinian, getting ready for school, and meeting the new teachers.