Week 4

This Saturday I had the privilege of being a boat welcomer down at the docks. This job was much more chilled out than the normal Saturday job. A lot of chilling in the boathouse ensued. There were so many nice expensive boats that came to the docks. One of the most expensive ones had a knot come undone and the waves began to take the boat into another boat. Luckily I spotted it in time and we all rushed over to stop the collision. Saturday night - fusion…. paintball!!!! It was so much fun with all the instructors. Didn’t really get any decent bruises but I hit a few people with some solid shots. On the last round it was all boys and a few of us decided to take our shirts off for it which made it much more exciting!

Sunday started off the week well. I was assigned to the ski boat again in the morning with Coombs. We have a bunch of J1 – 10 year old boys who are very entertaining but very much a handful as well. I was asked by one of the more challenging kids – hey rhys, have you gone through puberty? HAHA I was so blown away at the randomness of the comment. “Yes Devlin, why do you ask?” “Because your hairy on your chest and under your arms.” This same boy has a rather inappropriate hip thrusting motion when dancing to music…, which is quite funny when performed by a 10 year old boy.

I managed to get a good game of beach volleyball in during the lunch hour. In the afternoon I was assigned the notorious job of Kids on the Water, which entails teaching kids all the ins and outs of how to drive a boat. Quite a daunting job at times as things can go wrong surprisingly quickly. I had a great bunch of kids though; one boy, three girls.

On Sunday night I missed out on tea due to a skype session back home. Managed to get half a plate of vegetables which certainly was not enough to fill me up. So I bought some junk from the tuckshop. This I regretted later that night as I came down with a sick stomach. Before this however I had hopper time and small group with the boys which was great as usual. The spiritual triple play was on with Soul House to follow up after small groups, but I decided to give it a miss and have some alone time.

Drama struck at Muskoka Woods that night however, when I was having some good alone time. I found out that one of the boys in my cabin and one next door were fired for consuming alcohol on contract. So I was there when they first came in to pack up all their stuff and leave while everyone else was at Soul House. It was quite the talk and shock of camp that two of these (did I mention) return ski staff were gone. This made our ski team much depleted. Thankfully plenty of other staff volunteered to step in and help spot in the boats etc.

Neily Poo, a lover of the soft drink Crush (like fanta), drank 30 cans of Crush in a 24 hour period. This was quite an event, at one stage everyone was crowding around and getting him to skull a can, yelling crush crush crush. He skulled 5, then his stomach returned them back. Haha.

Short shorts Monday, another great day – need I explain why? I found out that one of the 10 year olds in my morning boat – François – is the biggest fan of Lady Gaga. It was hilarious seeing him dancing and singing at the top of his lungs to this music and going wild whenever she came on.

I received a lovely care package from home containing some Boost chocolate, Starburst gummies and my favourite – a new pair of Havaianas, all topped off with a lovely card from the fam. Shout out to ET for the couriering, and for making sure it came haha! Thanks mate!

Monday afternoon with my kids on the water I taught them how to pick up a skier with a rope and started on the nervous process of docking. Monday night – night off. We were going to go into town but I was feeling a bit sick so I had a nap and then went down to the hub for some flight of the conchords and university registration. There was a bonfire at the beach later that night which was a really great chance to chill out and chat to people. Quick episode of summer heights high before bed.

Woke up at 6 on what has been dubbed Raley Tuesdays. Went out with Mark, Jon and Mum for a glass water wakeboard, learning the new trick (me and Jon) the raley. What is a raley you might be asking? Well, for those that don’t know it is like a superman. We also had a professional videographer that came to take some videos of our ventures. Jon hit the raley second try after practicing on the wakeskate. This put the pressure on me. My first few attempts were pretty good and close to landing. But then I deteriorated in my efforts. On my last try I finally got it!!! STOKED!!!

In the afternoon group I took the kids on the water to Port Carling where we did some more docking, and then treated ourselves to some of the very tasty icecream there.

Tuesday night was sleepover so I got to know the boys and ate dinner with them. We then went to watch the skate demo put on by the VANS skate team who toured to Muskoka Woods. They had some pretty rad moves!

J2 night activity was the four corners game, much like capture the flag. It was good fun running around getting chased by all the kids. The boys were surprisingly good going to bed that night, I told them a few stories to satisfy their imagination and then they dropped off with not too much hassle.

