Hey everyone, I have just arrived back from Senior Boys camp in Rocky Mtn. House and have yet to shower. I have been in the Medi Centre for the past three hours to find out I have a sinus infection (thanks Runka) and I go to the blood clinic tomorrow to find out if I have mom or not. Anywho, camp was an experience of a lifetime! I was placed in a cabin with John who I had kind of met last year, and we were leading Buckaroos (Grade 7's). It started out very ruff when I found that one of my campers had anger issues and enjoyed beating me up. I couldn't fight back hard, and the more I did, the more he wanted to punch and kick. Eventually Kieth stepped in and put Travis in his place. THis however did not make him a better child to handle. He was reckless, enjoyed picking fights, and listened to no one. I was stressed beyond belief, especially scince I knew out trips were coming up. I was very relieved when Mike (Buckaroos sectional leader) told me he was going to send Travis home. A part of me felt bad for him, but I knew the group would enjoy the trip more without him. Another kid in my cabin suffers from ADD and depression. What made this even worse was that his father died the night camp began. He knew it was going to happen scince his dad was in the hspital, unresponsive. He told me that it was a suicide, but he didn't know how it happened. I think he did really well though for his situation. He was at camp because it was a place he absolutally loved when he came with his school, and it just made him happy to be here. He left the day the rest of us left for the outrip and rejoined us there a couple of days later. Those were some real testing times for me. I felt uber supported and I feel that I learned from those experiences.
Also in my cabin was Alex, the brother of Antonia whom with which I did LIT. He was different from her but also kind of the same. There was Sylvain too, the chess champion and organized kid. Breaden was there too, a large Bucakroo, bigger than me. We had some great, challenging times, and times just to play. One of my favorite days was making mudslides in the North Sask. River. Another awsome trip was taking the voyager canoe down the river. I really got to connect with some of the kids during the out trip to Kootenay Plains. It was just an awsome expeirience over all and I can't wait till next year!
Curtis West
