Dragonfly Heart Camp 2011

http://www.dragonflyheartcamp.org/

This was easily the best week of my summer. I had a fabulous time working Dragonfly last year and I’ve been looking forward to it all this summer. Last summer I was asked to stay at EHOS longer than I had intended so I could work Dragonfly part time but help out in the kitchen and office the other part. This year I watched one of our directors’ son during the day and Dragonfly in the afternoons and evenings. I would have much rather worked Dragonfly full time, but it was presented to me in a way that suggested if I didn’t watch Ben some of the time I wouldn’t get to be on Dragonfly, so I gladly agreed. Working Dragonfly is a very coveted position among staff, usually given to senior staff, so I’m just glad I got to work it for the past two years.

So the week leading up to Dragonfly I hardcore cleaned the dorms, which I think I’ve mentioned. I mean, absolutely everything was vacuumed, swept, mopped, and disinfected, and no one was really put in charge of the prep cleaning, so I did the majority of it alone. I was fine with it actually because I get self conscience when others witness how fucking OCD I can get, but anyways! So everything was clean and ready to go. Like last year the CHOP Staff (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Staff) got here on Sunday and went sailing and to a BBQ. I was watching Ben when the kids arrived on Monday, so I wasn’t there to meet the parents and help get them settled. As excited as I was to see the kids again, I was also pretty nervous. I basically remembered all the campers and we’re told byt the CHOP staff that the kids talk about “camp” all year long and love it, but I was still nervous to see if the kids would remember me. I know I was just being stupid and I told myself it didn’t matter anyway, after all there was a lot of staff for the kids to remember, but let me tell you, nothing felt better than when I drove up on Monday afternoon and several of the campers from last year audibly said, “Yay! There’s Harper!” It was kind of great.

The first thing I realized was bow much the kids from last year had grown. I mean, I know teenagers grow up quickly, but I was still surprised. And a lot of these kid’s growth was set back while they were sick, so to see the kids that were obviously “behind” last year as just these normal kids was awesome. Two of the older girls, Ronnie(15) and Bree(14), became so pretty over the last year! It’s surreal to think that I only knew them for a week last year, but when I saw them this summer I was just so proud of them! Dragonfly is pretty incredible like that.

Everyday went along in the same manner: I’d wake up, grab breakfast with the Dragonfly kids, hang with Ben until about 2 or 3, then spend the rest of my day with Dragonfly. Since I was with Ben during the day I did miss out on going to the beach with them, which is something I particularly enjoyed last year, which was admittedly disappointing. Another thing that Dragonfly has gotten me to know more about is the Make a Wish Foundation. I’ve always known what it is and such, but basically all of these kids have had “a wish.” Its great to talk about what they did or what they think they’re going to do for it. Last year Ronnie had just come back from a week in Paris with her parents before she came here, and two of the girls this year had been to Disney and Universal earlier this summer with it. Kendall, who I have to admit is one of my favorites, is just this spunky 8yr old that is easily the size of a skinny 4yr old. She has pulmonary hypertension, so she wears a backpack that gives her a constant stream of medicine. I know the medical term for it, but I have no clue how to spell it. She is one of the girls that went to Disney this summer, so of course we talked about that a lot.

On Thursday night we had a crab feast and talent show. Even though the kids live in the Bay area, a lot of them have never eaten crab, so its hilarious to watch them crack them open for the first time and clean out all the guts and goo. The talent show was great too. The girls tried putting on a play, which of course was an epic failure, but some of the kids did a great job. One of the boys, who is almost completely deaf and blind, signed along to a song. One of the new campers, a 16yr old who is almost certainly gay, sang along to the Kelly Clarkson song “My Life Would Suck Without You” (at least I think that’s what its called). It seemed like a strange selection at first, especially for a guy, but then he got all of his doctors that helped him through his transplant last year and his performance nearly made me cry. A few of the girls sang and one brought her clarinet, but overall it was a great night.

On Saturday I was there for their departure and it was bittersweet. Several tears were shed but even more hugs were given. It’s a hard balance, because we all want to see the same campers here next year, and probably most of them will come back, but its such an important experience that we want even more new campers to come. The issue is that we have a limit of only 24 kids. I won’t worry about it, but it is kind of a rough predicament.

