For the first time in my life, I went to a foreign country and didn't blog about it while I was there.
It's like I didn't even go.
Spain?
Pfft.
It's like I didn't even go.
Spain?
Pfft.
Rather than trying to tackle everything in one enormous mess of jetlagged words, I've decided to split the two-week journey into three bloggable parts:
CAMP
Humility, Heat Exhaustion, and Poopoo Problems
and
Two Days in a Chick Flick.
One trip, three blogs, absolutely doable.
One trip, three blogs, absolutely doable.
My journey began with an 8-hour flight spent sitting next to Brian, a Chinese-American teenager who continually cracked jokes about growing up Asian.
He told stories about how he went to math camp with a bunch of other Asian-American kids named Kevin and we moaned over how great real Chinese food is.
It was awesome.
When it was over, though, I had to face the jetlagged reality of meeting 70-something other English camp volunteers throughout the rest of my first, sleep-deprived day.
OH MY STARS.
Let me back up. My final destination--L'Arcada--is a Christian campground that hosts different camps throughout the summer. The first week of their season is an English camp for teens. Several of the churches that support L'Arcada decide to send teams specifically for this camp, which made me a bit of an oddity coming alone without ever having been before (apart from being the only person who'd heard of Rocky Top).
This year there were more volunteers than ever.
The introvert side of me was positively WRIGGLING with excitement.
(That was sarcasm.)
However, we had a week of training to get to know each other, after which I knew I wasn't going to drown in a sea of unfamiliar Americans.
What happened during this week of training?
Team building.
Planning.
Cleaning.
Worship.
Spiders.
Eating.
Living in teepees.
Living in teepees.
Very little sleep.
And NO SOCIAL MEDIA.
(We all lived.)
Each day basically consisted of meetings, games, worship time, eating a ridiculous amount of food, and going to bed late (interrupted by two days of sightseeing. It would be completely unfair to get all the way out there and not at least see Barcelona, right? Right.) It was a VERY intense week, followed by a more intense week of what we came for--camp.
Each day basically consisted of meetings, games, worship time, eating a ridiculous amount of food, and going to bed late (interrupted by two days of sightseeing. It would be completely unfair to get all the way out there and not at least see Barcelona, right? Right.) It was a VERY intense week, followed by a more intense week of what we came for--camp.
AND CAMP IS ALWAYS AWESOME.
By the second week, the teepees were filled with a little over thirty Spanish campers mixed in with a few American kids from the volunteer group. I was put in a small cluster of ladies assigned to English Zone, the two times during the day that were specifically focused on learning, you know, English. Each of us took over planning one session so that we could spread the work out. Those times were a little hectic (it's harder than I thought to lesson plan without a white board), but we made it...and I think most of the kids had fun.
By the second week, the teepees were filled with a little over thirty Spanish campers mixed in with a few American kids from the volunteer group. I was put in a small cluster of ladies assigned to English Zone, the two times during the day that were specifically focused on learning, you know, English. Each of us took over planning one session so that we could spread the work out. Those times were a little hectic (it's harder than I thought to lesson plan without a white board), but we made it...and I think most of the kids had fun.
There's not really a way to describe the week overall, other than to say it was camp. One of the most intentional camps I've ever been to, at that, as it was being prayed over by so many people who had come all the way from North America to be there.
And what do I mean by camp?
Songs.
Skits.
Frisbee.
Outside.
Sleeping bags.
Community bathrooms.
Nature.
Laughter.
Sharing.
Good food.
Relationships.
Relationships.
Community.
Excitement ALL THE TIME.
Activities upon activities upon activities.
High-fives.
Flip flops.
Sunburns.
Clapping til your palms bleed.
While the counselors got to have the deepest friendships with the campers, there was plenty of time for interaction during games, meals, and English Zone, and I quite enjoyed being called Lowra.
The topic for the week was friendship, the final night was 50's themed, and--like all good camps--it was peppered with ridiculous, awesome activities like Glow Games and Paint Wars.
While the counselors got to have the deepest friendships with the campers, there was plenty of time for interaction during games, meals, and English Zone, and I quite enjoyed being called Lowra.
The topic for the week was friendship, the final night was 50's themed, and--like all good camps--it was peppered with ridiculous, awesome activities like Glow Games and Paint Wars.
L'Arcada's goal is that campers come to know the Father and return to be discipled--because there are few other places in Spain for them to be poured into--with the hope that, one day, they'll be able to pour the Father's love back out.
Their success is evidenced in returning campers, some of whom had become staff.
My journey ended next to a Spanish teenager named Serge who was flying to America to go to soccer camp. He wasn't as funny as Brian, but I was laughing at the irony of our situation.
I should've told him to get back off and go to L'Arcada instead.
Their success is evidenced in returning campers, some of whom had become staff.
My journey ended next to a Spanish teenager named Serge who was flying to America to go to soccer camp. He wasn't as funny as Brian, but I was laughing at the irony of our situation.
I should've told him to get back off and go to L'Arcada instead.
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