Schools Out! Here's My Favorite Memory

My hands-down favorite experience from school this year is a field trip to an outdoor camp for our Middle Years Programme (MYP). The camp we traveled to is Camp Canadensis in the Pocono Mountains. My fellow peers and I had the time of our lives. The bus ride was a blast. The driver played songs on the speaker, and we sang the whole way. When we arrived, we were assigned to our cabins. Five students were assigned to each cabin from one to 20, I was assigned to cabin 20, next to the lake and the sports complex. Each cabin was also assigned two 11-12 grade chaperones from our school. One of our chaperones was a family member of a student in my cabin. The same student just happened to be a good friend, so you can say that I was connected to prestige during the trip.

We were there for three days. From September 11-13, arriving the 11th and leaving the 13th. Once we arrived, and sorted into our cabins, we were free to customize our beds and the "bubble" around them. I had brought my own sheets and pillows, because the beds there in the cabins are brutal on your body. After we unpacked, we were free to do whatever for the rest of the day in the sports complex, or in the cabin. They had soccer, basketball, football, and baseball. They all paled in comparison, though, to Gaga Ball. Gaga Ball is played in an medium-sized octagon arena with waist high walls. It’s played with a kickball, and the objective is to be the last one standing by hitting the ball to the opponents legs. The chaperones and the students would play this day in and out, when we had down time. I was one of them. The best of the best would play in finals every night. I won it all on the second night.

The first day is over. Everyone gets to shower and sleep. Each cabin had its own weird quirk, ours being the showers, and bathroom and general, were not the best. At least we didn’t have to deal with holes in the wall, like some cabins. The next day, we wake up. Since we showered last night, everyone gets dressed, one at a time, and we rush outside for more Gaga Ball. At about 9:00, everyone is escorted by the chaperones to each station, like survival skills, health skills, and even kayaking. While kayaking, I fell in the lake. They said it isn’t natural, but I swore I felt fish at the bottom. These times are the times I thank my gift to swim. After the stations, we went to the Café, and everyone who ate there felt like the King/Queen of England. Since our taste buds are used to the loathsome food at our school, the palatable food of that Café was to die for.

For some of the day, I played basketball with the chaperones that were stuck helping the teachers set up the stations the previous day. Of course, chaperones didn’t trust students like me and my grade with the ball, so we were basically there for defense, or an occasional catch and shoot from the corner. The rest of the day, I played Gaga Ball and won the finals at night, as I previously mentioned. When we went to sleep, the chaperones got snacks, and of course our cabin got some, since the chaperones knew us and vise versa.

The last day, they let us explore the whole camp. We were given a map, and each cabin was split between the two chaperones. I was grouped with my friend and his family member. We went around the forest path, rock climbing, we even went ziplining. At 1pm, everyone packed up, and loaded it back on the bus. We had a campfire and roasted marshmallows for s’mores at 3pm. We left, and everyone loved the experience. Although most kids also were ready to get back to their phones. Surprisingly, I wasn’t one of them. That was my best memory from school.

-- CJ