In conclusion, it was a fabulous week and although I am considering looking for an outdoor ed program with a change of scenery for next summer, I’d come back for Dragonfly in a heartbeat. I’d be more than happy to even volunteer for the week, and I’m so happy knowing that. I mean, obviously you’re supposed to find/have a job that makes you happy and fulfills you and shit, but who thought I would find one right out of high school?

Kendall before the dance on Wednesday night.

All of the campers and CHOP Staff

On a much sadder note, last Saturday one of our Dragonfly campers from last year passed away from a double lung infection. His name was Austin and I think he also had pulmonary hypertension. He didn’t come to camp this year because he had a girlfriend, and unfortunately he got sick quite suddenly and just couldn’t recover. He’s the first Dragonfly camper I’ve experienced “loosing,” so I’ve been thinking about his quite a lot over the past week.

"Jake? No Jake! Pull up your pants before you leave the bathroom!"

July 25-July 30
A couple of weeks ago I worked with our Little Explorers program. It lasted from 9-12 and we had 12, 4-6yr olds. It was tons of fun but also pretty exhausting. There were 9 boys and just 2 girls, which was perfect. All of the kids were adorable and hilarious, except for one girl named Madison. She cried all the fucking time, and not even for "legitimate" reasons. She cried if we were walking down a hill because she was "scared," she cried if we were standing too close to water. Her cousin, the other girl who was 4, was so much more fun and cuter, mostly because she never cried. This is why I must have all boys.
In the afternoons I just helped around with a few of the other programs and helped out in the office and kitchen. And my friend Sara's, who got knocked up at Rockfish last November, due date came and went with no baby.
I'm sure other things happened too, but I guess forgetting things is what I get for not updating my blog in a timely matter.

My Little Explorers at the outlet on our beach

Little Explorers on the boardwalk in the swamp

(Madison is the one in the pink hat)

Back on the Eastern Shore

After a long and grueling day of driving, I finally arrived back at Echo Hill Outdoor School in Worton, Md on Sunday. Being back feels really good. It's a bit weird because most of the staff that was here when I first started is gone, but all the new staff are really great. I was "in" all week, but the scheduling was pretty hectic. We were over programmed and under staffed, so I got to jump right back into things. We had a group of high schoolers that were here all week, and they were really chill and very smart. On Wednesday and Thursday I worked with some kids going into 4th grade, but I had to work with them like I would a first or second grade group. On Thursday one of the high schoolers went into a diabetic shock, so she ended up going to the hospital. It was pretty scary, but she was ok and got back to campus after lunch. Also on Thursday I had my first solo class of the summer and I thought it went well. I was with the 4th graders and they had a pretty short attention span, but we looked at a lot of bugs and went into the garden and played a few games. We had some extra time at the end of class so I even ventured into the swamp where we saw a big bull frog. On Friday I had a pond studies class with the high schoolers and Megan (who I live with and know from last spring). I think Megan and I had more fun than the kids, but the heat was killer so it was nice o just spend the morning in water. A couple of the boys found a baby snapping turtle that was born without a back right leg and had a stump front left foot. He was definitely a hardcore little turtle. Thursday afternoon, again with the high schoolers, we saw a Ichneumonoidea Wasp (one of the kids identified it) laying her eggs in an old stump. They're parasitic, so when they lay eggs a huge, long, black "stem" comes out of their butt and then they poke it into a log where other insect larve is, so when the baby wasps hatch they have a meal. I took a video with my phone, but I didn't want to get too close so the quality isn't too great.
Its also been insanely hot this week. On Friday the heat index was 124! After we got rid of all of our kids, the kids from camp came over and took over out dorms and office building because we have air conditioning. At first it was really frustrating because everyone who works for the school is like expressly forbidden to go to certain areas of campus during the summer because of the camp, and all of a sudden we were just invaded by tons of children and staff who started eating all our food and making messes. I live in the Green House, which is one campus, which had no air conditioning. So me and everyone else I live with had planned to sleep in the dorms over the weekend because it was literally 110 degrees in our house. But it actually turned out ok because the guys who owns Echo Hill offered to put the 5 of us up in Holiday Inn for the weekend. So it was nice to be able to take a shower and then not immediately begin to start sweating again as soon as you get out.
Yesterday me and some other folks drove up to Delaware to go to a rock climbing gym and a Moroccan restaurant. The rock climbing was tons of fun and after I figured out how to not rely on my arms I was actually pretty good at it. A couple of the guys who came were absolute beasts, but they were also helpful with tips and belaying. The Moroccan restaurant is great. You pay $25 and are given a 7 course Moroccan meal of pure deliciousness.
Today we had to leave the hotel, but its not quite as hot as it was last week. I'm already excited for this coming week. I'm working with the Little Explorers all week, which is a camp from 9-12 with kids ranging from bout 6-9. I'm not sure what we'll get up to, but I love kids that age so I know it will be fun. And then the week after this is Dragon Fly Heart Camp!!! So I'm sure I'll do a bunch of cleaning this week to get ready for it.
Haha, I've seemed to have left nothing to the imagination... But everything here is really great. The directors are already beginning to work on the fall season programming and I'm really jealous that I won't be here for it. God damned school and my "education."

