182. - 183. A Method to the Madness?

I'm certainly hoping so.

What I've learned in the first four days of being a camp counsellor (that's the mystery of the last post unravelled, FYI) is that sometimes, all the experience and training in the world can't prepare you for what you actually encounter.

When I applied for my current position way back in January, I thought that I would be spending the summer at a location close to home with reasonably well-behaved kids and seasoned staff well-versed with company policies and procedures.

Instead, being a new staff in a district in excess of staff, I was re-located to a community centre an hour away, where I would soon meet a truly impressionable bunch.

Right from the onset, I discovered that this would be no average work experience when a simple google search of the centre revealed that it had been the site of a lock-down a year prior after a suspect fleeing from the police entered the building. Safety of the neighbourhood aside, my second indication that things might not go as expected arrived in the form of a warning from a friend that the kids at the centre liked to punch staff. 

Arriving slightly shaken on the first day of work, a series of events soon confirmed that I would be in for quite the ride:

1) The janitor in charge of opening the centre arrived late, causing another staff member to enter the building from the day care entrance and triggering the building alarm.

2) New camper information sheets were nowhere to be found, thus old ones had to be photocopied and used.

3) The photocopier ran out of paper.

4) Campers started showing up without parents to fill out information sheets.

Things did not improve as the day progressed:

5) A single pack of markers was all we could find for 40 campers to share, as supplies had not yet arrived.

6) Other staff members, being very familiar with kids from the community, spoke and play-fought with the kids in what would probably be considered inappropriate ways at any other camp in my home district.

You get the idea.

And the next four days weren't much better.

Despite the distinct lack of organization and professionalism, I was nonetheless very impressed with the camp's ability to still function somewhat smoothly. This is likely attributable to fact that the other staff have been running this camp in the manner for almost a decade, and have got a system of effective improvising, not to mention an interesting concept of discipline. But that's a story for another time.

Recuperating from first week aside, today brought the joyful news of my first 7 in IB. Though SL French wasn't a particularly difficult struggle, I still appreciate and revel in the fruits of my labour.

That will be all for today.