Well today began in much the same way as all the others before except we also made 100 picnic lunches for les enfants and the staff. Today the whole camp had a picnic at a lake about 20 minutes away. This was nice because we as the equipiers where given the whole day (well after 11:30) off and we could go to the lake also! So Rachel, Lucas, Istell, Yohan and I accomplanied the staff and campers to the lake for an afternoon of fun in the sun.
To begin with this lake is unlike any you have ever seen, so take all your past ideas out of your head and begin with a clean slate. This is the only way to fully understand the atmosphere and beauty of such a place. First off one must walk through fields to reach the lake and u actually have a choice of 4 lakes where you can swim and picnic. Once you reach the lake you enter through a little gate with a cute french speaking man who had a funny little mustache and voila there is this huge lake surrounded by mtns and boats and families. There is a little restraunt and some random playground like things for the kids. The nicest part is no lifeguards and no limit on where to swim...just dont die. Topless women, speedo wearing men, bikini clad 6 year olds and tons of smoking, this is unlike any lake in America that I've ever seen. The best part though has to be the amazing view accessible from any vantage point around the lake.
So here we are at this amazing lake with 80 children and we had a picnic lunch, played some fun games and then....o heres the best part...we went swimming. The water is amazingly clear, no bugs and NO SAND, rocks line the bottom, a much better choice. The water is also a very nice tempid temperature rather than a freezing cold we live in New England and love to freeze temp. So all 100 of us go into this lake plus the other camps that are there. Lucky for us it was a huge lake. Who knows exactly who began the water fight, but for the next hour and a half we had the most massive and incredibly fantastic water fight with 100 people. It was sooo much fun!!!! And in short that was the entire day!
This evening we are playing a game of soccer (football) and cleaning the kitchen in record breaking time. As the weeks have progressed we as a team have gotten mighty fast at our jobs and now we are beginning to make equipier history with our fast times at getting everything done. Not to mention we get even more time off. Poor Jeremy the other American is working sooo much harder and he keep finding us not working as we have already finished and just signs and then asks us if we're working hard or hardly working. It's becoming a frequent phrase around these parts!
O last night we watched Shrek 2 in French and that was pretty sweet. Other than that its been pretty laid back and we've just been chilling. A little guitar and flute praise on the veranda and some tanning on these blankets we lay out on the hills. It's been good and hopefully will continue until the end of camp. Rachel leaves on Monday so that will be a big change and Siljia leaves on Sunday. Two of my closest friends yet its been a fun two weeks with them and I'll be glad when STEVE begins.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Day in the Life of an equipier!
Rachel's alarm goes off at a quarter to 7 with 15 minutes to get 5 girls through the bathroom before our expected arrival in la cuisine. We share one bathroom and two bedrooms which is ushually a fun experience minus these early mornings. Due to the limited time we all end up cramming into the bathroom together. One doing hair while a few others brush their teeth and mabey one cleanes up after the others. Its another typical morning for les equipiers of camp Champfleuri. To an outsider it might seem as though we have all known each other forever as we able to quickly manuver around each other and the particular morning activities that we are each engaged in. Truth be told we have only met about a week ago, yet a common thread--the love of Christ and a desire to serve him at this camp joins us as one.
Once everyone is done we all head down to the kitchen to prepare for the le petite dejeuner or to pack a picnic for les enfants trip to la lac this afternoon. Around us are the French alps rising out of a thick morning fog. To our left is a building built before America began and still being used as a chapel today. On our right a building taken and renevated from an army barracks into the rooms where the campers now slumber in their beds. The camp is slowly beginning to awaken around us as we enter the kitchen and meet up with the guys.
Today we are "visiting" Moracco. This means that the entire day is Morocan themed, from the food to the clothing to the activities planned for les enfants. Today we eat our lunch on the floor sitting on mats laid out by the counselors. The lighting in the room is a dull red as they have covered the windows with drapes. They have created a lunchroom that one could only dream up and the atmosphere is one of complete joy as everyone comes together for the afternoon meal.
Now we all sit together in la salle d'equipe. It is a room above the kitchen set aside for the workers at camp. It contains a small but functional kitchen, some computers, a bathroom, and tv with some sweet comfy chairs! Here is where we spend the vast majority of out time off. Between games of ticho and presidents we manage to fill out only non working hours with laughter and fun! In the week we have been here we have become good friends, sharing out likes and dislikes in music, food, clothing, and politics. We all speak different languages, from swiss german to french to german to english to zulu. We have over 9 languages that can be spoken at one time in this room between our little group and yet we all manage to communicate to each other. We have all become rather close in this past week, joined together by our work and the hours of fellowship we all share daily. In the background Terri sings to us in French and takes apart the bathroom wall with Jeremy (an american missionary to Africa studying here for the summer) and another counselor whose name i forget. Yet here we all sit on the computer or talking or playing cards together oblivious to the fast pace of camp all around us. It's merely another work day at camp Champfleuri for us and we have learned to expect the unexpected and you will never be given a shock here. From eating on the floor with only spoons to eat our meat to a bathroom wall falling down ontop of us, to getting a black eye from a coffee pot (thanks lucas) its all part of the life of an equipier!
Once everyone is done we all head down to the kitchen to prepare for the le petite dejeuner or to pack a picnic for les enfants trip to la lac this afternoon. Around us are the French alps rising out of a thick morning fog. To our left is a building built before America began and still being used as a chapel today. On our right a building taken and renevated from an army barracks into the rooms where the campers now slumber in their beds. The camp is slowly beginning to awaken around us as we enter the kitchen and meet up with the guys.
Today we are "visiting" Moracco. This means that the entire day is Morocan themed, from the food to the clothing to the activities planned for les enfants. Today we eat our lunch on the floor sitting on mats laid out by the counselors. The lighting in the room is a dull red as they have covered the windows with drapes. They have created a lunchroom that one could only dream up and the atmosphere is one of complete joy as everyone comes together for the afternoon meal.
Now we all sit together in la salle d'equipe. It is a room above the kitchen set aside for the workers at camp. It contains a small but functional kitchen, some computers, a bathroom, and tv with some sweet comfy chairs! Here is where we spend the vast majority of out time off. Between games of ticho and presidents we manage to fill out only non working hours with laughter and fun! In the week we have been here we have become good friends, sharing out likes and dislikes in music, food, clothing, and politics. We all speak different languages, from swiss german to french to german to english to zulu. We have over 9 languages that can be spoken at one time in this room between our little group and yet we all manage to communicate to each other. We have all become rather close in this past week, joined together by our work and the hours of fellowship we all share daily. In the background Terri sings to us in French and takes apart the bathroom wall with Jeremy (an american missionary to Africa studying here for the summer) and another counselor whose name i forget. Yet here we all sit on the computer or talking or playing cards together oblivious to the fast pace of camp all around us. It's merely another work day at camp Champfleuri for us and we have learned to expect the unexpected and you will never be given a shock here. From eating on the floor with only spoons to eat our meat to a bathroom wall falling down ontop of us, to getting a black eye from a coffee pot (thanks lucas) its all part of the life of an equipier!
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