Viva NashVegas!!!!

I have two dogs.
My dog is Obie. He is a pitt/lab/hound mix. He is neurotic, funny, smart and thinks with his nose. He is also allergic to fleas and sometimes sees imaginary bugs in the air which he tries to bite... He is a very good dog.

Then there is Huck. Huck is my parent's full bred Golden Retriever, or more accurately, my replacement when I went off to Asia. We got him the spring of my senior year of high school and he really was the cutest puppy ever. Well its been 2 and a half years since then and Huck still thinks he is about 15lbs and can sit in everyone's lap. My parents didn't bother to train him so he barks when he is excited, happy, sad, angry, frustrated, or breathing. When he's excited he also bites shirts. When Huck was 9mo old he was the average size of a 2yr old Golden Retriever.  Now that he is actually 2 and a half years old he is 115llbs of muscle. He would be an entirely different dog if he were smart, but Huck is dumb. Last summer when I first saw Up I was genuinely a little freaked out because Dug was so similar to Huck. Huck also likes balls.   Due to the tennis court and tennis playing brother at my house, we have a plethora of tennis balls. There are legitimate tennis balls and then there are Huck's tennis balls. It is not hard to distinguish between the two. A real tennis ball is fuzzy, hard and neon green. Huck's tennis balls are usually broken, neon brown, and slimy. His favorite balls are the ones that he has chewed completely bald. Huck has many nicknames, the most common being Huck-a-roo, monster-dog, and cow(because his bark can sometimes be similar to a cow).
Why am I going into so much detail about my dogs? Because I spent all of last week back in good ole' Nashville and for most of it I was alone with my animals. I got home on a Wednesday, but my mom left that Friday to go to Colorado. The following Tuesday morning my dad and brother also left for Colorado, leaving me and my animals and Sybil home all alone. My garage was quickly converted into a beer pong masterpiece, which even included a real ping pong table. I think Sybil spent every night at my house, but during the days I was incredibly bored. I, unlike all of my friends, do not have a Nashville based job, so while everyone else was out being productive I was bored as shit and left alone to endure the intense Nashville heat and humidity. I did go to the Frist Center to see an Andy Warhol exhibit that was very good. I spent a lot of time with Sybil, which was greatly needed and appreciated, and we spent all of last Friday at the quarry, which was perfect as always. Of course, the culmination of the week was the HP7 premiere. We went as a group and dressed up. I was a unicorn. It was great... minus the part when I got gorilla glue in my hair. That was not so great.
I actually was not too impressed with the HP7.2 movie. I thought it was good up until Harry died, but then it just kind of sucked. And the epilogue was just a joke! I do need to see it again though before I make my final judgement.
I'm currently back in Maryland working at Echo Hill Outdoor School and I'll be here for the next few weeks. Its good to be back and I'm ready for my schedule to get busier. Hopefully I'll be out on a trip all of next week and then its Dragonfly Heart Camp!
Visiting Nashville was fun and necesary, but I was ready to move on. I'm still not sure how my summer will be ending. Will I stay in Maryland? Go back to Utah? Or take some time in Nashville? I guess we'll just have to stay tuned to find out...

 Perfect Beer Pong Set-Up

 Snitch+Unicorn=BFFs   Duh....

