The Sari Diaries- Thursday 7/20/17

Dearest Chippies,

It’s that time of week again… Happy Thursday! I feel like every time I write to you the weather is at an extreme. Today was the good kind of extreme, though—not a cloud in sight, the overwhelming scent of sunscreen everywhere you turn, people begging to get in the lake. An all-around ideal kind of camp day, you know what I mean?

The day began promptly at 8:00 AM with a guest wakeup from Charley and Eanna. In honor of their friend and fellow Male Staff Josh’s birthday, they blessed the camp community with some early morning jokes, jams and impersonations. It was a fab way to begin the day and a testament of friends showing up to celebrate friends.

This afternoon, I had the great pleasure of observing and participating in many activities across camp. I first stopped at Archery, where the Gold Club class was in attendance. In my short visit, I watched 3 people shoot 4 arrows each. Seven of those turned out to be golds. I have been here for 14 years and I have yet to get 7 golds… So I think it goes to show just how talented a group they are!

I also got to teach 4th period Running, where I learned that Mari W, Eden G and Jaliyah A are small but quick! We spent most of the class doing timed sprints in the South Field. Some were short, some were longer, and it was such an intense showing that passers-by joined in for team races to close out the class. Not sure how we ran for that long in the outrageous heat, but it really was a sweaty ton of fun.

And then, the day got even better. It was the end to the day that every Chippy hopes and dreams for… I finally got to take Emily’s WERQ class! And let me tell you—it definitely lived up to the hype. If nothing else it was a great mix of people out there dancing on the aerobics court in the blazing sun, and Emily really is an incredibly engaging and enthusiastic teacher. My favorite part was Hannah R, Mia F and Halle S guest-instructing a routine. They (mostly) knew what they were doing, but Emily coached them through the moves from behind us :)

Lakeview came back from their trip today, and it sounds like they had a ton of fun (they even ran into my aunt at a coffee shop… How random!). But I will say that I’m glad they are back. It felt like they were gone forever and I definitely missed their presence. It will be nice to have everyone back at camp tomorrow!

Tonight, we had an Ojibwa social. It was the first time in a really long time that the campers (and even the staff!) were surprised to find out the Evening Program. It’s unclear exactly how, but we managed to evade them to believe it had been cancelled. The reaction when everyone found out it was actually on was so dramatic and genuine—I wish we could pull that off more often!

An exciting day at CRC, am I right?! Can’t wait for another one tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Soph Aloaf