Hey all!

So, another busy week has flown by and once again I realise I have a lot to update you on! Last Friday we had our first International staff night off, so we were taken to a small hotel about an hour from camp and ate dinner in Applebees - GREAT break from camp food! Of course that night was spent quietly in our bedrooms, sipping tea in our PJ's and reading our books...NAAT. Needless to say, we had a late one and some weren't feeling too hot the next day...! Saturday was spent checking out the huge outlet malls and chilling before being picked up and taken back to camp for our weekly staff training every Saturday evening, i.e., practising more white water searches, spinal boards, and more emergency procedures - joy.

That evening was an eventful one though, which I probably won't forget in a while. On heading back to my cabin for the night, I walked in just as one of my friends, an English girl, began to have a seizure. Just five of the girls staying in my cabin were there, so we had to instantly rush into action, supporting her head and moving her onto the floor, calling the camp clinic and trying not to panic and freeze up. The whole episode lasted only around half an hour, with the medical staff racing in, shouting orders to call the hospital and other supervisors on camp, run and get supplies, get out of the way, not to watch. It was pretty stressful and horrible to see, but thankfully it wasn't in the presence of kids. She was taken off to hospital whilst we were left to clean up, and the moment we stopped to realise what had happened, we burst into tears from the stress and adrenaline. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night, so our area supervisors gave us the morning off the next day, and we were personally thanked by all of the senior staff and the camp director for our quick reaction to the episode. A few days afterwards, once she was out of intensive care and off the sedatives, we were given the chance to go and visit her in hospital which was really nice, though she was pretty dosed up on meds so doesn't remember it apparently!

BUT, as I was sitting in the staff lodge writing this last night, she just strolled in with her dad! I ran up to her squealing, and she told me that she was discharged from hospital the previous night after a week, due to fly home with her dad, who's come out to be with her, in a few days time. She came back to camp to visit us in the meantime and show her dad around. Apparently the seizures were due simply to extreme dehydration from the heat, so luckily it isn't due to any long term issues, but I'm happy for her that she's finally out! Sadly camp can't continue to employ her though due to the risk of the seizures happening again, especially around the kids, but she's already been given a contract for next year to confirm her place for summer, so there's a silver lining.

That day we had the annual camp event of Fox Fire, a traditional American carnival involving face-painting, pie-eating contests, dunk tanks, country music, and a bonfire. As waterfront staff, we were controlling the slip-and-slide and water fights which were very popular in the 38 degree heat. The 6 ten year olds in my assigned cabin insisted on dragging me around to EVERYTHING - I was drenched.

That Monday, after an early morning lake swim with Lacey, one of the Aussie girls, a new Boating and Canoeing (B and C) staff arrived to join me and the 3 boys, Shayna, an American. She arrived a bit late as she's studying at university in Israel and had to fly over for camp, but I now no longer feel outnumbered as the only girl in my area! She already seems to be one of my closest friends, she's absolutely great and we get on like a house on fire. The camp program organised for the evening was "Camplified", where we all sat on the amphitheatre beside the lake and 3 local bands played pop and rock music for the kids, pretty cute.

Tuesday morning I was woken up at 6am with the cabin shaking. When it storms in Michigan, it really storms - I've never seen or heard anything like it; the shutter beside my bed was crashing repeatedly into the wall as the wind pummelled it about, and I could see the whole sky lighting up like multiple giant camera flashes Everyone else was woken by the noise and we lay in bed listening to the crashes and watching our cabin light up - it was so exciting. At 6:30am, the tornado siren sounded at the centre of camp. We all jumped out of bed suddenly serious and ran in the torrential rain to our village lodge where we were joined by the rest of young girls all staring wide-eyed out of the windows, which we were told strictly to stay away from. Eventually it died down and we headed back to our cabins. It apparently wasn't a tornado, just a severe storm, but most of the waterfront sessions were cancelled that day or stopped early, as the rule is to wait at least half an hour before entering the water again once thunder is heard, in case lightning strikes.

We B and C staff were up early to serve breakfast that morning, as each area is assigned a certain day of the week to serve meals for everyone in the dining hall, which can be pretty hectic when trying to serve over 1000 campers at once! Meal times are always fun though, and LOUD; all 14 camp villages sit in set areas of the dining hall, divided into junior and senior side by a wall divider, and the instant the pre-meal prayer is finished, song wars commence. Each village has a bunch of songs handed down from many years back, and once one kid shouts the first word, of a cheer everyone scrambles up on their chairs and yells it across the dining hall at the other villages, who will then respond with one of their songs. One particular "war" involves campers from one village spontaneously standing up on their seats, pointing at another village, and yelling "We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how 'bout YOU?!", with which the other village has to then respond, mid-mouthful, with the same as quickly as possible or they lose. If they do manage to get up and respond in time, the cheer continues into a chant, with each village shouting things like "WE ARE CUTER, WE ARE CUTER…" (mostly the girls' choice), or "WE GOT SWAGGER,WE GOT SWAGGER", (mostly the boys' choice) whilst clapping to the beat. Needless to say, it's a pretty noisy affair.

The next morning, the natural wake-up call commenced at 4am. This storm was even worse. The shutters were crashing, the wind was raging, the lightning was flashing every couple of seconds. I even attempted to capture some of it on video from my window, it was so epic. Venturing out to breakfast we could see rivers of water flowing between the cabins, and there were even cases of trees falling on the roofs and slicing through ceilings. But, today was a big day: July the 4th = Independence Day. All of the activity specialists like me got up to decorate the dining hall with blue, red and white streamers, and the whole morning was assigned to "circus day", with apple bobbing, sponge throwing, candy floss, bouncy castles and more, followed by a firework display by the lake in the evening. Mid-heatwave, it was 40 degrees, so the water activities proved a nice relief!

