Let's see, I have about 6 minutes and 20 seconds to write something before the next camp activity starts. Being a camp counselor really makes a person learn to use every single second of the day. How long does it take to walk from the office to my cabin? 1 minute; well, 59 seconds to be precise. How long does it take to get all of the kids in your cabin to walk to the bell (which is near the office)? A lot longer than that. One kid is trying to catch an insect and feed it to a spider, for the 10th time in the past 5 minutes. Another kid forgot that he had to go to the bathroom. The other three are playing tag, and if I'm lucky, two or three kids are actually paying attention and are ready to go with me to the next activity. When I'm not supervising or teaching some activity, or trying to get campers to follow directions in Chinese, I am frantically planning my next activity which involves thinking of new words to teach, and making a worksheet with these words, and drawing pictures depicting the word.
Hmm, 2 minutes, 27 seconds left. I forgot what it is like to be a 10 year old (there are 7-11 year olds at camp right now, about 40 of them. My cabin is 10-11 year olds). Was I like this when I was 10? Many of them simply don't listen. Can they hear me? Did they hear me say it the first 6 times? Have they already forgotten that I told them not to do that exact thing only 2 minutes and 27 seconds ago? Do they think that I have forgotten that I told them not to do that? Who knows...
I am really enjoying seeing these kids learning Chinese right before my eyes though. Most of them could not even say "hello" when they got here on Monday afternoon, and many of them can already say several kinds of sentences and more individual words. It's pretty neat.
Alright, time's up! C ya!
3 comments:
Wow - practical work experience AND parenting experience all from one job!!! Now that's bang-for-the-buck!!!
Yes, you were most definately alot like this when you were 10 .... and come to think of it, when you were 11,12,13,14,15,16. Along about then you switched from being absorbed by torturing grasshoppers over to spending most of your time thinking about cars and tractors - if I remember correctly.
Yes, I do remember having a fascination with grasshoppers, but did I also have trouble listening and being well behaved? I probably just don't remember, but I thought I was a good little kid... haha
Hey boze,
It's funny because a friend of mine actually went to that camp when he was younger. It sounds like an awesome chance to get outside and teach the kids something they'd not get the chance.
Good luck to you.
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