Week Two of Camp!

Monday, August 1

Welcome to the Underwater Exploration Celebration! We had 13 out of the 39 kiddos for this week before, so it was basically the first week all over again. The good part was that we worked better together as a group, but the rules, routines and individual children's likes and dislikes had to be learned all over again! Overall it went well, with a visit from the PC and PD. The PC is the one that is in charge of all of the British Garrison sites and the PD is the one who is in charge of European Operations. I was surprised that she was able to come to spend time at my site considering she has quite a few other sites to look after! While they were there, there was a girl who wanted to go home, so we talked to her to keep her busy for the last 45 minutes of camp. We also had an accident while they were visiting, and the ice pack was no where to be found. This made me look spectacular as a director to be without part of the first aid. Luckily they are both great people, so they understood. Another funny thing that happened was the bus was late. The kids at camp come from the base we live on and two others nearby. One of the counselors rides to the bases to pick up the kids in the morning and then another rides after work to drop them off. This bus was 45 minutes late, so we improved songs in the front lawn of the center, and it went surprisingly well!

Tuesday, August 2

Today was just another day, however, during sports club in the afternoon, led by Jenna and I, there were bees that kept coming over to the steps outside (they are EVERYWHERE) and one of the boys was taking a drink of his water when a bee flew at him. He screamed and jumped like a little girl, throwing the cup right on my leg, with all of the water running down my leg into my tennis shoe :(

It was so comical that I almost wet my pants while trying to comfort him and tell him that it was okay...but it was difficult :)

Wednesday, August 3

Today was our field trip to Kid's Planet. It wasn't too bad, and there weren't too many accidents, however, it was somewhat interesting at first because the standards that Germany has on safety are a bit different than that of the United States.

Thursday, August 4

Today was quite interesting. This morning was really good, but then there were several meltdowns of problem kiddos, which resulted in arguments, attacks and counselors being hit...this led to the kiddos being sent home for good. I would explain more if I could, but my conscience won't allow it. Let's just say that it was for the better. This led to me having to fill out a lot of paperwork and write full reports describing what had happened and how to proceed...what a pain.

Friday, August 5

Today was surprisingly much better than yesterday. It is shocking to see how much of a difference it makes to have two less kids out of 39 and have it make a noticeable difference. I suppose that was a sign that it was for the better. We had Camp A Presents, which went well, with about 30 parents in attendance! We had cream the counselor, where I was chosen AGAIN. This time we used whipping cream. Unfortunately it was not Cool Whip, and since it was dairy, it smelled like rotten cottage cheese in my nose as I was trying to wash my face off :(

Prague-Day Two!

Today was another great morning to spend in the Czech Republic! Unfortunately, we overslept again, but not by too much. We went down to breakfast, all excited that we were going to be getting something like we do at the hotel, but we were sorely disappointed. We were given two pieces of toast, a thing of jam, a thing of butter and a small glass of orange juice. It was funny because I pictures that this what food in jail must be like, but then I realized that they are probably given foods that are more wholesome and filling than this!:

We walked around Prague for a while longer, seeing the sites around the train station, and then got back on the train to make our way back to Monchengladbach!

a sign at our hostel

the view in the morning at our hostel

a cool door :)

the path back to the train station

my fav...mr. ron weasley!

Overall, we had a good ride back to the train station, and on our way back, we stopped for about one minute at a minor train station, and I looked out the window to see that the town was called ROSENBERG, GERMANY!!! Mary and I freaked out and tried to get as many pictures of the sign as possible before the train took off again! It was awesome and definitely made me think of Paul :) We made it back to Monchengladbach and were very hungry! Since barely anything is open on Sunday in Germany, we had to walk for a long time until we could find a place that had food! We got a doner kebob and split it, because it was the last 5 euro that I had, because this trip cost us a little more than we had planned. I ended up with, at the end of the trip going back on base, 77 cents and Mary had 33 cents, so I guess you could say that we planned really well or not good enough. When the bus came to take us back to base, the other girls were on it! They had gone to Roermond, in Holland to go shopping, and coincidentally were on the same bus to go back to base.

this was the bag my sandwich came in
it made me think of one of my favorite people...dawn do'ree :)

here was one of the pictures i managed to get in rosenberg, germany

here is another :)

obviously someone did not catch the european fashion bug

clock tower in monchengladbach at the train station

the cute street that had our restaurant in monchengladbach

Prague, Day One!

Today was a long but amazing day!

