[deep breath]

Camp is over.

It got pretty stressful towards the end (as seen in the lack of blog entries), but

I survived. Not that there was ever any question as to whether I would survive or not. I have noticed that I tend to think that my problems are quite difficult (living in a 20'x20' cabin with four eight-, ten-, or eleven-year-old girls for anywhere from 2-5 weeks), but REALLY they aren't. Once everything is put into perspective, my "problems" are pretty tiny.

So, one of my favorite aspects of this summer was actually the stressful nature of it: I got stressed with no way out, therefore I had to really examine myself and ask, "Why are you so angry? Why has this job got you so upset? What can you do to make yourself feel better?" A little self-exploration never hurt anybody, right?

I've always been known as an extrovert (which actually means you get your energy from other people, not necessarily that you're talkative or outgoing). But in the past year or so I've wanted to become more introverted, to get my energy from myself and be more independent in that aspect. I wasn't quite sure how to go about doing this, but I knew that it would really benefit me, especially in some of the things I'd like to accomplish later in life (Peace Corps,

independent travel, etc.) I didn't want to be less friendly or outgoing, but just to be able to talk myself up when I'm feeling blue, or to feel even more comfortable in silence with my own thoughts.

So, while this summer job as a camp counselor didn't necessarily help me with that (there was FAR too little alone time), it certainly showed me how much work needs to be done in this department. If I want to do things away from my family and comfort zone, to help people in need and to be in other sides of the globe, I will really need to become accustomed to being with myself (check) and to encouraging myself (this is where the work needs to be done.) I'm certain that everyone has this issue, but I tend to be so great at encouraging other people and noticing their gifts---but my own? Another story.

All in all, the job was rough but the experience was well worth it. I've almost filled up my first journal (I've been writing for years, but never stuck with it enough to fill up a whole book... until now!), I met some great friends who I think I will really keep in touch with, and--my favorite part--I learned a lot about myself. Seeing all these wealthy children being spoiled and clueless sparked a conversation with my mom about what I was like as a child, since I can't seem to remember. It also gave me some information that will be extremely useful in a few years: what qualities do I want to pass on to my children? What lessons should I reinforce daily? The answers I can provide because of this job are respect and manners manners MANNERS! As well as chores. No 10-year-old should be clueless about how to make his or her bed. Really??

Today I will leave you with two photos of me at the Balsam Mountain Trust Preserve Nature Center outside of Sylva, NC (aka my new favorite place and my dream job):

Holding Cornelius, the [gorgeous] corn snake.

The largest pieces of mica (my namesake) I have ever seen.

Main Session, Sailing in Clemson, Thoughts.

Ok, now for the blog part: since I've been here, my favorite parts have been the evening programs and the days off. Seriously. Every evening program is something different, with the exceptions of Thursday night movie nights (though I could have done without seeing the Hannah Montana movie, and it made me homesick for Tennessee!) and Sunday night cookouts and campfires. The camp is pretty good at finding the balance between variety and tradition, which I really appreciate. Almost everything has a dress-up theme, which is tons of fun. I wasn't told to bring ridiculous costumes, but I've been able to scrounge up some awesome costumes out of the clothes I've brought so far. Also, the extensive drama program at camp has a Costume Shop that campers and counselors can peruse for their dress-up needs.

My first day off was spent camping in Panthertown. After that came Brevard, then Asheville, then Atlanta (where we got SuperLost but ended up staying in an awesome hotel and going to a Latin night club!), then Clemson, SC, and now Brevard again. I just love this little coffee shop with wi-fi that I found :) Currently drinking a mango-strawberry smoothie, blogging and skyping with the twin. How does life get any better?

I've been journaling a lot, and although this job may sometimes be stressful and I feel like quitting, I think about all the awesome people I've met here. We've only been together for a month, but I'm amazed at some of the deep relationships I've created with my fellow counselors. I'm also glad of this job because it makes me appreciate these mountains, my family's heritage, and all the adventures on my days off that much more. Additionally, I'm learning (and proactively changing!) a lot about myself. Less judgmental, less elitist, more perseverant, especially with projects I start. I'm typically a starter but not a finisher. I've never finished a scrapbook, I've never filled up a journal. This is a summer of self-reflection and subsequent change :)

Kudzu "forest" in a forgotten South Carolina town

Helena and me at the Luau themed cookout

"Tall Katy" and me at Grimshaw's, the sliding rock near CMW

It rained at the Nature Nook, but some dry spots were left where cool-shaped things were sitting

Precious snail, climbing in a Fairy High Ropes course made by some campers

View of the mountains from somewhere near Pickens, SC

Graffiti on the power building on Paris Mountain, SC/NC border

Chris' vintage sailboat on Lake Hartwell, SC, with the storm approaching (don't worry, we had a wooden mast)

Have you ever looked closely at the stitching on a sail? It's beautiful...

