Pranks on the boss lady

Today is our last day of camp.  It's been probably the busiest month I've had in about a year.  I won't miss the bad cafeteria food, squeaky bunk beds, and rat sightings, but I'll miss this big fun group of people.

This morning, we decided to pull out our inner Jim Halpert on Mandy, our director here at camp.  Mandy has a special fondness in her heart for organization. Especially in the form of labels.  Everything in our staff room is color coded, organized, and labeled to a impressive/scary degree.

So this morning we snuck in and labeled her desk. Every. Single. Item.  We thought she would appreciate the organization.

(please also note Thursday's agenda in the photo)

Oh, and yes, she thought it was funny.

And that's because it was.

The view from Gredos

Team 'merica

So last week I dangled a photo in front of you and promised I would explain it. And then, in a haze of small children and bad food and photo editing, I forgot. (Sort of like I had a big FAQ series a few months ago and only answered 75% of the questions. I'm warning you, I am a deeply flawed human being. Be friends with me at your own risk.)

In the picture I am a large cheeseburger, complete with a slice of good ole' American cheese.  It was all for a good cause. At camp, the kids have a "fiesta" every night with a different theme.  This night was circus night, and as a surprise to both the children and the camp counselors (we're just teachers, we don't do nighttime duty and all that), the teachers create a dance every year as part of the fiesta.  This year the teachers are all Americans, which is pretty unusual since there's usually a pretty heavy British Isles presence.  So we decided to take advantage.

Our dance was glorious.  We dressed up in Spanish costumes and danced flamenco for the first thirty seconds, then threw off our Spanish clothes to reveal some seriously well-thought-out Americana costumes.  We had an Uncle Sam, a cheeseburger, a hot dog, a cheerleader, and American flags galore.  It was AWESOME. American rap music came on, and we danced the electric slide. The kids went nuts. It was like our own little Fourth of July.

Food. Or "food"?

This is the kitchen staff's idea of an apple. Sad, isn't it?

Also pictured is the kitchen staff's idea of an appropriate, balanced meal. I call it "A Meditation on the Nutritional Value of Beige." Also known as "Just Throw It All in the Fryer."

It might be better though than just chopping up a bunch of vegetables and throwing them in boiling water. For, you know, an hour or two. Until everything's pulpy and flavorless and has the nutritional value of a toothpick. Even copious amounts of pepper couldn't spice it back up.

Foodies, please avert your eyes. Come to think of it, the rest of you should avert your eyes too.

Read the sign carefully

Here's the motley crew that I'm rolling with this month here at summer camp:

Aren't we cute?

One of our group was only here for two weeks and left to go to America (lame. who does that?) (just kidding I can't wait for my trip in a few weeks. Do you know that no one else besides us Americans thinks the bathroom door should be left open a crack when the bathroom is empty so you don't have to go through the awkward knock-and-see-if-someone's-in-there routine? People like us have to stick together.)

Anyway, tangent aside, in honor of my friend Sarah who left, here is a picture of her in a really shining moment. I mean, she's beautiful and intelligent and really funny and she does a fantastic fake Southern accent, but you can't have all the cards. 

Major English teacher fail.

A day in the life

Did you ever want to know what a day as the official blogger/photographer in a Spanish summer camp looks like? Did I hear a yes?

Roll out of bed at 7:30 a.m. in time for 8:00 breakfast.  Breakfast consists of  some dry crackers, a piece of half frozen fruit, and a bowl of coffee.  Yeah, I said a bowl of coffee.  You have to slurp it like you slurp the milk at the bottom of the cereal. I'm not sure why they decided mugs were a no-go.

Classes start at 9 a.m.  I run around all day, camera in hand, trying to capture cool things that people are doing in their classes.  My job is to blog three-ish times per day, posting lots of videos and pictures along the way. I take pictures and video, edit them, upload them, run around to different classes and keep track of what everyone's up to. (if you're ever interested in checking out the camp blog, you can find it here. Be warned though, it's written for a non-native English speaker audience, so you might not find the jokes as funny (as if you ever found the jokes funny).

Lunch at 1:30.  Lunch is usually something...not delicious.  The food is definitely lacking that special something, but it's camp food so I suppose it's to be expected. In the end, I'm so happy that I didn't have to buy it, prepare it, or clean up after it that I don't mind too much. Except when it's soggy mystery meat drenched in oily gravy, and then I start to mind.