We were off to rocky start, because we both overslept, missing our bus and the train we planned on taking, but we were able to find another one that left shortly after, so it wasn't too bad. On our way to Prague, we had a 40 minute break between  trains in Cologne, so we walked around and as soon as we got to the front of the train station, our jaws dropped! We saw one of the oldest and most beautiful Gothic Cathedrals I have ever seen! We walked inside and it was even more amazing...these pictures do not even begin to do it justice:

this was the view from inside the train station,
the first time i saw the cathedral

the view from the bottom of the steps

some of the stained glass inside the cathedral

the main aisle leading up to the alter
(there was one off to each side as well)

looking up by a pillar

the prayer vigil area

the view from outside

outside of the cathedral

Historical Fact: After WWII, almost all of Cologne was bombed and destroyed, except for this cathedral. It is said to be divine intervention that it was not destroyed. Others say that it was done on purpose so that it could guide the German people to a place of safety and refuge (within the church, both figuratively and literally).

-----------------------------------

We took trains for most of the day...which was really fun :( The last part of our trip involved taking a bus for three hours to actually get to Prague. After about eight hours of traveling, we finally got there! Luckily it was worth it, because everything was gorgeous! We had to exchange our money in the train station to Krona, because the Czech does not use Euro :(
We walked from the train station to our hostel to drop off our things and then we took the public transit trolley/bus to the main area of Prague. We walked around a lot, just looking at the buildings and seeing the sites. We saw a castle at the top of a hill, and decided to venture to the top to get a closer look. It was quite a hike, but it was well worth it because we ended up being high enough that we could see most of Prague, and by the time we were up there, it was dark, so it was beautiful.
We found a town square that was neat, and had some food stands, and we ended up getting some wiener schnitzel and potatoes from one of the stands and it was lush (the British word for delicious).
Unfortunately, it was raining basically the entire time that we were walking around, but we didn't really care because we were constantly taking pictures and looking at one beautiful building after another.
I bought some postcards at a shop as souvenirs, because everything here was rather expensive. When we got back to the hostel, we were greeted (sarcasm) by some men in the bushes who had just stopped to pee outside the hostel...it was a bit odd and definitely caught me off guard.
The hostel we stayed at was really cool. It was a school during the fiscal year and a hostel in the summer.  We stayed on the third floor, which required eight large flights of steps to get to (not fun), and it was basically what a makeshift closet or an office had been for a teacher. It had a cupboard that we could open that was filled with books and school supplies for the school, so it was interesting to look at what supplies they have compared to home. It was also nice because they had free wi-fi, although you had to go back to the bottom floor to be able to access! We got cards to check into our rooms and to get breakfast in the morning. We were excited about getting a breakfast in the morning!

the train station

benches outside of the train station

our room at the hostel

the view out our window

view before crossing the famous charles bridge

cool graffiti

leaving the charles bridge

on the charles bridge

in our wanderous expedition, we found the parliament!

this was a bridge in a random street, but it
reminded me of the bridge of sighs in venice

view by the castle

part of the castle

a live opera that was going on while we were standing at the castle
this picture was taken through the binoculars at the landing

happy boys? there is even a hooters here!

First Friday of Camp!

Today was FRIDAY! This is by far my favorite day of the week because it means that it is time for Camp A Presents and Cream the Counselor! I had already purchased shaving cream for the creaming, so we were set! It went really well, compared to yesterday, which was nice for a change. When it was time for Camp A Presents to start, there were parents lining up outside of the door! It was amazing, because in Okinawa, we might have had 2-4 parents show up, and we had about 20-25 at our first Camp A Presents! They were all rather excited to see their kids doing different things on stage, from songs to skits, to small group and club presentations. Cream the Counselor came next, which, for those of you who don't know, is where each counselor chooses a camper who has done exceedingly well throughout the week, and that camper gets to choose a counselor to "cream" or put a pie in their face (this can range from ice cream to shaving cream to whipped cream, depending on what is available). Of course, I was chosen to get creamed, as I always am, with my luck, even though I didn't choose a camper!

After camp, we went back to the hotel, had supper, and planned for travel tomorrow morning. Mary and I are going to be going to Prague, which is in the Czech Republic. I worked out with the girls, relaxed and went to bed :)

Day 4 of Camp :)

Today was a really long day of camp! It wasn't too bad, until one of the kids decided that he was going to try and run from the center, getting him back, struggling with a counselor that led her to roll her ankle, having him scream and panic for about 20 minutes at me, talking to him for a few hours to get him to calm down, and then hearing some things from him that needed to be reported...did I mention today was a tough day? It was definitely a day that I could have used a hug from Grandma or Mom...or Paul :)

We went to a hang out spot on base and met some of the local military police, which in Britain, they are called the 'Royal Military Police' or "RMP's." They were really nice and had some interesting stories to tell us. They were fascinated with the way we said the simplest phrases, like "that's weird," and "oh my goodness." It was entertaining to hear them say the phrases back to us without an accent :) It was good to get out and meet some new people on the base.