Quarry

Can't Sleep

So Tuesday afternoon Danny and I drove up to Durango, CO. We were going to go to Crested Butte, but my plane left the next morning in Durango and the drive from Crested Butte to Durango is like 3hours. Durango is a actually a very neat, old cowboy town. I went there when I was 10 with my family to do a river rafting trip and also considered going to Fort Lewis College, which is located there. We stayed in a hotel that was built in the 1880s, so it was all decorated like that and with antiques and such. Our room was small, but very nice with a window that overlooked the main shopping street. It was also nice to have a shower curtain seeing as Danny's was destroyed in the "shit coming up the drains" incident. We walked around town for a bit while I desperately tried to find I dress that I could wear out to dinner, because silly me, I didn't think that when I packed to go work at a vineyard for a month that I'd ever need something nice to wear. Before dinner we went back to the room to drink some wine and get changed. Dinner was excellent and we were going to see if any of the saloons had music, but since it was a Tuesday they didn't, so we retired for the evening.
Wednesday morning my plane left at 9:56am (according to the ticket). It was not a happy occasion. The following plane ride was even unhappier.
By the time I got to Denver and got my bags checked with SouthWest, I decided I needed food. I've mostly been "eating-in" while in Utah, so the cartoon panda mascots from the  Panda Express seemed to be calling my name. I think I misheard them. My so-called "food" was so unappetizing that I think I'll be good to not eat Chinese food for a while.
I go into Nashville about 6:30. My animals were all very happy to see me. Huck bit and slobbered all over me and Obie peed in excitement. Even Chrysanthemum didn't pretend to be mad for too long, although she did throw up a hair ball on my bed in the middle of the night, so I guess she considers us even. I was generally unhappy and moody all of today, but I did some serious retail therapy at Target and Publix. Who knew shopping for food could be therapeutic?
I also began watching HBO's Game of Thrones earlier and it is really good. I just finished the second book last night and the show does  not disappoint. Huck has some gross, pussy/gooey spot on his head, so I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow. Right now I obviously can't sleep. Chrysanthemum is sleeping next to me. Being a cat is so easy. I would gladly sleep 18hours a day with only getting up to move sun spots and eat. Maybe I should start killing people so I can be reincarnated into a cat. I see Sybil next week for the first time since January! I wonder if she's gotten fat? I hope she's  gotten fat...

