| Perspective: Riding
with your mouth open
1 August 2002
So.... It's been a busy few days. The last group
left on Saturday, we got 26 hours off, and are already in full swing
with our new session!
One thing I've learned is that it is always necessary to put things
into perspective. I was pretty upset last Friday with our Dean over
la Journée Internationale (International Day). I was pretty
ready to quit. So I called my mom, and she basically said "are
you kidding???" Yea, well. I'm not going to go into all the
details about what I was mad about, but suffice it to say, in the
grand scheme of things, who gives a crap. And it's true. I had much
bigger problems while riding my bike on Sunday.
As one might recall from previous emails, there are A LOT of bugs
here in Minnesota. I think that should be sufficient for an explanation.
Clearly, that many bugs in my mouth was a much bigger deal than
who is the I-Day coordinator!
And even the bugs didn't bother me that much. I did a 20 mile ride,
exactly, and it was amazing. It was pure freedom! I am definitely
joining the cycling club this year at CU. Me and Lance. And on that
note, if no one noticed, there was a Lithuanian in THIRD place overall
in the Tour! Go Lietuva!
As it turns out, by a sort of twist of fate, Anais and I have fallen
in to the positions of I-Day coordinators without having all the
responsibility. There is a guy on core staff that really doesn't
do anything otherwise at camp who is dividing out jobs who is really
the coordinator, but I am chef of the Evening Program with Hubert,
and Anais is asst. chef. Anais is chef de logistiques and I am asst.
chef. So we are in fact working together to coordinate the biggest
part of our presentation and designing our camp's theme (which is
a song from the group Bisso Na Bisso from Congo who all live in
France because of their civil war, this is not the Congo that just
signed a peace treaty with Rwanda, the former Zaire, there are two)
as well as planning the logistical part of it. And after we plan
the program, Hubert really doesn't want to direct it so Anais and
I are going to do it.
So it's all turning out fine, and we'll have time this year to enjoy
I-Day, which we never did before... I spent the last I-Day at the
U.N. summit talking about Cambodia. Important and interesting, but
time consuming.
So now I live in a cabin with 6 girls, 5 are 17 and 1 is 18 years
old. And one is going to the U of Minni in the fall. They're ok,
not bad, just slow, one is a little snotty. One is from Anchorage
and another is from Niwot, 5 miles from Boulder.
I am now currently starting to get a little crazy with planning,
as I said the calm before the storm... we have Fest Noz (all night
party in Brittany, France) on Saturday for which we will turn the
dining hall into a restaurant and have a dance after. It will be
sweet.
We've been battling bugs and thunderstorms. The battle with the
bugs is currently being won by the bugs. And tonight we have severe
thunderstorms, I may have to go run around camp in a minute to get
everyone into place.... hail is on it's way now... I have to go
to my cabin immediately.
......................... the next day .............................
So I don't think it actually hailed last night but we had one heck
of a storm! I had heard some rolls of thunder while sitting here
writing, but I was in complete disbelief when I walked outside.
It was nearly perfectly still and quiet, but the sky was something
else! One second it was as black as your own basement, and the next
second it was as light as day. It was like someone was blinking
a giant halogen lamp in the clouds. It was freaky. Then the thunder
started. It rolled like a continuous laughter, and then all of a
sudden it would shout at you in one giant crack! I felt like I was
in Thunder Mountain at Disneyworld. I went back to my cabin and
stood outside for a few minutes watching and listening to the sky.
Then I got in my bed and watched it blink through the window. I
am pretty sure John Denver had to have been in Minnesota during
a thunderstorm when he wrote Annie's Song, last night was certainly
a feast for the senses! As I lay in my bed, the wind started to
pick up and it blew through the cabin and felt as if someone were
laying a clean, light sheet over me. And the trees started to rustle
and the rain really began to come down. Even my sixth sense was
aroused as I lay there and got a very distinctive feeling that someone
was trying to tell me not to "sweat the small stuff, and everything
is small stuff!!!"
Anyway, that is my week at camp. It's a strange place, Lac du Bois!
That is for sure. |
