Blog Editors: Irene (US-MN)
Hi, I’m Irene and I’m the editor of this week’s blog post! I am a first year camper from Colorado, and I like to hike, read, paint, and listen to music.
First-Years Lead the Day!
Week two of Camp means that first-year campers have started acting as leaders of the day, which is a tough but rewarding job! The breadth of responsibility is wide, and ranges from writing their own unique schedule to singing good night songs to sleepy campers. Here, you can hear about their experiences with the position:
Keira (US-CT), LOD of Saturday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Making sure everyone is safe and accounted for.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Seeing everyone enjoying activities we had planned.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
It taught me crucial leadership skills that I will always find handy in the future.
Sadie (US-OH), LOD of Sunday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Having to be everywhere all at once.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Seeing everything go to plan.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Cooperation.
Naomi (US-MN), LOD of Thursday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Having to boss people around, and tell them to do things they might not want to do.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Being able to do it with a partner. Also, watching everything fall into place is really nice.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Delegation, definitely.
Elina (Sweden), LOD of Tuesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Trying to get everyone to listen and cooperate with our plan. We also had a very brief amount of time to write the plan, so it was very rushed.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Watching everyone enjoy the stations and activities we had planned.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
I learned that you can still recuperate from when things don’t go to plan. Don’t over-stress, but be responsible.
Amelie (Australia), LOD of Saturday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Ringing the assembly bell on time.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience? It was nice to hear from everyone that our day was fun!
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Being on time is important.
Silje (Denmark), LOD of Thursday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD? Having to make sure everything was going well. As a leader, you have to help organize everything and it’s hard to have to semi-lead everything.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
The feeling when people actually listen to what you have to say, and are silent and respectful of your voice. It’s a small thing but it means a lot to a person to feel that respect.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Even though things don’t go as planned, you can still regain control when needed!
Molly (US-MN), LOD of Wednesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
When people were late to assembly. It was really time consuming.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Getting to talk to everyone.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Public speaking.
Ashley (US-GA), LOD of Wednesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Making sure everything goes according to the schedule.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Seeing all your planning and hard work come to fruition.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
I’ll take the extensive coordination skills I had to apply with me in order to be flexible in the future.
Torie (US-CO), LOD of Sunday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Having a lot of different people come up to you at once, all making different requests or asking questions. It’s a lot and really overwhelming!
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
At the end of the day, going tent to tent and singing to people, knowing I survived the day!
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
It taught me the importance of always taking care of your community. Listen to them, put their needs before your own, prioritize different things, and learn from them.
Paula (Spain), LOD of Wednesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Making sure everyone knew what they had to do (and where, and what time) without being too strict. Striking the balance between being strict and flexible.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Seeing people have fun during the day; everyone being happy.
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and that’s okay. In life there are many unexpected things that you must have a flexible and quick reaction to.
Bee (Ecuador), LOD of Tuesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Planning and organizing the entire day, especially when you don’t have the most routine of schedules.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Actually going into the day and watching everything we planned work out
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
I learned that people will listen, and that it’s important I listen to them too.
Karina (US-NY), LOD of Wednesday
Q1 - What is the hardest thing about being LOD?
Having to run a lot of things and having a lot of responsibilities.
Q2 - What was most rewarding about this experience?
Seeing how much fun everyone at camp was having throughout the day
Q3 - What will you take from this experience, and how will it help you in the future?
Putting my trust in other people and possibilities.
Theme Dinner/Day - “Flight” to Greece!
Last Friday, our second years led an exhilarating Mamma Mia themed day! First, we had a pool party, which was perfect for the hot summer day. During this time, the second years spent all afternoon redoing the dining room to transform it into an airplane to Greece! The flight was quite long, so they placated us with in-service meals (which was delicious Greek food), music from ABBA, and a screening of Mamma Mia. Thanks, second years!
Fika!
Elina serves kladdkaka to excited campers
On Tuesday, leaders of the day Alina (Sweden) and Bee (Ecuador) organized a camp fika. In Sweden, fika is a customary social coffee break, where people in all workplaces will take a break, gather, drink good coffee, and eat delicious sweets. Because coffee isn’t commonplace at Camp, we drank tea, water, fruit punch, and lemonade instead. But, Alina and Bee worked hard all afternoon to ensure that campers got the most traditional of Swedish fika pastries (they had to improvise in some areas). They provided campers and counselors with kladdkaka (gooey cake), smakakor (small cookies), and snickerskakor! It was delicious!