Wacky Wednesday sleep-in: always a blessing! Unfortunately I found it very very difficult to sit up as I felt an extreme fatigue and pain in my aaaaabdominals. It seems that I was not attempting my Raley’s correctly. My wrist was also in a lot of pain, it seems from the night before. According to the doctor it was tendonitis in my wrist which is quite a bummer, hopefully it will go away soon. That meant no skiing.

Wednesday was a bit of a miserable day with the rain and rough waters. The boys – a handful as always didn’t really want to ski so we payed a visit to Windermere, a township on the water. There was a really nice country club/hotel where we hung out on the porch overlooking the lake. I was thrilled to have the chance to play the grand piano that they had in their foyer. I have been having cravings for a real piano to play on since I have been in Canada.

Wednesday afternoon I did the same thing. Went to Windermere with my Kids on the Water class. We played some shuffleboard and ate some sushi at the hotel. Very relaxing. After dinner I had a sound check for Impact which was on that night. The song I was in was Switchfoots – meant to live. I only came in at the last thirty seconds but the other guys in the band played the song incredibly.

After impact Kirsten, the gym instructor, took the time to teach me how to do a standing backflip in the gymnasium. I was very stoked to get it but still need to improve my consistency.

Thursday morning woke up early and went down the road to a café at Rosseau with Justin, the skating area head. We had a great time chatting getting to know each other and sharing a breakfast before the day started.

Thursday morning split – eventful as always with the young boys in my boat. There was very little skiing done because the boys all fought/wrestled/argued for at least half an hour. Kristen was bewildered and didn’t know what to do. I threatened them with throwing them in the water. Which I gladly did. They didn’t really learn their lesson and just would not stop. Despite the frustration and amount of parenting/babysitting we had to do with these boys, it was so rewarding as some of the things that happened were so hilarious. “Devlin you don’t have any friends” “Yeah I do! I have 53 on facebook!”

During the lunch break Pete, Dylan, Josh and myself played a game of tennis doubles which was great fun. In the afternoon my kids on the water group had a theory test taken by another staff so I was on the GP loop which is always good fun, very relaxing. We nicknamed it throw-in Thursdays as Jon, Jack and myself threw all staff that came onto the docks into the water in that period. About 20 staff probably. Fully clothed. It was very entertaining.

Thursday night was a night off. I finally crossed off my bucket list after a couple of weeks working up to it – Hundred hunting! I finally benched 100kg’s so was happy about that. After bumming around watching Flight of the Conchords with Mark for a while, we went to staff bounce. It was pretty tough with my abs still being in a lot of pain, but obviously still heaps of fun. Practiced my raley and tantrum techniques most of the time. After that Dylan and myself went back to the trailer and watched ‘the book of eli’ with a bunch of snacks. It was great just to chill out, snack out and watch a great movie.

Friday morning had a sleep in and went straight to breakfast – waffles and banana bread. There are very few healthy options especially when it comes to cereals here. One really yummy cereal is called cinnamon toast crunch. Cleaned the boat before heading out for my final morning with the crazy kids. In the three hour period, I was the only one to have a ski. None of the kids went. So we went to Port Carling early. It was very eventful with these boys as always. I had to make them pick up rubbish in Port Carling for littering their lunch in the lake. After Port Carling, I did the marathon ski back to camp. It was good fun, quite a challenge. 20 minute one ski certainly tired the body out.

Afternoon Kids on the water went to Port Carling again! Frozen Yoghurt and fudge. One of the kids when they were driving I swear nearly tipped the boat. Very scary moment! The boat would have been at about a 70 degree angle.

After the afternoon program I grabbed some quick food then left for Ryan ‘Barncat’ Hicks’ cottage with Pete, Justin, Joe, Dave, Kate and Mary. We had some good chats, good eats, and good laughs. Didn’t end up going out on the boat – a Malibu wakesetter. Had a campfire at night and shared some really good conversations and stories with each other. I was introduced to the great creation of Smores which are biscuits and chocolate with a fire cooked marshmallow to make a sandwich. Mmmmm yummy! Didn’t go to bed until 130.

Slept in, had a great breakfast and some more chats. Then swam in the lake before getting changed and heading to Cadence to start it all again.

