My school takes the entire 6th grade and a few teachers as chaperons to a camp every year. Hence the title, there we spend time without our parents, grow-up, and learn about the outdoors. Due to the recession, the camp we used to go (Camp Algonquin), closed and we were forced to look for another camp. My school found Snake River, a Christian camp on Lake Geneva.
May 2,
We left Monday morning, and came back on Wednesday. I was really excited, and hardly slept on Sunday. In my anxiety, I over packed, but not by far. I stuffed my clothes, cosmetics, pillow, and sleeping bag in roller duffel, put my schedule, jacket, hat, and water bottle in my daypack, and was off to school.
At school, we all put our bags in a designated spot, and went into the building to kill time. Soon enough, the buses were ready to depart, and the luggage was loaded into a van. I sat in the new bus with my friends Tony and Youngjin. I listened to a little music with Tony, read from a Dilbert comic, and mostly stared out the window. At 11:00 a.m., we arrived at Snake River. We received a quick orientation from a camp director (rules about running and walking, what to do at meal times, how the camp is set up and where you should go to sleep), and then proceeded to the big field. At the big field, we were introduced to some games. We played blob tag, where one person starts of as the blob, then tags more and more people until everyone is it. Really, the game wasn’t too effective, and most of the people who were tagged had sacrificed themselves. We played everybody’s-it-tag, where people try to tag each other to make them sit down. I only managed to tag one person, but was never tagged myself.
By 12:30, it was already lunchtime and we all went to the area surrounding the lodge to wait to be called for our meal. I played Sniper Hat with my friends Noah and Matthew; the purpose was to tag each other with our hats. I also played catch with James, and a few games of carpet ball. In carpet ball, we set up 2 pool balls in a lane, and tried to knock each other’s pool balls of with a different pool ball. The staff rang the bell for lunch, and we went into the lodge.
At lunch, we were each to drink a glass of water before getting other beverages (lemonade, hot chocolate, milk, and pop only at dinner). Lunch set up like a buffet. We each sat at tables (I sat with Mr. Cook, Tony, Noah, Matthew, and Kory), and were called up to get food of our choice. There was grilled cheese, soup, and other side options. I took it all; the food was delicious. For dessert there was some cake.
After lunch, we separated into activity groups to do low rope team building. Miriam and Matt led my group, and in my group were Arif, Michelle, YeJi, Emily, Anna, Brandon, Lauren, Alan, George, and Louis.
We did many activities. First, we tossed stuffed animals in a circle and recited our names as we did. More and more animals were added, and it took focus and concentration to not drop those toys. We never mastered that skill. Moving on, we learned about the five-finger contract. Your thumb is for encouragement, you should support you teammates with companionship. Your 2nd finger is for blaming, you work as a team and it is everyone’s fault if someone messes up. Your middle finger means disrespect and you should stay away from that. Your ring finger always holds the marriage ring and stands for commitment to a team or goal. Last, your weak pinkie stands for the weak link in the chain, and you should help that person out. Additionally, we had to go through a jump rope in sync, and with more and more people going through. This took coordination and great teamwork, and my group succeeded. The next activity involved going through a web while not touching it and being connected with everyone else. We ended up hanging on to each others feet and getting dirty while crawling under. We also played a game where you jump from stump to stump without touching the ground, and you have to end up at a certain platform. You were allowed to use planks and a tire swing. We also had to balance ourselves on a balance beam without talking, and lower a helium stick to the floor (this also took coordination because if we weren’t together, the stick wouldn’t go down). I learned that, in a team, you have to work together, even though I don’t like to work that way. Success depends on everyone. We finished off with a whole group relay race that wasn’t too interesting.
At 6:00 p.m., we were given time in our dorms. The dorms were made up of a bathroom with 2 showers, a back room, and 7 bunks. I slept on top, with my friend Tony under. In my cabin were James, Alan, Tony, Joey, Paul, Jonathan, Raheel, Kyle, George, Cameron, Antonio, and Michael. We relaxed, and played B.S. (a game of cards), which was changed to Brittney Spears by Mr. Hoffheimer.
Later that day, I played carpet ball before dinner, then went in, went through the water routine, and helped myself to spaghetti & meat balls, a breadstick, and a glass of sprite. Dinner was delectable, and I enjoyed talking to Mr. Cook about politics.
After dinner in the JAC, we played funky relay races. My team kept messing up (including me) and we came in 4th out of 5 teams.
