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Greetings Camp Augustinians! I’m back at camp for round three this summer, and this year I am honored to serve as the Cedar Village Leader! Yes, that does rhyme, which is helpful for me because poetry has never been something I am very good at…I’ll take all the help I can get. Camp is promising to be outrageous this summer (and that’s a good thing!). There is a new ropes course element going up, which I hear is the craziest thing to come along since they started slicing bread, and our arsenal of foam weaponry has increased to a point of medieval-battle insanity! There is even going to be a whip and lasso clinic! I’ve started trying to learn beatboxing in my spare time (true story!), but it remains to be seen if it will be performance-ready by the time that camp starts. My 30+ hours of driving time to California will allow me plenty of time to practice!
After camp ended last summer, I decided that I just had not had enough camp and so I decided to stay until Christmas! Yes that’s right, I got to enjoy the beauty of Camp Augusta for the entire fall. Though, for as lovely as it was, I must say that it was at times sad, because you all were not there to bring it to life. Still, I had the privilege of watching Lake Vera get drained (ask me for photos if you are interested; it is kind of shocking to see a grass field replace the area that we swim in all summer long), and I also was able to see Gypsy Falls absolutely ROAR after a few mammoth rainfalls. I worked in the office during these months with a dedicated crew to help get things rolling for this coming summer. And let me tell you, working on activities for camp over nine months in advance has made me absolutely crazy with excitement to put them into action this summer! I am doing jumping jacks as I write this to try to work off some of my energy!
January brought me COMPLETELY across the country to the little town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where I was hired to do research for the E.F. Schumacher Society. The Schumacher Society does work in regional and local economies, and, I know, it doesn’t sound all that interesting at first. But wait! Not only do they do incredibly interesting land work with a model called Community Land Trusts, but they have also printed their own money! Ask me to show you some when you get to camp. The money is called BerkShares, and you can only spend it in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. You can take the green dollar bills (or 5s, 10s, or 20s) you may have in your wallet right now to a bank in Great Barrington, and exchange them for these BerkShares, with which you can then buy your food, books, propane, etc…Now why would anyone want to spend these BerkShares? Well first, they are beautiful with original artwork, and they also support local businesses and merchants. It’s a really fun way to buy the things that you need, and it also supports the businesses within that community.
The winter in Massachusetts was harsh! For the first 5 weeks after I arrived, there was freezing rain at least 5 days a week! I’d had grand visions of afternoons and evenings of snowshoeing and cross country skiing, followed by a cup of tea and a book in front of the fire in my living room. Instead, I spent my days fighting my way across the apple orchard I walked through to get to work, slipping and sliding and getting soaked! I have some nifty little metal spikes called “crampons” that I can strap onto my boots, and I usually only wear these for walking across frozen mountain tops. But for 4 weeks I had to wear them every single time I left my house! It was crazy, and truly a challenge to simply walk to work every day. And since there was all ice and no snow, and therefore no snowshoeing or skiing, I had to figure out a way to get some exercise, because I go bonkers without it! And so running was my solution, and I would run in full raingear and hiking boots, dodging patches of ice and banks of slush, and getting covered in a freezing blast of sleet as the plows would drive past in a futile effort to keep the roads safe. It might sound like I’m being dramatic, but it’s the truth! It was a great test of will and trying to keep a positive attitude, and it has given me a new respect for those that endure that type of winter every year!
Well, as has been tradition for the last three years now, this last paragraph is reserved for what I will be doing after camp. And in keeping with that tradition, I still have no idea! There are a few things on the table, including possible projects in El Salvador and/or Uganda. I am also considering some work in environmental law around San Francisco. And there are a few teaching positions that I’m interested in as well. These themes of experiential education and law continue to stay present in my mind, and are things that I find extremely interesting and important. I’m still not sure how best to utilize my skills and talents within those fields, but I am continuing to explore and learn, and am trying to live with more understanding and compassion as I participate in this great experience that we call life. Trying to keep the larger issues of social justice in mind while still living everyday to its fullest is a big challenge, but working on these challenges through conversations and interactions is one of my favorite things to do. Camp is one of my favorite places in the world to grow and have these types of conversations, and I simply cannot wait to get back there and continue growing, learning, and having fun with all of you.
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