Jun 2007

Last week started off to be quite promising for me. Sunday was a beautiful warm sunny day and Brian and I sunbaked on the lifeguard tower and went swimming in the lake. We got a little bit pink but nothing too bad.

The sun didn't last for long and we got a HUGE amount of rain in the first few days. So much rain that it stirred the lake up and the water went from green to murky brown. Then I started getting a sore throat which turned into the flu

Luckily Chris (a new staff member at camp) has taken over my Space Exploration classes so I taught Athletics in the morning and got to rest in the afternoons. I was probably at my worst on Wednesday but that's the day I spend in medlodge so I got to sleep alot. Then came the blood noses. I was getting about 4 per day from blowing my nose too much and today has been the first day I haven't gotten one which is great news! Touch wood. I've been to the doctors and I'm on antibiotics to clear up a chest infection. I stopped blowing my nose coz of all the blood so instead the mucas went down to my lungs hence the infection. I'm feeling better though!

Brian had a pretty cool afternoon golf class all week. He had one kid to teach and they got on well so on Friday his Dad shouted them both to a game of Golf at an expensive golf course (different one to where he teaches). I got to come along and drive the golf buggy for them which was fun. New pics are in the album!

Friday night camp fire Brian was awarded with Staffer of The Week and was presented on stage with a cool wooden plaque. Staff members get nominated by Senior Patrol Leaders and then they take a vote of who was the best one for the week and then they get awarded. So to win this award is a pretty big deal, especially when Brian is not a regular at camp.

Saturday Brian went kayaking on the lake to practice rolls and turns. Then the White Water boys took him down the Chatooga, the river that is featured in the movie deliverence. I stayed at camp and slept and then had to look after a staff member with an extremely high fever! He ended up going to the ER and is now at home.

After the boys got back from their day on the river, they picked me up and we all went to a Mexican Restaurant and then headed to a "rafting party" where all the river guides throw a huge keg party and get drunk. It was lots of fun and your typical "american party" that we see on the movies. Eg - naked guys running around, bands, kegs and keg stands. (A keg stand is where you get held upside down and have to drink out of the keg. It goes everywhere and is fun to watch!)

In the morning (yesterday) Brian woke up with the flu - thanks to looking after me all week and also from kayaking the day before. He's not too bad now but he was feeling pretty rotten that day.

I also had my first real medical emergency. Sandy was out of camp so I was left to deal with a kid who broke his wrist. I was actually pretty nervous when I got the call coz Sandy had left with the medic bag and I had no supplies to take with me so I pretty much turned up empty handed. I've never had to deal with something like that before but we put his arm in a sling and took him to the ER and everything turned out ok.

Hump week has now started (half way basically) but we only have 3 more weeks left at camp and then a week of theme parks and fun!

We'll write more on the weeks to come so keep checking our blog out and hopefully I will get another chance later this week to add some more photos.

Love Jess and Brian

Last week the White Water guys drew a rain turtle in the dirt at Monday's formation. Everyone had to spit in the turtle so it would bring rain (it's kind of like an indian rain dance). Lets just say that Australia should start drawing some rain turtles cause it poured every afternoon of last week!

The White Water department wanted water so they could have a better flow for kayaking but then copes and climbing wanted no rain at all so they could actually teach the kids their rock climbing merit badges. The rain was greeted by mixed emotions from the staff even though Atlanta and surrounding areas are in drought. Their drought is nothing like Brisbane's though!

Everyone has to march at formation whether it is raining or not so most evenings we were marching in the rain. Luckily we have rain coats. Tuesday afternoon there was a storm and some hail but it was almost over by the time we got to the parade field.

Staff week is on Thursday nights but Jess and Sandy alternate so there is always someone at med lodge. This week we went out on Wednesday night and went to an Italian restaurant called Mama G's which was really good but very filling. I've been driving the van around a bit so I picked Jess up and took her out. Me driving on the wrong side of the road -

Friday night campfire was good. Jess recieved 3 awards from different troops and had to get on stage and accept them. A troop that everyone wanted a shirt from gave her a bright green one, and she also got an orange one from another troop plus a pocket knife which one troop had their details engraved on. She was pretty happy.