Due to another heavy night, the power was out for the next morning, and I was beginning to feel physically and mentally exhausted- I definitely know what people meant when they told me I'd be "camp tired"! I think during the 4 periods of the day I paddle the lake around 5 times with different groups of kids, as well as the organised staff lake swims, 20 minute walks to and from each side of the lake for junior or senior sessions, the occasional additional 5th period after dinner, the constant racking and un-racking of the boating equipment, and the scheduled lifeguarding sessions with the Orthodox Jews across the other side of the lake during my lunch breaks. As soon as I get a moment free I just want to crawl into bed! This evening, however, was scheduled to be a long one. First of all, the specialists from each area get some 5th periods to try out the activities from other areas of camp, so this time we were taken horse-riding through the forest which was so much fun if not incredibly hot, made funnier by the ridiculously bad riding from the guys I was with! Then, that night, Exodus took place. This is a traditional annual camp event whereby the older kids' villages are woken at midnight to canoe from their senior side of the lake to the junior side, the whole while staying completely silent and serious. The activity is to mimic the time when the Jews first tried to arrived in America but were captured, their passports ripped up on the spot. This is taken very seriously and their staff members keep them in strict line, taking up the role of army sergeants shouting orders at them to remain silent and perform press ups when not complied to. As waterfront staff, we had the job of escorting them across the lake in canoes with only their flashlights for company, keeping them as silent and focussed as possible. Upon reaching the other side, their "arrival into America" had begun, and their task was to make their way on foot back to their village without being caught by the enemy, aka the staff. We were all dressed in black and positioned in the trees and bushes to catch them as they passed and rip up their paper passports. It can go on til the early hours of the morning as the kids try and find ways and back routes to their village without being spotted, though every year no-one ever makes it. Once caught, the kids are forced to run to the "prison" to sit facing the wall in a long line as the staff patrol up and down and bark orders at them, waiting for the capture of all of the kids. It's taken so seriously that some of the kids even cry! Everyone knows that they have to do it at some point at camp but not when, so it does freak them out sometimes when they realise that it's about to take place.

Friday night, we International staff were taken to a baseball game at Comerica Park in Central Detroit to see The Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City as a treat from camp. The stadium is situated next to a large river whose opposite banks are Canada! It was amazing, and although the game lased over 3 hours into the evening, it was such a great experience to see the typically American game played in the huge stadium. There were Mexican waves, chants, cheerleaders, even the good ol' "Kiss Cam" that you see in movies! Detroit won the game so the huge floodlights were shut off at the end, plunging the stadium into darkness for a huge firework display to celebrate. Each weekend during our night off from Friday night to Saturday, camp asks for some of us to stay back and work at least once during the summer, so I volunteered to stay back this Saturday and went back to camp after the game. It means that I get an extra day off next week, so I'm going back to an American's house on the Saturday night with one of the other lifeguards that stayed back too, so I'll get the whole weekend off next week, woo!

Saturday was pretty chilled, not starting work until 1pm with Bubba Zadie, where grandparents and their young grandchildren come to Tamarack to swim in the lake each Saturday. The water in the lake was so warm though it's like swimming in a warm bath! That evening, the waterfront staff played a water polo game in the pool as a treat, before Hav Dallah, their small weekly religious celebration, singing songs and prayers around the bonfire with the children, holding candles. At night I always try to go and say goodnight to my kids, the 6 girls that I'm assigned to for the summer, and they always come running up and give me huge hugs and launch a bunch of tales at me about their day and what they've been doing - sometimes I feel slightly bad as they'd just be getting into bed and I'd come and disrupt them!

The following Monday was a long day. I was working all 5 periods of the day, lifeguarding for the Orthodox Jews during my lunch period, and then carrying out our area event - Midnight Canoe. The Mid-side kids, aged 11-12, were taken out to the waterfront around 11pm, where they were led through a constructed avenue of flame torches stuck into the sand towards the shoreline where a line of canoes were waiting for them on the shore, all lined with colourful glow sticks. It was really atmospheric, with the sun almost set across the lake, creating red and orange reflections on the water. They were put in pairs into the canoes and taken out by us into the middle of the lake where we studied the stars and told ghost stories, before heading back to the beach to roast smores around a bonfire.

So, I've FINALLY got to yesterday, I feel like I've just relived everything! Just as we lead 5th periods for members of staff from other areas to try our activities, we get to go to them too, so we were scheduled to go on the zip-wire last night. We had to clamber up a net ladder towards the top of a tree and scramble onto a small platform wrapped around the trunk, where we were strapped into the harness and let go. The wire travels right across the lake from one side to the other, so we got to soar over the water below which was pretty awesome! However, I've gone and got myself an injury in a pretty awkward place… I was bitten on my left butt cheek on Sunday by some kind of insect (don't laugh), and by Tuesday it had swollen into a lump twice the size of a 50p coin. I went to the clinic to get some meds, but today I could barely sit down as it's so painful and bruised, let alone canoe and kayak around the lake! I was taken back to the clinic by my supervisor who saw that it was now double the size (I honestly look like I have a third bum cheek - still don't laugh), and the docs worked out that I've been bitten by a spider and that I've had an allergic reaction to it which caused the swelling, and it has also now become infected. BAD TIMES! They handed me a small cup with 7 different pills in to take, including steroids which knocked me out for a few hours, and I'm on antibiotics now so hopefully that should do the job. I've also been given the day off work tomorrow, though it's Israel Day (similar to the American Fox Fire carnival but Israeli themed) so I'm might go and join in with some of that later in the day.

So now you know all, bum lumps and all! Because of all these late night activities and days out and "in villages" where we have to stay in our village for the night, I've left it quite late to update you, but I'll get on the next one soon.

Much American love xxx