i have finally resurfaced after 12 days of camp, tucked away in, perhaps, the most exquisite corner of this country. i have finally caught up on sleep after 12 days of being woken up by the camp pain-in-the-ass kid who sang "dungera mungera" while rolling his arms in front of him, sometimes streaking in nothing but his skivies down the hallways at 8am. i feel somewhat out of place, again, returning 'home' to a place that does not yet feel like home after 12 days of life that looked a whole lot different from life here in my town. i have returned with many new friends, lessons learned, and a hearty spirit and am thankful to always be trudging forward in some way or other. there is so much to say, so much spilling out of my heart and mind, and so i undertake this endeavor, if unorganized and a bit manic.
i cannot believe today is already august 10.
12 days is such a strange amount of time for a camp. in so many ways, the 12 days was a welcome break from the idleness of life in my town. and in many other ways it was a bizarre, abysmal stretch of time in some alternate place, some alternate experience far removed from the solitude and isolation of living in my town. as a kid, i don't remember going to camp, aside from the 'retreats' with the catholic school that were maybe three or four days in length. 12 days at camp, for me, felt like embarking on quite a journey because:
A) i felt like a little kid setting off for their first camp
B) in another language
C) with unfamiliar people and... kids
anyhow, i survived and am happy to report that i learned some very important lessons. i am still digesting much of the past week and a half, so bear with me as i attempt to convey this somewhat surreal experience through words.
10 LESSONS I LEARNED AT CAMP
1. it is advisable to always bring the following to camp (and maybe to just about anywhere you go in this country:
**high heels, lipstick, a skirt and laundry detergent to wash clothes everyday. ha. yes, even at 'summer camp'. the teachers all joined us on hikes wearing high heels and lipstick. no joke.
**secret snacks, such as peanut butter, raisins, granola, and others for when all you get for breakfast is macaroni with a sugary syrup and feta cheese. thanks molly for that suggestion.
**toilet paper, because you just never know when you'll need it. in fact, this deserves it's own number (see section 2).
**pillow cases. and towels that don't shed lint and leave you a blue ball of fur every time you shower.
**extra hair ties, and fingernail polish remover
**water in bottles, because you just never know when you'll have to drink water coming from a mysterious spout in a rock fountain outside of the camp house
**which brings me to my next point- oral rehydration salts. thanks to one nancy hardesty, i survived the week, having thought ahead of time to bring them for instances when the mysterious water you're drinking is vetoed by your body...
**flip flops. a must.
**language dictionary, notepad, pens and trusted translator. or, a good sense of humor.
2. oh toilet paper. because you just never know when the camp is going to run out of toilet paper on day three. and then, as an inexperienced squatty-pottier (squatty-potty-er?), you are without toilet paper- well anything, really- and the water has made you sick, and you are drinking gallons of water with oral re-hydration salts that you have to walk 3 km one way to purchase bottled water for. (i won't joke about the fact that i don't have to 'haul water' as a peace corps volunteer anymore). in fact, i would suggest toilet paper AND baby wipes. because, not only is there no toilet paper, there is not soap to wash your hands, or there's toothpaste, or worse on the door handle leading you into the dreaded turkish toilet...
on a more positive note, i hear that turkish toilets (squatty potties) are a healthier way to use the restroom?
3. it is possible to attain a surprising level of comfort with people you might only have met that morning. these moments are blissful because they allow you to connect with people in a positive way when, for the other moments throughout the day, all you can concentrate on is trying to verbally understand them. the downfall is that sometimes i would find myself in situations where i longed to understand these people who i would find myself among, to have the verbal communication supplement the non-verbal understanding and rapport. these precious moments i find to be incredibly important in surroundings that are entirely unfamiliar and in a place that often just glares at me for lack of knowing what else to do.
4. on the other hand, you can smell crazy in people instantly, regardless of the fact that you understand nothing they are saying to you. its stench is so strong you begin to view your inability to understand a language as a really awesome blessing. case in point, "пипи дълги чорапи" (pippy longstockings, bulgarian-style).
5. (this corner of the country)is going to be the place that i build/buy/acquisition a home when i have more money. (like the optimism about the money parents?). it is absolutely one of the most beautiful and serene places i have ever been. and with lofts with amazing views selling for about $80,000, can you blame me for at least entertaining the idea? someday i will have this view and the ability to retreat into this amazing serenity.
6. part of me is made homesick by really strange things. while resting in the green field of grass surrounding the camp house one day during the afternoon break, i heard a plane fly over head. it has been so long since i noticed, or have heard a plane flying above me. i was immediately transported to the backyard of my parents house, where i would sun tan during the summer, listening to planes fly westward over the mountains. i have yet to feel as homesick for something as i felt in that moment the plane flew over me. homesick for something, for anything familiar. for a place where people are constantly moving and going places. generally, i adore opportunities to sit in silence, to be still and to allow myself to just be, but when these moments of longing take hold, it is a bit more challenging to embrace the moment for what it is instead of aching to be elsewhere.
7. for as much as i regard myself as someone who is not good with kids, i would like to give myself a pat on the back for toughing out 12 days with kids i have never met before. i found abundant joy and peace in spending most of my time with them, avoiding stiff and awkward converstations with the teachers, the doctors and other elders. i enjoyed struggling through the language with them, listening to them correct me and laugh at my language skills (yes, lynn, they did that with me too =), playing games with them, braiding their hair, doing hand stands in the pool with them, shopping at the local carnival for cheap goods with the older girls and letting them give me manicures. spending time with kids encourages me that there is hope amidst pessimism that life can be different.
8. it is important to think everything through before acting/speaking in front of kids. one of the first days at camp, i braided my hair without thinking of the implications it would have. the girls saw the braids immediately and i was unofficially proclaimed to be the camp hair styler. without fail, almost daily, i braided at least one or two heads of hair and the girls just loved it. i have to applaud them in their creativity, they certainly came up with some interesting hairstyles for me to try. and i realized that some days, you really exist just to braid hair because it gives you a reason to spend time with people (the last day of camp i spent 3+hours braiding the hair of more than 13 girls). and that is perfectly okay.
9. it is absolutely amazing to me how far simply spending time with people will get you.
10. women, scratch that- let me qualify. women here that I have met who are over the age of 30 are all very concerned for my marital well-being. if only i had a penny for all the attempts that have been made to set me up with so and so's son. to be 23, single and seemingly uninterested in prioritizing boyfriend hunting is quite an outlandish thing for these women to behold. everytime this topic arises, it makes me reflect on the reasons why i focused so intently on gender parity, on equality during college. i refuse to be seen as just as an available girl needing to be 'married off' as quickly as possible; i seek instead, to be a person of character, of substance, capable of making contributions beyond merely being an object to look at. it is why i am passionate about independence, about following your heart instead of following the guidance of your culture, peers, and maybe your family, too.
i am frustrated at how few opportunities there are to work formally with young girls, a primary motivation for coming here because there is such a great need to expand the minds of these young women. there is a need to steer away from human trafficking, to teach them to be leaders and to urge them to stay in school. in time i suspect there will be more chances, but my opportunity here at present is to be atypical, to exist as a role model for an alternative, but equally okay, route in life.
there need not be formal lessons, just the uncomplicated presence of someone like me who is doing things a little differently.
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