There are days when I wonder if it was really worth getting out of bed. If the point of the day was to wander through it like some lonely person waiting for something to strike your fancy and begin the pull out of what it is you find yourself in. It is infinitely hard not to be cynical in a world that seems to be rushing past you faster than you can keep up.

But, sometimes at the end of the day if you are really lucky, a 3yr old will snuggle up next to you, tell you she loves you and lay quietly beside you as you read a book. Sometimes it is hard to be cynical at that moment.

ah, for that moment to stretch...

a BREAK IN CAMP

so i am going stir crazy at camp. i have not been trapped in one place for so long (excepting the drugged up stay at St. Thomas ) since my freshman year at Belmont. I cannot go anywhere because I am not supposed to leave the kids and am with the same people all day long. There is the possibility that I am going to lose my mind before this time tomorrow. :) The food is the same, the people and conversation is the same and the drama is out of control.

i need a nap in MY big fluffy cool, non-roommate bed

Camp Days 1-3.5

So here we are day three of camp and it is lecture day. Today we are learning about the Middle East which the professor prefers to be called Southwest Asia. So far we have walked through the crusades up to the 6day war between Israel and Egypt. The kids are getting ready to do a mock UN simulation between Southwest Asia countries. Tonite after dinner we are going bowling, something I have not done in a looonnnnngggg time.

Yesterday we went to Chattanooga to a ropes course for the kids to do some team building and analytical skills that they will need this week. We left a little after 5:30am and let me tell you that was the quietest bus ride I have ever taken any where.When we got to Chattanooga it was kinda rainy so the group did a few ice breaker activities inside before heading out to the ropes course. I did not participate in swinging from harnesses but took lots of pictures. (see picassa pg)

It was a long day, but one that taught the kids alot about themselves and also about working together. It is easy to see with these kids that they are smart and want to succeed and have fun. However, the old adage of to many chiefs and not enough indians comes to mind. At one point yesterday the person in charge of the adventure guild was telling the kid show to do something, but they could not stop bickering amongst themselves to hear her.

After a long night of restless sleep. Sunday morning was a nice sleeping time, i however left my face wash at home, so i went out and picked up some along with a few other things that i thought would be nice to have with me, including sunscreen. The lecture of the afternoon was about the history of the middle east (or southwest asia). Afterwards the lecture led to a mock UN debate between the nations of the middle east (southwest asia). The point of this part was to try to come up with a way to deal with Iran and its surrounding nations in the event that Iran becomes Nuclear. The kids seemed to have a great time and it went well. In fact I am pretty sure that a war broke out between the UAE and Morocco.

Last night we took the kids bowling and after one game most of them were done. We broke off into groups and will begin to work on their final projects which involve the kids planning the future of foreign policy in America.

So far it has been good. It is so weird being in camp again. I mean I am not in the middle of no where in a tent but there is this strangeness to bed and food.


Day 3

So it is Monday and today was the day we have waited for hunting for Weapons of Mass Destruction on campus. A professor came in and gave the briefest of explanations on GPS systems and then sent the kids off a hunting for things like 'dirty bombs', TNT, IED's, and other things that could be found on a war front or used by terrorists. The GPS systems were kinda hard to figure out, and their margin of error was about 6 meters, but alot of the kids were able to use them really well and then the ability to work in a group came back into play. They did a great job only missing two of the targets out of 35. The afternoon is spent trying to figure out how to read gps maps and the programs that go with them.

Tonite is a work night. They are going to start working toward their futures that as a group they want to see America head toward. It will be interesting to see what this group of students come up with. I confess it is not even something that I have thought much about. I suppose though that as a citizen and a registered voter that i should be interested in the future and attempt to have a conversation about this concept.

More to come.....

Duck on a covert operation protecting the identity of a camper...need I say more? :)