Another tradition we like to have at the ski docks with the ski staff is Springing in the afternoons. Irish Spring is a shower gel which is really popular over here. So we all like to lather up after docking and tarping the boats and shower in the lake.

week 3

Super Saturday went swimmingly! GRSing (welcoming) went very well, pretty cruisy now that I know what I am doing. On Saturday night the staff instructors had a regatta canoe tournament where we painted ourselves different colours and then had different types of canoe races. It was pretty fun.

No Bay Sunday was luckily a smooth day. I was rostered on a double split this week which was great. In the mornings I was in a super air nautique with Jon and in the arvos a small 206 ski boat with Blake which has been a good change from all the big boats surprisingly.

All the kids are really cool and its soo great to see them grow in their skills over the week. I have had a couple of smart alec kids who don’t know what it means to be quiet which can get frustrating at times. Sunday night had a great small group and hopper time yet again.

Monday – great day. Early morning swim, great boat rides with good company. Got to go both slalom skiing in the afternoon, which I feel I am improving significantly in, and in the morning I had a decent wake surf session, which I am definitely improving in as well. Sun shining, ipod playing, boat driving, rhys smiling.

Monday night – night off. After dinner I headed into Bracebridge with Mark, Jon, Blake, Jonathan, Johnavive and Lois. Got me some washing done – much needed. Finally had the chance to post mail home. And had my first experience with the world renowned Canadian Tim Hortons. Got me some Timbits – which are little flavoured dough ball sweets. Very nice. And an ice float chocolate type thing. I will definitely be paying another visit to this fine institution.

Tuesday morning – early morning wakeboard. Getting closer to that tantrum…not yet though. It was really smooth but really foggy when heading back into camp which was pretty crazy cool. The day went swimmingly. Picked up my cabin for stayover at lunchtime. My cabin Willow 2 played a match of soccer against Neily Poos cabin Willow 1. It was a good chance to get to bond with the boys. That night for J2 activity we had another turkey hunt type game but no tackling (shattered!). The aim was to catch as many villains and get them back by avoiding their ‘phobias’ eg grass.

After this there was a gymnastics demonstration from the gymnastics staff and a high school national cheerleading team that was on tour to the camp for a couple of days. VERY impressive!

The boys I had for Tuesday night were a bit more rebellious than the week before but still pretty cool. Unfortunately I didn’t take too much effort to learn their names and connect with them because I was so exhausted. So when it came to bedtime, the boys wanted to shout laugh and do everything but sleep. After lights out they kept on shouting and I thought I would be in for a long night. As a stab in the dark to get some hush I decided to say that the next person to shout out would have to clean the toilets in cabin cleanup the next day. At that, the cabin went dead silent for the rest of the night. I had an awesome sleep!

Wednesday was great. Enjoyed the wacky Wednesday sleep in, got to have both a ski and a wakeboard. Getting closer to that tantrum so hopefully it will come soon.

Wednesday night there was a skate demonstration up at the skate park with a bunch of professional skaters that came to camp for the day. I missed out unfortunately because I had to practice for impact. Impact was great fun yet again. I got to play piano backing up for Cam doing a Jack Johnson rendition and also a unsigned original artist called Julie Rains.

Some of the other boys did a backstreet boys dance/song which was really cool. It was a great laugh.

Thursday I skipped out on a wakeboard and a gym early in the morning for a sleep in. My calf was a bit sore from wakeboarding the day before. The whole day was spent on the water. Morning split, and then headed out to lunch at port carling with my afternoon group. Had a great chat to talyse before dinner. Then spontaneously left with Steve, Craig, Dan and Mark to watch the mind blowing movie Inception. We made it back a bit late for cabin cleanup and got a word from some people high up, luckily not in much trouble.

The kids in our afternoon boat love hearing stories from Blake. He has tonnes of great stories from his adventures and his life in Durban. When they asked me for a story I felt I needed something big to match up to Blake. So I told them that one time when I was 16 I broke out of jail. I expanded on a big elaborate story off the cuff and they fully bought it haha. Had to clarify that this was not true at the end of the week.

