Welcome to Camp Runels 2018!
Just off the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border lies Little Island Pond. Through the trees and the forrest, nestles GSEM Camp Runels. A place I would be calling home for the next two months of my life in the United States.
After an exceptionally long day of travelling - including a flight from Glasgow and a change over at New York - I finally reach Boston Logan airport and begin the drive to camp. It's still weird to me to recall how excited and completely not at all nervous. I had just travelled across the Atlantic Ocean myself to meet (essentially) complete strangers and work at a summer camp? It sounds crazy but I deep down knew it was going to be the best experience of my life - which made me even more excited.
Little Island Pond
Pre-Camp is a week that to be honest I am finding quite difficult to describe. As counsellors, we do lot's of different trainings, ice breakers and certifications. To be honest though, it felt like I was a camper that week. I was in a new country, at a new camp, with people I had never met before. I was just finding my feet with everything - talking to new people and making first impressions. Not once did I regret my decision to come to camp that week - it is the week I thought I would struggle with but the truth is everyone is in the same boat. This entire week of pre-camp is all about prepping camp and prepping yourself. I learned how to be an effective counsellor - and how to deal with all different types of situations. I received a first-aid certification, I crossed the entire high ropes course, I did my swim test and I made my first ever cookout food over the fire! It really is just a week of a true camp counsellor training - you receive so much information that you cannot wait for the first group of kids to arrive to it clicks. So we reach the Friday of pre-camp. This weather has been sickly sweaty and we are all in a desperate need to cool off. And hey our prayers have been answered! Sprinkles the unicorn to the rescue! This us what I would call our mini-graduation. We slipped through a slip and slide and I was greeted by Elfie, my mentor and best homeland friend ever - who welcomed me into the staff team. It was a momentous occasion, and the summer was only just beginning.
Camp Runels Staff 2018
Nessie the counsellor!
Nessie the counsellor!
Session 1 - Mermaid Magic (Daisies Day Camp)
Session 2 - Fireflies (Daisies Day Camp)
Session 3 - Zoo-topia (Brownies Day Camp)
Session 4 - Doodlebugs (Brownies Resident Camp)
Session 5 - Runels Royal Retreat (Brownies Resident Camp)
Session 6 - Jr/Daisy/Br Samplers (JR/Daisy/Br Resident Camp)
Session 7 - Sea Stars (Juniors Resident Camp)
Overall, Camp was the most unreal experience I think i'll ever have in this lifetime. You almost cant quite describe it and can't quite relate to it unless you've been through the same experiences. Other people won't understand what it's like to wash your hair under a spicket tap with your best friend because you don't have time to shower before the block of boating and archer you're running in 20 minutes. You learn to appreciate the moments you have and the people you have them with. It's just an experience like no other.
New Castle, New Hampshire
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