With the final Camp America Recruitment Fair coming up THIS WEEKEND, I thought people might fancy some advice from someone who’s already done it to help them decide whether or not to sign up to camp this summer. So, here’s everything you need to know before jetting off for a summer of fun, endless Instagram opportunities and lots of new worldly pals!
Adventure! As cliché as it sounds, every day is an adventure at camp. Be it learning something new, finding a new place or having a day away exploring.
The fun only stops when you’re sleeping – and even then that’s not always true!
Even learning how to sleep upright becomes good fun!
Bugs. Particularly mosquitoes. To be honest, if your legs don’t look like you’ve got chicken pox at some point during the summer then we need to have a chat to see where I’m (and every other person at camp are) going wrong.
A T T R A C T I V E.
Coffee – before you know it you’ll be surviving on 4 cups a day, you won’t even care how it comes anymore, just GIVE ME THE CAFFEINE.
That time we ordered $50 worth of caffeine for the team
DANCING. You dance in camp songs, you dance because you’re happy, you dance to cheer the kids up when they’re homesick, heck, you even dance just for the sake of bustin’ a move and getting some giggles!
Embarrassing. You’re gonna embarrass yourself and that’s okay! It might be an accident or it might be on purpose, but the best thing is, NO ONE CARES! You also have an absolute laugh doing it (or making jokes about it after) and your confidence sky-rockets as a result!
Tye-dye and bandana’s? *shudders*
Fancy Dress. There’s always an opportunity to get dressed up at camp. I’d like to take this time to thank camp for teaching me never to go blonde.
Def gonna regret putting this up on the internet… oops.
Google. Google has the answer for everything. The kids ask you a weird question or there’s something niggling at the back of your mind no can seem to answer? Just give it a google!
Yes this was a real Snapchat story of mine.
Happy. There is not a single day that goes by where there is not something to smile about.
Even getting whipped cream shoved in your face somehow makes you happy?
Ice cream – there’s always an excuse for ice cream, and thankfully America has some of the best ice creams parlours I’ve ever had the pleasure of stepping into! Ghiredelli’s, Kilwin’s and Cold Stone Bakery are just a few of my fav’s.
We were v Happy Joe’s in Happy Joe’s, WI.
Jokes. You spend nine weeks with a team of people from all over the world! Before you know it, you’ve got tonnes of inside jokes and memories to look back on and laugh about in years to come.
Like that time you all broke into the kitchen at midnight on a weekend off because no-one had eaten
Knots. You will get really, really good at these and even pick up some new ones whilst you’re at it! You need knots for all the camping trips you are going to go on and to tie all the friendship bracelets you are going to make, or have made for you. Before long, you’ll be up to your elbows (literally) in various bits of thread knotted nicely in different designs.
Also needed to avoid tent mishaps like this…
Lifelong friends. The team you work with whilst at camp often become some of your best friends for life. Not only did you share a summer of fun and memories together, but you also shared a bond that will likely last the test of time and distance! Whilst it sucks that they don’t always live in the same city – or even country – as you, and time difference makes things really hard, the bright side is you always have an excuse to go do more travelling!
In January, I flew to Poland to visit two of my closest friends and ended up making a few more whilst I was there!
Not only that, one of those friends came to visit me in May and another came in December with our friend from Australia and our friend from the US. Traveling becomes a lot cheaper when you are lucky enough to have friends all over the place.
There’ll be plenty of reunions.
Money. YOU GET PAID WHISLT AT CAMP! Whilst this should 100000% not be your only reason for going, its a super bonus. You have no excuse not to bathe in the thousand of new experiences around you! Baseball game? Sure, that sounds fun. Oversized breakfast and all-you-can-drink coffee at Denny’s? Sounds amazing, I’ll take two. Heck, you even have money to travel all over the States after camp and see all the sights you’ve only ever goggled at on Instagram, or Facebook videos!
Trip to Six Flags, check. Camping, check. Wasting $$$ fixing your smashed phone…. CHECK. Hey, at least we made it a tourist op!
Nervous! There’s going to be days where you feel really nervous and that’s alright! Maybe you are about to do a funny show on stage in front of everyone for the kids, or you are flying across the country on your own. Whatever it is, remember it is perfectly normal to be nervous and you can always ask someone for help. Remember to hold yourself high, smile and tell yourself “I got this”.
Yup, wasn’t nervous about this AT ALL.
