ah bahsten

Hi there...

So much has happened in the past weeks that i have barely had time to check the internet!
To list a few, in Boston i...

• only arrived at the city with all the other Camp "Woodstock" (we renamed ourselves) internationals at like 12am at night, found something to eat at the Cheesecake Factory (oreo cheesecake) and got the to YMCA youth hostel at 2.30am for a little shut-eye

• went to Quincey Markets, a huge market full of super delicious foods

• had a Boston Kreme donut from Dunkin Donuts

• tried clam chowder

• visited a fraternity house

• visited Cambridge... MIT university and Harvard, all the trendy little shops and cafes around there

Fourth session is now rolling on and it seems crazy, but i only have 2 and a half weeks left at Camp Jewell. In lots of ways i really don't want to leave, as this has been my complete and utter home for the past 10 weeks of being in America. It is so beautiful here and you really don't take day-to-day life for granted as it is just so, so action-packed and filled with having fun.

However it will be nice to finally have some time to myself and to sleep. I think it will take me a couple of weeks to catch up on it.

This weekend is Corn Roast, a big event on the Camp Jewell calendar, where all kinds of previous staff and campers come back for a kind of 'reunion' where they roast corn and everything. We are also going to be having a movie night outside on the hill which should be pretty cool.

This session i am teaching the most gorgeous group of kids. I am teaching the Haflingers, which is now the highest riding group in the one-week program. I have five girls, all between the ages of 8-11, and they are just the most helpful and skilled little riders i have seen so far! They really make teaching very fun, and i have been able to do all kinds of games with them, including trotting over cavaletti poles and doing little obstacle courses.

I am also finishing up this session in the Bucks cabin again (which i started in and which is probably one of my favourite age groups) with Julie as my co-counsellor. We have really chilled out so much more for this last session and i can tell we are both enjoying it a lot more. Tonight is our cabin challenge and we may do something like some low-ropes initiative courses or a hike up Sunrise Mountain.

So far my third session was my favourite session as i was in the Appy's cabin, which is basically 13-15yr olds and they were all so mature and helpful that it was awesome.  And i also didn't have a riding group then so i was able to teach a lot more of the non-horse-related-activities like outdoor cooking, candle-making, arts and crafts, and tie-dye which was pretty cool.

I also had a bit of an emotional roller-coaster in third session which was interesting, but which i am feeling pretty good about now.

When fourth session ends we have the staff banquet on the evening of Saturday the 21st, with most of the staff's work contracts ending on the 22nd. That will be pretty sad. My contract goes for another week, until the 30th of August, as does quite a lot of the internationals.

And then comes the solo adventure... i am planning to travel with Emma for the first two weeks, and then when she leaves i may come back near camp and head out with another international friend, Mel, and do a trek or something. The basic plan is to call on as many of the counsellors' colleges that i can...