Saturday we went to the Mall of Georgia (again) and saw Oceans 13 and looked around the shops. We came back to camp that night and had an early night which was good. Camp tires you out alot so it was good to finally have a sleep in.

Today is Fathers Day over here so Happy Fathers Day from America! Sunday is where the camp prepares for the new week of troops coming in but we helped out the Waterfront guys and spent most of the afternoon on the lifeguard tower and swimming in the water. We both got a little bit burnt.

This week is not as big as the last two but we still have to act like it is the first week to the new campers. I hope it doesn't rain for my sake cause teaching Golf in the rain is not fun. Here's to a good week and we will write more later.

Brian

We booked a hotel to stay at Saturday night to get out of camp plus avoid the drive back to camp from Atlanta at midnight. Our hotel was in downtown Atlanta and within walking distance from the Coke factory and Aquarium. It was cheap and only 2 and a half stars but actually really nice! We got complimentary breakfast, a free shuttle service to the Underground plus a kitchenette and couch in our room.

This is the view from our hotel

After the Aquarium we walked back to our hotel got settled and then caught the shuttle to the Underground to have a look around. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets and I bought some postcards and an Australian Flag patch to sew onto my scout uniform.

We then walked back to our hotel and stoppped in at the Hard rock Cafe. We were going to have some drinks but the place was packed out with lots of people drinking prior to the Braves Game.

Some of the guys from camp picked us up from out hotel late that afternoon and they came with us to the Braves game. Alot of them are around 20 years old but that is still under the age for them to buy alcohol so we had some drinks beforehand. We stopped in at this fast food place called Checkers which was the worst fast food I have ever eaten! I only ate half my burger.

The Braves game started at 7pm but we ended up getting in at about 7:45pm. There was a bit of traffic plus a line up to get into the stadium so we missed the first pitch and the first few innings where the Cubs were playing well.

It was a pretty good game and there's lots of things going on between each innings. It was a pretty big crowd and they have lots of cheers and things thoughout the game. When someone hits a homerun they shoot fireworks above the Coke can which looks pretty cool. At the 7th inning the crowd gets up and sings that Baseball song which I forgot the name of. I seem to be forgetting alot of stuff lately. Must be the air up here! :P

After the game Brian bought me a Braves Jersey which is pretty cool. We're going to go to another Braves game at some stage and I'll wear it then.

Well that was pretty much our weekend. I've uploaded all the pics of Atlanta, the Aquarium and the Coke Factory. There are also campfire pictures in there too.

On Saturday Brian and I went into the city of Atlanta and went to the World Of Coke and The Georgia Aquarium.

The World Of Coke has been moved from its old location and refurbished with a more International outlook. It was interesting but Brian thought the old Coke factory was better. They didn't shoot coke from across the room into a cup but we were still able to sample Coke from across the globe plus other softdrinks. They showed a 4D show about the 'secret ingredients' of coke which was a bit corny, but they sprayed water at us and our seats moved during the show so it wasn't too bad. Apparently in the old Coke Museum they had more history on how Coke was created in Georgia but tourists felt it was focused too much on that and not about Coke all around the world so they made it more International. As we left we got 2 bottles of coke in the glass bottles with no sticker on it as a souvenir which is pretty cool.

The Georgia Aquarium had some pretty cool animals in it like Beluga Whales and Whale Sharks, Piranas and these ugly looking things that were a cross between giant spiders and lobsters... could be tasty but I wouldn't want to catch them!! The venue is pretty huge but they have a lot of blank wall space and small glass windows to look into aquariums which, at times, was a bit frustrating with all the people that were there. The whales were cool though. They were in a huge tank and swam around in front of the viewing area heaps. I got to test out a few different settings on my camera as I took heaps of photos of animals and some turned out pretty arty. Alot of the times though we weren't allowed a flash so some pictures came out a bit dark.

