Out of touch

It's not so easy being out of touch with the world...hardly any phone signal, inconsistent internet access.  On the other hand, I like the fact that I'm dealing primarily with more immediate needs and that I get to experience living without the demands of "staying in touch."  In the "real" world, people expect instant response--an email or text message is sent, and you should reply quickly.  Which ties us more and more to our electronic umbilical cords.  Here at camp, however, we get a reminder that there are plenty of things we can do and think about that DON'T require us to be plugged in all day long.

What camp looks like

Here's a virtual tour of camp...the strange names (Annwi, Waramaug, etc.) are the names of the different age groups.  Yup, pretty idyllic...

Is it really that relaxed?

Perhaps I have exaggerated somewhat the relaxed nature of camp...but maybe not.  It's true that there are things that need doing, and uncooperative children to cajole and encourage and redirect.  But consider that
a) they are not MY children, who are campers themselves and under someone else's supervision (see? it's already a plus--no arguing about TV or anything else!) and
b) this is camp, not school, and most of the time the kids get to do things that they want to do.  A case in point:

"Leviathan"--the big raft

Yesterday, I helped run a diving activity.  This meant that we took 15 or so kids over to the big raft and they spent an hour and a half "diving."  (Most of us would call it jumping in the water).  I was reminded how much 11-year old boys like to just make noise.  It doesn't really matter why;  in this case it was a spider that they spotted near the ladder, but with no spider there would have been something else.  They screamed and shouted at the top of their lungs for a good hour.  "Henry, look!  Henry!  Henry!"  "Aaaaagh!  It's still there!  Aaaaaaagh!" "Oh no!  It's gone!  Is it in the water? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

In any other setting, I would just about have lost my mind.  But it's CAMP.  They're SUPPOSED to be doing this stuff--that is, acting like young boys who are dealing with their world in a way that is natural to young boys.  Boys are loud, and active, and at school they don't really get to be what they are.  So while I had some supervisory responsibilities, the overall need for management is so much lower than what I'm used to that it doesn't feel much like work.  So while I'm certainly compensated, it still manages to feel like time 'off.'

More things to like about camp

Rest hour.  Every day.  Need I say more?

You do...what?

It's really hard to explain camp to people who aren't "camp" people.  But essentially here's what I do in the summer:

I bring my family to Vermont where I can "work" with someone else's children.  My "work" this morning consisted of paddling about in a canoe, offering occasional advice to one or two kids who were trying to work out the details of a complicated stroke.  Is this work?  Then I went to the dining hall for lunch (which I did not have to cook or clean up!).  Last week I went canoe camping for nine days with a group of 14 year old boys...no computers, no bills, no stress.

This sounds completely crazy, but it's sort of something you have to experience.  Is it a bit cultish?  I suppose so...but what's most remarkable is that I'm surrounded by people I've known for as many as thirty years, all of whom love it here as much as I do.  It's a remarkable place.

Song and dance

Tonight was a typical example of what I love about Keewaydin.  Three or four episodes during the evening really struck me as remarkable, and yet here at camp they're just part of the normal routine.  First, several members of the Keewaydin family arrived to visit, with varying degrees of fanfare.  Ben Smith arrived with his usual magic and both staff and campers drew near to bask in the glow--yet he hasn't actually been on staff for at least two years.  Tom and Amy Vorenberg came by at dinner and a number of the older generation (which I admit I'm part of now) gathered around to shake hands, hug, chat a bit, etc.  The Sotirs were here, too, and though they haven't been at camp since Mike left as director five years ago there were plenty of people seeking them out for a hello.  You can leave but you always belong...that's how it is here.

Then there were the after dinner songs.  Ben S. got up to do a guest appearance at the piano and the whole dining hall joined in enthusiastically as we ran through the majority of songs he's added to the songbook over the last five years.  Not just your run-of-the-mill camp songs, but originals with feeling, heart, and catchy melodies. Ten- and fourteen- year old boys singing joyfully alongside twenty-, thirty-, forty-somethings (and up) with not even a hint of self-consciousness.  How special is that?

Finally, the Friday Night Frolics, where the skits included a group of boys lip-synching hilariously to whatever that awful song about "Call me maybe" is and another group jamming out a live version of The Band's "The Weight."  Kids taking risks they could never take in school and being supported in doing it.  Camp is a special idea and Keewaydin is certainly a special camp.