Friday was unfortunately an overcast day. Luckily the rain only hit for about 10 minutes out on the lake. Got me some yummy chocolate fudge in port carling at lunchtime. After cleaning the boats at night and having a nice vegetable and gravy dinner, I headed with a few of the boys to the Parrot’s cottage. It was about an hour away. But such a nice cottage!! Went for a slalom ski, played some euchre, and then watched a canadian tv show called mantracker, where professional tracker on a horse had to find two random guys who were trying to get from A to B and avoid the mantracker. It was really cool. It would be great fun to participate in…trying to hide from the tracker. The two guys got caught in this episode.

Had a great sleep in. The night was interrupted by Kenton who had a night terror, and was shouting and banging on the walls and stomping. It was pretty crazy. “DAVE DAVE LET ME OUT!!” haha. Then he woke up and realised what was going on, he was standing at the door out of his bunk. We all had a good laugh then went back to sleep.

In the morning I had a great home cooked breakfast with eggs and toast and peanut butter. Peanut butter you ask?? Why? Because at camp none of the food whatsoever is allowed to have nuts because of allergies. So peanut butter is quite the delicacy on our days off.

Went out for another ski, barefoot, wakeskate with the boys. I got to have a good fun tube ride. Then we packed up and drove an hour back to camp for Cadence and another week of Canadian summer fun!

Ps. Staff paintball tonight!!!!!

photos still coming...sorry

week 2

So week 2 began! After arriving back from Coombs’ cottage, we rushed into Cadence and then into GRSing (welcoming). Welcoming the guests this time was much less hectic as it was not the first week and we knew what had to be done. There was less cars as well. Saturday night came along and Fusion for staff was tubing!!! Unfortunately I did not get released to drive the tubes for all the other staff members which would have been a blast but I got dressed up in my yellow ninja suit and mucked around on the docks. Then at the end I got to have a turn in my suit. It was scary as I couldn’t see much at all. Then when I fell off it was a little bit hard to breathe through the wet suit and let alone see. This made it extremely scary because it was like tubing with your eyes closed.

Sunday came and I was on split boat in the morning with Amanda (mum) taking out three girls and two guys. One of them was Jose from mexico and it was sooo difficult to communicate as he spoke pretty much no English. So there was a lot of exaggerated movements when explaining.

Sunday night was a spiritual triple play, where we had ski staff hopper time, ski boys small group and then soul house. It was really great. Had some awesome discussions, great group of people here as well!

Monday involved a bit of practice for impact which was on Wednesday night. I played keyboard in a couple of songs – Metric; gimme sympathy, and the almost; amazing because it is. It was great fun! The theme of the night was identity. I’m looking forward to next weeks impact program! I’m really missing my music but this is a great chance to keep it up. Would love it if there was a real piano here that I could just go and play on in my spare time, but its cool that I can go to Sonny’s band room and play the keyboards when I am in the mood. On monday i also had a one on one chat with Doug, my one on one mentor. its pretty cool because everyone here has a one on one to stay accountable with, and they meet every week. So its a good chance to connect, get to know someone and share ideas and thoughts on stuff.

On Tuesday we had switch em up and I was looking after 9 junior boys, who nicknamed me bee for bumblebee. After lunchtime I taught the boys how to play rugby. It was their first time and they loved it! The next day all the boys searched me out and wanted to play again. At night we played animal races with all the other J2’s. It was not bad but the seniors had an awesome game that I’m shattered I missed out on. They did a turkey hunt with all the other councillors and instructors, where the kids had to tackle/kidnap/catch an instructor and take them back to the building. The instructors could punch/push/run/ do whatever it takes not to be caught from the kids. So they had some great fun wrestling and running around the whole camp. Shattered I didn’t get to play that game! Apparantly the nurses office was full of people after that game.

The boys I had loved me, and they were so well behaved! It was fantastic…I had a great time with them. Throughout the week I would here ‘BEE!’ being called out from across the oval or at the dining hall haha. They went to sleep straight away and slept until five minutes before breakfast. Good sleep! That night just before bed, I ditched the boys for a couple of minutes to see a bear that was roaming around camp. I looked at it up a tree through the night vision goggles which was pretty cool. Later that night it was just wandering around the cabins, but luckily all people were safe indoors.

