Many people say that Summer Camp is the best experience of your life. I am fairly inclined to agree. My time working at camp was life changing. My whole mindset shifted, my path changed and I learnt so much. It's not the easiest few months, but it is the most rewarding.
For me I didn't want to do what everyone else did. I didn't want get some boring Summer job working in a shop or down the local pub. I guess my 20 year old self wished to be different, unique, special and perhaps even shock people with my choice. I accidentally saw a poster for Summer Camp on the notice board at my uni and that basically led to me teaching horse riding at an all boy's camp in North Carolina. Not the logical choice for the Music student that loves shoes.
I have been unable to settle for long since working at camp, which explains my current location in China and upcoming move to Thailand. There are a lot of similarities between camp and being on the International Teaching Circuit. A lot of the people I currently work with have had worked at a camp in the past. This probably doesn't come as any surprise as both camp and teaching involve working with children and a work location away from your home if you desire.
Both work environments I'm talking about give you the chance to put yourself outside of your comfort zone. Although the hop from the UK to the USA was not so great. I swapped my parents 4 bedroom detached house in a quiet cul de sac for a log cabin nestled amongst the tress that house 10 females, 2 bathrooms and not enough hot water. You work hard, it is intense, you work with multiple nationalities and you exist in a bubble. The bubbles are slightly different, but still you live in a bubble.
The nature of the community to which you belong to causes you to make friends fast. We've met very few expats outisde of the school community, but the friends that we have made I cannot imagine losing touch with these people. You create a unique bond with anyone that you are priveleged enough to share these amazing experiences with. Despite perhaps not seeing some of these people for years you know that there is a spare room or a sofa waiting for you to go and a conversation ready to be picked up from where you left off.
You live in the moment when you know that there is a deadline on how long you will be in a location. See the sites, take trips, go out for dinner. You try to cram a lifetime into a few months or a few short years. Life is for living, experiencing and learning from. You make the most of everything before your expiry date.
I wanted to go back to camp, but I was advised by one person to not romance camp. It's a great piece of advice as so many people become a part of the loop and keep going back. I realised that had I gone back I would have been one of those people that kept going back and struggled to tear myself away. I'd probably still be there now.
I am priveleged to travel and spend my time with so many wonderful, like minded people who developed their understanding of the world through their experiences.
The Summer Camp experience isn't exclusive to camp. I am still living it, but not in Summer.
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