First Day of the Camp

In the first morning, it was so cold, and we were wondering what the day would be like. All campers were really tired, but we exercised with two of the staff members guiding us. After that, campers felt pumped and ready for the day. The breakfast was delicious: we ate bagels, oatmeal and bananas. First, the campers went to sit by the Fireside, and watched our staff’s play, called SPICES. So now we know that the staff’s group name is SPICES. S stands for strength, P stands for persistence, I stands for integrity, C stands for curiosity, E stands for empathy, and S stands for spark. This will help us for the rest of month because all of those words make us grow and be better leaders and build confidence. This means we will help and spread the importance of leadership among deaf people in the world.

Campers went to the basketball court to play the game called Dragon Tail. We loved playing this game and, hopefully, we will do that again. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. After lunch, we played a game where we had to remember other campers' names. One guest, Maureen Behrens, “Mo,” came from the state of Washington to explain about bullying. We learned that bullying could start in pre-school and during middle school. Then, Mo put us through a game where we had to act as if we were either one of the three: popular/snob, neutral, and friendliness. The staff gave each of us a card which we cannot look at, while other people can see each other’s card. The A-10 cards means act popular/snobby, 9-6 means stay neutral, and 5-2 means we have no friends. So all campers walked around and had to look their cards and act different related to the cards held by each person. It taught us how to see things in perspective.

When that was finished, we made a sign that says “This is a bully free zone” and all campers signed their names as a promise that we will not bully. For dinner, we ate white rice with delicious chicken which looks like it’s from Thailand or China (it’s Tandoori). Later, after dinner each of us got a stick with names on it, we could not look at it until the staff told us to, and then we had to find the person whose name was on the stick - there were four different colors on it, and then we found out who our team will be for the rest of month! After that, each team had to play the bed sheet name game, which means there has to be one person on each side of the blanket, and when the blanket goes down, we have to say each person’s name fast. Later we all played game called “I said go." Staff members played with campers, the game was very fun and we had to scream when our “B-shaped” hands pointed at each other. We had lot of laughs and some of campers got headaches and sore jaws from shouting. After that we ate ice cream, yummy! We had our first Fireside and a nice bonfire. During our Fireside chat, Mo explained her personal life, and how she adopted her daughter from India. We all met her daughter, and she’s adorable! Later during the night, there was a cabin that got infested with termites so the girls who slept at Cabin T had to sleep in the Leadership Hall. The girls were so scared from bugs. We’re so exhausted from a long day and we are excited for a new day tomorrow.

23...24...25... to get the blood racing so early in the morning, do jumping jacks like the campers!


Nia Lazarus quickly says Skye Dreumont's name in the bed-sheet name game


As soon as the sheet drops, the camper on the far side, Ricardo Smolik has to correctly name who is sitting on the other side - Jonathan Ruiz!


Angel Ortiz poses for the camera with his million-dollar smile as the campers mingle during a break


Campers listening to instructions on how to play the "I Said Go" game.


Kaitlin Newhard performs the "Said" portion of the "I Said Go" game as Denisse Robles tries to contain her laughter


By saying "Go" Trey Gordon points to the next person to continue the game inside the circle


"I Said Go" provided plenty of laughter for the participants, especially Brianna Crayton


A moment of laughter from Amy Hesser and Gabriel Carino is captured


Guest speaker Maureen Behrens shares her fireside speech to the campers and staff as the fire roars