Got up early on Thursday morning for a barefoot with Taylor (swifty), mum and Jon. The water was not glass like it had been on previous mornings but was still nice. We tried long line barefoot. I had no trouble getting up onto my bum with the coffin drag start but the difficulty was getting outside the wake and standing. I managed to do it once in about 4 tries but only stood up for a second. Luckily for me no painful bails happened. After that I had a quick go of slalom ski. The others in the boat were laughing at my goofy style of slalom skiing so I need to work on fixing that up hahaa.

Thursday was the most miserable day we have had so far with rain in the morning for split, which made it a bit unpleasant but still fun. And then in the afternoon the programs were called off due to wet weather. So I headed to the hangar to help out with the J2 (junior) wet weather program. We played a bunch of games and watched a gymnastics demonstration by all the gymnastic staff.

In the afternoons this week I was on the general program and every day in the sixth period, we did tubing. I love driving the tubes! And all the kids loved my driving but Canadians seem to be a bit softer than us Aussies back home. I got told to tone it down a couple of times during the week by steve as a couple of the leaders who were watching from their cottages radio’d in and said I was driving too hard. Haha. Canadian softies. Injury count from tubing = 0. Except Blake who dislocated his shoulder about 2 seconds into a ride. But that one wasn’t my fault! I swear! Haha.

On Thursday night I signed up with some of the boys for staff bounce which was an hour of free time on the professional trampolines. It was really fun doing flips and such. They had a ski rope tied to a pole near a trampoline as well so I could practice wakeboard tricks on the trampoline. After that, a few of us boys headed up to the B3 skate warehouse and had staff skate. As many of you know I cant skate for toffee so I just watched all the pro staff doing their thing.

On Friday, in the afternoon program, I was driving the 206 ski boat and the waves/ wind were sooo intense. This boat sits very low in the water and waves constantly kept coming over the bow which was very frustrating. Luckily no kids were trying to ski and it was just tubing. Disaster struck when out on the lake we pulled a couple of kids in off the tube and just as we were about to take off again, the waves had pushed the rope under the boat and it was just too late….I propped the rope!!!! Ski of shame for Rhys. Going to have to tarp all the boats as my punishment. Boo. So I had to get the goggles out and swim under the boat to untangle the rope.

On Friday arvo/night, Mark, Jon and myself drove into Huntsville where there was a midnight madness festival. All of the shops were open until midnight and there was bands and stalls in the street. We hit up the Thrift salvation army store. Bought me some awesome op shop clothes in Canada! The laundry was shut so we are going to have to slum it and try and just savor our clothes until a later date. We arrived back at camp around 11:30 and then had a chat to my favourite sister on skype. Then went back to the room and stayed awake until 2:30 am. That sleep is definitely going to stuff up my routine. Slept in until 11:30 and then prepared for week 3!

The food at camp is going great. I can ask for a vegetarian meal when I want. I have a pesto pasta from the salad bar nearly every day. I should probably try and mix it up a bit. And last night, I was going to buy a 4L chocolate milk for my R&R’s for only 5 dollars. What a bargain!

The showers and toilets at home I am really missing. Here it is like being at big camp for a whole summer!

Still yet to see a moose. But I have seen a few moose heads on the walls of buildings. Seen plenty of squirrels which are very cute and entertaining to watch.

Week 2 has absolutely flown by which is a bit sad. Hopefully it wont be this fast the whole summer….i want it to last!

It’s been great hearing from and skyping with friends and family back home. Still haven’t heard from lots of people though so I am hoping to get a chance to chat.

Now I am off to cadence and the start of week 3.

Goodbye my precious’s

Rhys

Ps. Rhys is not a guys name over here. And noone can spell it!

Week 1

Super Saturday arrived. Following cadence (church) we prepared for the arrival of all the kids. My job was to welcome the guests as they arrived in their cars. We were to tag their luggage and take that to the porters as well as direct the guests to their cabins. It was intense! I only had long black pants and I was out in the hot sun all afternoon doing this job, which was very exhausting. Especially when I had to carry 40kg trunks half way across the oval.

I had the chance to watch the opening day show which was a glee type performance. It was pretty cool. That night I had a band practice with Sonny Shoker and the band that is playing at impact (a concert/church type program) this year. I had to audition and the whole lot, which was a new experience. Felt a bit stupid really, and under pressure haha. But I ended up with a position playing keys. It will be a good experience! We are playing pop songs rather than church songs which is also a change. But good fun nonetheless.