Oh, Nature, I Love You!

Recently, the 2nd of 3 camp sessions started. The girls in my cabin are great, and we've been having lots of adventures in the Nature Nook.

Callie, holding the resident green frog at the Nature Nook

Candles floating on Lake Fairfield during Merrie-Woode's "Follow the Gleam" ceremony, where the light of all the campers' good times at camp remains forever with the Lady of the Lake.

I got a candle, too :)

I knitted a "herbie". He's a pterodactyl named Jethro. Jethro the PterodacTull. Bahahahhahah! And he's staying hydrated. Good boy.

Snuggling with new baby chickens, by far the girls' favorite part about Nature.


Our sunflowers emerged from their seeds: the seeds were preserved from last year's sunflowers, in the same way that you would make a seed bank to protect an heirloom species from endangerment or extinction.

Thanks for reading!!

~M.

Camp Merrie-Woode

I haven't blogged in a year and a half and I'm really sorry, for anyone who may have been reading this and who have given up on me ever remembering about my poor lonely bloggity-blog.

Quick re-cap since my last post:

• I returned home from Ghana safely (so long ago!!)
• Went to the Florida Keys for spring break '09
• I've stayed in the US for the longest consecutive amount of time since I've been in college (going on 16 months!)
• Graduated college
• Started a summer job as a camp counselor/ environmental educator at a camp in the NC mountains. That's what this post is about.

I am the "Nature Girl" this summer, a fitting job that I am really enjoying so far. I have been teaching nature activities for a little over 2 weeks and we've decorated nature journals, creek stomped, caught tadpoles and learned about the life cycle of a frog, planted a garden, listened to a lecture by Blair the self-acclaimed "Bird Nerd" from Balsam Mountain Trust about AWESOME birds of prey, and done a natural scavenger hunt.

First, my summer home. Sapphire, NC, on Lake Fairfield:

My "office", the brand-new Nature Nook:

some Nature photos:

Fire Laurel in Panthertown Valley

Fern Forest in Panthertown Valley

Inchworm at the Nature Nook

Sid the Banded Water Snake

Mountain Laurel is in bloom

Butterfly on Butterfly Bush in Nature Nook Garden

Dog Penis Mushroom. Try explaining that to a bunch of girls....

The little building is where I make phone calls home!

Damselfly at the Nature Nook creek

Sunflower sent to my by my best friend for my birthday :)

Water Lily on Lake Fairfield

Bird of Prey shots:

Rusty the American Kestrel

Rasta the Eastern Screech Owl

Honto the Barred Owl

Pablo the Peregrine Falcon-- so handsome :)

Well, digest these photos and enjoy. Hope to read your comments sometime, I'll post again soon (much sooner than the last time, haha!). Enjoy your summer :)

~M.

Parents Visit

* After a few days of partying (what else do you do when you're the only Americans around to celebrate Thanksgiving?!), my parents arrived in Costa Rica; as a side-effect of the partying or perhaps to get them accustomed to "Tico Time", I showed up 2 hours late. We had dinner with my host mom, then the goodbye luncheon the next day in Cartago, and heading out early on the 5th for the beginning of our adventures.

* Our first place-of-interest was Playa Ostional where hundreds of turtles reportedly come to nest and at least one can be seen on almost any given day: except the day we went. Although we did see tons of turtle egg shells littering the beach, and some turtle flipper tracks, with a deeper groove in the middle where her tail dug into the sand as she pulled herself up the shore to lay her eggs in some grass. I wanted so badly to see some turtles, but I suppose it gives me a good reason to return :)

* Next was Cañas where I wanted my family to meet my 2nd host family (the ones who took me in after getting robbed) Although the town itself is fairly small and nondescript (and as we all know now, fairly dangerous), we had fun with the host family. If you ever find yourself in Cañas, stay at the Hotel Cañas--it was luxurious, at least by my standards, and had a nice restaurant on the first floor.