I guess we were a little disappointed with what the Aquarium didn't have for being the biggest Aquarium in the state, ie - Dolphins, Polar Bears, animal shows etc, but Brian and I had been to SeaWorld before we left so I guess it's a bit unfair to compare.

We had booked to go to the Aquarium at 1pm (you book viewing times because it gets so busy) but we finished up at the Coke factory earlier than we thought and didn't want to wait around for an hour waiting to go in. So, we told the lady that our flights had been changed since we booked over the net and we need to get in asap otherwise we will miss our flight. She said yes so we went in straight away. It's great having an accent

My first campers week was interesting, i didnt know what to expect so my teaching methods for the golf merit badge was all over the show. But i think most of the kids learnt alot from me and my golf lessons that i had when i was 14 and 15 with Wayne Marsh. My morning class i had 10 kids and the afternoon class i had 6, so i had alot of teaching to do in the first couple of days. I mostly enjoyed the days we were on the course cause that is when i was riding around in the golf cart and the kids had to walk. Through out the week i got to play a few holes with the kids which was cool. I turned it into abit of a competition, so I gave myself a 2 shot disadvantage and if they won the hole i would give them one of Mark's ice creams from the kitchen (he showed me where he hides them) but im playing really good golf so i didnt have to dive into Mark's ice cream stash. All my kids in my classes passed the Merit Badge but this new week is going to be different as im going to be alot more stricter on the kids and since now i know how the week is going to flow ive got a good program set out.

I played my first game of Ultimate frisbee which was interesting, its a game where you cant tackle anyone which i found a little hard to get my head around. At one point I did tackle someone but i didnt mean to. The staff thought it was funny.

Campfires at camp are ok, not as good as they use to be. They dont light the campfire in a special way anymore but ive been talking to alot of the guys that have been here awhile and im gonna try and light it by hitting a golf ball that is on fire into the campfire. But ill keep you posted on that. I got a gift at campfire from one of the kids that was in my class for taking him golfing everyday and improving his swing. Dad, email me some songs or skits to do.

Now the new week starts.

Brian

My first campers week was a little different to what I had expected. I teach 3 morning classes of Athletics and 3 afternoon classes of Space Exploration which makes it a long day. Each lesson goes for 50 minutes so as soon as one class finishes, I get a whole batch of new kids to try and teach.

The kids in my first class for the week were kinda dull. They just sat there and looked at me. I'm not sure if they can't understand me because of my accent, or they are amazed by it or that they are just bored but apparently this happens in Brian's classes too.

One kid asked me if I lived near where Arnold Schwazenegger came from and I laughed and said "no, he comes from Austria. I come from Australia!" He looked at me blank and asked where Australia was.

Space Exploration was actually kind of cool. The kids were really interested in the class and we got to make rockets and launch them on Friday. I ask a question every morning when I mark the roll and for Space Ex one morning I asked "if you could travel to any planet where would you go?" Most of the kids answered "Uranus." I'm not going to ask that question again.

During the week we have 3 camp fires. Sunday night is the campers first night so we put on skits and some staff get introduced. Wednesday camp fire the campers do skits for us and it's a chance for them to sing songs and have fun. Friday night camp fire is the campers last night and staff give out awards to the best troops and troops give out awards to some of the staff. Brian got an award which was a wood carved necklace with that troops details on it. I'll put pictures of all this up soon.

I was given an older book for athletics last week and I was only informed yesterday that I have to teach by the new athletics book which has completely different requirements. So, I was up until about midnight last night preparing for my classes this morning. The new athletics requirements are pretty hard too so I'm not sure how my class will take it. Some of the students are pretty switched on but then some are at the other side of the spectrum and can't read at all.

Well, that was my week in a nutshell so stay tuned for how this week goes.

Leesh - I've got the final season of Alias that never got aired in Aus. I'm not sure if an American DVD will work at home though...

Em - Happy Birthday for Saturday! Hope you had fun at the races.

Mum and Dad - I'm feeling much better now and I'm jealous that you guys are in Palm Cove right now probably drinking out of coconuts!

Go the maroons!!

Jess