Sunday brought the start of the summer activities! Woohoo! It was an incredible day. In the morning I was on GP loop where two boats just did loops around the bay and kids went from the docks. Much like the program setup at somerset. This was great fun finally getting to know the kids and teach some skiing! This went for three hours. I had a chance to drive as well.

After a two hour lunch break, I was on a split boat, where myself, Jenna and four other kids went out on a boat for three hours. The lake is massive and there are so many little bays/inlets. But the etiquette of boating is very different here. If someone is in a bay the size of koala/pelican/barefoot in this lake, no other boats can go there. So the first boat there gets a huuuuge smooth area to ski in! The split afternoons are very fun. Sunday night we had Bible studies with our ski team, which is always very enjoyable.

Monday and Tuesday were absolutely beautiful days for teaching wakeboarding! Sun was shining strongly, and luckily for us when it got too hot a swim was just a jump away!! I even had the chance to ride during the split program.

On Monday night, we had the night off, so a crew of us went into Huntsville to do some washing, went to the great dollar store (plus tax), and then another trip to Walmart. The last stop was the nutty chocolatier where I got a really yummy massive icecream for only 2 dollars.

On Tuesday morning I woke up early and went for an incredible morning wakeboard with Mark, Jon and Zac. The whoooole lake was glass! Incredible! I had a good session, landed a backroll which I was pretty stoked about.

Tuesday night is sleepover night, where I have to take over from a councillor on his night off. I met these boys at lunch, and the eleven 14 year olds seemed pretty cool. Little did I know the night that was ahead! After teaching and dinner, I joined in with the senior high games – Capture the flag as a three legged race. It was a bit of fun. Then back in the cabin at night was terrible. Some of the things that comes out of the mouth of these young guys! Geez! And their puberty hasn’t yet reached the stage of volume control! Such loud boys! So lights were out at 11:30, and I dozed off with my ipod in after about half an hour. In the morning I wake up to find out that the boys were up causing a ruckus for about 2 hours after I went to sleep. Amazed that I managed to stay asleep for it! They even got told off by security for being too loud.

Woke up early for the fantasmic game of origin 3. What a ride!!! I even skipped wakeboarding on a glass lake for that game. And don’t regret a second. A heat wave hit us with 40 degree cloudless skies. Crazy hot! Luckily my job allowed me to jump in the water whenever I felt like it. Went for a boat cruise to lake Joe and did some skiing there, I even got a run in which was great fun! Impact was on Wednesday night, which is a concert/drama type program, which was very cool. I got to play keyboard in an angels and airwaves song which was great fun.

Thursday, our split boat spent lunch time in Port Carling on the other side of the lake. It was a nice quaint little village. Got me some fudge and sweets. Mmm. Just as we arrived back home, a storm hit, and all campers and staff had to hide indoors. It was a pretty pussy storm though.

Friday the sun came to visit again. But I was exhausted. First week and I had already come down with an ear infection, sore throat and aching muscles from early morning barefooting. Friday was pretty relaxing luckily.

Friday night we had off until Saturday afternoon. So a crew of us headed off to Coombs’ cottage again. It was pretty relaxing. I had the best time going on the jet ski she had. It was my first time ever and it was sooo much fun!!! Played a cool game that night called in the box, which is similar to the amazing game they call balderdash! Had a massive sleep there at the caravan at the cottage which was the best sleep I’ve had since I have been here. Spent the morning relaxing at the cottage and then left to head back to camp to start another week!

And everyone here loves the aussie footy shorts haha they don’t have short shorts here and heaps of people want them. Another funny thing is that the kiwi boys have brought a new word into coolness. They have pretended that everyone in NZ uses this word and everyone at camp is starting to use it because of it being spread around. I have jumped on the bandwagon with spreading this word as well haha. Its fully Dundas!

So I’m pretty sure that I have the toughest job in the world!!! NOT!! Its awesome. Out on the boats all day, driving, chilling, swimming, wakeboarding, listening to music! Ahh. It is tiring on the body however, being out in the sun all day long. The boats don’t have biminis either. But hey, I am not one to complain. Loving the Canadian summer! Bring on the adventures of week 2!

Keep me updated as to what im missing/not missing back home. I love hearing from you guys! Big shout out to my Springwood teen family who I am missing very muchly!