*After Wilbur (my Cañas host dad) gave us a tour of the countryside and dropped us off in Tilarán, we took a bus around Lake Arenal to the town of La Fortuna. I fell asleep on the sidewalk while mom and dad got ice cream, and in doing so got the first flip-flop tan line since I've been here. In La Fortuna we stayed at Cabinas Palmas (also very nice), and went on another nighttime lava tour. After a little while of standing in the drizzling rain with a couple who LOVED to complain, we saw some lava--what luck, again! It was beautiful, I only wish there was a way to photograph it on my camera... We also spent about an hour in a heated river, just relaxing and getting a "massage" from the small waterfall. The river is naturally heated by the volcano, which was a wild concept to grasp. 

* We went horseback riding with the same company and (coincidentally) had the same tour guide, Carlos, who didn't remember me at first but ended up giving me a ring (yes, un anillo!) by the time we were done. The water was a lot stronger than the first time I came--the river was up to my  chest and there was no way anyone was swimming around the base of the waterfall. Dad and I grabbed a few drinks and Mom joined in on some chicarrones, some ice cream, and then back to our room where I got bitten by the hotel owner's dog. Little jerk.

* The next day we took a Jeep Boat Jeep to Monteverde, which was a pretty interesting experience. The boat across Lake Arenal took about an hour, then the "Jeep" or 2 wheel drive minivan took about another hour, theoretically. The drive was straight uphill on some very steep gravel roads, and at one point everyone in the front few rows had to disembark in order to get it up one hill--though my parents and I were left in the back to weigh it down! Mom was terrified about rolling down the hill, which is a fairly valid fear, in retrospect. Dad and I were simply trying to figure out whether more weight was needed in front or rear, and I was communicating with the driver in my halting Spanish. EVENTUALLY we made it to Monteverde, checked into Sleepers' and went for a night hike (see previous post for the company name). We saw so much wildlife this time! A guatusa ran past as soon as we headed into the woods, odd because they are not nocturnal; we also saw sleeping birds, including a toucan, and several tarantulas, etc. Afterwards we met up with Chuck (after living in Costa Rica for 8 years he's never been to Monteverde--I guess it really is just a tourist destination) for dinner and drinks. 

* Instead of touring the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, we opted for Santa Elena, a cloud forest that is bigger (in acreage,) has every species as Monteverde PLUS spider monkeys, and the proceeds of which go to benefit the local high school. Everything was very moist (they have rubber boots you can rent), and we saw all sorts of beautiful trees, hanging vines, and insects. We saw a quetzal nest and a hummingbird nest, and a coati at the visitors center licking up the sugar water spilled onto the ground from when a worker filled up the hummingbird feeder. Apparently they are considered pesky like raccoons.    

* After our morning tour we went ziplining through the jungle again: I didn't pee myself on the Tarzan Swing this time, haha! Mom and Dad had a great time, and one of the handsome workers actually asked Chuck if he could marry me. HA! 

* We shopped around a bit in the morning, then took the afternoon bus back to San José, where the Festival de la Luz (of the lights) was happening on 12/12, then a live reggae band at L Chicharronera, and finally--unfortunately--back home on the 13th.

*Though I've been gone home for 4 months, I'm not quite ready to return home. I want to explore and adventure some more, visit Nicaragua again, spend some more time with my host family, see more of this beautiful country I've come to love so much, learn more about its history and environmental policies---but, I'm glad to see my parents and I really miss my puppies and sister so I suppose it's time to go home (before I want to but can't!)

Thanks for reading :)

A Carnival, Boiling Mud Pots and No Pictures to Prove It

Rincón de la Vieja (Old Woman's Corner, legend and information here)