Evening Programs and Instructions!
Campers deep in thought during Evening Program
As the second week rolled on, campers got to enjoy a diverse array of evening programs and instructions. Personally, I attended instructions on journaling and frisbee throwing this week. But, some others included edible cookie dough making (yum!), manipulating elections, campaign work, collage, visible mending, and many more!
Evening program is always my favorite part of camp. They are a time when all of the camp gathers to join, think, learn, have fun, and grow stronger as a community. This week, we had evening programs on education, accessibility, cultural appropriation/appreciation, and built environments/identities.
The education program, led by first year camper Torie (US-CO) discussed school systems across the world, looked at equity within different schools, and invited campers to come up with their own school and to implement policies that were in accordance with their beliefs. The accessibility program discussed the social model of disability, disabling spaces, and asked campers to brainstorm solutions to camp’s own accessibility issues. Campers Alina (Sweden) and Bee (Ecuador) led the evening program on cultural appropriation and appreciation. Campers defined cultural appropriation and appreciation, learned about the history of appropriation within American camps, and participated in a spectrum activity about campers’ own cultures. The counselor-led program on built environments/identities encouraged campers to come up with their own solutions to the Lia Lee ethical issue and simulated a town council after the 1906 San Francisco fire.
Campers try to solve a riddle in a cramped space to teach them about disabling spaces
Birthdays at Camp
Campers help lift Lindsey, the drama counselor, into the air for her birthday!
Although campers and counselors are far from home at CRS, they still get to enjoy all the festivities and fun of “rising-sun” birthday celebrations! In these past two weeks, we have celebrated the birthdays of Anja (Greenland), Ori (Israel), Mare (counselor, Basque Country), Michaela (counselor, Slovakia), and Lindsey (counselor, US-PA). Camp birthdays consist of delicious cake at the courtesy of our kitchen staff, homemade cards and signs, and the ceremonial birthday chair lifting! The birthday chair tradition is somewhat a scary one, but fun and entertaining nonetheless. The birthday person climbs into the chair and is subsequently lifted into the air by campers the age they are turning! Fun, right?
Second Variety Show of CRS 2022
Camper, Carla Martinez, performs a dance
On Wednesday, campers enjoyed both watching and participating in the second variety of CRS 2022! Because we still have a few campers in quarantine, the variety show crew (led by Helmi (Finland), Maha (Morocco), and Lindsey (drama counselor)) combined improvisation, creativity, and resourcefulness to make an outdoor Covid-19-friendly variety show. Thanks guys! The variety show, which was MCed by famous hosts Helmi and Maha, consisted of diverse acts. There were dances, songs, and even tent trivia competitions!
Jenna and Karol perform a duet together
When dark, rainy clouds began to roll in, we all thought it would spell out a cut-short variety show. But, the show must go on! We moved inside to the gym (sadly, quarantined campers could not join) and finished with a lovely act by Veera (Finland). The variety show is definitely one of my favorite parts of camp!
Covid-19 Quarantines
Silje, a first year from Denmark
As more campers tested positive for Covid-19 during our routine testing process, the camp directors began implementing more precautionary policies in response to the higher-risk situation. Changes included eating outside (which is really an improvement), masking, cohorting with tents, and more outdoor-oriented activities. Despite all of these new rules, the mood at Camp remains positive and energized, and everyone is reacting with flexibility and grace!
Because working on improving our accessibility and inclusivity is important to all of us at Camp, counselors and directors co-hosted an evening program where campers discussed and brainstormed ideas that allowed campers in quarantine to better participate and engage with camp activities! Ideas included instructions/evening programs held on Zoom, outdoor beautification, renovations to the HAWC, adding more swings and benches, and many more innovative solutions. We have already created a makeshift mailbox specifically for quarantined campers to receive letters from non-quarantined campers! We miss them greatly, and wish them the easiest of quarantines/recoveries. (Upper left, campers hold up a poster presenting their quarantine accessibility solutions)
Campers hold up a poster presenting their quarantine accessibility solutions
On Wednesday, we had our third round of Covid-19 testing. We were all excited to find that there were no positive tests! The measures implemented by the HAWC, staff, and campers paid off well. Even some quarantined campers began returning from their isolation rooms. On Tuesday, we welcomed Marilia (Greece) back, on Wednesday, we welcomed Niki (US-NY) and Anna (Hungary) back, and on Thursday we welcomed Noa (Israel), Karla (), and Sora (US-CA) back! We are all so happy to see their faces again.
