Right now we're in the middle of another 3 day session, where Girl Scout troops come here as a troop, and with their leaders (all other sessions you don't have to be a Girl Scout). And my group this week is as easy as my group last week was difficult. The past two days I've constantly been in awe of how amazing they are together. They are literally eight best friends. They squabble very occasionally, but most of the time they are unbelievably angelic. They include each other in everything, they are always always sharing and making sacrifices for each other and building each other up. It is literally unreal. Apparently they've all known each other for most of their lives. They're from a very small town here called Seward.
My co-counselor this week has also been especially great. She's very sweet, and is laidback like me, and she prefers to take a backseat, and I prefer to be in charge. The past two weeks I've had co-counselors who are also leaders, so there's been a little bit of dominance conflict, although I always give out and let the other person take control. And it makes me annoyed for the duration of the session. Apparently I was put with my co-counselor this week because we've both been seen as being kind of the second fiddle to our other co-counselors the past couple weeks, and they wanted one of us to step up as a leader. Which really kind of annoyed me, because I AM a leader, and I DO prefer to be in charge, and I hate that I haven't been seen that way. In every job I've ever worked, I've always preformed my best and been the most happy when I have a lot of responsibility. The more responsibility I have, the happier I am. Hopefully I've proven that this week, and they'll continue to put me with people who would rather support rather than lead.
I'm still loving Alaska itself. I actually really love that it's daylight all the time, and I really really love living outdoors. Right now it's raining outside, and the patter of raindrops on the tent is very soothing. I love to hear nature, too. Last night the loons were very loud, loud enough to wake up my girls repeatedly throughout the night, but I loved listening to them. I love hearing the wolves howl and the birds calling. By the way, Dad-- I've seen two bald eagles so far!
We walk all day long, and I can feel myself getting some amazing calf muscles. ;) I wish the food they served here was healthier, because it'd be very easy to get in great shape. But, they serve things like hot dogs and tacos and grilled cheese, and we as counselors aren't allowed to be selective or talk about any food being "bad" for you. The camp very much focuses on inner beauty (for example, there is not a single mirror anywhere in the entirety of camp property), and they don't want girls focusing on their weight or dieting, which means they can't see counselors doing it either. Unless we have a food allergy or are vegetarian, we are not allowed to skip any food. I understand the reasoning, but I feel like if they are going to make that a rule, then that gives then the responsibility of serving healthy food. The girls are only here for a week or less, but staff is here almost three months. I feel like the food is possibly negating all the exercise we're getting.
One exciting thing about this week--I learned how to build a fire! Yesterday I struggled with getting it started for about forty minutes. The camp director, who is a little younger than me but is super amazing and I totally want her to be my best friend, came over and got it going the rest of the way. Today, I got the fire started all by myself in less than ten minutes! And that was even after it'd been raining all day and all the wood was damp. It's such a little thing but I was surprised by just how excited I was about it, and how proud I felt. :)
I'm still a little sick, I can't quite shake the cough and congestion. Maybe I'm just allergic to Alaska. I can't really go back to the doctor though because I don't think the camp's insurance will cover it this time, and I know my own insurance won't cover anything outside of California. I also seem to have some fluid in my ear, because I can hear the blood whooshing in time with my pulse in my ear. Sometimes it's so loud I have a hard time hearing out of my right ear, and sometimes it keeps me awake at night.
Okay, I'm off to bed. These campers leave at 11am tomorrow, and the new ones arrive at 2pm the next day, so we have a very little time off. The next campers are week-long, so it'll be a long time without a significant break. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. :-P
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