Summer Update :)

Ok ok, I know I said that I wouldn't be posting again until I was back at Bishop's but due to popular demand (aka my own desire to write a new post), I thought I would update the blogging world on what I have been up to this summer....

People will forget what you said and people will forget what you did but they will never forget how you made them feel. 

So as most of you know, I am currently working as a counselor at Camp Wenonah, a summer camp just east of Bracebridge, Ontario. I absolutely LOVE my job! However, before that, I spent May and June working for a local landscaping company. Laugh all you want, but yes, I was a landscaper and it turned out to be much better than expected. Essentially, I would wake up every morning around 6:30 to be at work for 7:30 and work until about 5:00pm. I raked, I shoveled, I wheelbarrowed, I planted, I rolled sod and every Friday, I cut grass. I learned a lot of new things and I made some new friends along the way. I came home dirty and tired every single day but I am thankful for everything that my coworkers at Seeing Green taught me. However, I am glad that I was not working last week during the heatwave - I hope that they all survived! 

Me in the work truck (I even got to drive it on the last day)!

Throughout the spring, I did a lot of other great stuff besides landscaping, such as spending a weekend in Niagara Falls with my roommate while watching my sister cheer. I saw the Wizard of Oz in downtown Toronto, spent a weekend at my cottage, saw a lot of my friends from home and got my G license. And I even cut 9 1/2 inches of my hair off to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths! But after two short but great months at home, I moved up to my summer home in the Muskokas to take on the job I have been waiting to do my entire life. 

Joc and me at Lauren's Cheer Nationals!

My old teammates and I at our coach's wedding shower!

My cousins and me at the cottage!

Me running the 10km Old Mill Race! (Time: 47 minutes)

Serving breakfast at the Relay for Life!

My new haircut!

 From June 23rd until June 29th, all the Wenonah staff had Pre Camp training which is always a lot of fun. We had sessions on International Campers, Camper Wellness, how to teach programs, how to engage campers, etc. And then summer camp officially began on June 30th! For the first two weeks of the month, I worked with the Introductory programs, where young campers came for just one week. As their counselors, we led them in a variety of different activities, such as climbing, canoeing, kayaking, outdoor adventure, etc. In addition, each week had a theme - the first week was Monsters vs Robots, during which I had to dress up as a pink monster and the second week was rockstars, in which my campers dressed me up as a rockstar. My first cabin had 6 campers and my second had 10 and I was co-counseling with a fellow counselor named Emma. I had a blast doing the Intro period and each week, I was sad to see my campers go :( On a side note, I also had some time off during the first two weeks, during which I stayed with my cousin Claire at her cottage about 40 minutes away from camp.

My co-counselor, Emma and I!

The 1A Elm Divas!

Ruby Roxy and Finja! (Created by the 1B Elm girls)

The 1B Photo Challenge!

After working with the intro period, I became the counselor of the Red Pine cabin, in which I got my first group of two week campers. I was extremely nervous on the first day since many of my campers were longtime campers and I had only had new campers before but I kept my head up and got things off to a good start. I have a group of 11 10-12 year olds and while counseling has had its difficult moments, it is the most rewarding job I have ever done. I am also teaching kayaking and canoeing, with the occasional drama, tennis and aquasports on the side. 8 of my campers in canoeing passed their ORCKA Level 1 Exam on Saturday which was pretty exciting! Also, many of you were probably impacted by the storm last Friday, during which there were provincial wide power outages. At camp, we had no power from Friday afternoon until Sunday night! Camp got pretty smelly since no one could shower! My cabin and I were supposed to go on an out trip on Friday which was luckily cancelled and instead spent the afternoon puddle jumping and raspberry picking. We ended up camping out on Saturday night which was a lot of fun and the girls had a blast. Now, I am home for a day off and am heading back up to camp tomorrow morning! While home, I spent some quality time with my mom (as the rest of my family is in Mexico) and my friend from BC was in town for a visit as well! Now, I have just a few things to finish before I go back to work, including picking my courses for the fall!

Cabin Choice - Paint Wars!

A fallen tree on Driftwood Hill!

 So that pretty much sums up my spring and summer so far! I hope you all are having a wonderful summer vacation as I know I am! Wish me luck as I welcome a new group of camper on Sunday, including my little sister and pray that I don't shed too many tears when the July campers leave on Saturday! 

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxo

 

PS Thanks to everyone who has sent me mail this summer! Getting your letters and emails really brightens my day! Even though I get to check my phone each night, I love getting surprises in my mailbox! I promise that replies are coming soon!!