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Hi guys! My name is Meg and as the little ditty above says, I am returning for my fifth summer at Augusta. This year, I will be the Manzanita Village Hero/Leader/Costume Coordinator and I am thrilled to be working closely with an amazing group of counselors and of course, all the Manzi girls!
For this years bio, I have chosen to share with you some highlights of the last year. This was my first year out of school and, though I already miss being a student, not going to class every day sure opens up a lot of time for adventure!
So, sit back and enjoy the ride through the last year of my life!
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Graduation! Last June, I bid adieu to University of California, Santa Barbara! Friends and I decorated our caps so our parents would be able to find us in the crowds. The puff-paint skills demonstrated on my cap are directly related to my four years at camp so far. My graduation was very special, because I got to share it with my parents and grandmother, who are all very important people in my life. We got to spend some time in Santa Barbara and visit before I headed to camp last year. The picture below was taken at the Harbor where I leaned to sail my senior year. Sailing counts as a university course, you may ask? Absolutely.
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Shortly after graduation, I arrived at camp! Last year I spent three weeks co-counseling the CIT (now CIRCLE) Program and could not have been prepared for what a fun, challenging and rewarding time it turned out to be! Each day, I became more impressed by the level of dedication and energy put into it by our CITs and my co-counselor Chad, as well as all the other staff at Augusta that pitched in to really make the program magical. Some of the CITS from past years will be returning as Junior Counselors this year and I am quite excited to see what crazy shenanigans they may bring with them this time!
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After camp ended, 13 of us Augusta staff packed our cars full of water, sleeping bags and tutus and headed out into the Nevada Desert for the Burning Man Art Festival. What a spectacle! Constant costumes, art from all around the world and amazing desert surroundings, who could ask for more? Oh, and I am always up for a week without showering.
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As fall approached, myself and four other camp friends were putting the final touches on our plan to head South to Central America. At the same time, my brother was preparing to spend the winter in Thailand. Since we were both leaving before the holidays, we decided to create, “Thanks-o-ween” to make sure we had a chance to carve pumpkins and cook a turkey before heading out. This turned into quite an extravaganza with lots of people, lots of food and a little bit of cheating on the pumpkin-carving contest. This also turned out to be a wonderful way to see all the support and love my brother and I had as we headed out into the world.
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On October 19th, myself, Lizy, Sophie and Jake were all heading down to the capital city of Guatemala. We saw a little bit of Guatemala before quickly heading into Belize. After staying in Belize for only a few days, I headed back into Guatemala by myself and enjoyed some harrowing bus rides before finding a wonderful place called Lago Atitlan to explore for a week. Next, we all met up in a city called Xela and worked on our Spanish for a month. I am proud to say that my Spanish become relatively discernable during that time but sad to say, that since then, I have lost most of it. I still sometimes dream in Spanish and often try to recap my day in Spanish before going to sleep.
Next, was Nicaragua! Our group had dwindled by Christmas but Sophie and I were eager to spend our Christmas on the beach. We did just that!
We found a funny little hide-away just north of San Juan del Sur on the West coast of Nicaragua and even set up a small Christmas tree in our room! The picture below was taken at Christmas Eve Dinner. We ate ourselves sick!
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Two days after Christmas, I met up with my mom and we spent the last two weeks of my trip exploring jungles, volcanoes and beaches!
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Since my return, I have been busy at camp, preparing for the summer! The past couple months have been quite full of camp work, but we have also found some time to play! My inner child (pictured below) feels the weather beginning to warm, notices the presence of more people around camp, and can’t wait for another summer at Camp Augusta! See you all soon!
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