Outside. Thanks to the nature of camp, you get to spend at least a little time outside every day. Not only can you work on your tan without sitting there for hours, but it’s also a super nice and refreshing change when most of the year you are stuck inside a building.
Yeah, I’ll take views like this over uni anyday thank you.
Pizza. There will be lots of pizza whilst you’re in the US. Domino’s and Papa John’s takeaways, Chicago Deep Dish pizzas, and $1 pizza slices in New York City will forever hold a special place in your heart.
“Take us to the pizzaaaaa”
Questions. Kids like to ask questions. A lot of them. And unfortunately, we don’t always have the answers. Be prepared. Be very prepared. “Why is the sky blue?”, “What is that squirrel doing in the tree?”, “Can you get me some Mountain Dew from Walmart?”, “Did we miss the turn?”, “Why are you wearing that?”
Rainbow Tag! Hands down my favourite game in the entire world. There’s paint, there’s running and there’s often lots of water too. Get ready for ruined shirts, wet pants and lots of laughing! If only we could make it a drinking game for Saturday nights with your pals back home…
Yup. Looking gorgeous here too…
Sunshiiiiine! Ah the sweet shine of the sun… not something we are lucky enough to get often in the UK. Enjoy it whilst it lasts, the tan will have faded by Christmas.
Big fan of sunSETS too – ‘Murica you’re doing amazing sweetie.
TRAVEL. After camp, you can go anywhere you like in the USA! In my two summers, I’ve been to Florida, Washington D.C., New York, Illinois, Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona and Wisconsin.
All you need is a car and funky pals
Underwear. You lose yours, kids leave it everywhere, other staff members don’t care if you see them in it or their dirties hanging out by the washing machine. It’s basically like living with your baby brother again. Get used to it.
Underwear on the flagpole becomes a bit of a regular occurrence really.
Videos! Whilst you’re away there will be tonnes of video opportunities, be it on Snapchat or just someone wanting to make a funky home video. You will find when you come home and start to miss camp, there is honestly nothing better than snuggling up and watching your old snapchat stories or a video that someone’s put together.
In my first summer, they even made us do a Video Scavenger Hunt during our team-building training, where we had to video ourselves doing silly tasks like walking an invisible dog past strangers, having a conversation through tubes in Walmart, or trying every dip at McDonalds (FYI: chips dunked in honey is actually not as gross as it sounds).
Oh look, someone caught me rewatching camp vids again
WALMART. Omg the haven of all havens. The source of all good things. Walmart has everything. Things you didn’t even know you needed? Walmart has them. AND THE BEST THING OF ALL? It’s cheap and there’s always one no further than a 15 minute drive away.
Big luv 4 u
You find yourself popping to Walmart just because you’re bored, and where better to entertain yourself then amongst aisles and aisles of goodies at reasonable prices? You can even go all out and play Hide and Seek in there, or complete a Video Scavenger Hunt (I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t done both). Ah Walmart. Amazing.
Walmart Hide ‘N’ Seek Champion Summer 2017… mostly because I hid in the gym section, no one even thought to look for me there.
Xsdfoijfndsiodjwo. Didn’t make sense? Yeah, neither will 60% of the stuff the kids will come out with. You have been warned.
Some of my fav quotes for you to enjoy:
- “Miss Gee there was a ten out of ten per cent chance I could have drowned!”
- “You two look exactly alike, kind of.”
- “Miss Gee can you drown me but not kill me?”
Yearly. A lot of the time when talking about camp, you’ll hear the phrase “living ten for two” thrown around. That’s because often, even if you don’t plan on it, camp becomes a yearly thing and people end up living ten months for the two months they get to spend back at camp.
My friends always like to remind me how I always said before my first summer that it was only going to be a one-year thing… and now I’m getting ready for a third summer!
All about that camp life
Zoo? Okay so I cheated here, but on that theme – you’ll see plenty of wildlife during your stay! I’ve been lucky enough to see elks, bears, racoons, hummingbirds, geckos, otters and more! There’s no zoo in the world that can beat seeing unique wildlife where it naturally belongs.
Lil Gecko we met at Horseshoe Bend, AZ.
Convinced? Head over to Camp America now for more info or follow their Facebook and Twitter pages for more inspo.
Have you done anything like this before, or know someone who has?
See you Stateside!
Love, Gee xx
Gee Meets: World 