The sun begins to take form in the new main building mural!
Projects Pick Up Speed
During most days at CRS, campers are allotted an hour or two to work on projects. These projects can be anything, but they must be dedicated to help better the camp environment or camper experience. Personally, I find it so cool to watch as collaboration and creativity help make CRS a better and more special place.
As the second week drew to a close, the many projects at Camp had made significant progress. The main building mural finished gridding out the front wall, and began the arduous process of sketching and painting. Even though it is only in its early stages, it looks great, and we are so excited to see the finished product! But, the main building isn’t our only mural—campers have begun scraping off the old paint at the pool mural and sketching a new design that follows an “under-the-sea theme”! In other areas, campers and counselors collaborated on trail clearing (a very hard, but very valuable project), painting trail signs, and constructing picnic tables. The picnic table crew even finished their first table! It’s cookies-and-cream themed, and is awaiting painting.
A camper sands the finished picnic table
Camper Interviews!
Ashley, a first year from Georgia, says that she likes to relax by taking a nap in her tent. Her favorite part of Camp so far has been the people, who she thinks are all very nice and supportive. Her favorite meal was the very first meal the kitchen served, which consisted of a sandwich with turkey, lettuce, and tomato. Her favorite drink was the ginger ale that was served during our Mamma Mia themed dinner!
Shloka is a first year camper who hails from Texas! She relaxes by reading by the tent hill swing or at some random spot she finds while exploring. Although she relaxes by reading alone, her favorite part of camp by far is the people. Shloka’s favorite meal so far has been the currywurst dish (made by German camper Maxine), and her favorite drink is iced tea.
Naima is a second year from Germany. She relaxes by taking lots of naps (her schedule is two naps a day). Her favorite part of camp is the evening program. She likes it the most because campers are usually scattered across camp during the day, doing different activities, and camp brings everyone together to have fun and learn things. She always likes breakfast, because it is always simple and so good, and her favorite drink is fruit punch with lemonade.
Daani, a first year from The Netherlands, likes to relax by writing a letter to her parents. Her favorite part of Camp is the instructions, and her favorite instruction was a collage instruction done by our art counselor, Joud (Palestine). Her favorite meal was a ham wrap, and her favorite drink is lemonade with ice.
Megan, a first year from Long Island, relaxes by hanging out with her friends on a platform of an unbuilt lean-to. She loves to read, and is currently reading her assigned summer reading: A Little History of the World. Her favorite part of camp is the evening programs, which she finds to be really engaging and enriching. Her favorite one so far has been a program where campers discussed the Lia Lee case in mock ethic boards and partook in a simulated council meeting to discuss rebuilding proposals of San Francisco’s Chinatown (after it was destroyed in the 1906 fire). She likes the kitchen’s roast chicken and corn the best, but also enjoys her routine banana after every meal.
Anja, a first year from Greenland, relaxes by reading her book or taking a walk on the trails. Her favorite part of camp is the nature–the lake, trails, and campus–but also the people. She really likes that they’re all so nice and welcoming! Her favorite meal is the salad, because it is always nice and fresh. Her favorite drink is lemonade.
Heehyun is a first year from New Jersey who relaxes by taking a nap on the floor of Habibi. Although Habibi isn’t actually her assigned tent, she likes to sneak in anyways and hang out there because of the “good vibes”. She says her favorite part of camp is the cinnamon granola, which is delicious. Her favorite meal so far has been spaghetti bolognese with macaroni noodles, and her favorite drink is lemonade.
Julia is one of our second years! They are from Poland. They like to relax at camp by laying down on the grass. Their favorite part of camp is the tent talks. They have been vegan for almost a year, so their favorite meal at camp is the vegan zucchini in tomato sauce and “cheese”. Their favorite drink is lemonade.
Lily, a New York native, is a first year camper here at CRS. She likes to relax by sitting near the trees outside of her tent and reading her book. Her favorite part of camp is meeting all the new people. Her favorite meal so far has been tacos, and her favorite drink is iced sweet tea (she says the lemonade and fruit punch is weird).
Jenna, a second year from New York, reading (with the AC) in the campers’ lounge. Her part of camp is the constant exposure to new people and perspectives. Her favorite drink is lemonade with a splash of fruit punch, and her favorite dish is the vegetarian chili.