Tortured Anticipation

Contrary to misconstrued conceptions concocted by controversial critics, our camp can be more than complete chaos.  In short, we have a lot fun and learn as we go.  Our boys have been constructing their gardens, clearing land and moving stones, in addition to the multitude of project in progress.

They even are building fences, though I do not know what it is intended to keep out (it wont keep me out, that's for sure!).  All i know is the boys work hard and enjoy this kind of productive manual labor. They all are sad that summer camp will end the 31 of this month...or maybe they are just sad they have to go back to school.

Anyway, everyone enjoys the work. Every morning the special care children brighten our lives and lighten our loads. Most love to work and they make us laugh while they are at it.

Summer Camp is not all work and play, our classes have been packed with action and games. English class has been a blast and important too, because this is an English speaking summer camp, and whoever speaks English, works hard, and is obedient gets the grand prize. First there are three rewards. The dinner prize, where we take the ones that did not put a lot of effort into the camp to dinner at some fancy restaurant, and if you think that is nice listen to this. The ultimate water park prize is a two day trip to a water theme park for those boys that worked hard, were obedient, but still did not exert themselves to speak English or to do more. Now hold on to your napkins and listen to this last show stopping prize. A five days vacation at a resort several hours away with a swimming pool, good food, and sights to see.  Every year the location changes and we always keep it a secret.  This year is no different so do not ask me where we are going for I cannot disclose the location. It is always exciting to have these prizes because we always need funding and God never fails to provided through gracious sponsors and donors sufficient funds, and always on the last week. Well, what do you know it is almost the last week.

And this is pretty much how we end each day of summer camp. Now you know my excuse for not hosting more postings (I am hosting dreams). The nice thing about being one of the controlling trio is we get all the prizes and a five day vacation sounds temptingly divine.

This is our crew and each will get one of the prizes before mentioned. This is where the anticipation is oppressive. They are all hoping to get the five day reward.  We will just have to wait and see.
This is were a moral of the story comes in mighty handy. You cannot always kill two birds with one stone, but sometimes it takes to stones to kill a bird....I think this moral loses something in the transcription.  Anyway, it is instructive of human nature to watch how some boys really put in effort to speak English, work hard, and do extra, while some pretend or do not even try thinking they somehow automatically magically qualify by virtue of their magnanimousness (if that is even a word) for the five day reward. If you really want it you have to work for it. Could not have said it better myself!
And that was David the Engrossed Post Host...and sometimes he asks himself "Why do I never know when I will post again?"

Sum' Camp

HOORAY!!! Summer Camp has finally started...to tell the truth is has been going for a week already. Time flies when you are having fun.  Funny, I have heard of horse flies, dragon flies, fruit flies, etc. but never time flies. That is India for you. Anyway, we have 18 boys, ranging from 13-18 years old, and they all bring there own personalities, tastes, humors, humors, and challenges with them. One thing, however, they all hold in common is; they love to have fun.

We are just trying to teach them that working is fun, for we sure do a lot of it. From 9 am to 1 pm we try to transform ourselves into earth moving machines (sometimes with the sounds and everything).  We have piles of ruble to be moved, stones to be purged from gardens, grou d to be leveled, and so on.

Just like every adventure with boys there is always a little trouble maker to keep things out of the slough of boredom. This is Adithya, but we call him Adi for short, and I wish his energy was a small as his nickname. He never stops getting into trouble unless there is a patient watchful someone to be his constant companion.

How could I forget the boys from the special care section of FFC that come everyday for an hour or so to work with us. They are funny to watch. One think he is the supervisor and orders the other around, while some just work, and this one, Ramdas, seems to think only about body building. He sometimes picks up a metal rod or something as a weight do exercises with it.

One of the best parts is that they cook their own breakfast and lunch. They love it, and so far they have done pretty well. Mani is their teacher and master chef. They even prefer what they manage to throw together, to the food provided by the main kitchen.