• On Thursday we took a noon bus to Liberia; we played with a little girl who was sitting in the seat in front of us on the bus, then we arrived in Liberia where the central park is FULL of these super obnoxious birds that chirp all the friggin time. We spent the night at Posada del Tope in a room whose walls didn't connect with the ceiling so I was kept up all night listening to a make-out session(?) Let's hope that's all it was. Also, the walls were painted with blue chalk? Then getting into a could-be-dangerous situation where she was smoking with the guys who owned the hotel and one wanted to smoke some more but she said no. He could have gotten really angry and broken into our room while we were sleeping. Ugh, the things I have to deal with. But maybe that's just me being paranoid/ realistic. 
• We had informed the hotel workers the night before that we wanted to take the 7:00 shuttle to Rincon de la Vieja Park. When she wouldn't get out of bed, the man from the hotel came to our room to ask if we still wanted to take the  7:00 am shuttle to the park-- when we said we did and that we'd be ready in 2 minutes, he informed us that it had already left. So why did he even ask us? Who knows. We packed up, left our big bags in the office, took a taxi and arrived at Rincón after an hour long 16 km taxi ride only to find that we didn't have enough money to pay Alfredo (the taxi driver) AND the entrance fee. So we gave him Stef's camera and promised to meet him in Liberia later that night to pay him the remainder once we were able to get to an ATM. We walked all over the park's Las Pailas sector (the frying pans): the waterfall Congreja (the crab) through a really beautiful field that looked nothing like any Costa Rican landscape i'd ever seen, then waded at the bottom of the waterfall which was really cold. We saw monkeys on the way back and a guatusa (rodent, think: squirrel-rabbit). Then we took the other trail to a really beautiful waterfall that's full of water only during the rainy season. Next were the fumaroles, little smoking sulfur pots where I mentally invented scratch and sniff photo developing--I wanted everyone who sees my photos to be able to smell the sulfur! Volcancito (the  baby volcano), boiling mud pots, and a sulfuric lagoon. It's so bizarre to think that so much seismic and molten activity is happening so far beneath our feet, but under our feet, nevertheless! It's kind of unnerving, and very humbling. 
• We found a ride back to Liberia where we checked out of our hotel and waited for Alfredo, the taxi driver, who never showed. We decided to check into another hotel (Hospedaje La Chorotega) and do dinner at GuanaBurger where Alfredo randomly showed up as we were eating. Then we hit the Liberia Carnival teacup rides, bumper cars, Ferris Wheel--oddly enough, it was just the American girls riding the rides (read: the two of us) and none of the locals, although they seemed to enjoy watching us enjoy their carnival. Weird. Then showers (nice!), cockroaches, bed sheets covered in mouse poo, the movie Madagascar in Spanish and finally bed where I strangely dreamt that I died, (again) came back to life (again) then committed suicide with some friends via swallowing a poisoned towel that made you bleed out everything inside you, then getting thrown off a teacup ride into the oblivion. In the dream I lived with a big family and Costa Rica was at war with El Salvador. You've gotta love malaria medication side-effects.
• We got up early on Saturday morning to go to Santa Rosa, Costa Rica's first national park. We realized that we didn't have enough money to enter so we bargained with the guy and got the Tico price, which is significantly cheaper than the foreigner price, and students are somewhere in between. Strangely, though, the super low prices don't encourage Ticos to visit their national parks-- I know if national parks in the United States were really as cheap and easily accessible as Costa Rican parks, I would never be at home! We hitched a ride on the 7 km walk to the ranger station, hid our bags in a HUGE tree near the entrance and started walking the 12 remaining kilometers to the beach. We knew we wouldn't make it all the way to the beach, much less there and back, so we walked as far as we could. Los Patos Trail (The Ducks) had a huge snake skin, then a beautiful view of the valley. We saw monkeys, monkey babies, deer, birds, butterflies, lots of animal poop, some of which looked like it belonged to some big cats: that's what I really wanted to see, but thought better of it when I realized I was an unarmed girl in a big big national park--the puma would clearly win that war. Valle Naranjo Trail had a great view of Playa Naranjo (Orange Beach) and the internationally renowned surfing destination Witch's Rock, as well as Playa Nancite, supposedly a really good place to see turtles nesting. That spot is actually only accessible to scientists and researchers wanting to study the turtle's nesting habits: how cool that the national park has different rates and entrance policies specifically for scientists to conduct observational research. Yay! We had such a clear view that it was nearly impossible to believe that the beach was still 6 kilometers away! Back to La Casona which has a cool history (consult book) left our bags again underneath a big dead tree in front of the horse corral, saw iguanas and I saw some pre-Colombian rock carving petroglyphs near the well on the Naked Indian "Indio Desnudo" trail named after the trees that peel their reddish orange bark. We started walking back down the road and although it took a long time for a ride to appear we finally got a ride back to the road where a bus was on its way. 
• We decided to spend the night in Cañas, a small town near Liberia; as we were trying to find a hotel and the bank, a man came up behind us on the sidewalk on his bike and snatched my tampon bag--coincidentally enough, I had JUST decided to fill the bag with my camera and wallet rather than tampons. Luckily, though, it got stolen BEFORE I went to the bank when I had $2 instead of the additional money I was going to get out. A really nice Mormon couple offered to help us: they let me call to cancel my debit card from their house, dropped us off at a restaurant (they didn't want us walking around alone) and offered for us to stay at their house for the night. Then they took us to a family triple birthday party where I talked with a lot of the nieces and invited them on our excursion to Las Pumas the next morning, ate freshly fried chicharrones and fried plantains, drank some beer, listened to music and chatted with the HUGE family for hours and hours. Then "home" (they told us their house was now ours) where we slept in their biological son's room; they adopted 6 other kids, all brothers and sisters whose mom died after childbirth of the triplets. The bed was super-comfortable, and the house was all decorated for Christmas. How funny that immediately after my first experience getting robbed and my first instance of being taken advantage of in Costa Rica, we meet the nicest people in the world! 
• We woke up early on Sunday only to find breakfast already on the table and that an aunt had brought by some newborn puppies, which were easily some of the cutest little creatures I'd ever seen in my life. Our next stop was at Las Pumas, a wild animal rehabilitation center founded by a Dutch woman living in Costa Rica. They rescue injured animals or take in orphaned animals that people find on the roadside or that are brought in by hunters. We explored the zoo-like rehabilitation center with Viviana and Raquel, a couple of the nieces we had met the night before at the triple birthday party. It was incredible seeing the animals that close, especially the pumas and jaguars---and ocelots, monkeys, toucan, parrots and lorries! There were several advertised "success stories" of returning animals to the wild in certain parks, although a lot of the larger cats are kept there indefinitely because they have had such extensive human contact and wouldn't necessarily be able to survive in the wild on their own: although, great efforts are made to make the human contact as little as possible with the rescued animals so it will be easier to return them to the wild when they are fully healed. We returned to the house in Cañas and caught the bus back to San José in the afternoon. Because of this amazing Tico family experience, I'm almost glad I got robbed. Everything is replaceable except the photos, and that's what I really miss, but it gives me a legitimate excuse to return to Costa Rica to take even more photos! 