At around 8:30, I got ready for bed and jumped in. However, my cabin mates had no such plans. They kept talking till 12. Finally, Tony, Joey, and I had had enough and told a teacher. Mr. Thurston got everyone to shut up. I should have slept peacefully, but many people were snoring already and my nose was stuffed, so I fell asleep at 3 o’clock a.m.
May 3,
I woke up next morning feeling tired and sleepy. I prepared for breakfast, and set out for the lodge. We were given a few minutes outside where I played running bases with James and Kyle, then a little carpetball where I didn’t do so well. Breakfast was composed of bacon, eggs, and cereal for me.
Feeling full and lively, I found my group, and we set off for the campfire where survival was. One of the Snake River staff was teaching survival. We first talked about the 3 Rule Safeguard. To remain safe when out in the wild, you must only go 3 hours without a shelter of some sort, only 3 days without water, and only 3 weeks without food. We also learned about building campfires. I learned that it not only keeps you warm, but can also help you cook and sterilize food and water. I also learned that there are 3 parts to a fire. First, you must set the kindling, which is highly flammable and small. The kindling lights the timber, which burns for longer than the kindling, and is supposed to help light the fuel, the main body of the fire.
My next class was New Games. As the name suggests, we learned to play new games, with my gym teacher Mrs. Mazur. Our first game was Frisbee Keep-Away. There was an offensive team, who wants to pass a Frisbee around, and a defensive team who tries to intercept those passes. I discovered that your team does best when not just one person is too involved, but rather, that the team fans out. Our last game was Ultimate Nerf, which is similar to football. One team must pass a ball around until they get across the other teams line. I found that it is better if you assign roles to people, not have everyone do everything. In the beginning, I was up there scoring touchdowns, but so was the other team. When I decided that I should get back on D, my team still scored, but the other team didn’t, and we won even though my team wasn’t as athletic.
The last class we took before lunch was archery. I thought that I was a master at archery because I have been using a bow and arrow for a while, but I actually learned a lot. I learned that you must support your hand with your cheek, that you hold the string with 3 fingers, and that it doesn’t matter what hand you prefer when you do archery. I actually didn’t do as well as people who have never done archery before. I did manage to pop a balloon, and hit the target almost ever time.
Lunch was routine, except with pizza this time. My group met outside the lodge with Mrs. Wright, who would teach us about nature. We focused on the 5 senses. First, we were to close our eyes, and we were given stones to hold. Then, we returned the stones and were able to open our eyes. The stones were passed around again and we were to identify ours. I found mine easily, for it was small and almost perfectly round. I learned to look for ridges and textures when feeling something. Next, we tied our thumbs to our hands, and found out what it would be like to be a squirrel or chipmunk without opposable thumbs. We tried to play catch, to tie our shoes, and eat candy. Our next activity was without sound and relied on touch. We were blindfolded and taken to a tree, and allowed to feel it. Then, we were taken back and told to find the tree. I looked for odd things on the tree, like a concrete slab near it, or maybe a stump coming off of it. I found my tree after a few tries. Our last activity involved smell and sight without verbal communication. Mrs. Wright made a peppermint trail and we were to follow and find clues leading to the ultimate gift (no not like the movie, it was an Airhead).
My fifth class was entomology, taught by Donna from Snake River. First, we established what we knew about insects. Some of these things, I knew, and some I didn’t. For example, I knew that an insect has six legs, but I learned that insects are composed of 3 parts, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Then, we did an activity. We taped pictures of bugs to our backs, and had to ask others about the bug on our back so we can learn about that bug. On my back, was a dragonfly, and I couldn’t figure it out because it wasn’t colorful like all the dragonflies I know of. Then, we learned about the life cycles of different insects like butterflies (from eggs, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butter fly to eggs), and about the shelters paper wasps make and how they make them. I learned that the wasps chew on leaves, and then leave them on top of each other to make their nests. Our last activity involved making an edible bug that we would name, tell about, and then eat.
The last class my group took was orienteering. Orienteering was all about using compasses to direct you. First, we discussed about how a compass is just a magnet that is attracted to the northern magnetic field, therefore the arrow will always point north. However, there is more, we learned about using the degrees on the compass. With the compasses we were using, you had to turn the dial till the degrees point to where you want to go, get Red Fred in the Shed, and go which way the arrow is pointing. So, with that in mind, we had to find our way to different places and back again. First, we were supposed to put a penny down, then follow Mr. Ogden’s directions, and if we did it right, we would end up where we started and could then find our penny. Last, we were given directions and were supposed to find a certain tree at the end. It took a while for my group to get it right, but we did in the end.
