I've found a piece of camp in Quito!!!

Here is a journal entry I wrote for my program director. I've had adventures rappelling down waterfalls and spent a Saturday in natural hot springs that aren't included in this post but certainly will be mentioned in later days. Tomorrow morning, I leave for the Galapagos. My mind and barely fathom what the next five days will hold but I'm willing to jump in! Until then, enjoy reading about me finding a piece of camp in southern Quito.

Kids are Kids across the Globe

            For the past four summers, I’ve worked at a summer camp for intercity kids. I absolutely love my job. I have the opportunity to bring city kids into beautiful Nashville, Indiana and help open their harts and minds to new activities like swimming, horseback riding, and High Ropes. These activities are so much more than fun things to do. To these children, they are new experiences that put that the children in a safe place of vulnerability. Ask a fourteen year-old boy who is the only man in the family to be vulnerable and you might see some of the following reactions. Some get angry and defensive. Others revert to a class clown attitude. Some shrink away into the background. And others puff out their chests and step up to the challenge.

            The boys at my volunteer organization respond in the same ways as my campers from Indianapolis. Some care more about keeping their clothes clean rather than making a catch during a game of Ultimate Frisbee. One of the boys is a ladies man during school, but put him in front of a dog and he suddenly becomes nervous and jittery. Still, I prefer the reactions generated when heights are involved. Why? Because when a kid, or anyone, climbs 30 feet, things get real. And they get real fast. It’s hard to put on a mask when you’re fearing for your life. I’ve spoken to kids about bullying at school, the death of parents, and abuse in foster homes all while being 40 feet in the air. I have heard things that no person should never experience, much less a child. Adults often forget the crap that happens during childhood. They often undermine and underestimate the wisdom of children.

As a young adult, I play the role of the middleman. I have an amazing chance to learn, listen, and care for these kids. I can help shape their perceptions of what being a “grown-up”, no being a person, is like. I have an opportunity to show them they are loved no matter what gang they are in, no matter their grades in school, no matter how broken they are. And here’s the real beauty; we are all the same in every country and in every language. Sure, it’s a little more difficult to relate and share in another language, but emotions are universal. Joy, Pain, Excitement, Fear, Acceptance. These emotions can be conveyed with body language and voice inflection.

Our similarities as people, far out weigh our differences. Girls will always have a fascination for playing with hair and painting nails. At a certain age, boys start realizing the differences between men and women. They will try a multitude of maneuvers to get just the right feel or line of view. (Little girls are just as sneaky with their hand holding and cuddling.) And kids have an obsession with cameras and taking photos.

Mountain Nation is my little bit of Happy Hollow Children’s Camp here in Quito. We have plenty of handshakes. I give side hugs like a professional. We laugh in every situation. Some kids take convincing before they participate. Sunglasses are exchanged and water bottles make their rounds. At the end of the day, I’m happy to be exhausted from games and great conversations.

Found a fairy stone on the Pacific Coast