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2004-08-19 - 12:10 p.m. CAMP STORIES AND PERRY POINT NEWS Hi all! So, my time at Double H Ranch has come to a close. I can not even begin to describe what an amazing, wonderful, fulfilling experience working with such incredible, courageous children was. My team is back in Perry Point now for a few days before we leave for our week long break. I will be returning home to Davis and Santa Cruz, visiting family and friends. Camp was awesome. The last three weeks I was in the Bobcat cabin with 10-12 year old girls. We had some fun. During the fifth session we turned our cabin into a sorority! Yes indeed, Omega Phi Kappa (which stood for "Outrageous Phat Kats") RULED the camp. For our cabin night we initiated the girls. It was really fun. We lead them via blindfold to the stage area where we had a ceremony for them, and then we all went around camp and used sidewalk chalk to write OPK everywhere in sight. The girls we surprisingly very into their role as sorority sisters. I think the sisterhood theme brought them closer together. We would walk into the dining hall for every meal cheering. We turned some of my former Alpha Chi Omega cheers into OPK cheers. My sorority experience paid off! Needless to say it was a lot of fun. We ended up being the target of the best prank of the summer from the 11-13 year old boys. They stole the couch in the common area of our cabin and put a pile of horse manure in front of our door! yikes. That sure did get our campers riled up. During fourth session I had a camper who was HIV positive but did not know the status of her illness. One day at the ropes course she started getting nauseous and vomitted a few times. It was really difficult. I think she was sick because of her meds. (I am not sure if she takes them so reguarly at home). I went with her to the body shop (camp infirmary) and stayed with her while she continued to get sick. It was so difficult for me to watch her in pain, and KNOW that in the years ahead she will have to face pain much more difficult. This camper was so vivacious and full of life. She was a silly, 11 year old girl, still very much a little girl. She is at that point in her life when any day now it would be an appropriate time to tell her of her HIV status. I couldn't help but think the week she was here that by the time next summer rolls around she could very well know that she is HIV+. We had another camper that week who knew of her HIV status. She was a very quiet camper, and there was this sadness about her. It is hard to explain, but it is a common thing with the campers who know of their status. I kept on wondering if my camper would return next summer knowing her status and being a completely different kind of camper. Last week I had my favorite campers yet. I think part of it was my own attitude. It was very easy to get burnt out at camp, since we were working 16 hour days on a regular basis, and by mid-summer the fatigue starts to set in. Last week I was very aware of the fact that it was my last session at Double H and I wanted to make the very most of it. We had younger girls because one of the girls cabins had boys in it this week. So our campers were 8, 9, and 10 years old. They were all so great and so funny. Such a sweet group of girls. My camper Shantell, in particular really stole my heart. She was so silly and goofy, always laughing and smiling. She LOVES camp, and her love for Double H was contagious. Shantell and I had a special bond. I inherited a new nickname at camp, "SKIPPY" so she would always yell my name, "Skiiipyyyyy!" when she didn't know where I was. It was really music to my ears. Shantell had a condition that was sort of similar to Cerebral Palsy. It was a neruo-muscular disesase (can't remember the name of it) but she had poor balance and would often fall. She could walk fine and you really couldn't tell there was anything wrong with her, it was almost like she was just really clumsy. Anyhow, her little brother was at camp too and he has the same condition. However, he has to wear a helmet because he has fallen so much that another traumatic fall could cause brain damage. Shantell and I were swimming in the pool one day during free choice and she developed an alter ego named "scuba girl". She would jump out of the water with a huge scuba mast literally covering her face, and yell "scuba girl!" while pumping her fist into the air. I convinced her that she should do scuba girl for the talent show. The plan was for her to wear her swimsuit, the mask, and a towel as a cape. She was going to get on stage and yell "scuba girl". and that was going to be her act. When we practiced she would get so hyper and giggly that she would fall on the floor in convulsions of laughter. It was really quite a site. Right before we left for the talent show she decided she didn't want to do scuba girl. She said, "skippy, if I get up there I'll start laughing like a hyena again and I will be the laughing stock of the whole camp!" So instead she said she would sing a song. She wanted me to accompany her on stage for her act, which I did. I had never heard her song, but as soon as the curtain opened she had such composure and sang so beautifully. I was holding her microphone, just staring into her big brown eyes and I nearly started crying right there. It was so beautiful and I suddenly realized how amazing my summer at Double H had been, what a blessing the experience was. I feel lucky that I was able to help these children feel like normal kids for their week at camp. They are truly some of the bravest, strongest people I have ever met. I would love to return to Double H next summer if it is at all possible. However, it really is the sort of job for college students. I should probably find myself a "real job" something more permanent. I wish I would have known about Double H while I was still a student. There is also a Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Southern California called "The Painted Turtle". Perhaps I can volunteer there next summer for a week or so. Working with these kids just helps put life in perspective. It makes the little things that get you down in life seem un-important, because really, they are. My team is currently in the computer lab working on Preparation for our next project round. We have a project briefing later this afternoon with our Region Director and other important Perry Point folks. Our next project round (which starts after we return from our break on Aug. 29th) will consist of 3 separate projects. I will list all of the upcoming fun and excitement for you. 1) 3 weeks working to re-build the Havre de Grace Promenade. The Promenade is a seaside boardwalk/pier sort of thing that was wiped out in Hurricane Isabel last year. There have been teams working on it along with a professional construction crew for the last 4 months. My team will be there to finish it all up in time for the dedication ceremony on Sept. 16th. The Promenade is a real fixture in the town (just across the river from Perry Point) so the residents have been very grateful to AmeriCorps for our work on it. When it was first built it took 4 years to complete. We have re-built it in a matter of 4 months! That really says something about our work ethic and ability to get a lot done when we combine our forces. 2) Our second project will be a 10 day mini-spike! We will be on Barren Island, in the Chesapeake Bay. The project is through The National Aquarium in Baltimore. Barren Island is eroding at a rapid rate, so our job will be to lead teams of volunteers during at 8 day event in replanting grasses to help slow the erosion process. If the island eroded it would cause many animals to lose their habitat. The island is also important to animals and habitats on the shoreline because the island affects the tide. I think it will be kind of cool doing this. I like the fact that we will be leading others, and being on an island, taking a boat out every day from the lodge we will be staying at sounds sort of cool. We will be in the middle of nowhere, yet again. IN true Fire 2 fashion. 3) We will be local for the last 4 1/2 weeks working in the town of Glyndon, MD just outside of Baltimore. We will be at an organic farm called Garden Harvest, building fences and helping with farming. Garden Harvest donates all of their produce to area food banks and soup kitchens. There is a large african american population in Baltimore that benefits from this. Something like 60% of African Americans are lactose intolerant. So the farm is going to start raising goats for goats milk. We will be building fences for these goats, as well as to keep the pesky deer away from all of the produce! I think sometimes we will get to go on food runs to deliver the food to soup kitchens. An extra bonus is that the farm in next door to the home of baseball legend Cal Ripken, JR! So we can stalk him during our lunch hour. Yay! So these projects will be keeping me busy during my last 2 1/2 months in the corps. I can not believe how quickly it has all gone by. What an adventure. I am starting work on my scrapbook. Shoudl be fun. Also planning lots of fun weekend trips with my teamates to Philly and NYC and other areas since we are local. This is a long entry. Thanks for reading. Health and Happiness Shannon
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