The Sari Diaries- Monday 7/9/18

Dear Diary,

Today was definitely my favorite day of camp so far! It was United Nations Day which my counselors told me has been a tradition at Chippewa for over 30 years. The whole camp was broken up into four teams- Chile, India, Portugal and Thailand. We found out our teams last week and have been learning cheers and getting ready for today ever since. All day long we competed in tons of different sports and activities…some that I had never even heard of.

It all began this morning with wake-up. Cliff, Missy, Hannah and all of the captains and advisors sang the United Nations song on the loud speaker. My entire cabin jumped out of bed and put on their team colors. At breakfast, everyone was so excited for the day ahead, and even though I didn’t really know what to expect, I couldn’t wait to see what all the hype was about. After breakfast and cabin clean-up, we went to the Center Fire Circle for the opening ceremony. Hannah and Missy read the UN Preamble and then Cliff explained how the United Nations Day torch ended up at Chippewa. As he explained it, the captains from each team came from the back gate to the Center Fire Circle holding the torch. They lit the lantern that was standing high in the middle of the circle and it signified that UN Day could officially kick-off.

After that, we had leg wrestling. I know that sounds weird…I had no idea what that was until I got to the North Field. It is kind of hard to explain but it was so fun. After the Colt Village leg wrestling was over (Ivy F was the champion), we went over to watch Wrangler Village, male staff and female staff. I loved cheering for those participating. I cheered for my team but also for my counselors who were on other teams. In the end, Charlotte A was the Wrangler Village champ, Josh Halliday won the male staff competition and Dylan Sachs was the female staff champion. The coolest part was at the end of the female staff part…Dylan was the last one left on Chile but there were still six people left on India. It was amazing how Dylan beat each of them consecutively. She barely had a break but she was awesome. I think if I keep practicing my leg wrestling, I might be a future CRC leg wrestling champion!

Throughout the rest of the day, there were tons of different activities. My friend did word search with her team and she said it was so hard but that they found all of the words! Another friend of mine played nucomb…she told me that Suzy R saved the day for her team and they ended up winning! One of the activities was banner making and I couldn’t believe how cool they turned out. After I was done with dodgeball, I went to watch the end of the soccer game. One of the CITs, Talia T, had a hat trick and helped her team earn first place! I saw Soph-Aloaf after third series and she told me that she was just at flag football. That is an activity just for Wrangler Village but it seems so intense and fun. She told me that the best play of the day was at the end of the 1st/2nd place game when Sydney F passed the ball to Halle G all the way down the field…and she caught it! Before dinner, we had all of the water events. There were relays, a blob contest and synchronized swimming. I participated in the camper relay and was in awe at how fast Haylie W swam. This is also her first summer at camp and nobody knew how speedy she was in the water. Everyone was giving her high fives as she got out of the lake!

Even the meals were so fun today…I mean I always enjoy mealtime at camp, but it was especially fun today because we got to sit with our teams. I was at a table with some of my cabinmates, a couple of older campers and some staff that I didn’t know that well. It was so fun to talk to them and cheer with them at the end! Tonight’s BBQ was also great- I overheard Rahul talking about the basketball games he was reffing. He said that Nicole L (who was on his basketball team at school) made two three pointers to put her team on top…those were her first three pointers in a game…so cool!

To end UN Day, we all went into the theater. Cliff called all captains and advisors on the stage and thanked them for their leadership and hard work. It is true that they did such a good job. They taught us cheers, helped us make our schedules and were so enthusiastic and positive all day long. It didn’t matter what place each team was in, everyone was following the lead of their captains and having the times of their lives. The next people to thank were Missy and Hannah…they planned the whole day and it was perfect. They thought of everything and worked so hard to make sure that the rest of us had the best day ever. I am so thankful for the work that they put in, and I know that they are a big part of the reason I loved this day so much.

Finally, the places were announced…Thailand in first, Portugal in second, India in third and Chile in fourth. The entire team of Thailand went to Cathy’s and the rest of us had canteen…which was still delicious! I loved everything about today…the competition, the spirit, the sportsmanship and the camaraderie. As I headed back to my cabin, I noticed Sophie K, Grace F, Jayden G and Dylan L at the Center Fire Circle. I asked what they were doing and they told me that they were just helping clean-up and collect lost and found. I asked if I could help and inquired how they ended up with this job. They were finishing up so there wasn’t much for me to do but they let me know that they took it upon themselves to help keep #TheRanch2018 clean. I liked that- they were just helping for the sake of pitching in and taking responsibility for our summer home.

I think that’s all for tonight…as you can tell, this day was spectacular! The summer is going by way too quickly but I am trying my hardest to take in every second I have at CRC…it is a pretty special place! Okay, flashlight time is over…goodnight!

Love,
Your Happy Camper