Ride on! (Another Canadian saying)

Let the good times roll!

Monday was great! We had some good area time, where we got to go out on the bay, and tour around all the different ‘spots’ for good flat water. There are so many billion dollar houses. I will put some photos up. It’s nuts!!! Goldihorns cottage is just around the corner as well. Unfortunately it was raining and windy for this drive. And just as we were about to start wakeboarding, the boats ran out of petrol (gas). So for the next hour we were just floating in the middle of the lake, waiting for backup to come with some petrol. And at this exact point the water became soooo smooth and the rain stopped and sun came out to taunt us.

That night, we had a really great church service called soul house, with tonnes of music and testimonies. It was a really nice time. We also played kick ball which is baseball with a soccer ball. I was on team Scotland, and as many of you could imagine grasped the opportunity to put on a kilt. Our team dominated Ireland and Italy, but we didn’t make it to the finals.

The next morning while everyone slept in, all the camps kiwis and aussies took a boat ride into a local port – windermere, for a great buffet breakfast hangout. There are some really great ANZACs that I’ve made friends with, shared some good times. That day at lunch, we had a big Canada versus International match of soccer. Unfortunately despite the multitude of talent, the international team lost. We blame it on the lack of boots and the slippery surface. I only played for a few minutes but it was good fun.

That night, we broke up into more groups and were assigned songs, where we had to do a special dance to. Everyone was involved! It was really great. I will post some links to some videos when they get put up.

On Wednesday we had more morning sessions, then took a couple of hours to set up and organise an epic staff photo on the docks. Most epic effort I have ever seen for a group photo. After that we had a section called mix it up, where we found out our extra jobs for the summer. Every Tuesday night I will be taking over counselling for a J2 cabin down the bottom of the hill which is unfortunately quite a walk to carry my bedding all the way down just for one night. Oh well. It will be great getting to know all the kids.

That night went into Bracebridge in a bunch of big yellow buses for the Love Boat. It was a small cruise boat where the top was a disco dance floor, the middle was full of tables for board games and the bottom was just chill out. It was pretty good. Those that know me would know that dancing isn’t my favourite pastime but I did give it a go for a little while. The crazy thing was that the whole dance floor was bending majorly. When we were playing games underneath I was scared the roof was going to collapse! It was bobbing down with the beat about 15-20cm each time. Luckily it managed to hold up under the stress! The scenic cruise was sooo beautiful. Wish I had my camera! But received the charger finally so photos are back on! After the cruise we had a late night boys/girls chat until midnight which was intense but good.

Thursday morning contained more sessions! Nearly done!! I am so sick of all these acronyms we have to learn. Since it was Canada day this day, us Aussies decided to dress up in all our Aussie gear, and walked into breakfast waving the flag and singing waltzing matilda. The crowd responded with a rendition of Canadian national anthem. It was a good laugh. And then time off for the rest of the day!!! Woohoo!

Kristen Coombs’ cottage was a 20 minute drive from camp. Right on a beautiful small lake! Spent some time jumping off the roof of their boathouse. Then went wakeboarding for the first time in Canada!!! Beautiful!! Then went to pick up a couple of other blokes from camp before some sunbaking, cliff jumping (I didn’t because I was too cold – that’s my story and im sticking to it). Dinner – burgers and corn, board games (banana scrabble). Then after dinner we went out and wakesurfed until 930pm when the sun went down. My first wakesurf was then and it was really fun! When you get in the right spot you don’t even need to hold onto the rope! After the sun went down we went over to their neighbours cottage and watched some fireworks to celebrate Canada day before heading back to camp. Late night skype session with dad led to me getting in trouble from security for being past curfew.

So tired the next day! After some more lectures, we had a practice EP (emergency procedure) where we had to wade through the water in whatever clothes we were wearing (luckily I had boardies but others were not so fortunate). A test of the knowledge we covered during staff week followed lunch and then area time. We practiced our docking, and chilled out mainly sunbaking. I’ve got such a tough job! To top it off we spent the last 45 minutes wakeboarding on Lake Rosseau ‘testing’ out the boats and equipment. That night we had soul house to finish off the week. It was really great! I really want to suggest a few good songs haha. But there is a lot of hillsong that they do. And I was delighted to hear that missy Higgins is known by some people over here as well. She’s just awesome!