The End

The alleged newcomers made good on their word and appeared Friday night. They were 2 guys and a girl from Massachusets who were making their way across the country after graduating. On Friday night a friend of Danny's and his girlfriend also came down from Salt Lake City for the weekend, so the house was once again full. it was decided not to go to Arches again, but that we would go to Canyonlands on Sunday, which I was very excited about.
On Saturday we just hiked around the canyon rim, but to get to it we had to drive up this incredibly steep and narrow road. It was mostly unpleasant, but probably more so for the people in the back of the truck. We went to several different ruine sites and after a while we decided to go to a lake. We went back to a lake in a state park thats very pretty and fairly secluded. This time the water wasn't nearly as freezing and Danny's friend was able to catch 8 trout. We got back to the house and just hung around while the coals in the fire were burning (we grilled the trout and pork). I went to bed right after dinner, which was close to midnight.
On Sunday we woke up late and decided to try to go to Canyonlands on Monday. Instead we just hung at a different lake all day, which was perfect. We brought out the kayaks and canoes and stayed there until a storm started to roll in.
Monday brought another day of late sleeping, so by the time we got up it was already too late for us to go to Canyonlands, which was disappointing. It was the only nearby National Park that I didn't make it to.  Instead we went back to the place in the canyon with the incredible pictographs and then we returned to the midden heap and looked for more pottery shards. Two of the guys found arrowheads, which inspired us all to really try and get one for ourselves. I, of course, was not lucky enough to find one. On the way back to the ranch was stopped by some other ruines that we had been to before so we could show the new group. Just as I was walking along I saw what looked like a claw under a bush near the ledge. I picked it up and thought it was just part of a skeleton although the rest of it wasn't around. I called up to Danny and asked if this place had ever been professionally excavated, and he said it hadn't. When I showed him what I found he said that it was a talon or claw pendant that was at least 1000 years old. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. Its without a doubt one of the coolest things I've ever found, including that driftwood/oyster shell from the Chesapeake. We went back to the house and got a snack and changed, then Danny's friend left and we all loaded up into the truck and went to some guys house were we could get a good view of a local firework show. The house was about an hour away, but it was tons of fun. The owner was very nice, although a bit of a gun fanatic. Danny's neighbors Bill and Bob also came, who turned out to be quite characters. Right after we got there we decided to go to a nearby river to swim. Joe and I rode an ATV to it. The ride was longer than expected and incredibly dusty, but it was fun. The river we went to ended up being at the bottom of this absolutely gorgeous canyon. Unfortunately I didn't think to bring my camera, but everyone said it looked like whats in Zion National Park. We expected the river to be freezing since the water was just snow melt, but it was actually warmer than the lakes we were at. I hated that we hadn't spent all day there and that I was leaving soon so I couldn't go back. On the ride back Joe and I got to take the lead, and with my fabulous sense of direction we raced back to the house without going under 40mph once. Then we just hung around the house and talked and ate pizza and snakcs until the fireworks began. We got to talking to Bill and Bob and they are really something else. They're in their 60s, twins, and are both ex-military special ops. They have incredible stories, but both alos happen to believe that it was aliens, not the Anasazi, who left all the pictographs and such in the canyons. To say the least, the conversation was anything but boring. The little town of Dove Creek put on a very elaborate firework show for being so small. It really was a very great day, however it ended on a shitty note. After the fireworks were over we began to clean up and round up the dogs, we realized that Jack, the confused spaz dog, was missing. We spent a good hour looking absolutely everywhere for him, but we were in the middle of farm land and he seemed to be no where. We ended up having to leave without him, with the reassurance that the guy who owned the house would call if he showed up. It was a very sad trip home.
Danny left early Tuesday morning to take Joe to Green River so he could catch a train to Chicago. I woke up about 9 and began to pack since Danny and I planned to leave early and stay the night in Durango. After several hours passed Danny still wasn't back. I kind of began to worry, but he showed up eventually with a very happy companion. The guy called to say that Jack showed up at his front door, so Danny went to pick him up on his way back to the ranch. I had hoped thats why it was taking him so long to get back, but I honestly didn't want to get disappointed. Jacks a dumb and submissive dog, but also happy and lovable. Jack basically fell out of the car and started half running around, half flopping on his back to kick his legs in the air. It was a very happy scene.
Now I've got to get on this damn plane that will take me back down south. I'll write about my last night out west later.
I would also like to end this post by saying Panda Express should not be allowed to be categorized as food. That is all.

Two Southerners and a Scotsman

I wrote this last night but the internet was being stupid. 

Our number has finally dwindled down to just three. Everyone has left except me, Joe(from Scotland), and, obviously, Danny. We're allegedly getting some new people on Friday, but we've been told that before and no one has shown up. Here's an update on my super exciting life!!!

Last weekend Danny had to go back to California for a wedding, so he left early Thursday morning with no hopes of us getting much work done while he was away. That was smart. Carter, an ex-Mormon who arrived the same day I did, left midday Thursday and Thursday evening we were expected to take Liz, a Brit who got here about a week before I did, to Green River to catch a bus to go to Vegas (eventually I'll get around to actually just describing all the people I've encountered here). 

So Thursday around lunch a game of beer pong began. I was not ready to continue drinking, so while I read the rest of the beer in the house was quickly consumed. Soon I was asked to drive everyone into town so we could procure 2 more 30packs so the beer pong could continue. At this point it was also established that I would remain sober all day (which I was happy to do) so everyone could continue on their bender and we would all go to drop off Liz, while still drinking. We left around 4 and began the 2.5hr drive to the town of Green River, UT, which is the nearest Amtrak and Greyhound stopping points. I really don't know why, because Green River has like 2 streets and 4 gas stations, but unfortunately, I've now spent a lot of time there.

The car ride was amusing to say the least. Although its definitely illegal, everyone else was drinking and were pretty drunk. At some point Lee and Joey decided that they needed to become "blood brothers," so they cut one another's fingers, but since they were drunk after they pressed them together they didn't stop bleeding. Long story short, they both ended up with blood all over their teeth and gave themselves blood goatees. They walked around Green River like this. After waiting for the bus for about 2hr Liz decided it wasn't coming, so Joey agreed to drive her to Las Vegas the next day (he was going to go back home anyway because he broke his foot earlier in the week on Trashy Tuesday during a dance party), so they got another 30pack and we drove back to the canyon.

