Archery Training

So today was my archery training, so I could become a certified archery instructor.  This was my first real camp activity since arriving 3 days ago.  There have been other counsellors around, but they're on Leadership Training as they'll be the head counsellors, so I've mostly been left to my own devices.

I had to be up bright and early (6am...on a Saturday!) to head to a camp that was an hour and a half away.  It was me, the other archery instructor, and two counsellors who were doing canoe training.  We drove in the Camp Van, rocking out to music the whole way!  The camp we went to was much more "out in the boondocks" (middle of nowhere) than my camp, so it was a little unnerving.  We headed off the main road onto some tiny, winding gravel road, driving through a mass of trees.  Little "double-wide" trailers were dotted all over, and run-down shacks with "PRIVATE PROPERTY" signs posted out at the front.  We finally found a small, hand-written sign welcoming us to camp and pointing down another tiny road.  We were a little freaked out, wondering where the director had sent us and if we would ever be heard from again!  Luckily the camp was pretty nice, and quite large, not half as scary as we thought it was going to be!

The archery training was good fun, but we were out in the sun all day so we started to go a little loopy by the end of the afternoon.  We had a lot of practice shooting, and then at the end we had a "practical test" where we had to each role play the different parts.  So we had to be the range officer, the instructor, the unruly children etc.  Playing at being problem children was the best part.  The other counsellor from my camp took this role very seriously, and was definitely an unruly child!  I discovered that I'm quite a bossy instructor though, and that I have a tendency to go a *little* power crazy.  This amused everyone greatly, and they all teased me incessantly.  However, I did notice that their role playing was very similar to what I said/did, so they must have thought I did something right..!

We all passed our training, and I am now certified to teach basic archery to children in the USA for the next 3 years!  If I need to re-certify after 3 years I can either take a test online, or have a refresher training as my instructor's assistant.  Sadly this won't be much use in the UK, but if I want to do camp again next year then it'll come in very handy.

I got to spend the evening with another counsellor and her family, since she invited me back to her house for tacos.  It was just us at camp, and I had no dinner plans, so she very kindly let me join her.  I had a great evening, they were very welcoming and asked a lot of questions about me and my life in the UK.

Overall, a great day!

Tomorrow is a sponsored walk around camp for the kids - a fundraiser to offset their camp fees.  I'll be helping set up by doing the food prep, then I'll be supervising activities at the finish line and generally having a good time with the kids.  It sounds like it'll be hectic and tiring, but I'm really excited to meet some of the campers.  Mostly excited about the lie-in I'll get in the morning though...!

Monday I'm leading an "outdoor education" activity in the morning, and then in the afternoon all the other counsellors will be arriving for Staff Training.  That is where the fun begins...!

Hope everyone is having a good day! :)