Woke up so many times tonight, but I had a good fear free good sleep. Actually I woke early enough to go jogging but I skipped it today too.
I refilled the wood and incredibly I was the first one to get in the office. I started writing on my journal and ten minutes later all the Slee family arrived. Jim asked me if I had moved from my spot since the night before because he left to sleep and I was there, he came back and I was still there.
Jim, Alyssa and Fran were busy with some booking stuff and calls, so Asher came to play with me. Since he asked me to dance I showed him my music video “Il Piano A Non Funziona Mai”. At a certain point Fran and Jim noticed it and asked me to play it again from the beginning. They really enjoyed it and Jim even asked me to help him choreograph his class’ next dance.
We had breakfast later on and Asher wanted to have cereals like me. From that episode I learned that I should really watch out for what I do in front of the kids because sometimes they just want to copy you and it is not always the best.
Done eating, me and Jim went to work on the cabin because the morning activity was basically day care babysitting and no kid showed up. But at the exact moment we started, all of the kids appeared, so we put a stop on our work and enjoyed the morning with the kids. We went riding around the camp and believe it or not I have not crashed once singe I got here.
After a few rides we stopped at the playground. Kids love swings and monkey bars. At one point Haven wanted to go on the baby swing’s so badly that we let him, but he got stuck and could not come out. The funny thing is that he began talking so fast half in English and half in Spanish telling me how to pull him out. I removed his boots and he got out from there, but the whole situation was funny.
When we came back we went on the truck with Jim and all of the kids to pick up the garbage. I really hate this kind of jobs, but I would have done it. I think that working on ourselves include doing something that we choose not to do because of fear or squeamishness. However, Jim did like 99% of the job knowing that I am kind of germophobe. I thanked him for that while Laila was complaining about the fact that we should have all met already for Melissa’s birthday celebration.
We went back to the Activity Building and had some smoothie with banana and blueberry when everyone finally got back from their own tasks. Bettina prepared a fantastic watermelon cake with blueberries, strawberries, papaya and pineapple as toppings. It was good to eat separately because some of the berries were still a little bit sour and did not blend well with the watermelon. But it was a really cool idea for a healthy summerish birthday cake.
We had lunch right after that and I entertained everyone with some songs before eating myself. It was Melissa’s birthday, so I thought it would have been cool to sing a little bit since she loves it.
After lunch I helped Alyssa to clean cabin 8. Asher came with us and we played games while we were cleaning. I felt like I had not cleaned good enough, but the people here are too kind to tell that you were useless or could have done better. However, we spent the cleaning time talking and we got to know each other better. For example, I talked a lot about my plans and dreams while I learned about Alyssa and Jim. They started going out when he was 23 and she was 17 so they told me that they had to keep it a little bit of a secret for few years at the beginning. But now they are happily married since 2012 and I think they make a perfect couple.
After that we went to the beach and I took River with me to work out a little bit. Then we all played on a really long mat where the kids sat to go safely in the deep part of the lake. Haven would just keep saying “no” to everything you ask him, but I think it is like a reflex to him more than having something against the different suggestions.
At one point the new workawayers arrived and we introduced each other. I do not think that they got my name but well, it is hard for everyone I guess. Laila arrived a little bit after them and when they left she asked me what I thought about them. I think I let the question slip because I just went and played “cutting corners” with Asher. It was a really simple game where you had to run around every obstacle you would meet while running randomly.
Everyone went for a second round in the water, so me and Asher did that too. He asked me to throw him in the water close to his daddy, so I did it. I do not know why I did not throw him at a low height. In fact, I just threw him so high that when he crashed into the water he got back to the surface swimming and crying. Halfway through his trajectory I realized what I did and so I dived in the water to get him. Luckily Jim was there and got him up fast. He kept crying and I felt so bad. I tried to apologize to him while I was being glad that Jim consoled him and did not get angry with me. Asher actually tried to get back at me by splashing me with his feet. The turnaround from a little bit angry with me to playing again with me was so fast. In fact, while he was splashing me I asked him how high could he go with his splash and he just turned my way smiling and laughing while splashing the water as high as he could. We played a little bit more when I noticed Jim and Alyssa having a bath right in the lake, so I copied them as the two new workawayers arrived.
I noticed my belly getting fuller and a little bit more fat and it surprised me because I was not exactly eating that much junk food. I guess I will have to stick to normal size meals instead of filling or having two rounds of the same food.
While Alyssa and Jim prepared the dinner I wanted to work on my journal but I thought it would be rude, so I helped them doing what I do best: playing with the kids. We played and I realized that the bike chain went off so I could not use it.
During dinner River cried because he wanted to same food that I had, so I stopped from getting a second round until River started to eat his food. He did not, but Bettina understood what I was doing and told me to just get a second round of pasta because River had to learn to eat his food. And that is right, you read it well. We actually had pasta, but Italian past will never be beaten by anything. One thing that stood out is that they use crushed cashew instead of Parmesan cheese.
I did the dishes with laila and we talked about few things. For example how she felt about the new German girls or what she thought when I first arrived. Then, she asked me what adjective I would use to describe her but I just kept annoying her in a funny and teasing way that we lost track of what we were talking about.
I played again with the kids pulling them around the camp in the toys wagon before River and Haven had to leave. They said goodbye and kept calling me Monkey. I am sure that they do not even know my actual name.
Before calling it a day, we went at the cabin and screwed one plank of the roof desk just to make sure how it would look. Fran told Jim that she wants to sleep there during the Veg Out week since the office will be taken. We took some time to look at the cabin and I joked about the fact that I saw it “growing up”. At one point I faked a cry and sobbed “It is grown so much, it will go to college now!” which made Jim and Laila laugh so hard. On our way back we noticed bear cub’s poop and Jim was so thrilled about it.
Before getting back to writing I helped Larry finding his black bag but did not have any luck with it. The Polish family was there and Mariusz asked me to play the guitar for Damian, his little kid. I did it and at first he was a little bit shy and scared of me, but then we became friends what I sang “Baby Shark” to him. He was so happy that he even waved goodbye to me while they were walking away.
Finally in the office, my adventures did not finish as Fran and Jim forced me to show my music video to Laila and the two new workawayers. There have been times when I felt more embarassed, but this one is a close one. I mean, I do not like when I am at the center of the attention of people I do not know, even if apparently one of my closest friends told me that I like to be the “main actor”.
I turned on my computer and before finally catching up with all the days I could attend the little fight between Jim and Fran. They were trying to tell a story about the financial side of their activity, but Jim wanted to say it in a short way because he wanted to go to his cabin with his family while Fran just kept stretch out the story by filling it with little details. It was so funny and I hope I can be able to tease my mom like that too in the future.
Attacked by deer flies and mosquito (man, they can be really annoying) I finally finished the journal for today and all of the days I left behind. Now I can use the computer to do something different than just writing about memories. So family, here I go, you will not be able to blame anything of this year’s trip on me!
Godyl Go! 