Party in the USA

I’m back from America. This is so strange but amazing at the same time. After being in my own house for less than 3 days it already feels like ages ago since I was making my way around the US with some of the best people I have met and will ever meet. My bag has gone missing so I have no clothes, or presents for my family. Or pictures from camp which has totally devastated me but im keeping my fingers crossed that it shows up soon.

It’s fair to say that camp and travelling has been an experience. Camp was amazing. As shit as it was at times, the campers made it THE most rewarding and enjoyable thing I will ever do. Some of the staff, not so much. Bastards. But I know I’ll look back with fond memories, and here are some of them…

Being sent to a room in immigration and not knowing why. Then I found out its just so they can check my paperwork and not because they thought I was a terrorist.

Going to the mall for milkshakes before getting into bed and watching Keeping up with the Kardashians because I became American after 4 hours of being there.

Being on a coach with loads of people who seemed like they were totally ready and prepared for camp and I was casually sat there shitting it.

Walking up to the cabin in the woods and feeling like I was recreating the Wizard of Oz. Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my.

Seeing the Bears in the woods and thinking ‘Oh My!’

Only having curtains on the toilets and showers and instantly regretting my summer choices.

Martina eating half of the platter of food on the first day and I sat there thinking I was going to spend the whole summer starving.

Cringey Ice breakers that included me “twerking” like Miley Cyrus without any alcohol. I soon realised how misleading my life is when I’m pissed at uni.

UNIT 2!!!! “We’re the Twonadoes, we’re gonna blow you away!” was the summer jam.

Learning about seizures, diabetes, abuse and blocking defences and wondering why I chose to work here.

Realising how many hours I’d be working and how little money l’d get for it. VERY little money. Still questioning why I chose to work here.

Meeting the beautiful campers and their beautiful personalities and realising this is more than a good enough reason why I chose to work at camp.

When one of your campers is 57 years old and has helped at camp for 24 years and you realise your 19 and expected to look after him even though he’s more qualified than you’ll ever be.

Hearing the words ‘ALL THE ICE CREAM IN THE WORLD!!’ just makes me so happy.

Realising my head starts to get mushed after 50 conversations a day consisting of only Facebook, Radio Disney and Hess trucks.

Discovering how to communicate with a non-verbal campers is one of the best feelings ever.

An autistic kid that can tell you the year every Disney film was released isn’t appreciated as much as it should be.

Poo is no longer poo. It is BM. And there are different types. If you have type 7, god bless you.

Cleaning all kinds of bodily fluids is the normal. Day 2, I cleaned a kid that BM’d himself. Across the summer I also cleaned urine, sick and held a towel full of cum. Cute.

Evening activity was my guilty pleasure. Especially Musical Medley night. That was a gay boys dream.

Ice cream sundaes, ice cream sandwiches and ice cream cookie sandwiches should be my diet. HEAVEN.

Food fights never felt so good. Even on the last day when I got tomato sauce in my hair and I felt like a walking pizza. Not a nice one though.

Going skinny dipping when I was drunk in the lake and loving life.

Going swimming fully clothed when I was drunk at the lake because I’m just so YOLO.

Going swimming in the lake at night and watching the stars.

Realising that you went swimming a lot and now wonder if you are in fact a fish.

When everyone sang Empire State of Mind in the Dining Hall and I felt like Demi Lovato in Camp Rock.

Being bitten by a camper and hating my life, whilst at the same time feeling like I achieved something. War wounds.

Hearing all summer about how hard Session 5 would be.

Working session 5 and experiencing how hard it is.

Spending a night with no sleep, being spat on and cleaning wee off the floor.

Going on a day off with the DA’s and getting Wendy’s, arcade games, frozen yoghurt and dinner at Chicken Run all for free.

Feeling like the police were gonna arrest me if I came back to camp after curfew.

Tubing in Phonecia, water parks, water falls and mountains summed up your days off. The one day a week I cherished the most.

Feeling let down after my first experience of s’mores and camp fires because it wasn’t American enough.

Loving rainy days because it meant I got to watch films.

Watching Pitch Perfect after hours and the line ‘I know you’re all twig bitches, but I bet you’ve all got fat hearts’ made me miss my  uni friends for some unknown reason.

Singing ‘You are my Sunshine’ to Noah and being brought to tears when he unexpectedly sang the whole song back. <3

Being screamed at because I asked for a platter of plain spaghetti. Ain’t that deep though.

Having a shit day and crying because I dropped a knife.

Cindy Chai’s beautiful personality. The girl had the best words of wisdom.

Saying goodbye to everyone at camp, then seeing them all again later that night in an Irish bar just off Times Square. Cray.

Camp was one experience. But then I had the privilege of travelling around New York and Florida with some of the best people. I fell in love with New York. I know I’ll be going back.

·         Going to New York on a coach and getting butterflies because I knew I was gonna meet my bestie.
·         Being in Times Square with Chin and thinking this is one of the weirdest but greatest experiences ever.
·         Shopping in the Disney shop, M&M world, forever 21 and H&M.
·         Getting a yellow taxi because we got lost trying to work the subway but then getting to know the subway and feeling like a boss.
·         IHop breakfasts. The best.
·         Going to Grand Central station and looking for Serena.
·         Visiting the Met Steps but not being allowed to sit on them. I JUST WANNA BE BLAIR NOW.
·         Going to Chinatown for 1 and ½ spring rolls.
·         Seeing the Alice statue, the boats on the lake and Strawberry fields in Central Park
·         Wall Street. No wolf.
·         Visiting the 9/11 memorial.
·         Playing The Subway game. Choose 3 characteristics of a person, get on a subway and find someone who matches it. FOLLOW THEM. See where you end up. We ended up in Madison Square Gardens. SUCCESS.
·         Seeing Chicago and loving how amazing it is. Then seeing Matilda and being in awe.
·         Drinking bubble tea and getting an addiction for Iced Coffee because I’m such a New Yorker.
·         Visiting the Statue of Liberty. She’s actually much sassier than you think.
·         New York High line is pretty.
·         Brooklyn Bridge at Sunset was perfect. We wrote our names on it. And Wildcats. <3
·         A Night bus tour of Manhattan was amazing. RUN THE LIGHT, JUAN.
·         Going to Coney Island on my birthday was beaut, making sandcastles, drinking slushies and loving life.
·         Sling shot. BEST. FEELING. EVER.
·         Rockerfella Center for sunset was adorable.
·         Spending the last day going around the city finding the exterior of the Friends building, The Van der Woodsen’s Hotel and standing on the grid where Marilyn Monroe does those sexy poses. FEELZ FAYMUS.
·         Going to IHop 3 out of the 4 days you spent in Orlando.
·         Present shopping
·         Loaded fries are heaven.
·         UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE WAS IMMENSE. Totally feeling the magic.
·         Wet n Wild is the best water park I’ve been too. Disco H20 and standing in a rocket before the floor drops and you fall down an almost verticle slide is one of the craziest feelings ever.
·         Spending a total of 50 hours on a coach from New York to Florida and back was the worst idea I’ve ever had. This is how I lost my luggage. Bastards.

 

It’s fair to say that I have had one amazing summer. Words will never be able to justify how awesome it has been. I have met some of the loveliest and most inspirational people ever, campers and counsellors. And  the memories I’ve made at camp as well as travelling will stay with me forever, even if my luggage hasn’t.

Now to look forward to 3 weeks at home before moving into my new house at uni and making my second year at uni even better than the first.