Lava, Horses, Fictional Characters.

• Missed bus by 5 minutes, so I caught a later bus by myself with the hope of trying to reunite with Stasia, the only friend who I was certain had gone on that trip. Sat with Abner, a traveling Nicaraguan pianist who played in ritzy hotels in La Fortuna, Alajuela, San José every week--not the average poor and disadvantaged marginalized Nicaraguan you usually hear about in CR. And he got a private college education in San José from a specifically Arts & Music school. Arrived at Gringo Pete's, got a room, found out that the girls the owner thought were my friends looking for me were actually not them, and that Stef, Nellie and Stasia were in Gringo Pete's Too across town. I ate dinner there and signed up for a $10 Lava Tour at night, where we drove to a lookout point to see lava dripping down the volcano's sides and spewing out the top. Apparently some people stay in La Fortuna for weeks without seeing lava at night, so even though it was kind of rainy we really lucked out. My favorite part was when the lava would fade out towards the bottom, then get re-ignited--it was incredible. 
  
• 8:00 am horseback riding trip to La Fortuna waterfall with cute guide, Carlos.   "Puedo correr?" "Si, claro." "Ella no quiere correr..." "Te gusta montar caballo?" "Si, claro!" "Quieres montar este?" "En serio!?!" So I rode his horse Palomo up the hill, SUPER FAST, galloping at top speed with my feet flapping out of the stirrups; we let the horses rest, then climbed down to the waterfall and swam. Freezing water, very strong current, amazing waterfall, then back on the horses (after the killer hike back up to the top) where we saw a really cool spider eating bugs. Quick ride down hill to the Maleku indigenous village where some indios (indigenous Maleku) were selling hand made wood souvenirs and told us about their culture. They are the smallest indigenous group in Costa Rica, about 800 members. Back to Pete's for burrito lunch then walked to the swimming hole Miguelito told us about. Played "guess who's not real", swam, swung from the rope swing, jumped off the rocks and tried to climb behind the waterfall. Then the 5:00 bus back to San José late because I was out of money.