STICKY hands from melted s’mores, handmade friendship bracelets stacked up your arms and the California heat beating down on your back as you throw an American football.
This was my summer as a Camp Counsellor in the U.S.A.
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For generations, thousands of Americans have spent their childhood summer holidays at a traditional summer camp.
Designed to keep kids entertained over the summer vacation (and to give their parents a break) they’ve become a huge part of American culture.
And as a Brit brought up on a diet of American moviews and TV shows, I’ve always longed to be a part of it too.
Thankfully, I could. As summer camps often look for international staff to bring their skills across the pond.
Through companies like Camp America, young people from all over the world can get sponsored to go and work in the U.S.
You get to live the summer camp dream, make friends from all over the world, plus when it’s over you get 30 extra days to travel across the States.
But is it actually like The Parent Trap? Is it all singing, dancing and talent shows like in Camp Rock? To be honest? Yes.
It was everything you see in the movies and more. Campfire songs, telling ghost stories under torchlight and creating dance routines to Cotton Eye Joe.
My days started at 6:30am – going from snoozing my alarm at home, to getting kids’ teeth brushed, boots on and out the door before 7am was quite the change from my routine as a 21 year old back in England.
Each morning we’d gather on the sports field to raise the American flag, a key part of camp culture us Brits soon had to get used to.
After knocking back blueberry pancakes or French toast, and glugging down as much filter coffee as I could manage, the activities for the day began.
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The days were filled with everything from archery to animal care, ziplining to basketball.
My group of girls and I would sit under a tree and make friendship bracelets, as they requested song after song by Taylor Swift on my Walmart speaker.
Our lunches were traditionally American: sloppy joes (bolognese in a burger bun with cheese), hot dogs and chicken tacos.
Afternoons were spent cooling off in the pool followed by chill time in our cabins.
Whilst some kids took the time to lay in their bunk and write letters home, others would come and point at my polaroids from home that decorated my bed, asking questions about life in the UK.
The kids were super curious about life outside of the States, but didn’t seem to know all too much.
My Kiwi co-worker convinced our bunk that New Zealand didn’t have wi-fi or technology, and feigned amazement as they explained to her what a mobile phone was.
The kids were always at the ready to jokingly mock my accent. They particularly loved making us British staff say “bottle of water”, as they tried through stifled laughter to mimic “bott-ul” and “wart-ur”.
I’ll also never forget hosting a camp quiz one night, where a group answered “What is the capital of England?” with a confident and unified “Paris!”
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The kids would stay for one or two weeks at a time, but the camp environment made you grow close – so saying goodbye to them was always the hardest part.
We’d end the week with a campfire, roasting marshmallows and sharing our favourite memories.
I found myself collecting letters and pictures over the summer, and those handwritten messages and drawings are still posted up on my wall today.
Although saying bye was tough, what came next was worth it.
I’d made friends from all over the world – Australia, New Zealand, Germany as well as with the American staff.
After ten weeks of hard work, I spent my earnings exploring California.
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Whilst some hopped over to Hawaii and others jetted off to JFK, my closest friends and I decided to road-trip the Golden State.
We drove from Santa Rosa to Lake Tahoe, and spent a week jet-skiing across deep blue waters.
We then headed down to San Francisco for a night, before catching the night bus to L.A.
After hiking to the Hollywood sign, skating through Venice Beach and visiting Universal Studios, we headed down to sunny San Diego.
We ended our trip meeting sea lions at La Jolla beach and cheering on the San Diego Padres at a home baseball game.
If you’re looking for a summer in the U.S.A., this is definitely the way to do it.
You’ll come home sunburnt, sleep-deprived, and with a head full of campfire songs.
But the summer camp experience is true movie magic, and the chance to tick off your U.S. bucket list afterwards makes it even better.
HOW TO WORK IN A US SUMMER CAMP
If you fancy spending a summer in the states, there are three major companies that can sponsor your trip: Camp America, Camp Leaders and BUNAC.
Once you set up an account with one of these, they handle all of the paperwork, help you get a Visa, and get you matched up with a summer camp in the U.S. If you pay a bit more, they’ll organise your flights too.
You don’t need any previous camp experience – if you’ve led a sports club or drama group at a school, volunteered or worked with kids in some way, they’ll more than likely be able to find you a placement.
Once you’re placed, you’ll spend 8-10 weeks working with kids, and have 30 days left on your Visa to go wherever you want in the USA.
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