A few months ago one of my closest friends Ali asked me if I wanted to work as a counselor for a week at the camp her family has been running for over a decade. Camp Wah-Nee is a sports camp that runs all summer long. This was the first year that but this summer they were trying something new and hosting Camp17's first #bestcampever with special guests youtube stars Tyler Oakley and Bethany Mota. I had no idea who they were, but since my fellowship ended around the same time I was happy to be a counselor for a week! Ali surprised me with a new waterproof ukulele when I got there on July 19th, which was perfect for hanging out at the lake. I'd brought 4 others with me so I could teach campers.
Here's a picture of my new makala waterman, decorated by Chris Hoffensetz (an amazing artist and Camp Wah-Nee counselor)
I was a camp counselor for a bunk of 13 and 14 year old girls who were super sweet! It was a goal of mine to teach all of them how to play at least one chord. One of my campers had brought her own uke, so we had 6 in the cabin. Campers from other bunks were coming in to ask if they could borrow them and learn as well. I lost count of how many campers learned a few chords, but I think it was somewhere around 40 or so.
A few of the campers and all of the ukuleles!
When we went to arts and crafts, Bethany Mota joined us. Katie ran back to the bunk to get her ukulele for Bethany to sign and the session turned into a sing along where another camper taught Bethany how to play "I'm Yours." It was really adorable. I wish I had a video, but you'll just have to imagine it.
Some of my campers with the signed uke
Due to a hand injury I didn't get to participate in some of the camp activities like the trapeze (which I was really bummed about) but there were plenty I did get to do like watch The Parent Trap on a big screen with the entire camp, dance like crazy at the silent disco and neon dance party, and perform in the camp talent show (the campers blew me away)!
Teddi learned really quickly!
At the end of the week we brought campers to the airport to fly back home. Some had come from other states and even different countries.
I stayed with Teddi for about 7 hours until her flight, trying to keep the 14 year old entertained. She was awesome and easy going fortunately, and we wandered in and out of pretty much every shop in Terminal 4 at JFK airport. I also taught her how to play "Youth" by Troye Sivan because she had sung it with some friends in the camp talent show (her first singing performance EVER)! The other people waiting for the flight seemed pretty entertained.
She texted me the next day saying she had bought her very own ukulele!
Overall, it was an amazing week. I even got to meet Tyler and Bethany, who were pretty nice, normal people. Thank you to Camp Wah-Nee and Camp 17 for including me!
Many of the other counselors were international, ranging from England, to Scotland, to Australia and more! I miss them already! It was such a treat to work with amazing people for the week.