After everyone had finished their classes, we were taken to the JAC (Jackson Activity Center), and were given open gym time. We didn’t know this, and just waited around. When my friend and I saw people getting out basketballs and shooting hoops, we figured it be okay to do so also. I teamed up with JB, and Tony, and we were playing against Michelle, Antonio, and Louis. It was ridiculous how badly they beat us. Antonio and Louis worked really well together, and they scored hoop after hoop. It took Michael, the most athletic kid in the grade, to join our team and balance it out. After it was clear that we weren’t needed in the game, Tony and I went to the more quiet the side of the JAC. Tony joined the foosball players, and I went up to the pool table. I waited for my turn, and then finally got it. I was playing against Mrs. Sneider, and she beat me for the short time that we played. The calling to the campfire for s’mores interrupted our game.
At the campfire, I burned my marshmallow until it caught fire, then made a sandwich with graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate. I had 2 of these sandwiches. Absolutely delicious, is all I have to say about them. Then, Joe pulled a joke on me. He said I had done something really funny with Michael, and he had it on video and everything. I freaked out, I asked everyone what I had done, but everyone was in on the conspiracy. In the end, Joe told me, “We were just kidding”. It was funny to me. That night, I had to pack all my stuff up, and get ready to clear out tomorrow morning. I went through the regular evening rituals, and hopped into bed. No one talked late into the night, but I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I go the notion that everyone was playing a game around me, running and throwing things around. I thought this because of al the rustling noises due to people shifting in bed. I slept poorly that night.
May 4,
I tied up all my loose ends this morning: wrapped up my sleeping bag, put all my cosmetics in my duffel, and so on. I took all my things to the storage van. Mr. Henley came to inspect our room, and he said that we had done a spectacular job cleaning up, and immediately excused us to breakfast. However, the bell hadn’t rung yet and I played carpetball outside the lodge. I performed poorly, and quit after about 5 minutes. When breakfast was called, I ate up, since this would be my last tasty breakfast here. I had 2 helpings of milk and cereal.
We headed down to where the high ropes course was, and we were given a quick intro to safety. I really didn’t want to do anything on the high ropes. The lines were too long, and that gave me plenty of time to chicken out. Also, the course didn’t seem to fun either, I truly wasn’t all that interested. We were called up to the climbing tower by activity group. I was in group 1, but we went 3rd. I tried the climbing wall, but it was too hard for me. I went up the mega rope/wooden block side, and made it up easily. Once up there, you had to zip line down. This was the best part of the day. This was where I learned to overcome my fears of heights and have fun. I waited my turn, and it was hard to jump once I was all in position. I was to put my feet in between a counselor who was helping, and the guy had the same shoes as me, which was pretty freaky. I kept muttering under my breath, “I will jump, I will jump, I will jump”. I kept going forward, then stopping instinctively. When I finally jumped, it was exhilarating, I kept saying I would scream, but it wasn’t scary enough to scream, only the first moment was gut wrenching. The rest of the time you could just enjoy a ride through the air 20 feet above ground.
After that point, Outdoor Ed was uneventful, I ate at lunch, and I believe there were tacos. The tacos weren’t made from frozen packages, so they were well cooked and fell apart easily. I ended up eating a sloppy mixture of beef and corn. We boarded the buses, and I sat with Tony, listened to music, and looked out the window the rest of the ride home.
I learned a lot at Outdoor Ed. I learned how to work with a team, that there needs to be a leader always, but not a tyrant supreme. You have to work with everyone, and listen to their ideas. I learned how to properly use a compass, and how to survive in the wild. I learned how to use my 5 senses, and I’ve learned a lot about the properties of insects. I sure learned how to use a bow and arrow properly, and how to play Ultimate Nerf. I got a taste of how to live without my parents for a few days. I’ve found more about the personalities of my classmates, and I wouldn’t mark that as a good thing. I like to think of myself as an optimist, compared to some at least. Some people say they hated this experience, but see no reason to do so. I really like my time at Outdoor Ed, at least my time outdoors. I don’t like spending too much time with my classmates without a teacher. Either way, I found out that school can be better than I thought.
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