Moving Halfway Across the World to Become a Camp Counselor
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Venla S. of Finland is a counselor at a summer camp in Connecticut.
Nervous. Excited. Scared.
Those are some words I could use to describe the feelings I had upon packing my life into a 23kg suitcase and moving halfway across the world to work at a summer camp in the United States.
Packing turned out to be rather difficult. For someone coming from Finland, where good preparation for summer means packing a change of warm clothes (just in case), I found myself comparing data of the weather in Connecticut from the past few years. And yes, I ended up leaving the beanie at home – this time.
The flights went well, and initially I could not believe I had arrived in the United States. Landing into JFK Airport was like something out of a fever dream – everyone I’ve spoken to said the landing into the city is immensely beautiful, but it was only when I saw it with my own eyes that I understood what they meant. During my landing, I got to admire the Manhattan skyline, and I truly could not believe my eyes.
We had one night in a hostel in New York City, and the hostel was located near Central Park. Naturally, we ended up having a morning stroll in the park before our train to Connecticut.
Everything around us felt exactly like the movies – the park itself, the bagels, the subway. Even the yellow school buses we saw were like in the movies!
The camp itself was nothing like what I was expecting. Photographs I had seen previously did not match the reality of the beauty of our camp located on a hill, with a gorgeous view of mountains. Our villages are gorgeous and lined by trees, and the tents we sleep in provide me with the best sleep I’ve ever had – yes, we do have bug nets!
As I am part of the barn staff at camp, we initially arrived a little earlier than the rest of our counselors. This means that before the kids arrived at the end of June, I had already spent almost a month at camp completing trainings and getting to know the camp procedures and fellow staff members.
At the time of writing this post, our first session is nearing its end. The first session of kids has been both super fun and demanding, but every day I feel more confident in my job as a counselor.
Throughout my training and first days with the campers I’ve gotten to experience a huge array of different activities, from zipline to riding our horses, to practicing teaching our lessons to making pita pizzas on the fire. Additionally, we’ve had countless s’mores!
Up until this point, my life as a counselor has been incredibly rewarding and filled with countless opportunities to grow and learn new skills. I am excited to take up any future opportunities and cannot wait to see what the following sessions are going to look like. I know these three months are going to fly by, and thus, I am going to try and enjoy every second I get.
Happy camping!
Interested in becoming an American camp counselor next summer? Reach out to the CIEE BridgeUSA Camp Counselor team to learn more.