They were also all very impressed with my ability to do a British accent, saying that it sounded very 'posh.'

We're Going to the Zoo!

Wednesday---

Today was field trip day!!! I love field trips! Not only are the kids allowed to get out of the center, but it is less programming and something new and exciting for them to do. The zoo we went to was an hour bus ride, but that went surprisingly fast. None of the kids got sick until we got to the zoo, and then one of them got off with the counselor right away and threw up (which they just call getting sick). They thought it was funny when we asked him if he was okay since he threw up...almost as if were were speaking a foreign language to him or something. The zoo was very different, with the path at the parking lot winding up a large hill, making it quite a walk for the kiddos before we had even gotten to the entrance. 

Once we got there, we went straight into the dolphin show! It was a surprisingly small arena type facility, only seating about a thousand people, if that. The tank was also rather small, but once the show started, I knew it was going to be different. First of all, the instructor spoke exclusively in German (of course) and the dolphins actually did tricks that the American  shows don't! I was a bit shocked, but it was neat to see what other things dolphins can do. After the dolphin show, we sought shade for lunch under a large tree, however, that failed us miserably. First of all, my lunch was just odd. By odd, I mean ODD! It was coleslaw with mayo, butter and grated mozzarella cheese. It is definitely something that I will never eat again. Secondly, we were all sitting on the ground, which some of the kids did not like, and thirdly, there were constant swarms of bees that would stop by every once and a while to pay us a visit. Let's just say that I was spending more time swatting bees away from fidgety screaming children than inhaling my lunch. We also happened to have two separate injuries during lunch that required band-aids (here they are called plasters). I turned to the staff member that had been sent along with us, since I had been notified beforehand that they would be carrying the field trip backpack (here called a knapsack). After asking, however, she looked at me and said that she didn't and only had her stuff. This was horrible, because that meant that I had to run to the entrance and try to translate to the German-speaking worker that didn't really know what I was doing, so I had to act out what I needed. Then he had to bring out a long bandage and have me cut off what I wanted, and then run back. By the time I made it back, one of the counselors had found a band-aid in their bag. Of course.

After lunch was better, because we broke off into small groups to see the animals. My group ended up going through a part that looked a bit like asia, winding past some odd looking deer, gorillas and then into the monkey house, with orangutans and other primates. It had a similar feel to the Henry Doorly, but at the same time, it was a bit different. One thing that was cool within this building was that there were ropes that went overhead where we could walk, and that was the path the two-toed sloth could walk overhead without any netting or guards from people...it definitely made it seem like we were in the primate house with the animals rather than simply walking through it. We managed to see a few more things while we were there, but then, before we knew it,  it was time to load up the bus and go back! Many of the campers passed out on the way back, but the others sang camp songs, wanted to take silly photos and record 'music videos.' If only I could put them on the internet, because then you could truly see how adorable these children are with their little accents and all. Unfortunately Camp does not allow us to do that (which I completely understand and intend to follow).

After camp, we wanted to make an attempt at going into town (Monchengladbach) to go to the train station to get ticket reservations for our up and coming trips. When we got back to Cassel's House to change our clothes it was getting hot and was actually sunny outside! We put on t-shirts and shorts to go into town and went to the bus stop to wait for the bus and take the 40 minute bus ride to Monchengladbach. As soon as we got off of the bus, it started to rain. When it rains in Germany, it basically comes out of nowhere...and pours. As if someone were to dump a  bucket of water on your head. Of course we did not bring jackets or umbrellas with us because it had been sunny :( We made it into the train station and waited in line for about half and hour to get up to the counter and make reservations. As soon as the woman had put in the information for our trip, there was a really loud clap of thunder and the lights flickered in the station. This caused the computers to glitch and the internet to quit working on the computer system that looked up the reservations. This meant that we were unable to look up any reservations that night.

We ended up walking around the main street of Monchengladbach because we had about an hour and a half until the next bus arrived. We went to a pretzel and pizza store called Ditsch, which had delicious long pizzas shaped like loaves of bread and ginormous pretzels! We also went into H&M, where I found an incredibly American/British jacket that looked like it was from the 80's as well as a dress and long shirt (which I ended up buying)...not the jacket, just the cute things they had, of course ;) We ended up getting back on the bus and back to base in one piece, which was a good end to our rocky day!