Finally, on Friday, it became just me, Lee (a guy from South Carolina who had been here since April), Joe (the Scotsman), and the dogs. I spent most of the morning cleaning but we did get some work done on the cabin that afternoon. That evening, as we were settling down to watch Blow, the power went out. I kind of knew how to turn the generator on, so I went and pressed some buttons and it came on. However, the power didn't come back on so we had to get a neighbor to help. Not surprisingly I didn't turn on the generator correctly.

We spent most of Saturday in Moab, UT, however, we had to take the trash to the dump beforehand. Basically as soon as Danny left on Thursday the dogs started misbehaving. One of the great things they did was get into the trash and spread it all over the garage and yard. Predictably, no one bothered to actually pick any of it up, so we had to deal with that, which was disgusting. After I swept and bleached the garage and took a shower we made our way to Moab. Its allegedly supposed to be some little touristy-outdoorsy town, so I figured there would be enough things to do there to keep us occupied for the day. I was wrong. After about 2hr of walking about we decided to just drive the five minutes down the road and go to Arches National Park for a bit, which was a wonderful decision. We didn't get there until about 5, so we didn't have much time to do things, but we went on a small little hike and drove around to see the views. I'm trying to get Danny to take me back this week so we can go on a longer hike since the pass I had to buy is valid for a week. We got back to the house and started drinking. I actually was able to use this neat app on my phone where you list all the alcohol you have and then it tells you what drinks you can make. We did that for a bit and made some really horrible drinks and then I went to bed.

Finally Sunday came around and I was very ready for Danny to get back. We spent all morning cleaning and put in a pork shoulder, which needed to cook for 8hr, as a nice surprise for Danny when he got back(we expected him about 11ish). Just as I was about to make my way back to shower and clean our bedroom, Joe came running into the kitchen saying that we had a problem. We followed him to the bathroom to find that sewage had begun backing its way back up the bathtub and all the shower drains. We were at an utter loss at what to do. We, meaning the boys, didn't want to get the neighbor since he'd already been over twice and we couldn't get ahold of Danny. So we did that only thing there was to do; We began drinking. Several drinks/shots and a few episodes of It's Always Sunny [In Philadelphia] later, I decided it was time to alert someone of our problem. Just as I was rallying the boys, Chuck (the neighbor) rode his ATV down the driveway. It was destiny. We went out and let Chuck in on our situation.

Technically Chuck is the vineyard manager, so he at least had an idea of how to fix it, however, Chuck almost continually stoned and we were all drunk, so it was kind of a shit show. After about 45min of Chuck kind of doing stuff (or at least looking like it) and us standing around helplessly/drunkenly, Danny drove down the driveway. He was able to get an early flight back, which would have been great if I was showered, shaved, and there wasn't shit invading his house via the drains.  After about another hour or so Chuck and Danny (mainly Danny) unclogged the septic tank, which is disgusting, and the sewage drained back down to its ungodly home under the house. All that was left to do was clean the showers and tub and keep drinking!

Monday was a recovery day up until noon, when we had to drive up to Grand Junction, CO, another 3.5hr drive. We went to Sam's Club and stocked up on the items that needed to be purchased in bulk, but then we had to drop Lee off at the airport. Just the three of us, plus the dogs, made the ride back and it was lonesome. Unfortunately Danny has been sick all of yesterday and today, so we really haven't done much. I finally got to clean our room/bathroom! But today Joe and I did spend some time outside weeding.

I'm trying very hard to not focus on the fact that I will be leaving soon, actually in  about a week, which I only grudgingly came to realize last night. However, Danny is going to take me up to Crested Butte, CO the night before I depart, so thats kind of something to look forward to. Actually, if we make it up there we'll only be missing my mom, her sisters, and my grandmother by about a week. I got a chance to talk to Maddie on Monday night, which was very nice. As much as I don't want to come home I do miss a few select people and I am incredibly excited about the last part of DH. Also, I was supposed to talk to Sybil and Molly on Saturday night, but I never received their call. I assume the only reason they would neglect to phone me is death, so if someone can tell me where to send some flowers I would greatly appreciate it...

Joey and Lee with blood all over their mouths.

Delicate Arch, which doesn't look very delicate, but its actually on the side of a cliff.