After lunch, more classes until 5. Repeat same frenzied routine as the morning. I finish up at 7ish usually, then I try to go outside and take a walk before dinner at 7:45 (while trying to avoid the dead cow situation). Dinner is also most definitely not delicious.

Then, it's relax time for a few hours before hitting the hay because that 7:30 wake-up call comes faster than you'd think. 

Rinse. Repeat.

*next time I will explain (and illustrate) the hamburger photo. Stay tuned.

Caption contest in the comments please

I'll blog again soon. Promise.  

And when I do, I will explain this:

Get ready.

It's all fun and games until someone gets chewed on by a flesh-eating animal.

  

Camp life is tough sometimes.

  

This summer camp stuff is some seriously hard work.  We've all been putting in about 14-hour workdays, and the environment is exactly what you would imagine a summer camp to be: frenetic high energy! All! The! Time!

Whew.

So last night we decided it was time for a bit of a part-ay. We made sandwiches and guacamole and a very fancy roquefort cheese/endive thingamajig that was delicious. The Mister got some tunes flowing, because that's what he does, and we danced the night away.  Well, until 1:30 a.m. anyway, at which point we suddenly realized that we had to face a bunch of 7-year-olds in about six hours.

We're in the country and when they say it's dark they mean it's DARK, so the only photos taken were of our food prep. So that's what you get to see. Sorry.

I am including this picture because I couldn't keep the ridiculousness to myself.  I mean, I'm pretty sure that I'm actually chewing in this shot (I swiped some guacamole every free moment I had and shoved it in my face when no one was looking), but it looks like I'm giving Jessica the Stink Eye. I look sassy. And like I'm in need of a good night's rest.

Which I was.

Summer camp: the routine

Did you ever want to know what a day in a Spanish summer camp looks like? Did I hear a yes?

Roll out of bed at 7:30 a.m. in time for 8:00 breakfast.  Breakfast consists of  some dry crackers, a piece of half frozen fruit, and a bowl of coffee.  Yeah, I said a bowl of coffee.  You have to slurp it like you slurp the milk at the bottom of the cereal. I'm not sure why they decided mugs were a no-go.

Classes start at 9 a.m.  I run around all day, camera in hand, trying to capture cool things that people are doing in their classes.  My job is to blog three-ish times per day, posting lots of videos and pictures along the way. I take pictures and video, edit them, upload them, run around to different classes and keep track of what everyone's up to.

Lunch at 1:30.  Lunch is usually something...not delicious.  The food is definitely lacking, but it's camp food so I suppose it's to be expected. In the end, I'm so happy that I didn't have to buy it, prepare it, or clean up after it that I don't mind too much.

After lunch, more classes until 5. Repeat same frenzied routine as the morning. I finish up at 7ish usually, then I try to go outside and take a walk before dinner at 7:45. Dinner is also most definitely not delicious.

Then, it's relax time for a few hours before hitting the hay.  that 7:30 wake-up call comes faster than you'd think. Rinse. Repeat.

A cold one please

Hey, there are wine grapes in this monastery!

You know what hanging around with one hundred and thirty five 4-9 year-olds makes you want to do?

Drink wine.

Lots and lots and lots of wine.

A cold beer would do.

A gin and tonic would be just fine.

Maybe I'll have to pick my own grapes.

Summer camp, parentheses-style

We finally got all moved out of our apartment and settled in our new home for the month, a summer camp in Gredos. It's about 45 minutes outside Mádrid, which means it's hot (during the day), cold (at night), and best of all, mosquito-free (yay).

We've had a lot of fun so far meeting new coworkers, hanging out in our residence (it's a monastery) and trying to not choke on the heavily-salted cafeteria food (but hey, we didn't have to buy groceries, cook or do the dishes so it's worth it).

I'm the camp photographer and blogger (do you think I qualify?), which makes writing this post interesting, because I feel like I'm working after hours (I am).

But so far, this camp gig seems pretty sweet (I mean, we live in a forest now. I always wanted to live in a forest. For a month).

Did you have a fun 4th of July? Did you have a bucket of fried chicken under the stars (the only way to celebrate the 4th)?