Once in a lifetime….Go Camp America

I was once a cynic to the phrase: ‘once in a lifetime experience’, until I did Camp America. Now all I can do is promise you that if you do it, this is what you will get. I have no doubts it will be one of the most incredible, inspiring and life-changing things you ever do. Don’t believe me? Here’s why I think you should make this the summer where you ‘just do it’ Camp America style!

Many of us considered it, maybe briefly researched it, perhaps even pondered over applying to be a counsellor or even a camper, but sadly not enough of us get round to actually doing it! After some uncertainly and initial apprehension on my part, I finally did and went as a camp counsellor last summer, to a girls camp run within the state of 10,000 lakes - Minnesota.

In the remotest of areas, sat a traditional fifty year old family-run camp overlooking Steamboat Lake; which continues to etch the most beautiful image in my mind. Cabin after cabin, of nestled lodges and communal spaces aligned the lake that glistened with the summer sun day after day. Camp Birchwood was the scene of a peaceful and picturesque photo frame moment. No surprise that summer after summer it has becomes a glorious escape for kids and counsellors alike, happily accommodating fifty international staff and hundreds of campers. As cheesy as it sounds, there I spent the best three months of my life living amid this wonderfully united and somewhat sacred community.

Camp Birchwood was neither shy nor short of enthusiasm.  It was a camp that encompassed day-in day-out energy and excitement with laughs and screeches that constantly bellowed back and forth from one end of camp to the other. There was no shortage of things to do and a million experiences to encounter. Popular daily activities include tennis, horse-riding, drama, dance and cooking - the opportunity to try something different, exciting, creative and inspiring every day.


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Water fun included everything from swimming and water-skiing to kayaking and windsurfing to all-camp water fights. There was even themed carnivals, archery and cabin lip-syncs!  Evenings would often be filled with the trusty tradition of roasting marshmallows around campfires with high spirits.  Nonstop games such as ‘Capture the Flag’ and ‘The Game of Life’ offered light-hearted competition, friendships and endless entertainment and interaction.

This is just some of what I can promise you will experience if you join Camp America, as a councillor or as a camper. Sure it involves getting up at 7.30am every morning, but the fun in teaching activities and staging events whilst living within a chaotic cabin of twelve noisy campers was worth the occasional tiresome moment.  Every one of my cherished memories is priceless.

The camp and the people that will surround you will become a significant part in your life. In doing Camp America, you are guaranteed to meet so many wonderful people and share so many incredible, life-changing moments. I have met some of my closest friends, experienced things I never could have imagined and I will forever yearn the taste of American ‘candy’ and hum camp songs in my sleep!  Whether you go as a camper or go someday as a counsellor, I can honestly promise impact your life forever. This summer, or next summer, go on, just do it, Go Camp America!

by Glenda McCauley

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