Saturday, June 18

(Reposted this from my other blog at leculp.tumblr.com, so it's about a week late.)


Hey everyone! (Hi Granddad! And Grandmom! You guys are Grand.)

I have a few new bits of Alaska information for you! Apparently, we are in a temperate rainforest. In Alaska. I guess we just get so much rain that it’s categorized as a rainforest.

The rain up here is different than rain in North Carolina for the most part. It never really storms hard, there is just a continual drizzle. It’s nice, because life can still go on through the rain. There is no thunder, no lightning, no torrential downpours. (Which, to be honest, I kind of miss. I always liked thunderstorms.)

People in Alaska also don’t use umbrellas. Ever. Using an umbrella in downtown Juneau is labeling yourself a tourist and practically shouting that you would like to be pickpocketed. All the counselors are warned not to use umbrellas for that reason.

There is a type of (ugly) rain boot that everyone here has, called an XtraTuff. Imagine this rubbery tree-bark-brown boot that goes almost up to the knee. It has trim the color of butterscotch (which clashes with the brown) and a logo on the top that proudly displays “XtraTuff.” Wearing XtraTuffs in downtown Juneau is labeling yourself an Alaska resident and displaying your cool Alaska-ness. A lot of the counselors get a pair of these $90 boots. They are comfortable, waterproof, and pretty durable. You can hike in them, wade in water in them, and even sport them with a dress (which people have done.) Google it and see!

One girl, Alison, has a pair. She said that when she was on the east coast she wore them to walk through the city on a rainy day and a man stopped her and asked if she was from southeast Alaska. Pretty much everyone here, and no one else anywhere, owns a pair.

Last night, we had a swing dance party. One of the counselors named Tess is into swing dancing, and she taught us all how to do it. Michael was her dancing partner, because he apparently has swing-danced before. They’re pretty good together, and kinda cute. We also got him to dance in his style (what is it called, popping?) for us. He also did some tutting, and moonwalking. Everyone was very amazed, and he showed them how to do it.

So this past week was the first senior high camp. It was a lot different than the camp of 10 year olds the previous week. I actually liked it a lot better; the whole atmosphere was deeper and a lot more fun.

Of course, I got the homeschool cabin! Melissa, my co-counselor, and I had 9 girls; all are saved, go to the same youth group, and have been here numerous times before. This week was hard for us. The girls didn’t like following the rules, and they wanted to go do stuff on their own (a.k.a. without the counselors) all the time. That made it kind of hard to connect with them, but I think that’s a common issue for this age group. Overall, the week was good. I would like to try senior high again. I feel like I just got the hang of it and then the week ended.

There were a couple of interesting things that happened for the senior high camp. We had the annual Crud War. It was actually pretty disgusting. We played a musical chairs variation. The girls stood in a line and the guys ran around and tried to find a place to sit on the ground in front of them. When the music stopped, if a guy found a seat he was pelted by the girls with all manner of leftover food: oatmeal, applesauce, spaghetti, refried beans, chocolate syrup, ketchup and the like. If he didn’t find a seat, he had to slide down a slip-n-slide sort of tarp covered in applesauce and ketchup. Gross either way. Then the girls and guys switched and it started all over. After that, we threw flour at each other, and then shaving cream. As a bonus, it was raining and the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees. After that, everyone got hosed off or jumped in the ocean and took quick showers. I think I still have oatmeal in my hair. Crud war was interesting (read: traumatic). Not sure I’ll ever look at applesauce the same!

We also played Mission Impossible. This is senior high camp tradition. Around 11:30pm (so that it’s actually dark) we start as a cabin and run around trying to avoid getting caught by guards while completing tasks before any other cabin. All the kids dress in all black and get really stealthy. It’s pretty fun! The night ended around 1:30am with Rice Krispy treats!

For this upcoming week, there is a Colt camp (ages 7-9). I won’t be counseling; instead, I’ll be on work-staff. That means I’ll be a part of the meal prep, serving and clean-up, and bathhouse, outhouse, and dorm cleaning. This is my first week on work-staff… I’ll let you know how it goes! I’m excited to sleep in the dorms for the week. I’ve slept mostly on foam “matresses” for the past two weeks in cabins with wood stoves. It will be nice not to have to spend 20 minutes making a fire to stay warm for the first several hours of the night.

Speaking of night, June 21 is the summer solstice I believe. That’s the longest day of the year. Here in Alaska, the sun won’t truly ever set around the solstice. It gets dusky around midnight and then starts getting light again around 3am. It’s crazy! and I love it. I love light! I can be outside at all hours of the night and still do stuff and see things…it’s so exciting.

I also got to drive a golf cart around today. We explored a cave and it was cool! Tonight I’m going into town with a few other counselors. We’ll go to Walmart and McDonalds, and then sleep in the dorms in town. Tomorrow I’ll help with registration, and then hike back in.

Praying for you guys! Love you all.
Lauren