We, the staff, Katie, Mani, and I, the head hanchos, cannot share their food because of our diet, but of course that does not bother us at all. No, not even when their meal comes fragrantly fresh off the stove, with all the beauties and attractions of Indian dishes. I do not even like spicy food, but it still beckons to my senses. Yes, it is not a big problem at all. I just drown out my disappointment in mangoes. Another 70 lbs of mangoes was consumed just in this last week.  It makes a divine breakfast.

Whether we are working or playing water games I always look the same at the end of the day, soaking wet.  It is only the hottest time of the year and here we are working outside, when the sun is unrelentingly merciless, but that does not stop us. there is a reward of a five day trip to some resort somewhere for anyone that has been extra good, doing extra work, and being extra obedient.
Let it be remembered that for every story there is a moral, but for every moral the story becomes optional. Thus the moral of the story is plan ahead, get a head.  Having a head on your shoulders in most crucial to doing a summer camp. If you have a head remember that every person can be reached, and any child can be trained. That is one thing I am learning, and it even applies to myself.  Here I am trying to train them how to work while pretending like I know what I am doing, until I actually figure out what I am doing. Challenging, exhausting, frustrating, fatiguing, hilarious, inspiring, eye opening, rewarding and many other synonymous adjectives describe this Sum' Camp we have.
This is your Roasted Post Host, David, and if I survive do not be surprised, because you never know when I will post again.

A Stroll Through Goodness

Arriving at our destination, one sunny afternoon, we found what did not at first appear to be an herb farm. It was profuse with coconut trees and wild grass. We were there, invited by the owner, to glean valuable information on indian herbs, their names, and capabilities

After meeting up with the herbalist, Imba Kumar (imba means happy in Tamil) he showed us the large selection of plant growing there.  Many different shapes and varieties dappled his 12 acres of land. For instance, this cross leaf plant.

Upon seeing this one for some reason I immediately thought of Seth. Sorry, I cannot remember the names or uses of these plants, there were so many and I can only remember a couple of them.

This tour provided the very first breadfruit tree I have ever seen whether in pictures or life.  Unfortunately, it is not breadfruit season thus denying us the pleasure of sampling this fruit.

Also presented to our five senses was the fig tree.  This variety of fig dangled bunches of figs like lures of the trunk of the tree, and lucky for us one of the many fruits was ripe. However, like all lures it failed to meet my expectations.

One of the boys we took with us gave us a hand, literally speaking. He had cut his finger and breaking a leaf from a particular plant we applied the oozing milk onto his wound. He yowelled when we put it on, and I have heard nothing about it since.

Every second that we spent at Imba's place, Katie was his inescapable shadow pestering him for all the info he could (and could not) give. Willingly, he filled her ears to overflowing. Whereas the biggest obstruction was he knew only the Tamil names of most of his plants.

While Katie was getting her fill of herb talk, Mani got his fill too. Not only this berry bush but other fruits and berries won his devoted and diligent attention, that is of course until there were no berries left.  There were supposed to be berries in his hand but they mysteriously vanished and Mani was left speechless/mouth full.

Then you never will guess what occupied my time and thoughts during this extended period of instructive education necessary to the temporal constitution of bodily health. Yes, I was hunting...for delectable tidbits especially in the shape of coconuts. At first I strained my tension span, trying to keep up with Katie and Imba, attempting a forced interest in their conversation. He did not have to tell us, me and Mani, twice though, when he told us to help ourselves to the mangoes or anything else we could find...then all impediments, mental and physical, melted away like ice in a furnace as we plowed into everything edible we could find. The biggest mistake I made was I had eaten lunch right before we came.
After stuffing ourselves and pockets and with our taxi bulging with plant cuttings, seeds, and fruit (we had to lash some on the top there was so much) we returned to reality.  
The moral is that people are like radios, they either receive or transmit.  If you are with a receiver, give, but if you are with a giver, receive. Luckily, I sent that day with givers. Okay, that smacks too much of Mr. Skimpole. Lets just say that blessed is he that giveth for he receiveth, and blessed his he that receiveth for he enjoyeth!
Post Host = David = ? = Receiver = Enjoyer. If you give the me anything, give me time (or thyme) because you never know when I will post again.