Also, I realized that I have now seen a dolphin show on three continents in the last year! Japan, USA and Germany :)

the indoor dolphin show arena

one of the dolphins :)

the dolphins jumping over a rope

the extremely american/british jacket from the 80's

Space Week Day Two

Today was the second day of camp! It was not as good, but it still worked out in the end. I ate with some of the happier, more well behaved kiddos at lunch because they wanted me to...it feels nice to be wanted by the good campers. It stinks as the director that the first names that I learn of the campers are the naughty ones! We took pictures and did music videos at lunch, which the girls loved, of course. The packed lunch for the day was peanut butter, jelly and butter sandwiches, which weren't all that bad, but the butter didn't really add much to the sandwich. I suppose it was just extra calories (that I needed to make it through the day).

In the afternoon, when one of the moms came to pick up her daughter early, the boys came in from playing football (soccer to us Americans) and one decided that he was a little too hot, so he took his shirt off. Logical, right? This lead five other boys to take their shirts off and run around together, swinging them above their heads...the mom just stood there and stared like the center was a zoo. I just walked up to her and said, "Looks like you are here for one of the most eventful things to happen today!" I thought it was funny, because they are 6 year old boys, but she didn't think so...oh well.

During art, we were making paper mache planets. This project could have definitely gone worse, but it could have gone better as well. We ended up having glue EVERYWHERE and it took hours to clean up afterwards. We are definitely not going to do that again!

As for a workout of the day, we mixed it up again and did the pilates/yoga Insanity, followed by the ab ripper x from P90x. It was quite the workout, and made me equally as sore as I was on Sunday :( I am pretty sure I am going to have trouble bending over to pick things up tomorrow...

Welcome to the Intergalactic Interstellar Mars Space Race Week!

Today was the first day of camp! Surprisingly it went well, with the occasional hiccups here and there. It looks like we are going to have our hands full though, because there are quite a few kids that are going to give us a run for our money! I loved listening to their accents, words we don't use, and how little they are! (We have 4-8 year olds).

When I was in the art room, one of the boys was coloring, or should I say, colouring, and he asked me if I "had a rubber." I didn't know what he meant, because I had never heard of that before, so I asked what he was talking about, and he responded by saying, "you know, something to rub off what you wrote," and I realized he meant an eraser! I was really confused for a few seconds on what he meant, considering that a 'rubber' can mean a multitude of things.

For the first sack lunch that I had, packed by the staff at Cassel's, it was 'turkey salad,' which was roast turkey with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. It was really good, and hopefully they make sandwiches like that more often that aren't weird like I had been told they could be.

When we got back for supper, we got to have curry! It is delicious and one of the group favorites to eat :) We ended up doing a workout video of hip hop abs tonight because we were so sore from out first day of working out and doing Insanity.

Pictures from the NAFFE

The NAFFE is the British Army's version of an American PX, which is a place that the military personnel can go on base to get supplies (set up like a Target) from their home country. We have full privileges, so we can shop here as well. Here are some of the pictures that I took at the NAFFE of British food that I found to be comical in size, appearance or name. Enjoy!

i suppose calling them rolls is to the point too :)

please mom! can i have some tuna and mayonnaise paste today?
yeah right!

i feel like this is a contradiction...innocent kids?

i really like the name of this butter.
i would love asking someone to get it for me from the store or for directions to get it.

this is definitely something kelsey or paul would buy

frubes! get it? fruit tubes! genius :)

classic...frankfurters in germany

if you can't tell, that is my foot by that bottle of bacardi and it is huge in comparison!

in most of europe, it is the law that there have to be warnings on the packaging
of cigarettes...this one was my favorite

i've got whosits and wotsits galore! (little mermaid) 

squash...aka juice. this is the best kind :)

this bag of m&m's made me think of women's sanitary napkins...

this made me think of the chronicles of narnia.
the girl working at the naffe said they were 'just plain nasty.'

this doesn't look appetizing to me

yum...i would love to eat some chunks...wouldn't you?
saying that makes me feel like i am going to blow chunks...

not diet pepsi, but pepsi diet!

hula hoop potato crisps (potato chips)

pickled onion?

roast chicken?

steak and onion?

prawn cocktail?

tomato ketchup...this one seemed the most harmless

gag me...smoky bacon chips?

notice the american flag design at the top...
do they think that 't-bone steak' flavoured chips equal americans?

just in case the normal size doesn't cut it...mansize!
(i asked one of the staff if they actually used them and they said that they are 'quite nice'
and a lot like a blanket for your nose when you are sick...i think i am going
to have to buy a box before i leave)

doner kebab?

the beautiful gummy ring from kayla...chosen just for me...notice the color combination!

delicious...i had to eat some before i even took the picture :)