Off to Camp I Go~

On the early morning of the 10th of this month, I will be found packed in a crowded yellow school bus, on a journey across the island of Oahu to the Leadership/Drama Education Camp at Camp Erdman. From there, I will spend two nights and three days (thus, missing the first half of the first day of school).

This trip to camp was an idea proposed by Ms. Nakamura, my World History Honors teacher. From the very beginning of the school year, she's been very eager to bring our class to camp. However, she needed to make up an excuse a valid reason for us to make this trip since she couldn't have us go for no reason. During the beginning of our second quarter, she came up with something and her idea was for us to participate in a historical play! Going to camp will help prepare us with the skills necessary to act in the play.

At camp, we're going to learn drama and acting through workshops conducted by the Honolulu Theater of Youth. We will also be participating in something new that was recently introduced to the YMCA program by Alpine Towers in January 2006: the Odyssey III!



"This leading edge design can accommodate groups of up to 50 people in an engaging challenge course experience.

Working in pods of 4 to 8 participants move through the entire course together. After climbing an inclined cargo net into the lower level, first treehouse, the group attaches into the overhead belay system and enters the first level of linear course events. Working together, the group completes the challenges on the first level.

After completing the lower level events, the group will ascend to the upper level. treehouse via a tube cargo net. The group will then facilitate their way across the upper elements toward the final exit element Tandem Zip Lines. These automated zip lines allow two participants at a time an exhilarating exit from the course!"

It looks very exciting and Ms. Nakamura was also very eager to try it since this feature wasn't at Camp Erdman the last time she went. I would also need to gather up all the courage I have to try this, despite my slight fear of heights.

I think the Odyssey III is the one of the least of my concerns, though. Camp itself will be a major challenge for me. I haven't realized this until now, but I have never been away from my parents and/or siblings all my life for even one night. Not even for a simple stay-over-a-friend's-house. The thought of being away from my family for two nights and sleeping somewhere other than my own bed is a bit scary. There are 16 girls and 4 boys in our class. All of the girls would share one room while the boys sleep in a separate room. I hear the cabin rooms are quite big so it should be alright. Erica told me that we would probably be kept so busy we don't have time focus on other things other than concentrate on our tasks. I hope she is right. Another nice thought is that the teacher mentioned taking our beds out of the cabin so we can watch and sleep under the stars. I am a 100% city girl and I have never been to the countryside. This would be something I'm looking forward to because I don't have many opportunities to see stars. Camp is not always a scary thought as I sometimes feel very excited myself and I feel like I am Ito and Makoto from W Juliet going off to their summer training drama camp.

I haven't even started looking through the list of things I need to pack for camp and it is less than a week away...oops.

I wish I could see the Sapporo Festival...but I doubt I'd be able to stand the cold. *dies*